A 12-year-old Mormon girl courageously stood up in front of members of her Utah church to tell them she was gay - only to have officials cut off her microphone and tell her to sit down. YouTube / NewNameNoah
A 12-year-old Mormon girl courageously stood up in front of members of her Utah church to tell them she was gay - only to have officials cut off her microphone and tell her to sit down.
Savannah revealed to churchgoers in Utah County, south of Salt Lake City, last month that she was a lesbian and told them she was proud God had made her that way.
Standing behind a lectern in front of her congregation, Savannah read her prepared speech, telling the crowd: 'I believe I was made the way I am, all parts of me, by my heavenly parents.'
'They did not mess up when they gave me brown eyes, or when I was born bald. They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay.
Savannah had been asking her parents for months to have the chance to speak in front of her church, but the ordeal on May 7 left her in tears.
'God loves me just this way because I believe that he loves all his creations. I do believe he made me this way on purpose, no part of me is a mistake.'
In a video of her speech, people can be heard murmuring as Savannah continued to open up about her sexuality.
She spoke freely and bravely until her microphone suddenly stopped working. The confused 12-year-old could be seen quickly tapping the microphone, clearly assuming it had broken mid-speech.
But she was then told to sit down by two church officials sitting nearby. Savannah could be seen collecting her speech and walking away as the two officials whispered together frantically.
One of the men then stood up and addressed the congregation. Miraculously, there was no issue with the microphone when he took to the lectern.
The church leader made no mention of Savannah's speech and continued to lead the congregation in prayer.
The ordeal left the 12-year-old in tears.
'She came off crying to me. We both walked out to the hall, and I held her face in my hands and told her over and over that she is perfect and good. That there is nothing wrong with who she is, that she is brave and beautiful,' her mother Heather told Dailymail.com.
'I was angry that they chose to hurt her for whatever reason they had.'
Savannah had been asking her parents for months to have the chance to speak in front of her church.
'My husband and I both were reluctant to let she share her testimony because of the potential rejection,' Heather said. 'She asked to do it in January, we finally agreed in May.
'She had worked so hard at perfecting it so that it would portray exactly how she felt. We decided to let her do it because we thought it would be more harmful to silence her or give her reason to feel she is wrong in any way.'
In an interview with the podcast I Like to Look for Rainbows following the incident, Savannah said she embarrassed having to return to her seat, but was both 'sad and happy at the same time'.
'I was sad because I wanted to finish it, and I felt like what I was saying should've been heard by everybody else,' she said.
'I was happy because I could finally get out to everyone and show that gays aren't weirdos.'
'I only had a couple more sentences of a paragraph to read out loud and I got cut off by my microphone being turned off by the stake president.
Savannah was speaking at her Mormon ward's monthly fast and testimony meeting, which allows members of the church to speak about their feelings of God and their religious teachings.
SAVANNAH'S BRAVE COMING OUT SPEECH:
My name is Savannah and I want to share my testimony with you.
I believe I am a child of heavenly parents. I don't know if they talk to us, but I feel in my heart that they made me and that they love me. I believe I was made the way I am, all parts of me, by my heavenly parents.
They did not mess up when they gave me brown eyes, or when I was born bald. They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay. God loves me just this way because I believe that he loves all his creations.
I do believe he made this way on purpose, not part of me is a mistake.
I do not choose to be this way, and it is not a fad. I cannot make someone else gay and being around me won't make anyone else this way. I believe that God wants us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different, especially if they are different. Christ showed us this.
Following the incident Savannah said she was sad because she wanted to finish her speech, but said she was also happy because she could finally come out to everyone.
I believe that we should just love. I believe I am good. I try my best to be nice to each other and stick up for those that are hurting. I know I'm not a horrible sinner for being who I am. I believe God would tell me if I was wrong.
I hope someday to go on dates, go to school dances, to hold hands and to go off to college. I hope to find a partner and have a great job. I hope to get married and have a family. I know these dreams and wishes are good and right. I know I can have all of these things as a lesbian and be happy. I believe that if God is there, he knows I am perfect, just the way I am and would never ask me to live my life alone or with someone I am not attracted to.
He would want me to be happy. I want to be happy. I want to love myself and not to feel shame for being me. I ask you...
