Gay Mormon group Affirmation sure rubbed the Church the wrong way yesterday.
As previously mentioned, the LA-based activists held a press conference to air their grievances after Mormon leaders postponed a scheduled meeting.
Affirmation executive director Olin Thomas told reporters he simply wanted to sit down and explain how the Church of Ladder-day Saints can create a more inclusive, less damning environment by accepting their gay brethren. They also seek a female staffer to counsel mothers who blame themselves for their childâs sexuality.
Assistant executive director David Melson echoed his leaderâs statement, âI would like to see the church become a safe haven for all its members.â
How about we take this to the next level?
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LDS leaders, however, claim itâs Affirmation thatâs creating tension.
Said LDS President Thomas Monson:
It has always been the intent of the church to engage in an open and honest discussion with Affirmation leaders to listen to their concerns. When the church was originally approached by Affirmation, church officials offered a much earlier meeting date. The meeting was put on hold until August at Affirmationâs request. The church asked for the same courtesy as it hires a new director of Family Services, a position crucial to this conversation.
A Church spokesman offered a more curt reply, âIt appears from Affirmationâs actions today that it has opted for a public rather than private exchange.â
Affirmation says it hopes to continue conversations between the warring parties. Whether the Church will cool off remains to be seen.
Darth Paul
“Ladder Day”…that’s hilarious.
Stenar
The LDS Church doesn’t like people to air things out in the open.
I think Affirmation was wrong. They should have waited until the church hired a new person in that position and had the discussion first. If things went sour after that, then go public.
Stenar
By the way, why do you assume that because they’re Mormon, they’re based in Utah? Affirmation is based in Los Angeles, not Utah.
Joseph Smith
Where does the word “Utah” appear?
Qjersey
Funny, the LDS is pissy about “handling things privately” when the LDS has refused to meet with Affirmation. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Qjersey
And I will hdd (as my partner is an ex-LDS). The LDS preaches “family family family” and that LDS members are reunited in Heaven with their families, but if you get tossed out of the church you will never see your family in Heaven.
some family values, scaring kids into thinking they will never see their parents in heaven if they don’t tow the LDS line.
mark
Blame the children you TOSS onto the street to fend anyway they can…your love is KILLING US, LDS.
The maternal side of my Family are all LDS, and love me just as I am, openly gay.
It’s hateful folks in the elders who hold this bigotted hateful rage against queers, not individual Mormons.
Charley
Once the get their rights, will gay mormons be allowed to be married to multiple husbands ? What about wearing magic undergarments ?
Swing_And_A_Miss
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid Affirmation….Stupid!!
As a straight and active member of the Mormon Church I had high hopes for this meeting. A new President had just been seated, a more reconciliatory tone had been taken in leaderships talks and articles, and for the first time ever they have agreed to meet w/ Affirmation.
It’s not like they’re going to leave the position unfilled, and once it has been filled, hold them to their word. By holding a press conference now, you screwed everything up. What motivation do they have to meet with you now that you’ve proven you’ll just run to the press when you don’t get what you want when you want it? Better to leave you on the outside screaming in, rather than to meet with you and give you more ammo.
Time to hire someone w/ a sliver of political IQ.
đ
Charles J. Mueller
What can you expect from people who read from the “Book of Morons”?
Josh Wagner
This is a really hard issue for the LDS Church because of the Latter-day Saint conviction that that there is a universal truth out there and that it is only by living one’s life in harmony with that truth that one can experience real joy.
The modern philosophies in most of the world today are different from the LDS philosophy in this way. Most philosophies, in one way or another, say that each person needs to find their own truth and accept the fact that another person will find a different truth.
Latter-day Saints face the challenge of holding fast to their conviction of universal truth (which is, after all, one of the things that makes the religion strong) while communicating effectively with people who do hold that same conviction.
The LDS Church and Affirmation have trouble communicating because the LDS Church is adhering to its conviction of universal truth which says that the natural order of the universe is for male and female to be be united eternally and that to try to unite male and male or female and female is contrary to the order of the universe and therefore, the order of happiness.
Therefore, the LDS Church is in the tough position of trying to communicate with Affirmation (because LDS doctrine values empathy and love for all people) while not abandoning their convictions.
It’s a tough position and I don’t know that it is possible for the two groups to ever really agree unless one of the two fundamentally changes their philosophy (therefore changing the nature of the organization).
Well, I hope this little statement on philosophy is helpful to someone.
Josh Wagner
Oops … my last post had some typos (one of which is very significant):
– There should only be one “that” in the first paragraph.
– The end of the third paragraph should say “people who do NOT hold that same conviction.”
đ
greybat
Yes, but surely male and female are intertwined within each man and woman already, both as archetypal chambers of the soul, as well as the combined egg and seed that creates our physical bodies?
Therefore, when we couple with our loved one, the mystical union takes place regardless of gender, because male and female are already joined in the realm of our bodies.
,