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 Evergreen Pages
Evergreen No Longer Carries “Addiction” Book by Gay Authors
“Breaking the Cycle” Still Available on Deseret Book's Shelves
by Lisa Hansen
January 2007
Two years after two LDS authors admitted they are gay,
Evergreen International, an organization for gay Mormons who want
to remain celibate, has stopped selling a 1990 book that calls homosexuality
an addiction. In their book Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Behavior,
LDS authors Martha and John C. Beck lumped homosexuality together
with alcoholism and drug abuse as “addictions” or misguided
compulsive behavior that must be overcome. Since then, the couple
have divorced, left the LDS Church, and come out as gay.
Although Evergreen International no longer offers Breaking the Cycle at its website, the book is still sold by Deseret Book. The LDS-owned bookstore is also selling other anti-gay titles such as Dean A. Byrd's Homosexuality and the Church of Jesus Christ and Joseph Nicolosi's A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality.
The notion that homosexuality is an addiction that needs to be "repaired"
is supported by fringe scientists. By contrast, the National Association
of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, the American
Psychiatric Association, the American Counseling Association, and
the American Academy of Pediatrics do not support that notion. An
official statement issued by the American Psychiatric Association
in March 2000 states the following:
Psychotherapeutic modalities to convert or “repair” homosexuality are based on developmental theories whose scientific validity is questionable. Furthermore, anecdotal reports of "cures" are counterbalanced by anecdotal claims of psychological harm. In the last four decades, "reparative" therapists have not produced any rigorous scientific research to substantiate their claims of cure. Until there is such research available, APA recommends that ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum to first, do no harm.
See also:
LDS Couple Who Dubbed Homosexuality “Addiction” Come Out
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
www.affirmation.org
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