SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mormon Alex Lanrs supports the legalizatn of gay marriage spe her relign's opposn for a simple reason: She has LGBTQ iends who she lov and rpects, cludg her bt iend who is a bisexual man.
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
A muny of support for Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer Mormons and those who love them. * gay mormon support group *
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.
MORMON 'EX-GAY' GROUP SHUTS DOWN, ABSORBED BY OTHER ORGANIZATN
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 suici. * gay mormon support group *
”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.
GAY SUPPORT GROUP CRICIZ MORMON LEARSHIP
Mormon lears do not speak of a gay or lbian sexual orientatn, though they now fully acknowledge that many people 'stggle wh same-genr attractn.' * gay mormon support group *
”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. ”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.
CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
Evergreen Internatnal, which advoted 'ex-gay' therapy, is fold to North Star, a support group that tak no stand on the practice. But do this mean a more acceptg approach? * gay mormon support group *
”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.
MORMON SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE GRADUALLY GROWS
Lears of a support group for gay and\nlbian Mormons on Saturday cricized their church for s efforts\nto ban gay marriage California. * gay mormon support group *
“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.
MORMON CHURCH VOIC SUPPORT FOR SENATE BILL TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE
is an official webse om The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats. The se’s purpose is to help everyone better unrstand same-sex attractn om a gospel perspective. * gay mormon support group *
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.