‘It was so clear what I needed to say’: David Archuleta knew he had to come out publicly after praying to God
David Archuleta came out earlier in June, detailing how he struggled to reconcile his sexuality with his Mormon faith. He opened up about this experience again on Aug. 31,saying that it was God who told him in prayer to come out publicly.
When I had that prayer, God just said, ‘David, you know I trust you, right? I want you to post about what you're going through right now.’
“I was literally outside doing my yard work, pulling weeds,” he told Today. “I kind of went through a faith crisis for a month." The American Idol alum said that he was breaking up with a girl at the time and felt disconnected from everything.
"My anxiety had gotten so bad. I was like, 'I don't even remember how it feels to be close to God or to even have feelings for anybody.' Or, I don't even know how I feel about myself right now," he detailed.
These events led Archuleta to pray.
“When I had that prayer, God just said, ‘David, you know I trust you, right? I want you to post about what you're going through right now.’ And it was just so clear what I needed to say. I knew exactly what I needed to say but I feel uncomfortable saying it because I like to keep to myself, especially with this kind of stuff. But I just knew I had to," he added.
Archuleta revealed that he first confided in someone from church—a mission president.
"I was expecting to be sent home from my mission, or be counseled on how to overcome these feelings or how to fix it,” the Nashville singer said. “But my mission president, he didn't tell me I needed to fix it. He didn't tell me how to change. He didn't try to correct me. He just said, ‘This could be the most important day of your life, Elder Archuleta.’”
The 30-year-old singer shared that he didn't know how the LGBTQ+ and Christian community were going to react to his coming out.
"What are they gonna think of me now? But everyone on both sides… I was just amazed at how supportive and loving everyone was generally, for the most part, and for me, it was just a huge tender mercy.”
Currently, Archuleta is still an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is working on new music. He released a new single called Movin' in July and was set to go on tour, but the pandemic postponed it for 2022.
Archuleta has also written book, My Little Prayer, slated for an October 2021 release.
Thumbnail and banner photos from Instagram.