Tag Archives: Mormon Church

UTAH: LDS Church Won’t Oppose Ex-Gay Torture Ban

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: …

Read More »

UTAH: LDS Church Won’t Oppose Hate Crimes Bill

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, …

Read More »

UTAH: Provo Bans LGBT Groups From July 4th Parade

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 …

Read More »

FAMILY SEARCH: Mormon Church To Add LGBT Families And Same-Sex Couples To Its Genealogy Database

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 …

Read More »

Mormon Church Severs Ties With Boy Scouts

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 …

Read More »

LDS Head Who Led Prop 8 Battle Dies At Age 90

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 …

Read More »

Leaked 1981 Mormon Guidebook Warns Young People That Masturbation Will Probably Turn Them Gay

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 …

Read More »

UTAH: GOP Gov. Gary Herbert Denounces “Anti-Mormon Bigot” Steve Bannon For Attack On Mitt Romney

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 …

Read More »

UTAH: Mormon Church, GOP Lawmakers, And Sen. Mike Lee Back Anti-Gay Colorado Baker In SCOTUS Briefs

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], …

Read More »

UTAH: Activist Fred Karger Readies Ad Campaign To Challenge Tax-Exempt Status Of Mormon Church

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 …

Read More »

Openly Gay Neon Trees Lead Singer Tyler Glenn Trashes His Mormon Upbringing In New Single [VIDEO]

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 …

Read More »

UTAH: Mormon Church Helps Kill Hate Crimes Bill

 The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Rusty Andrade was prepared to lose. But it still felt like a punch to the gut Wednesday as he watched, from a seat on the Senate floor, lawmakers vote to kill a proposal to bolster Utah’s hate-crime laws. “It totally feels like a revictimization,” said Andrade, 35, whose 2014 beating by two men shouting gay …

Read More »

CHILE: US Mormon Leader Tells LDS Group “There Are No Homosexual Members Of Our Church” [VIDEO]

For real. He said that. The Huffington Post reports: A top Mormon leader made some eyebrow-raising claims about the gay community during a visit to Chile last week. During a Feb. 23 meeting, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Elder David A. Bednar claimed that he and his fellow Mormons “do not discriminate” against gay and lesbian …

Read More »

Mormon Church President: It’s The Will Of The Lord To Exclude Gay Couples And Their Children

White Jesus has apparently delivered a personal message to the president of the Mormon Church. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: After same-sex marriage became legal in several countries, including the United States, the LDS Church’s top 15 leaders wrestled with what to do, weighed all the ramifications, fasted, prayed, met in the temple and sought God’s guidance on the issue. Balancing …

Read More »

Anti-Gay Olympic Gold Medalist Resigns From USA Gymnastics To Become Mormon Missionary

Two-time 1984 Olympics gold medalist Peter Vidmar has resigned his chairmanship at USA Gymnastics to become a missionary for the Mormon Church. You may recall that Vidmar resigned from directing the United States gymnastics team at the 2012 London Games following media furor over his participation at anti-gay rallies and his donations to Proposition 8. USA Gymnastics has issued a …

Read More »

UTAH: Hundreds Rally Against New Anti-LGBT Mormon Policy In Mass Resignation [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Several hundred people with roots in the Mormon faith gathered in Salt Lake City on Saturday to renounce the church’s new policies targeting gays and their children in an event that marked the latest illustration of the fervor the rule changes have caused. Billed as a mass resignation by Mormons, people filled out paperwork and dropped …

Read More »

Kate Kendell To Mormon Church: I Quit

National Center for Lesbian Rights head Kate Kendell has quit the Mormon Church over its recent policy statement on gay couples and their families. From her op-ed in the Washington Post: I just did something I thought I would never do. I resigned my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and asked that my …

Read More »

Mormon Church Leader Slams Kim Davis: We Shouldn’t Be Having Culture Wars Over Same-Sex Marriage

In a statement that will surely incite evangelical outrage, the head of the Mormon Church has denounced Kim Davis. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, cannot use her Christian faith as a justification for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gays, a high-ranking Mormon authority said Tuesday. Public officials “are not free to apply …

Read More »

UTAH: LDS Donates To LGBT Center

The Mormon Church has made its first-ever donation to an LGBT organization. Ben Winslow reports for Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: The LDS Church quietly made a $2,500 donation to the non-profit Utah Pride Center to help its efforts with LGBT homeless and youth. The money, coming in the form of access to the Bishop’s Storehouse, will provide food for …

Read More »

UTAH: Watch Gov. Gary Herbert Sign Bill Outlawing Anti-LGBT Discrimination

As you can see in the tweet above, there were two pieces of good news out of Utah last night as the “license to discriminate” bill is dead for this legislative session. The clip below was posted to Gov. Herbert’s official YouTube channel.

Read More »