Salt Lake Tribune
Unlike the Equality Act, the Fairness for All Act is a disingenuous attempt to manage LGBTQ people without having to respect them as a protected class under existing civil rights laws. This harmful work-around is supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and would protect its continued ability to discriminate against LGBTQ people in civil matters under the banner of religious freedom.
Regrettably, on social media, these friends and neighbors pointed their fingers and mocked a young gay valedictorian, just because he delivered a BYU-approved speech at his commencement. It was a surreal moment as the comment sections became a “great and spacious building,” as spoken of in Lehi’s vision in the Book of Mormon, full of detractors scoffing at LGBTQ members of the church pressing onward towards the tree of life.
“Ultimately, an individual often gets to a point where they must live the way they feel internally, in their mind and heart, how they are,” Hall explained. “Identity is a sense of self that’s in the mind, in the heart, and in the soul that transcends the actual physical biology, whatever that may be.”
Thomas S. Monson helped to established Genesis, a group that supported men and women impacted by the priesthood ban. He was seen as a champion for these members. Will there ever be a champion for LGBTQ+ Mormons in the highest leadership of the LDS Church?