Mormon gay rights: A shockg speech by Jefey Holland at BYU sparks a new LGBT fight.

Contents:

• CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
• MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 1)
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH
• MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG
• GAY AND MORMON? THERE’S A DATG SE FOR THAT
• THIS MAN GREW UP GAY IN A MORMON COMMUNY WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS A 'S'
• RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
• GAY MORMONS

CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE

This ment, and many others like , is clud an updated versn of "Mormon and Gay, ” an official webse om The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats. " The new appellatn, "Mormon and Gay, " reflects the realy that a person don’t need to choose between the two inti — one n, fact, be gay and live fahful to the teachgs of Christ. Speakg directly to Latter-day Sats who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian or bisexual, Elr Clayton says, “We want you to know we love you.

Church lears have typilly ed this term to be clive of people who are not fortable g a label, not to ny the existence of gay, lbian, or bisexual inty. Gee, Utah, to raise money for the ncer treatment of the mother of a gay man the muny, and the Fire Hoe is one of the few venu town that hosts LGBT events.

MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 1)

She's a "mama dragon, " a term the Mormon muny to scribe mothers who fiercely advote for gay rights. "There's no pri center or gay club or place that un , " Kyle says as he walks out to the night. The Church had often fought agast the risg ti of marriage equaly; s members were major fancial backers of 2008's Prop 8 California, which briefly banned same-sex marriage the state before beg more progrsive Church members voiced strong disapproval, Garett, like many Mormons, believed the spirual lears were warmg to gay rights.

The Church had been takg small but signifint steps forward, acknowledgg that beg gay isn't a choice and that fai should accept their LGBT loved on.

)When the cisn me down, legalizg same-sex marriage all across the natn, Garett felt an emotn he didn't often feel as a gay Mormon man: vditn. Its official policy toward homosexualy is that "actg" on one's sire is a s and that same-sex marriage is agast God's, twenty-six, and Garett, twenty-four, have had a long, plited relatnship wh the relign to which they were born. Neher of them associated wh or even knew any Church's official policy toward homosexualy is that "actg" on one's sire is a s and that same-sex marriage is agast God's will.

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH

That night, they met another gay Mormon uple at Olive Garn for a celebratn over pasta and a bottle of whe for Kyle's brother and sister--law, they did not tell their fai. His relign and his homosexualy are equal parts of him, and he says he don't want to put "eher inty the closet. Garett uld only assume that his parents believed they had one gay son who stayed celibate orr to bt serve his fah, and another who abandoned relign to have a meangful has never wished to be seen as the good gay son.

MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG

They ed to thk of Garett as gay and Logan as havg "same-genr attractn, " as if one is a more ser form of the same medil ndn. After the policy was released, Shawn, unable to sleep, sent his thoughts to his wife and two gay children: "How do I rencile wh my fah or Church when is distancg self om my sons and me? "Logan has never wished to be seen as the good gay, like Shawn, was vastated by the policy, seeg as yet another door beg shut her sons' fac.

GAY AND MORMON? THERE’S A DATG SE FOR THAT

Over time, they've renciled their fay wh their fah by viewg the policy as a clarifitn of a posn on homosexualy the Church already says sometim people ask her how she n be part of a Church that don't accept her sons. "Ey BerlSteve, seventy-one, and Lrel, sixty-eight, are matter-of-fact when speakg about the Church and homosexualy, which they nsir to be sometim at odds wh each other whout terferg wh the profound love they have for their son. To many gay Mormons, this was spirually cshg: Polici are guil, but revelatns are Church Elr Rsell NelsonGee Frey/GettyMormons believe fai are eternal, and when someone leav the Church by personal rignatn or through Church disciple, the future of their relatnships is lled to qutn, here on earth and otherwise.

"The Church has given LGBT youth a very bleak choice, " says Mch Mayne, an openly gay Mormon and former lear a California ngregatn, rponse to the recent revelatn.

THIS MAN GREW UP GAY IN A MORMON COMMUNY WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS A 'S'

Kyle's parents will vis om Colombia, and he thks all of his siblgs will e, but 's unclear if they will brg their are worried about ra, but not for the reason you would expect—Kyle says he don't want anyone thkg means God's cryg on their weddg day, a sign of dive thg is fe: "It's gog to be a lot of people's first gay weddg, " says BerlKyle and Garett now both intify as agnostic and are uncerta whether an afterlife exists, but they say they will work the Mormon ncept of "for time and eterny" to their marriage vows. It’s no longer a s to be Mormon and gay, but the church says is a s to act on same-sex attractn. Nick and Spencer are tryg to navigate the largely uncharted terrory of beg gay and married and active the LDS church.

He realized he wanted and need what seemed unfathomable: to be actively gay and an active Mormon. He said, “There was somethg about me that always felt bad for beg gay or that I was gog to live a Plan B life bee I wasn’t strong enough to be straight. It wasn’t until the day before he met Nick that he began to feel that really was okay to be gay.

’ It uldn’t be that sual, bee I had thought about what means to be gay, and what means to be Mormon. They were allowed to ment class and share their ttimoni and life experienc as gay members of the church. 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.

RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL

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.