The act of 'coming out' is a personal one. Hopefully, one day we'll live in a world where you won't even need to come out - sexuality won't be questioned or feared enough to keep you in the closet for any period of time.

But for the mean time, coming out can be a powerful statement of honesty.

A video has been leaked of a Mormon young girl coming out to her congregation.

The video shows Savannah giving a testimony explaining how her she views her sexuality in accordance with her faith.

Hi, 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 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 me this way on purpose. No 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 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 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 -

At this point her microphone was cut-off and she was asked to sit down.

Savannah thought that the mic was broken, until she realised what was happening.

[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_0nhyP6dU4&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

The video was leaked and she has since gained a lot of attention, both positive and negative from people of Mormon faith and otherwise.

She explained to a Mormon podcast that has be transcribed here,

'...at school, a couple of people came up to me, and said that they supported me, which I was surprised about how many they were. And the stake president's (the person who asked her to sit) daughter came up to me and said she didn't agree with his decision, and supported me.'

After Savannah left the stake president apparently told the congregation, 'When I walked out of the foyer, he got up and told everyone that only Christ-like testimonies are to be said, and you could only go up if your name was called.'

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Strictly-speaking, like many religions, Mormon teaching traditionally frowns upon homosexuality.

Their website reads:

Marriage between a man and a woman was instituted by God and is central to His plan for His children and for the well-being of society. Strong families, guided by a loving mother and father, serve as the fundamental institution for nurturing children, instilling faith, and transmitting to future generations the moral strengths and values that are important to civilisation and crucial to eternal salvation.

However, like many faiths, people's personal opinion can often vary from the church's official stance.

According to this Mormon podcast Savannah came out to her ex-mormon mother and mormon step-father last year, and after a lot of consideration and help on drafts of her speech, they let her speak out to her church.

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Savannah's mother, Heather Kester saidto the New York Times, 'Eventually we decided to let her do it because we didn't want to keep her voice from her...and if we taught her now that she wasn't allowed to speak, then she might keep that with her for the rest of her life.'

Heather decided to leave the church in November of 2015, after the church released an anti LGBT 'Exclusion Policy,' though she hasn't forced any of her five children to leave.

Savannah decided to out herself this publicly in a bid to change Mormon perspectives on homosexuality, she said,

I felt like people weren't being very supportive or nice to gays for who they are, and that's how God made them, and they were just being super rude to everyone, and children would start coming up to their kids, and they would say mean things to them, and I found that really offensive. So, I wanted to be people's voice.

Savannah wants to extend acceptance from the church over to trans people too, who are not fully accepted in the church.

She actually explained her reasons why in the most radical way,

Like if a trans boy, let's say they want to go and be in the Boy Scouts, and what happens is they can't, because they won't be accepted. I think they should be accepted, because, it's what they believe that they are, and the church is practically based on belief.

She's 13-years-old and she is blowing our minds with her right-on logic.

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Daisy Murray
Digital Fashion Editor

Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.