Search Results: same-sex marriage
Alongside dropping temperatures across much of the country, on Monday morning we also felt the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay of same-sex marriages in Utah blow a chill across the jubilation of the last two and a half weeks.
On October 9 Affirmation sponsored a conference call to discuss the recent LDS General Conference, which included statements by Elder Oaks and Elder Nelson, condemning same-sex marriage. What follows is a transcript of the discussion.
Holland’s speech called for symbolic violence in response to efforts to be more inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ+ students and the broader community at Brigham Young University. Fred Bowers “pointed to the speech as one of many recent examples of how the faith has made LGBTQ+ members feel isolated,” in interview with the Associated Press.
Since his ordination to LDS apostleship in 1984, next in line as prophet, Dallin Oaks, has branded his image on vehement defenses of heteronormativity and consistent delegitimization of LGBTQ+ identities…
“It’s not a choice” no longer has to be a defense of queerness and can instead be one of many ways of coming to and explaining a sexual and/or gender identity. This linguistic and conceptual shift is not only more inclusive and affirming of those who frame their queer identities in more agentic and experimental ways, but it also makes the question of whether a sexual or gender identity is “chosen” increasingly irrelevant.
He felt firmly that you could be a Mormon without letting church leaders tell you how to do it or that you were on the wrong path. He was the original guru of understanding and accepting your own identity as a gay Mormon. He always understood the purpose of Affirmation wasn’t to shape anyone’s beliefs but to help them find their own faith- wherever that took them.
Previously, these individuals would need to be interviewed by a mission president before being cleared for baptism. With the new handbook, missionaries can conduct the baptismal interview as they would for any other person seeking baptism into the Church, removing a hurdle for those with past same-sex sexual relationships.
There is no mention in Church policy of any prohibition of any form of physical intimacy for unmarried couples of any sexual orientation outside of abstaining from sexual relations. It’s not unreasonable that living a chaste and virtuous life at BYU would mean anything different than what has been expected of students their whole lives as active and worthy members of the Church.
While applauding the increase in transparency and clarity the new handbook provides, Affirmation remains concerned that Church policy diminishes the lived experience of LGBTQ individuals.