Despite overwhelming evidence proving otherwise, former president of Brigham Young University Dallin Oaks claims the Mormon college never used electroshock treatments on gay people when he was president there from 1971 to 1980.
The remarks came during a Q&A session after a panel discussion at the University of Virginia, when the Latter-day Saint apostle was asked about reports that the school electrocuted gay men in an attempt to change their sexual orientations well into the 1970s.
“Let me say about electroshock treatments at BYU, when I became president at BYU that had been discontinued earlier, and it never went on under my administration,” 89-year-old Oaks insisted.
The video was uploaded to Youtube by Latter Gay Stories, a podcast dedicated to telling LGBTQ Mormons.
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But according to Gregory Prince’s 2020 book “Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences,” Oaks’ statement simply is not true.
Prince found that in 1974, 14 gay men were subjected to the electroshock treatments by then-graduate student Max McBride as part of a research project approved by BYU. McBride showed each subject various photos of naked bodies. If the subject “experienced sexual arousal from a photograph of a nude male, he would receive a shock in the bicep.”
“A gradual increase of voltage upon repeated arousals was to serve as a negative feedback stimulus that would, according to the hypothesis, ‘reorient’ him from homosexual to heterosexual, whereupon photographs of nude females were supposed to elicit sexual arousal,” Prince wrote.
After denying this ever happened, Oaks told the crowd at the University of Virginia that there needs to be more tolerance among different groups of people, though he didn’t specify who needs to be more tolerant of whom.
“We’ve got to live together,” he said. “We’ve got to meet each other. By ‘we’ I mean this side and that side. We need each other. We’ve got to learn how to live with each other.”
“We do not have to prevail in every contest between non-discrimination and religious freedom, that there is room to make compromise and accommodations and better understanding. That’s the best understanding I can give tonight.”
Prior to Oaks’ appearance, members of the pro-LGBTQ Lambda Law Alliance gathered outside the School of Law to protest him speaking on campus.
“Lambda believes that it is dangerous to invite individuals with views openly hostile to the humanity of U.Va. Law’s LGBTQ+ students to speak, particularly on issues of religious freedom and its intersection with LGTBQ+ rights,” the group said on Twitter.
Lambda believes that it is dangerous to invite individuals with views openly hostile to the humanity of UVA Law's LGBTQ+ students to speak, particularly on issues of religious freedom and its intersection with LGTBQ+ rights.
— Lambda Law Alliance at UVA (@lambdaatuva) November 11, 2021
In a statement, the Church of Latter-day Saints said it no longer encourages electroshock therapy or attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation.
“The church denounces any therapy, including conversion and reparative therapies,” it said. “That subjects an individual to abusive practices, not only in Utah, but throughout the world.”
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
dwick
Isn’t lying one of the big 10 no-no’s for these people?
barryaksarben
NO like Target they will lie lie and lie and swear they no longer contribute to anti gay groups stop for a short while then start over again. This lying pos and his religion (another word for con) are as fake as Trump’s happy marriage
James
The mormons and the catholics were absolutely horrible when California first passed gay marriage. They are evil religions. I was also in Salt Lake City in 1976 when the mormons began a purge of gay people in the church, destroying gay people and their livelihoods. MAY THE MORMON CHURCH ROT IN HELL.
Larry McD
Dunno who wrote the headline but they need to look up “electrocuted” in the dictionary. In case they can’t, let me explain that electrocuted means killed using electricity.
Mr. Stadnick
That is par for the course with this website.
Openminded
Even though this is another Queerty sensationalized headline, electrocution does not necessarily mean shocked to death. It generally means shocked so badly that serious injury ensues, but technically a shock of static electricity can still be called electrocuted.
Ken A.
How did they know they were sexually aroused? Were they naked, did they peek or cop a feel?
Kangol2
As in other psychosexual experiments involving sexual arousal, the researcher (torturer in this case) may have attached electrodes or another device, like a band, etc. to the research subject’s genitals (as well as other parts of the body, like near the heart, etc.) to measure arousal. The electrodes or band would pick up arousal, at which point the grad student monster would then apply the electroshock. There should be a full accounting and civil prosecutions for what essentially amounts to torture, and this Mormon ex-BYU president should never be welcomed to speak anywhere, unless he is confessing and atoning for his actions and lies.
Fahd
I don’t believe him. From my experience, it’s relatively common for Mormon and other religious leaders to lie (in good conscience) if they believe they are acting to protect their church. He’s lying. What kind of a sick mind came up with the idea of inviting this fossil to speak?
missvamp
i grew up with mormons. they are a brainwashing cult. they have no issues lying.
blackhook
Latter Day Saints, lol. Who can be dumb enough to $upport these strange bozos?
CityguyUSA
Since positive reinforcement supposedly works better they should be stroking the guy off when he’s see naked women and boning him in the ass when he sees a naked man because that’s the critique right? The most horrible thing a man can ever experience is the doctor’s finger up his ass.
Sanjo
You should ask them to use lube next time.
cuteguy
The good ol days weren’t that great
Den
Mr. Gremore (whose political views I generally share, but whose journalistic skills seem close to nil) needs to consult the dictionary more (if he, in fact ever does at all).
Electrocution refers specifically to belling killed by electricity, as in accidents, suicide or capital punishment. Clearly that did not intentionally happen at Brigham Young. “Electroshock treatments” is generally synonymous with electroconvulsive therapy, commonly known as “shock treatments. This involves applying electricity directly to the brain to induce convulsions.
What was done here was simple aversion therapy using mild to moderate shocks. Certainly grotesque, backwards and already proven to be pointless, but it is neither ECT, nor electrocution. It is however torture when used this way, and it is too bad the students involved did not bankrupt the school with lawsuits!
TomG
Since ALL religions are just CULTS, nothing surprises me anymore.