Music Star Alex Boye Is Doing an Anti-Suicide Concert. The Former Member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Performed in an Anti-Gay Marriage Event. Does He Have Regrets?
By: Rhett Wilkinson
Tags: Utah, Music, Art, Musicians, Mormon

Music Star Alex Boye Is Doing an Anti-Suicide Concert. The Former Member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Performed in an Anti-Gay Marriage Event. Does He Have Regrets? Rhett Wilkinson Follow Aug 21, 2019 · 3 min read

Just six years ago, Alex Boye entrenched himself in the predominant culture in Utah when he performed in opposition to gay marriage. And that was already while benefitting from the same culture. Boye performed for seven years for the choir representing the Latter-day Saint (ex-Mormon) church. That’s the institution underlying the predominant culture in Utah that is marginalizing the depressed and suicidal, many of whom are gay.

Alex Boye, already a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the time, entrenched himself into the predominant culture in Utah when performing at an anti-gay marriage concert. In doing a concert against gay marriage, does Boye have regrets? (photo credit: DSU Indeen)

Now, Boye is doing a concert in the very same town as where he proclaimed opposition to gay marriage. But this time, to go against suicides, even though it seems clear that some of the suicides are a result of marginalization of gays by that predominant culture.

(Jan Chamberlin left the choir when she thought it was wrong to benefit from a cultural item.)

A Boye spokeswoman pointed The Seer Stone to a video Boye released about why he believes in fighting suicides. Boye said he had an impression to write a song, now called “Bend Not Break.” The night he told music engineers that — and that they needed to not go home yet but work on the song — is the same night as the one-year anniversary of one of the engineer’s best friend taking his life. The best friend said that night that he had thought about one thing he could have said to his friend to make him change his mind.

Click here for the video.

Boye also talks about the Herriman, Utah community supporting Boye making a music video in the area about suicide prevention. Boye also said that he gets messages from therapists who show Boye’s music video to patients.

Alex Boye talks about why he believes in suicide prevention. (photo credit: Alex Boye via YouTube)

“I feel like all my dreams are coming through just through this one song,” Boye said after talking further about life experiences that informed his making the music video.

A Boye colleague told Boye: “When you release this song, it will define your whole career.”

One girl went from cutting herself, hating herself, to feeling “the chills” after listening to the song for the first time.

“Something in of her just kind of registered. And she said ‘I’m never going to do this anymore,’” Boye said. “She sends messages every now and then; she said ‘Look, I’ve struggled at times, but I’ve never gone that far.”

“That’s mind-blowing for me,” Boye said.

Click here for the music video.

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Even if you no longer affiliate with the Latter-day Saint (ex-Mormon) church but enjoy sociality with family and friends as before, you can still find social settings organized by the Utah Valley PostMormons. There, you can find your people. And of course, if you don’t enjoy those relationships like before, the many UVPM events that happen each week can be even life-saving.

Led by wonderful people, UVPM is also for folks who just are struggling with it or are “never Mormons” seeking a break from the predominant culture. Find their events on Facebook and Meetup.

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