Mormon and gay: church says you n be both, but activists say isn't enough | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE MORMON CHURCH ANNOUNC PRO-HOMOSEXUALY POLICY — BUT GAY PARISHNERS SLAM AS NOT ENOUGH
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY ISN'T ENOUGH
• MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• MORMON CHURCH BACKS U.S. MEASURE TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE
• CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
• MORMON CHURCH VOIC SUPPORT FOR SENATE BILL TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MORMONS

THE MORMON CHURCH ANNOUNC PRO-HOMOSEXUALY POLICY — BUT GAY PARISHNERS SLAM AS NOT ENOUGH

Jt two years ago, the church received much public praise for rcdg a 2015 policy, ntroversial among Mormons at the time, that clared the mor children of gay people uld not be baptized to or jo the church as members—at least not until they were 18 years old, and only then if they would nounce their parents’ marriage and nmn their sexualy. Given how ntent the qutn of gay rights has been among Mormons sce the church threw s whole weight behd California’s anti-gay-marriage Proposn 8 2008, the post-2019 perd has been one of wele relative quiet om the church.

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH

C., Holland’s speech was the first time I tly worried that my future kids might attend public school wh peers who would be tght about the evils of beg gay, week and week out at church.

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY ISN'T ENOUGH

” But the proclamatn served a sendary legal role as the church planned s offensive agast gay rights. The church clud the proclamatn as evince of s doctral mment to a heterosexual fay s amic brief agast gay marriage Hawaii jt two years later. Sex, or “procreative powers, ” are only for married men and their wiv (no gay sex unr any circumstanc).

MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG

Mormonism is now facg a world which not only the majory of outsirs, but also a signifint portn of their own membership—cludg s own universy’s faculty—seem to regnize that doctre for what is: a list of proposns phrased as irrefutable tths, issued by a group of men who grew up wh homophobia suffg every stutn their liv. He sgled out one openly gay BYU alum particular, former valedictorian Matt Easton, who me out as gay his 2019 mencement speech. In simply intifyg himself as gay the urse of the speech, Holland alleged, Easton had “manered” the 2019 ceremony.

The same day Holland issued his revanchist addrs to the faculty, BYU’s admistratn was openg and publicizg s new Office of Belongg, a long-sought-for refuge not only for BYU’s growg number of openly gay stunts, but also s relig and racial mori, who are reported to face wispread bias and prejudice on mp, acrdg to a report issued by an ternal Commtee on Race, Equy, and Belongg. At BYU, some of the celt technologi have been ed to attempt to end the gay surge.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

Still, today, the church funnels members who nfs to feelg “same-sex attractn” to support groups that enurage members to enter heterosexual marriag, wh promis that the gay feelgs will be overe after sufficient fahfulns, or at least, ath.

Matt Easton has ced the wily publicized 2016 ath by suici of one of his classmat at BYU, Harry Fisher, as part of the reason for his cisn to e out as gay his valedictorian speech.

Due to Mormon teachgs that there is no way to have romantic relatnships wh those of the same sex and be exalted the afterlife, gay Mormons face high rat of lonels, suicidaly, and prsn. Mormons n be homosexual, acknowledge the existence of transsexuals and still stay te to their relign, the Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats (LDS) announced Tuday — but gay parishners immediately pounced on the new stance, slammg the church for not dog a vio posted on a brand-new webse lled "Mormon and Gay, " LDS lear L. Whney Clayton says, "I now speak directly to church members who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian or bisexual.

MORMON CHURCH BACKS U.S. MEASURE TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

"The webse featur ttimonials om gay Mormons and church lears who plead for acceptance and LGBTQ regnn.

The effort appears a stark reversal om the church's passg of unambiguoly anti-gay polici last year, which clud not allowg children of gay parents to be spe apparent acceptance, the church has not amend s stance on marriage, which matas is a sacred bond between a male and a of J Christ of Latter-day Sats Elr L. ()That is not stg right wh some LGBTQ Mormons, who are urgg their elrs to nsir also changg the church's stance on marriage orr to pletely plement s newfound msage of Pack, a transgenr woman active the church, lled the new stance "a step forward, albe a very small step forward" an terview wh The might superficially be preachg acceptance, Pack argued that the church still impli that homosexuals and transsexuals should rema the shadows, or keep their sexuali to themselv.

Mormons n now intify as gay — but some parishners claim that's not enough.

CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE

(Gee Frey/Getty Imag)"They should be clud and weled, not jt the people who choose to be celibate, " she Peterson, 39, intifi as gay but has been married to a straight man for 12 years what she f as a "mixed orientatn marriage. "Peterson was ially gog to be featured one of the vios on the "Mormon and Gay" webse but backed out after beme clear to her that the church is still holdg on to the same stance on effort appears a stark reversal om the church's passg of unambiguoly anti-gay polici last year, which clud not allowg children of gay parents to be baptized. LDS Church has lnched a new sectn of s official webse, tled "Mormon and Gay".

MORMON CHURCH VOIC SUPPORT FOR SENATE BILL TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

Self-intified gay Mormon: The church's shift on this issue is "monumental". As a creative director for church public affairs, Rosas was asked to help sign the church’s latt mpaign: a new sectn of s official webse tled “Mormon and Gay. As the office’s attentn fixed upon homosexualy, Rosas sctized himself.

Now he and his wife Elizabeth are featured promently on “Mormon and Gay, ” discsg how they have grown together as the new materials gave them the tools for “a healthy dialogue. As public opn – and scientific unrstandg – on sexualy has shifted wh remarkable speed, many nomatns, cludg Mormon lears, have had to grapple wh a difficult qutn: How do they mata tradnal doctre that homosexual acts are sful, while acceptg and misterg to gay and lbian Mormons who scerely wish to rema part of their church?

The web page featur vio msag and says om five church members, cludg Rosas, who intify as same-sex attracted, gay, lbian or bisexual. Senr church lears ll the new materials “simply an update” om the webpage “Mormons and Gays, ” released 2012 on a doma unaffiliated wh the church’s official webse.

GAY MORMONS

Mch Mayne, a proment gay Mormon and blogger, said, “Above and beyond gettg to the ntent of the webse, the URL is absolutely fantastic – ’s an clive statement. While the prev se promently displayed the church’s doctral stance agast homosexual activy on s homepage, the new materials feature the stori of gay members.

“Church Teachgs” is loted on a separate page; roughly 1, 700 words and five vios on “lovg one another” prece the first direct statement that “homosexual activy is a s. Fulmer, who self-intifi as a gay Mormon and is featured on the new webse, said the new materials “give a steppg stone to have more open munitn about this and to te others on how to help and how to rpond to somebody who is gay. Trevor Johnson, a gay man who was raised Mormon but rigned his membership after gettg engaged, said, “When I first me out, the most damagg thg was feelg like people didn’t believe me that I was attracted to men.

I appreciate that the church is releasg materials that validate the realy of the homosexual experience. Keetch both say they have bee more ted on homosexualy through their volvement producg the materials — a two-year procs which volved the church learship, LGBT advocy groups and mental health profsnals. “I wish there was ntent on how to be a celibate gay man an emotnally healthy way.