Tag Archives: Mormon Church

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: In an unexpected move Tuesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave its support to a proposed federal law, which recognizes all legal marriages, including ones between same-sex partners. The Utah-based faith’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” according to a statement …

The Associated Press reports: A former Utah city mayor and bishop with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been arrested on accusations he sexually abused at least three children decades ago. Carl Matthew Johnson, 77, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Davis County jail in northern Utah on suspicion of seven counts of sex abuse of …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: In a landmark speech Friday at the University of Virginia, Latter-day Saint apostle Dallin H. Oaks said he had recently “come to understand better the distress of persons” — including LGBTQ individuals — who feel that some religious believers invoke the U.S. Constitution to deny rights to others. The address was hailed by some as …

Oregon’s Statesman Journal reports: A Turner woman is suing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for $9.54 million after her husband’s confession to church leaders led to his arrest, conviction and imprisonment on child sexual abuse charges. The lawsuit, which accuses local church leaders of violating confidentiality and the “priest-penitent privilege,” contrasts sharply with other cases accusing the …

The Associated Press reports: A proposed conversion therapy ban in Utah is in danger of being derailed after The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints came out in opposition, just months after it said it wouldn’t stand in the way of a similar measure under consideration. The church said in a statement that the regulatory rule prohibiting Utah …

The Associated Press reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a warning to members that coffee is prohibited no matter how fancy the name, that vaping is banned despite the alluring flavors and that marijuana is outlawed unless prescribed by “competent” doctors. The new guidance in the August issue of a church youth magazine does not …

The Deseret News reports: Ed Smart, the father of kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart, shared in a Facebook message with family and friends Thursday that he is gay, divorcing his wife and doesn’t see a place for himself in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In “one of the hardest letters I have ever written,” Smart wrote that “I …

Newsweek reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considers same-sex marriage to be a “serious transgression” — and, until this spring, treated Mormons involved in these unions as apostates, subject to church disciplinary hearings that could result in their excommunication. So a commencement ceremony on Friday at Brigham Young University, the flagship academic institution of the Mormon Church, …

The New York Times reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a remarkable reversal to its policies on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on Thursday. The decision rolls back a 2015 policy that barred children living with same-sex couples from important religious practices like baby-naming ceremonies and baptisms. That policy also declared that church members in …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: A bill to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ children is set to be unveiled in the Utah State Legislature. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told FOX 13 it will not oppose the bill, which could give it a boost on Capitol Hill. The bill is being carried by two Republican lawmakers: …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it will not oppose a bill that would expand Utah’s hate crimes law to include protections for LGBTQ people. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been the recipients of hate crimes over the years. We understand that,” Marty Stephens, …

Two positive Utah stories today but now this. Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Mayor Michelle Kaufusi has signed a new agreement with America’s Freedom Festival that includes a non-discrimination clause, but it apparently does not mean that LGBTQ groups will be allowed to march in the July 4 parade. Five LGBTQ groups that asked to be …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Three years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court made gay marriage legal in every state, but the LDS Church still hasn’t listed same-sex couples in its massive genealogy databank. Not surprising, perhaps, given the Utah-based faith’s opposition to same-sex marriage. But change is coming to the genealogy resource — and soon. The church’s genealogical …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is ending its relationship with the Boy Scouts of America and will create new youth programs for its members. The church said the move will be effective Dec. 31, 2019, according to a news release. The announcement comes soon after the Boy Scouts of America changed their …

The Associated Press reports: Thomas S. Monson, the 16th president of the Mormon church, has died after overseeing the religion for nine years. He was 90. Monson died Tuesday night at his home in Salt Lake City, according to church spokesman Eric Hawkins. Monson spent more than five decades serving in top church leadership councils — making him a well-known …

Newsweek reports: The Mormon church hates self-love. Masturbation should be strictly banned because it can turn young people into homosexuals and criminals, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes, according to a leaked guidebook issued to members. The 1981 guidebook, released this week by the transparency group MormonLeaks, provides some insights into what many young Mormons have been …

The Deseret News reports: Gov. Gary Herbert slammed Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, as a “Mormon bigot” Wednesday after Bannon accused Mitt Romney of hiding behind his LDS faith to avoid serving in Vietnam. The governor called it “a low blow because of politics” that was disappointing. “This smacks of good old-fashioned Mormon bigotry. I think …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Nearly all of the Utah State Senate has signed on in support of a Colorado shop who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah [photo], …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A prominent gay-rights activist and former U.S. presidential candidate hopes to build “the biggest, loudest and most comprehensive” legal case ever mounted for revoking the tax-exempt status of the Mormon church. Republican political operative Fred Karger, a longtime critic of LDS Church involvement in California’s 2008 Proposition 8 campaign, said Thursday he has amassed a …

Rolling Stone reports: For Neon Trees’ Tyler Glenn, his solo debut is as political as it is personal. Two years after the singer came out to Rolling Stone and declared himself equally proud of being both gay and a practicing Mormon, his song “Trash” and its accompanying video clearly denounce the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ restrictive, conservative …