Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

So-Called “Reparative” Therapy
Mormons Respond to Hafen’s Speech
“First Aid Kit” Available for Those Injured by Seventy's Remarks

Foundation for Reconciliation Media Contact

Affirmation Media Contact

Most Utah residents know about the Wasatch Fault, which has the potential for producing large earthquakes. The last major earthquake there was about 300 years ago, and it changed the face of the valley, rerouted rivers, and changed the contours of the land. Constant pressure from internal and external forces build to the point where the earth suddenly has to shift.

Pressure of another kind is building as Gay and Lesbian groups and concerned LDS members react to the recent speech by Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the First Council of Seventy. (See the complete text of his speech). The speech, which was given at Evergreen International on Saturday, September 19, 2009, reaffirmed the more conservative views regarding homosexuality that many members had hoped were a thing of the past—beliefs such as homosexuality not being inborn; that changing sexual orientation is a possibility to be hoped for and worked toward; that up to 80% of Lesbians were molested as children and that advocates of LGBTs are part of an aggressive political movement, motivated by a desire to promote the gay lifestyle, rather than to respond to legal and medical considerations. He also criticized the 1973 removal of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.

To counter these assertions, the Foundation for Reconciliation at www.ldsapology.org has compiled a list of medical and scientific links that should set the record straight (no pun intended). They refer to this list as a “First Aid Kit” for those who have been injured by these latest pronouncements from the LDS Church. While Hafen quotes such experts in the field of sexual orientation as Boyd K Packer , this list relies on real experts in the fields of human sexuality. To access the First Aid Kit, go to http://www.LDSapology.org/firstaidkit.htm.

Cheryl L. Nunn
Executive Director
Foundation for Reconciliation at LDSapology.org

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