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

Contents:

• CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH
• MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG
• THE MORMON CHURCH ANNOUNC PRO-HOMOSEXUALY POLICY — BUT GAY PARISHNERS SLAM AS NOT ENOUGH
• MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 1)
• RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY ISN'T ENOUGH
• GAY, MORMON AND HAPPILY MARRIED WH CHILDREN
• MORMON CHURCH BACKS U.S. MEASURE TO PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

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.

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH

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. 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.

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.

MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG

“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.

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

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. While the church once regard homosexualy as “curable” and enuraged members to be “forced” to heterosexual marriag, the church has backed off of this remendatn. “Mormon and Gay” leav the qutn of future relatnships for Fulmer and Searle open-end, sayg they don’t know what the future holds.

In a church found on the ncept of ntual revelatn, many members qutn what those “future updat” uld be — cludg whether the church will revoke s ntroversial policy on the children of gay parents. Prr to 1950Homosexualy regard by church as “s that dare not speak s name” 1952“Homosexualy” is ed publicly by a senr church lear for the first time, lled an “abomatn” parable to masturbatn and btialy1969Homosexualy regard as “curable” by a senr church lear; beg “forced” to heterosexual relatnships is enuraged 1976Church-sponsored Brigham Young Universy nducts electroshock therapy for 14 gay Mormons1978-81Church fac public backlash for opposg Equal Rights Amendment, argug uld extend legal protectn to “lbian and homosexual marriag” 1990sLears beg referrg to homosexualy as same-genr attractn, acknowledgg the realy of sexual attractn while nmng the s of actg on those feelgs 2008-09Church attempts to balance “relig liberty and nondiscrimatn” polil advocy, mpaigng agast legalizatn of gay marriage California and supportg a nondiscrimatn ordance Salt Lake Cy2012Church “gay” for the first time public munitns.

MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 1)

In a seri of vios on “Mormons and Gays, ” lears ask members to “fd mon ground” while “beg te to relig beliefs”2015“Handbook of Instctn” for church lears is updated wh a new policy barrg children of same-sex upl om church baby blsgs and baptism. Same-sex marriage is regard as apostasy and grounds for exmunitn2016Church lnch new “Mormon and Gay” sectn on s official webse, which Mormon lears ll for creased dialogue about homosexualy, and gay Mormons share their experienc as active, celibate church members. Christofferson, who has a gay brother, also led the creatn of the “Mormon and Gay” webse, acrdg to a church spokman.

But none of the top church lears ordaed to the hight level of the prithood have mented on the new materials, somethg Mayne said is ditive of a wars towards a perceived “gay agenda” at the hight levels of the church.

He hop the church’s top learship will speak wh homosexual married upl to unrstand that “a gay uple is really two Mormon people hopg to e as close as possible to everythg that we value and hold ar as a relign: fai, mted relatnships, lovg one another. In 2012, the “Mormons and Gays” was released whout fanfare, leavg members to doubt that the church was rponsible for s creatn. Though the top prithood lears did not mentn homosexualy, Facebook ers quickly terpreted their msag through this lens.

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

This exchange reveals the pable tensn faced by a church attemptg to both nmn same-sex marriage and clu gay members — all while navigatg a ti of creasgly antagonistic public opn.

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

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. Rourc clu helpful answers to equently asked qutns, tips for parents, new vios, and firsthand acunts om gay members, spo, fay, and eccliastil lears.

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.

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. (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.

GAY, MORMON AND HAPPILY MARRIED WH CHILDREN

"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.

Nick and Spencer are tryg to navigate the largely uncharted terrory of beg gay and married and active the LDS church. 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.

They were allowed to ment class and share their ttimoni and life experienc as gay members of the church.

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

It’s notable this fdg is nearly double the 10% that Benjam Knoll and I found among lennials the 2016 Next Mormons Survey (which broke down to 7% bisexual, 2% gay or lbian and 1% “other”). But, by no longer nsirg same-sex marriag “apostasy, ” the church has sentially lifted the threat of exmunitn for gay upl, church experts said. 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.

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.