My name is Joshua M. Butler. I am the seventh of eight children in my family, the youngest of the four boys. I was born in Colorado and raised in Tremonton, Utah. I am a Latter-day Saint, born in the covenant and baptized at age 8. My parents divorced when I was 2 and I was raised by my mom, who remarried when I was 14. In my youth I was heavily involved in choir, orchestra, band, and drama. I served in each of my quorum presidencies at Church and was always the eager-to-please student in Sunday School and seminary. My first experiences of sexual attraction back in elementary school were toward my male peers. These attractions continued exclusively toward my same sex until after my mission.
From '06 to '08, I served a full-time in the Brazil, Rio de Janeiro North mission which covered most of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo. After returning, I began therapy, which continued for roughly a year and a half. (No, this was not any form of conversion therapy, rather it simply addressed my depression, anxiety, and interpersonal relationship issues.) Over the course of therapy I began to experience a diminishment of my sexual attractions toward men; I also experienced the first inklings of sexual attraction toward women. I stopped therapy when I moved to Provo and have only continued it periodically as needed in the years since and never with the goal of changing my sexual orientation.
I began studies at BYU in spring of 2010 and started full-time in fall of 2011. While at BYU I served as Family History Chair, EQ Secretary and First Counselor, Assistant Ward Clerk, and Provo Temple Ordinance Worker. In the summer of 2012 I felt strongly prompted by the Spirit to be open with others about my experience as a Latter-day Saint with same-sex attraction. While I had already opened up to some friends and family close to me, it was still a closely-guarded secret. Following through on that prompting I spent that July talking with more friends and family until it had reached a "critical mass" as it were, and I finally just dropped any secrecy all together. Since then I've been blessed to enjoy the compassion and support of countless individuals and continue too do so today. I spent my last semester at BYU studying at the BYU Jerusalem Center, during which I got to live in the Holy Land and visit many biblical and historical sites throughout Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. Since returning, I graduated with a B.S. in psychology and, as of this writing, am on the hunt for full-time employment until and maybe through whatever next big phase of life comes comes along.
