Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Online Petition Urges LDS Church to Reconcile with Gays and Lesbians
The Petition Will Be Delivered on November 4

From a story in The Salt Lake Tribune
June 2009

When LDS leaders urged the Mormon faithful last year to campaign for California's Proposition 8, Janeen Thompson turned in her temple recommend, resigned from most of her church positions and tacked a rainbow flag pin onto her Sunday best.

Now she is inviting her church to “reconcile” with her and others who opposed the Golden State's gay-marriage ban. She especially wants the church to reach out to gay men and lesbians who have been hurt by LDS statements about homosexuality.

“We would like the church to recognize the harm that's been done to people in the gay community, in general, but specifically to LDS gays who have tried to change their orientation to live up to the church's expectations,” said Thompson, who still plays the church organ once or twice a month. “The effects can be really devastating to them and their families.”

Thompson and Cheryl Nunn, both of Santa Cruz County, Calif., have launched the Committee for Reconciliation and an online petition at www.ldsapology.org. The petition, which had more than 240 signatures by Monday evening, invites both sides to be open to understanding, forgiveness and apology.

The committee plans to deliver the petition to top LDS leaders Nov. 4, the first anniversary of Prop 8's passage.

The LDS Church declined to comment Monday.

Utahn Linda Stay - a mother of five, including a gay son and a lesbian daughter - signed the petition earlier this month. A Washington City resident and former Mormon, Stay is hoping for reconciliation -- in her own family.

She has become a gay-rights activist, staging a candlelight vigil in St. George before the Prop 8 vote and marching in Salt Lake City's Pride Parade earlier this month. But her stance has strained ties with her siblings and stepchildren, who are devout Mormons. She also has watched her son's husband -- the couple married in San Francisco last year -- struggle to be accepted by his LDS family.

“I know that there are hundreds, thousands of families sitting in Mormon congregations that have a gay kid or brother or sister, and they are being torn apart inside,” Stay said. “The church really does owe these families a huge apology. At some point, they need to re-examine their tactics in drawing that line in the sand and saying, ‘Follow the prophet or support your gay children.’”

For Stay, the choice was simple: Her kids.

To learn more about the Committee for Reconciliation, visit www.ldsapology.org.