Mormon church voic support for Senate bill to protect gay marriage | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• AFFIRMATN, THE GAY MORMON SUPPORT GROUP, HAS SEEN A ‘SEA CHANGE’ S 40 YEARS
• MORMON 'EX-GAY' GROUP SHUTS DOWN, ABSORBED BY OTHER ORGANIZATN
• GAY SUPPORT GROUP CRICIZ MORMON LEARSHIP
• CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
• MORMON SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE GRADUALLY GROWS
• MORMON CHURCH VOIC SUPPORT FOR SENATE BILL TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

AFFIRMATN, THE GAY MORMON SUPPORT GROUP, HAS SEEN A ‘SEA CHANGE’ S 40 YEARS

Affirmatn, a support group for gay Mormons, was born 1977, at a time when admissn of same-sex attractn among the LDS fahful was a matter of ner turmoil, ep shame and relig rejectn — even a e for the time, the LDS Church viewed their sexualy as perverse and sful, and their love as unholy.

Any acceptance of gays had to be, 40 years later, hundreds the church’s LGBTQ muny, their fai and iends, are celebratg Affirmatn’s anniversary openly and wh gto at a three-day nference at the Utah Valley Conventn Center Provo — many embracg their gayns and their group has a full-time paid executive director, John Gtav-Wrathall, members more than a dozen untri and, by the end of 2017, will have hosted 19 events cludg regnal nferenc and this annual natnal this meetg, which began Friday, there were ssns for youths, mothers, fathers, alli, advot, people of lor, spo and LDS lay lears. ”The group has seen a “massive sea change, ” Gtav-Wrathall says, the relatnship between The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats and s gay members. ”Affirmatn began as a simple effort by activists at Brigham Young Universy: Assure gay Mormons they were loved and not alone, while strivg to stop them om killg themselv.

“You were eher ex-gay and Mormon or ex-Mormon and gay, ” says Gtav-Wrathall.

MORMON 'EX-GAY' GROUP SHUTS DOWN, ABSORBED BY OTHER ORGANIZATN

”Even when parents were acceptg of their gay children, he says, “ was rare for them to bee public advot.

”Gtav-Wrathall’s own vout LDS mom and dad stggled wh how to balance parental love wh church standards, which, at the time, said even beg gay was a s. ”The executive director was exmunited om the church, but matas his Mormon belief and has been attendg his LDS ngregatn Mneapolis sce ’s LDS Church says beg gay is not a s, though actg on is.

It ntu to oppose gay marriage, though did support Salt Lake Cy’s and Utah’s anti-discrimatn measur. It also recently endorsed the LoveLoud ncert Orem, whose missn was to raise money to prevent gay suicis. Ironilly, two of the church’s most visible actns — supportg California’s Proposn 8, which fed marriage as only between a man and a woman 2008 and, 2015, sayg that same-sex Mormon upl are “apostat” and generally barrg their offsprg om Mormon ruals until they turn 18 — propelled the nascent LDS gay rights movements greatly enlarged the number of Affirmatn participants, he says, but also stretched s rourc to meet the needs of an ever-growg populatn.

GAY SUPPORT GROUP CRICIZ MORMON LEARSHIP

“We need to be a rource for those who are gay and Mormon, as well as those who have left the church.

”The gays tell their stori and church officials listen, he says, “then they tell their stori and we listen. It hosts annual meetgs several natns as well as a global gatherg Provo Fay FellowshipLnched 1993 by several sets of parents wh gay children, LDS Fay Fellowship staged nferenc and quarterly foms and sent a monthly newsletter, which clud “personal stori of LDS fai tryg to unrstand homosexualy as they nonted the disnnect between church teachgs and the realy of their liv. Ne Allgood of Mama Dragons giv out a ee hug at the Provo Pri Ftival 2013, a group of eight fairly tradnal Latter-day Sat moms created a private Facebook page to discs how bt to love and accept their lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr kids.

CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE

Founr Allison Dayton grew up wh parents who bravely navigated lovg and supportg their openly gay son. Elr Christofferson’s brother, Tom, is gay. This is a blog by a gay admistrator at BYU who recently vised our stake.

MORMON SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE GRADUALLY GROWS

Mol/be an example for others of a happy gay Mormon life. Supportg all affected by the nex of homosexualy and Mormonism, the terts of the dividual beg above the needs of the church.

MORMON CHURCH VOIC SUPPORT FOR SENATE BILL TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

Enurage church activy among LGBT Mormons who are terted, creatg a world where both homosexualy and LDS fah exist. It was created by several tablished bloggers who are believg members of The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats and who have first-hand experience wh issu surroundg homosexualy or genr dysphoria/transgenrism. Northern Lights is to be a place where we and our rears n openly explore and discs topics and issu of tert to the LDS muny—and particularly as they relate to homosexualy and transgenrism Mormon fah and culture— an edifyg and upliftg manner and wh the amework of mment to the beliefs and ials of the Church.

Ty was terviewed by Lra Hal on the LDS Perspectiv Podst: Homosexualy and the Gospel. But Print Oaks ma clear that the Church was not revisg s doctre on homosexualy, which teach that havg same-sex attractn is not a s, but actg on is. Openly gay, bisexual and transgenr men nnot be ordaed the LDS Church.

Mormons Buildg Bridg is a muny of Latter-day Sats dited to nveyg love and acceptance to all those who intify as LGBTQI and those who experience same-sex attractn or genr Fay Fellowship is a service and support group for Mormons wh gay and lbian fay members. It holds that “gay and lbian Mormons n be great blsgs the liv of their fai, and that fai n be great blsgs the liv of their gay and lbian members. Evergreen Internatnal, an anizatn for LGBT Mormons that has endorsed "ex-gay" therapy, is closg, wh some of s operatns beg absorbed by an LGBT Mormon support group that tak a somewhat different support group, North Star Internatnal, tak no stand on so-lled reparative therapy, a wily discreded practice signed to change sexual orientatn, s print, Ty Mansfield, told The Salt Lake Tribune.