Gay Mormon Group Disappointed LDS Church Leaders Cancelled Meeting
Aug 11, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler
(KCPW News) An advocacy group for gay Mormons held a press conference this morning in Salt Lake City in lieu of a historic meeting with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was cancelled two weeks ago. While disappointed, George Cole of Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons says the group will continue to ask church leaders to change policies about homosexual members.
"I think the church is a wonderful thing. I am not a member anymore, but I think the church does so much good in the world. I want it to continue to do what it's doing," Cole says. "I think its actions have led to breaking up families, of frightening its members, of driving them away from the church. And I think it does its members a disservice and the world a disservice when it does that."
Church leaders told Affirmation the meeting was cancelled because the director of LDS Family Services has been reassigned. The meeting will not be rescheduled until a new director is appointed next year. Some have speculated the meeting is being postponed until after California voters decide this fall whether to overturn that state's legalization of same-sex marriage.
Church policy now allows gay members, but requires them to uphold the church's rules, including chastity. Cole says this shows how much the church has changed in recent years, but the stance is still problematic.
"The Church teaches that marriage is an essential part of God's plan. And the church denies us marriage," Cole says. "I and my fellows in Affirmation who met here today, believe that if the church would let us get married, we would no longer have a problem with the law of chastity."
Like many other members of the group, Cole was raised a Mormon, but was excommunicated after coming out. The meeting with Affirmation would have been the first time church leaders agreed to hear concerns about the treatment of gay LDS members, including high rates of homelessness, suicide, and depression.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2009 KCPW
1. Jeffrey said:
The church made some interesting comments after canceling on them indefinitely. Being a minority group, they are probably hypersensitive to being treated like a sub-class. I can understand why they would drawl attention.
The Church responded with this statement: "The issues surrounding same-gender attraction deserve careful attention, not public posturing. It appears from Affirmation's actions today that it has opted for a public rather than a private exchange."
3. NOYDMB said:
Those who support gays should be excommunicated from the church
4. DSC said:
The story lacks an important detail. The church had already scheduled a meeting with Affirmation much earlier, which Affirmation postponed. The Church can certainly expect the same patience that it gave to Affirmation.
2. Leslie said:
Don't put off until tomorrow, what needs to be done today.
Maybe the church should stop issuing PUBLIC statements about the law in California until after the election.
In a democracy, religious liberty is the freedom to believe and practice one's faith in the open. Is the CJC-LDS withdrawing from its faith, or our democracy?