Charles Lynn Frost, 2016

File — Box: 3, Folder: 7

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Charles Lynn Frost was born and raised in Spanish Fork, Utah. Frost describes his family life and talks about knowing he was different from an early age. He talks about being gay in a small, mostly LDS city. Frost’s first relationship ended because he wanted to get away from Utah and the LDS Church and move to San Francisco and his partner did not. Frost eventually married a woman and started a family. He had a successful career as a high school drama teacher. Eventually the pressure of keeping his secret became too much and he came out, divorced his wife, and started to participate in the gay community. Frost describes support groups for gay men that he attended. After working in the corporate world for a number of years, Frost began to work for gay support organizations, becoming the director of the Pride Center and then Equality Utah. He talks about the effects of HIV/AIDS on the community and what organizations did to support people with HIV/AIDS. He describes the stigma and the reactions of the LDS Church to the epidemic. Frost has also been involved in preventing suicide in Utah, particularly among gay youth. To address issues like suicide and drug addiction, Frost developed a character named Sister Dottie, a LDS woman espousing love and acceptance, who has been the main character in two plays and who appears at events around town.
Interviewed by Seth Anderson.

Dates

2016

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.