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Smart, 64, of Salt Lake City, said it has taken most of his life to accept his sexual orientation.
“I was attracted to men going as far back as 12 years old,” he told CNN. “I tried to suppress that; it’s not me, not who I am. I tried to put that out.”
Smart is divorcing his wife, Lois, but said he’s not leaving her for someone else. The divorce, he explained, is in the interest of fairness to everyone.
“Never wanted to live with regret,” he said. “My belief was something that was very difficult to come to terms with. I tried and I tried to reconcile my beliefs, and I could not. Therefore, I no longer accept the guilt and the shame that I have basically had my whole life.”
Smart said he hasn’t removed his name from the church, though “if they were to push me to do so, I would.” For now, he’s still a member, but he said religion makes it very difficult to identify with something “that is so put down upon.”
“The trauma that occurs — keeping that inside — it makes you miserable,” he said. “I don’t think God wants us to be miserable.”
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