Wiltbank did field offers to put his exhibit on display in other art galleries but so far has declined because he created it specifically for the BYU community. He expressed disappointed in some blogs that attacked BYU and the LDS Church. Before the university allowed the display's return, Wiltbank, who is LDS, wrote on his blog that he wished to finish his degree at BYU and had a responsibility to follow the honor code he signed.

Wiltbank said he had gay friends and thought the project, which focuses on the eyes of his subjects, was poignant and timely. He made new friends during the project.

"They're really the ones the project is about," he said. "It's really not about me. I'm their photographer. They were the ones brave enough to put their faces out there."

Wiltbank found the experience was instructive.

"I don't have any bitterness," he said. "The whole premise of the show was to show tolerance and support on both sides of the issue. What I wrote on my blog about the removal has been construed as bitter, but I didn't think it was. I think what some said on the Internet went against what I was trying to do with the exhibit.

"If we yell out hatred and bigoted things, nothing gets better."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com