OPM’s email, which Pearce posted under the title “A Teen’s Brave Response to ‘I’m Christian, Unless You’re Gay,’” told a powerful story of a closeted teenager coming out to his mother. It quickly went mega-viral, garnering more than 3000 comments, nearly 200,000 Facebook likes, and millions of hits as of Thursday afternoon, according to Pearce.

This article originally appeared on: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/06/what-s-the-truth-behind-the-viral-post-about-a-gay-christian-teen.html