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Homosexuality and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

October 15, 2023

All homosexual sexual activity is condemned as sinful by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in its law of chastity, and the church teaches that God does not approve of same-sex marriage.[1][2] Adherents who participate in same-sex sexual behavior may face church discipline. Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions, including those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same-sex marriage and any homosexual sexual activity or sexual relationships outside an opposite-sex marriage.[3]: 116 [4][5] However, all people, including those in same-sex relationships and marriages, are permitted to attend the weekly Sunday meetings.[6]

In order to receive church ordinances such as baptism,[7] and to enter church temples, adherents are required to practice sexual abstinence outside a legal marriage between one man and one woman.[8][9] Additionally, in the church's plan of salvation noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive exaltation unless they repent during mortality, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation.[10][11] The church's policies and treatment of LGBT people has long been a source of controversy both within and outside the church.[12][13][14] They have also been a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members.[15][16][17]

The LDS Church has campaigned against government recognition of same-sex marriage, and the topic of same-sex marriage has been one of the church's foremost public concerns since 1993.[3]: 1  It has also supported legislation protecting members of the LGBT community against discrimination in employment, that also exempt religious institutions from honoring these protections.[18] Penalties from church leaders are stiffer for same-sex sexual sins than for heterosexual ones in matters of general church discipline, missionary requirements, and code of conduct enforcement at church-run universities.[19]

The church's statements and actions throughout its history have overwhelmingly focused on male homosexuality, and only rarely on female homosexuality (lesbianism) or bisexuality.[3]: 20  Church leaders previously taught that homosexuality was a curable condition.[20][21] They counseled members that they could and should change their attractions,[22] and provided therapy and programs with that goal.[23]: 13–19 [24]: 377–379  From 1976 until 1989 the church handbook of policies called for church discipline for members attracted to the same sex, punishing merely being homosexual with sanctions similar to those for acts of adultery and child molestation.[3]: 16, 43  Even celibate gay people were subject to excommunication.[24]: 382, 422 [25]: 139  Church publications now state that "individuals do not choose to have such attractions", its church-run therapy services no longer provides sexual orientation change efforts, and the church has no official stance on the causes of homosexuality.[26][27][4] These current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the option of potentially harmful attempts to change their sexual orientation,[28][29] entering a mixed-orientation opposite-sex marriage,[3]: 27 [30]: 108  or living a celibate lifestyle without any sexual expression.[31]: 11 [32]: 20–21 

An LGBT pride flag in front of the Salt Lake City, Utah temple.

Overview Edit

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of LGBT Mormon history.

Summarized changes in teachings through the decades Edit

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of teachings on homosexuality in the LDS church.

Since the first recorded mentions of homosexuality by top church leaders, teachings and policies around the nature, etiology, mutability, and identity around same-sex romantic and physical attractions have seen many changes through the decades.[33]: 45–46 [34][23]: 13–21  Church rhetoric around homosexuality has softened over time.[35][36]: 169–170 [37] For example, global church leaders (called general authorities) in the past unambiguously pronounced over 30 purported causes of homosexuality (e.g. addiction,[38][39] contagion, recruiting, domineering mother,[40] selfishness[41]) and denied any biological explanation.[3]: 19  The church has since reversed many of its stances around homosexuality, including moving to a stance of neutrality on the origins of homosexuality, and acknowledging by implication that past leaders' encouragement of mixed-orientation marriages may have been erroneous.[3]: 217  A table summarizing some of the major shifts in official dialogue is shown below.

Summary of changes in teachings on homosexuality
Topic Earlier teachings Transitional teachings Current teachings
Inborn No[42]: 13 [43]: 15 [44][45] Maybe[46]: 5  No position[4]
Causes Addiction,[39] masturbation,[47] pornography,[48] family dysfunction,[49][50][51] smothering mother,[40] distant or weak father,[52][40] sexual abuse,[53][54] selfishness,[41] speaking about it,[55]: 34, 39  gender non-conforming dress or behavior[56] Biological and environmental factors[57] No position[4]: 1 [58]
Identity and labels Wrong to use gay labels[46]: 5 [59][60] Identifying as gay is acceptable[61][62]
Sexual orientation change efforts Electroshock aversion therapy recommended,[63][64] reparative therapy encouraged,[65] curable disease,[21][20] should be overcome[22] Conversion therapy may be appropriate,[4]: 1  denounces any abusive practices[66] Reparative therapy and other sexual orientation change efforts no longer practiced[67][27]
Heterosexual dating and marriage As a therapeutic step[68][69]: 5–6 [70][71] Not to be seen as a therapy or solution[4]: 1 [72]

Though the church's position of homosexual behavior as sinful has remained the same, the tone in rhetoric from top leaders has gone from confrontational condemnation to sympathetic concern for those "afflicted" with same-sex attraction.[73]: 11–13  However, some researchers from the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion argue that this shift is ultimately just reproducing the same anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, but disguising it "in a kinder package" with a "gentler façade" to deflect criticism of overt homophobia, and that this rhetoric serves to strengthen institutional church power and the heterosexual subordination of LGBTQ people despite their growing societal acceptance.[73]: 11–12, 17  In reference to the harsh rhetoric on homosexuality of the past, the apostle D. Todd Christofferson stated in 2015, "I think we can express things better." The same year the apostle Dallin H. Oaks spoke on the topic saying, "I know that the history of the church is not to seek apologies or to give them. We sometimes look back on issues and say, 'Maybe that was counterproductive for what we wish to achieve,' but we look forward and not backward."[74]

Previous teachings that have changed include the belief that homosexual attractions themselves were a curable illness. In 1959, in response to a rash of arrests of gay men in Utah and Idaho, church president David O. McKay appointed the apostles Spencer W. Kimball and Mark E. Petersen to focus on "curing" gay members.[75]: 381 [24]: 377  That same year the church's largest school Brigham Young University (BYU) began its on-campus electroshock aversion therapy program attempting to eliminate or diminish homosexual attractions which lasted over three decades into the mid-1990s.[63][3]: 90  At the time, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) classified homosexuality as a mental illness in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and Kimball adamantly stated on multiple occasions that it could and should be cured.[76][69]: 7  Kimball also taught that local church leaders could influence gay members by quoting scripture to them, appealing to their reason, encouraging them to abandon gay lovers and associates, praying with them, and encouraging them to replace any sexual expression of homosexual feelings with heterosexual dating.[69]: 2–6  In 1973 the APA removed homosexuality from the DSM,[77] and in 1990 the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of disorders in the International Classification of Diseases.[78][79]

Later the church softened its stance on gay feelings, instead shifting to a focus on homosexuality as a behavior that should be overcome. This change was reflected in a 1992 guidebook update removing all previous references to homosexuality as a disease.[80] Top leaders also taught on several occasions from the 1970s to the early 2000s that homosexual feeling may stem from a confusion over one's gender identity or gender roles.[81]: 341  Since then the church has acknowledged the differences between gender identity and sexual orientation.[82][83][84]

Some changes in teachings have seemed abrupt and contradictory as was the case in 1995 when a First Presidency leader affirmed in the church's Engisgn magazine that the idea of an inborn homosexual orientation was a false belief with no scientific evidence, reasoning that if homosexuality were inborn it would frustrate God's plan.[43] In the next month's edition, however the apostle Oaks refuted those statements (though without referring to them directly) by asserting that inheritance may have a complex relationship with a person's homosexual orientation.[85]: 58 [46]

In canonized scripture Edit

See also: The Bible and homosexuality, Christianity and homosexuality, and Homosexual behavior and Judaism

The entire body of canonized LDS scriptures (i.e. the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants) is silent on same-sex sexual activity, except for the Bible.[86]: 114  However, one man's heterosexual misconduct (coupled with forsaking a ministry) was described in the Book of Mormon as the "most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost."[87][88] The church interprets certain Bible passages as forbidding same-sex erotic behavior.[29][89]: 230 

Proposed historical tolerance Edit

LDS historian Greg Prince wrote that prior to 1968 there was no standardized church response to homosexual attractions and intercourse, and that the most frequent response for over a century had been "benign neglect".[3]: 17  Similarly, the LDS-raised historian D. Michael Quinn stated that early church leaders had a more tolerant view of homosexuality given that during the 19th century, the church (like American society as a whole) was relatively tolerant of same-sex intimate relationships. Quinn also stated that several prominent Utahns were not disciplined after stating they were living in romantic relationships with their same-sex domestic partners (though historic evidence often only hints at and does not prove sex between particular individuals).[24][page needed][90] For example Mormon Tabernacle Choir director Evan Stephens never married a woman but had intimate relationships and shared a bed with a series of male domestic partners and traveling companions.[91] These relationships were described with a euphemism in a church magazine.[24]: 237–246 [92] Also notable was the relationship of Louise B. Felt and May Anderson, the church's first two general presidents of Primary, the church's organization for children. They lived together in the same bedroom for decades and were referred to by other top Primary leaders as the "David and Jonathan" of Primary.[24]: 125  Quinn's interpretations of previous leaders' views and the nature of Evan Stephens' relationships, and that of Felt and Anderson were criticized as a distortion of history by BYU church apologists Rhett James and George Mitton.[93] Additionally, LDS-raised sociologist Kimball Young cited the early church's practice of sealing men to each other as evidence of latent same-sex romantic desires.[94][24]: 136–138 

Early instances Edit

There were several known or alleged instances of members participating in same-sex sexual and romantic relationships in the 19th century and early 20th century. These include the young man George Naylor,[95]: 1200  the actress Ada Russell,[24]: 427–428  and the researcher Mildred Berryman.[96][97][24]: 226–228  During the early days of the church, when same-sex sexual activity by a member was suspected, the accused was sometimes disfellowshipped or excommunicated, and from 1852 on, under the church-controlled Utah Territory legislature, any sex between males was punished by the courts.[95][98] Just over a decade after the church's founding the first known instance of church discipline for same-sex sexual activity occurred over the alleged acts between church leader John Bennett and Francis Higbee.[24]: 266–267  Historian Valeen Avery has suggested that one of church founder Joseph Smith's sons, David Hyrum Smith (born in 1844, died in 1904), may have been gay.[99]

Patriarch Joseph Fielding Smith Edit

Main article: Joseph Fielding Smith (presiding patriarch)
 
Patriarch Smith was released amidst accusations of homosexual affairs

One of the more prominent instances of same-sex erotic activity by a Mormon man in the early 20th century was that of the presiding patriarch Joseph Fielding Smith. He served in the position only four years before being released by church president George Albert Smith, reportedly for reasons of "ill health."[100] However, there is evidence he had been involved in several gay affairs with at least three men.[24]: 369–371 [101][102]

Increasing attention from leadership Edit

Though the terms "homosexuality" was in use in the United States (US) since 1892, the first instance of the term "homosexuality" in top church leader's public discourse was in a 1952 General Conference speech.[103][24]: 422 [3]: 15  The first time homosexuality was explicitly discussed in the church's Handbook of Instructions was in the 1968 edition, over 130 years into the church's history.[3]: 10  Quinn has suggested that early LDS Church leaders had a more tolerant view of homosexuality, but leaders like then apostle Gordon B. Hinckley have stated that top leaders have always considered homosexual behavior a serious sin.[104][105] It appears that by the 1940s church leaders developed a greater preoccupation with homosexual behavior, as by 1947 apostle Charles Callis was assigned to handle cases of church members suspected of or having confessed to same-sex sexual behavior.[106][75]: 271  Additionally, surveillance had been organized in 1945 to stop reported male-male sexual activity in the church's (now-demolished) Deseret Gymnasium steam room.[85]: 307  Callis was succeeded in his appointment over homosexual cases by the apostle Spencer W. Kimball in 1947.[75]: 271 [107] Kimball began sharing this role with apostle Mark E. Petersen in 1959.[75]: 381 [85]: 307 [108]: 147  Within eight years they had collectively counseled over one thousand individuals on the topic of homosexuality.[3]: 33  From 1969 through at least 2013, nearly every year saw at least a mention of homosexuality in top leaders' discourse in general conference and the church's main magazine.[73]: 6  From the 1950s into the 1990s top leaders taught that homosexuality was a problem correlated with the destruction of American society.[73]: 6–8  Additionally, from the 1970s into at least the present they taught it was related to the destruction of the family,[73]: 6, 8–10  and a contradiction of God-given gender norms.[73]: 6, 10–11 

Current beliefs and policies Edit

As of 2022 all homosexual or same-sex sexual activity is forbidden by the church in its law of chastity, and the church teaches that God does not approve of same-sex marriage.[1][109] Adherents who participate in same-sex sexual behavior may face church discipline. As of 2018 penalties from church leaders are stiffer for same-sex transgressions than for heterosexual ones in general church discipline, missionary requirements, and honor code enforcement at church-owned universities.[19] Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions, including those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same-sex marriage and all sexual relations outside an opposite-sex marriage.[3]: 116 [4][5] All people, however, including those participating in same-sex activity and relationships, are permitted to attend weekly church worship services.[6] According to church teachings, after their deaths non-celibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive unless they repent, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation.[10][11] In Mormon cosmology God the Father is a heterosexual man married to at least one Heavenly Mother, and reproduction for exalted beings is an important element of the afterlife.[110]: 47–49  The church teaches that homosexual behavior has always been a grievous sin,[105][42] and it no longer holds a position on the origins of homosexuality.[3]: 217–218 [4][46]

Baptismal requirements Edit

In order to receive church ordinances such as baptism, and to participate in temple rites, adherents are required to abstain from same-sex relations or any sexual activity outside a legal marriage between one man and one woman.[8][9] As of 2019, when baptismal candidates confess during a baptismal interview to having committed any "homosexual transgression", they require special clearance from a full-time mission president in order to be baptized.[7][111][112] Any past heterosexual activity, however, does not require special clearance from a higher leader (unless the person is still cohabiting with any sexual partner out of wedlock).[7]

Missionary service requirements Edit

 
Full-time, young adult, proselyting missionaries typically commit to 18–24 months of full-time service. Openly gay (but celibate) members are allowed to be missionaries.[3]: 4 

Currently, openly gay youth can serve a full-time proselyting mission for the church if they abstain from sexual activity.[3]: 4  Although, sex of any kind before a heterosexual marriage may permanently bar a person from serving as a church missionary,[113] any homosexual acts from the age of 15 and later almost always disqualifies a missionary candidate for service (even after years of subsequent celibacy) except "in rare cases".[19][114]: 28–29 

Pro-LGBTQ teachings Edit

In 1999 church president Gordon B. Hinckley publicly welcomed lesbian and gay people into LDS congregations,[115][116] and in an interview affirmed them as "good people".[117] Church leaders have spoken out against "gay-bashing" and other physical or verbal assaults on those involved in homosexual relationships.[46][118][26] They have also encouraged members to befriend gay members.[46][105] The church website now implicitly acknowledges the biological causes of homosexuality.[3]: 4 

November 2015 policy change Edit

In November 2015, the church updated its policies regarding those in legal same-sex unions, stating that such couples are apostates from the church.[119][120][14] These policies also barred such couples' children—either adopted or biological—from being baptized, confirmed, ordained, or participating in mission service until reaching adulthood and obtaining permission from the First Presidency.[3]: 258 [119] Prior to this, local leadership had more discretion on whether or how far to pursue church disciplinary action against members in same-sex marriages. The policy was controversial and received national criticism.[3]: 261–266 

The reversal Edit

In April 2019, the church reversed its policy on couples in same-sex marriages, no longer automatically treating same-sex marriage as apostasy for church discipline. Additionally, children of same-sex couples would now be allowed to receive blessings from a priesthood holder in good standing, and be baptized. However, it still considered same-sex marriage to be a "serious transgression," and may discipline church members involved in any same-sex sexual activity.[121]

Terminology used by the church Edit

Church leaders now teach that it's acceptable to identify as gay.[61][117] Previously, church leaders stated that the terms "homosexual", "lesbian", and "gay" should only be used as adjectives to describe feelings or behaviors, and not to describe people.[3]: 109, 198, 216 [4] Church leaders have referred homosexuality as a sexual orientation.[4] Since the 1990s through at least 2015 church leaders have tended to use the term "same-gender attraction" (SGA) instead of "homosexuality" in official publications.[122]: 26  Many members have reflected that language in their self-identifications, with its use being interpreted as an in-group signalling of adherence to LDS sexual mores.[122]: 23–24, 28 

Homosexuality after death Edit

On several occasions between 2006 and 2009 multiple top leaders stated that attractions to those of the same sex won't exist after death, saying "it must be true"[123][124] that "gay or lesbian inclinations" will "not exist post-mortality",[125] and only occur "right now in mortality."[126]: 322 [4] The 2007 church publication "God Loveth His Children" stated that, "others may not be free of this challenge [of same-gender attraction] in this life" but that "our bodies, feelings, and desires will be perfected in the next life so that every one of God’s children may find joy in a family."[33]: 46 [127]: 4 [128] The 2012 church website MormonsAndGays.org also stated that "a person’s attraction to the same sex can be addressed and borne as a mortal test. It should not be viewed as a permanent condition. ... some people ... may not have the opportunity to marry a person of the opposite sex in this life, a just God will provide them with ample opportunity to do so in the next."[129][130] Additionally, in the church's plan of salvation noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive what's called exaltation to become like God unless they repent, and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement.[10][11]

Leader and member actions towards LGBT individuals Edit

The church has occasionally addressed the treatment and views of LGBT+ members. Church leaders have given discretion to local leaders on whether to hold church courts for suspected homosexual members, with options ranging from acquittal to excommunication.[3]: 17  In 2000 the apostle Packer addressed part of a speech to gay and lesbian youth stating church leaders don't reject, but rather love them, and show their love by teaching and disciplining them.[131][132] Additionally, the 2007 church pamphlet "God Loveth His Children" stated that some gay members had felt rejection by other members, and criticized members who did not show them love. The document asked gay members to show love and kindness to help other church members become less rejecting.[127] From 1976 until 1989 under president Kimball the church handbook called for church discipline for members attracted to the same sex equating merely being homosexual with the seriousness of acts of adultery and child molestation—even celibate gay people were subject to excommunication.[3]: 16, 43 [24]: 382, 422 [25]: 139  Kimball's numerous publications discussing "curing" homosexuality and condemning same-sex attractions (even without action), and his rise to the church presidency in 1973 set the stage for years of harsh treatment of gay church members.[3]: 36–37 

LGBT experiences Edit

There are many current and former members of the church who are attracted to people of the same sex, and they have had a range of positive and negative experiences with their own spiritual lives in the church and with leaders and other members.[133]: 2–8, 27, 42–44  For example, one member who dated other men reported never having problems with his local leaders.[134] Another instance was a Church employee who described in a 2011 article how his stake president denied his temple recommend (resulting in him getting fired from his job) simply because of his friendship with other gay men and his involvement in a charity bingo for Utah Pride.[134] One former LDS bishop and temple ordinance officiator Antonio A. Feliz said that his Peruvian mission was directed in the early 1960s[135] by South American area authorities to not teach known homosexuals.[136] Several church employees have been fired,[137][138][139] or pressured to leave for being gay (despite their celibacy),[81]: 162–163 [140] or for expressing support of LGBT rights.[141][142] Research has found many nonheterosexual members have significant difficulty reconciling their sexual and religious identities.[73]: 2 

Polls on member views Edit

Numerous surveys have been conducted to gauge LDS member views on LGBT topics. In a 2007 US poll, only one-fourth (24%) of members agreed that "homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted" (less than any other major religious group in the survey except for Jehovah's Witnesses), and two-thirds (68%) of LDS adherents said it should be discouraged.[143] In a similar poll seven years later there were small changes with one-third (36%) saying homosexuality should be accepted, and about half (57%) stating it should be discouraged.[144]

A 2017 poll found that 40% of LDS members supported same-sex marriage while a slim majority (53%) were opposed.[145]: 10  In the same poll two-thirds (69%) of adherents supported laws that protect LGBT Americans against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.[145]: 15, 20  However, half (53%) of church members said small private business should be able to deny products and services to gay or lesbian people for religious reasons.[145]: 15, 20 

Older surveys from the 20th century include a 1977 Utah poll in which three-fourths of LDS-identified responders opposed equal rights for gay teachers or ministers and 62% favored discrimination against gay people in business and government (versus two-thirds and 38% respectively of non-LDS responders).[146][3]: 15 [147]: 220  At BYU a 1997 poll found that 1/3 of male students would avoid befriending a gay student and 42% of all students believed that even celibate, honor-code-following gay members should be banned from attending the university.[148][149]

Views on gender diversity and identity Edit

Main article: Gender minorities and the LDS church

Expressions and identities for sexuality and gender are "separate, but related" aspects of a person and stem from similar biological origins.[150][151][152]: 1  The church has acknowledged differences between gender identity and sexual orientation stating that leaders have "unfinished business in teaching on [transgender situations]."[83][84][153] Gender identity and gender roles play an important part in Latter-Day Saint teachings which assert a strict binary of spiritual gender for spirit bodies. Leaders say every person's spirit body is a literal offspring of Heavenly Parents.[3]: 19, 276 [154][155] According to current church policy, transgender and other gender diverse members who have undergone an “elective transsexual operation” are banned from temple rites or receiving priesthood authority. Additionally, a transgender baptismal candidate who had already undergone gender-confirming surgery can only be baptized with First Presidency approval, and a person currently considering such a surgery is barred from baptism.[84][156][153] As of 2020 members who even non-surgically gender transition will receive membership restrictions, particularly with respect to priesthood and temple ordinances.[157][158][159]

LGBT Mormon people and organizations Edit

Main article: LGBT Mormon people and organizations

Statistics Edit

Though there are no official numbers for how many members of the LDS Church identify their romantic orientation as gay, bisexual, or lesbian, Large surveys as recent as 2020 at the predominantly LDS BYU have found over 13% of students had marked their sexual orientation as something other than “strictly heterosexual”.[160][161] A 1972 study showed that between 10 and 13 percent of college-aged LDS men reported past experimentation with male-male sexual activity, which was similar to the percentage of non-LDS men.[162] Another poll of BYU students in 1997 found that 10% had a gay family member and 69% knew someone attracted to those of the same sex.[148] Gary Watts, former president of Family Fellowship, estimated in 2007 that only 10 percent of gay members stayed active in the church.[163]

 
 
Some nationally recognized LGBT former Mormons Tyler Glenn (left) and Kate Kendell.

LGBT LDS people Edit

Prominent LGBT or same-sex attracted church members include the apostle Christofferson's brother Tom,[citation needed] and therapist Ty Mansfield.[citation needed] Prominent LGBT former members include writer Dustin Lance Black, singer Tyler Glenn, historian D. Michael Quinn, gay rights activist Leonard Matlovich, and attorney Kate Kendell.

LGBT LDS organizations Edit

 
 
Some principle homosexual Mormon groups

Organizations that have supported members and former members attracted to those of the same sex include Affirmation, North Star, Mormons Building Bridges, Mama Dragons, Evergreen International, USGA. Previous break-off LDS-based churches for LGBT people included the United Order Family of Christ in the 70s and the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ in the 80s.

Depiction in pop culture and media Edit

See also: Latter Day Saints in popular culture

LGBT Mormon characters and themes have been featured in many films, plays, and pieces of literature, with some examples listed below:

Criticism and controversies Edit

Main article: Criticism of the LDS church

The church's policies and treatment of LGBT people has long been a source of controversy both inside and outside the church[13][181] and a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members.[182][183][16]

Among members Edit

A 2011 online survey of over 3,000 individuals who no longer believe church truth claims found that around ten percent would consider returning if (among several changes) LGBT persons were accepted and treated equally.[184] Past leaders' teachings on reparative therapy and the origins of homosexuality have also been criticized.[185][186]

Among the public Edit

The controversial policies for LGBT persons has made an impression on the general public. A 2003 nationwide Pew Research Center survey of over 1,000 LGBT Americans found that 83% of them said the LDS Church was "generally unfriendly towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people" surpassed only by "the Muslim religion" at 84%.[181] Additionally, in May 2008 a Georgia Tech gay-rights manual referred to the LDS Church as "anti-gay." After two students sued the school for discrimination, a judge ordered that the material be removed.[187]

Packer's address Edit

 
Packer's conference address published here has been criticized of condoning anti-gay violence.[108]: 150 [188][189]

One general conference address later distributed as a pamphlet that generated controversy was Packer's "To Young Men Only" which condones an example of a male missionary who punched his missionary companion for making romantic advances with Packer stating, "Well, thanks. Somebody had to do it".[190][42] Historians Michael Quinn and Connell O'Donovan have argued these comments "essentially advocated anti-Gay violence",[108] and that the church itself endorsed such behavior by continuing to publish Packer's speech in pamphlet form.[191]: 38–39  Former bishop David Hardy also condemned the pamphlet and other publications as promoting violence against gay people, and providing harmful misinformation to his gay son.[188][189] In 1995, Oaks said, "Our doctrines obviously condemn those who engage in so-called 'gay bashing'—physical or verbal attacks on persons thought to be involved in homosexual or lesbian behavior".[46] In 2016, the church ceased publishing the pamphlet, and removed it from the church website.[192]

Protests Edit

The policies and treatment of LGBTQ individuals have prompted several protests and mass resignations including the following:

  • November 2, 2008 – Hundreds of people gathered at the Salt Lake City library in a protest of Prop 8 organized by LDS mothers of gay children.[193][194][195]
  • November 6, 2008 – In Los Angeles over two thousand people protested at the LDS temple over the LDS Church's heavy involvement in the recent passing of California's Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage.[196]
  • November 7, 2008 – Three days after Prop 8 passed nearly five thousand protesters gathered at the Salt Lake Temple.[197] That evening a candlelight vigil by about 600 mothers of LGBT children was also held at the Salt Lake Temple.[195][194][193]
  • October 7, 2010 – Thousands of individuals surrounded Temple Square in protest of Boyd K. Packer's "Cleansing the Inner Vessel" conference address in which he characterized same-sex physical attractions as impure and unnatural tendencies that could be overcome.[13]
  • November 14, 2015 – In response to a policy change on members in same-sex marriages and their children, 1,500 members gathered across from the church's offices to submit their resignation letters,[183][198] with thousands more resigning online in the weeks after.[199][16] In early November, top church leaders updated the Church Handbook banning a "child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship" from baby blessings, baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordination, and missionary service until the child had moved out, was "of legal age", "disavow[ed] the practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage", and received approval from the Office of the First Presidency. The policy update also added entering a same-sex marriage as a type of "apostasy" mandating a disciplinary council.[14] However, according to a November 2016 study, the vast majority of active members supported the new policy on same-sex parents and their children.[200]

Sexual orientation change efforts Edit

Main article: Sexual orientation change efforts and the LDS Church
See also: BYU LGBT history § Aversion therapy at BYU
 
The 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon satirized church teachings on changing sexual orientation with an LDS missionary character saying he could "turn it off like a light switch" in reference to his gay feelings.[201][202]

Because of its ban against same-sex sexual activity and same-sex marriage the LDS Church has a long history of teaching that its adherents who are attracted to the same sex can and should attempt to alter their feelings through righteous striving and sexual orientation change efforts (also called conversion therapy or reparative therapy).[29][158] These current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the option of potentially harmful attempts to change their sexual orientation,[152]: 2–3  entering a mixed-orientation opposite-sex marriage (MOM), or living a celibate lifestyle without any sexual expression (including masturbation).[28][31]: 11 [32]: 20–21 

Self-help Edit

In the 60s and 70s Church leaders taught that homosexuality was a curable disease and they encouraged self-help attempts by homosexual members to change their sexual orientation and cultivate heterosexual feelings.[23]: 13–19  While the LDS Church has somewhat softened its stance toward LGBTQ individuals in recent years, leaders continued to communicate into 2015 that changing one's sexual orientation was possible through personal righteousness, prayer, faith in Christ, psychotherapy, and group therapy and retreats.[29]: 96 

BYU aversion therapy program Edit

 
BYU's Honor Code office required some students reported for homosexual behavior to undergo electroshock and vomit aversion therapies in the 1970s[108]: 155 

To assist in members' efforts for sexual orientation change, church leaders developed an aversion therapy program on BYU campus for gay adolescents and adults in 1959 since simply being attracted to people of the same sex was an excommunicable sin under church president Kimball.[63][23]: 2  The on-campus aversion therapy program lasted into the mid-1990s.[3]: 90 

Therapist-led conversion therapy efforts Edit

Teachings later changed as it became clear these self-help and aversive techniques were not working. From the 80s to the 2000s reparative therapy (also called conversion therapy) became the dominant treatment method, and it was often recommended by the church-endorsed group Evergreen. Member attitudes reflected church leaders'. For example, in a 2010 survey of 625 Utah residents, 55% of LDS-identified respondents believed sexual orientation could be changed,[203] and a 2015 survey of 1,612 LGBT Mormons and former Mormons found that 73% of men and 43% of women had attempted sexual orientation change, usually through multiple methods across many years.[29]: 5 

Decline Edit

Counselor-led sexual orientation change efforts were declining among members around 2015 as church teachings evolved.[23]: 17–20 [204] Leaders had explicitly stated in the 2012 "MormonsAndGays" website that same-sex sexual attractions were not a choice,[23]: 21  and affirmed in the 2016 "MormonAndGay" update that therapy focusing on a change in sexual orientation was unethical (the approach church leaders had used for decades).[205]: 194–195 [206][27] The 2016 update, however still offered qualified statements that reparative therapy should be an option, and promised that orientation change could occur.[205]: 195  The implicit indorsement of conversion therapy was overturned in 2019.[152]: 4–5 [207]

Mixed-orientation marriage Edit

Further information: Mixed-orientation marriage
 
A heterosexual couple in front of an LDS temple following their temple sealing marriage ceremony. LDS leaders have stated that opposite-sex marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step for members physically attracted to those of the same sex.[72][4]: 1 

Many gay and lesbian members of the LDS Church have felt that they should marry someone of the opposite sex because of the church's emphasis on marriage. According to LDS historian Greg Prince for decades church leaders counseled many men to marry a woman with the promise this would "cure" their homosexuality, and the overall track record of these mixed-orientation marriages (MOMs) has "generally been dismal, often catastrophic, and sometimes lethal" despite the best intentions.[3]: 27 [30]: 108 [208] The church's 2012 website acknowledged by implication that past leaders' advice for individuals attracted to the same-sex to marry someone of the opposite sex may have been erroneous.[3]: 217  Leaders have said that homosexual attractions will not continue past death,[4] and that those who don't have an opportunity to be married in this life will in the afterlife.[209][46]

Prevalence Edit

Evergreen director David Pruden was quoted as stating in 2002 that 40% of the approximately 150 callers requesting help each month on their hotline were Mormon men married to women, and distressed about their homosexual attractions.[25]: 134  Additionally, a 2004 publication quoted Family Services statistics which showed that about half of the approximately 400 gay Mormon men they had seen as clients for over a year during the past 30 years were married, though only half of those were able to stay married.[25]: 135 [210]

The church teaches that heterosexual marriage is one of several requirements for afterlife entry into the "highest degree of glory" in the celestial kingdom. Church leaders previously encouraged this, with one former church employee stating in 1986 that he had experienced pressure to marry at the age of 24 in the belief that it would change his homosexual feelings, later resulting in a divorce.[211] Artist Trevor Southey stated that he was counseled by the church to marry a woman in an attempt to reorient his sexuality, and the marriage ultimately failed.[3]: 9 

No longer recommended Edit

The first high-ranking LDS leaders to publicly speak out against mixed-orientation marriages was Gordon Hinckley in 1987 when he stated that "marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step to solve problems such as homosexual inclinations or practices ...."[105][3]: 29  Church publications now warn local congregation leaders that encouraging members to attempt to cultivate heterosexual feelings generally leads to frustration and discouragement.[80] Previously, the church had taught that it was possible to overcome same-sex feelings,[55]: 36–38  and that heterosexual feelings can emerge once an individual ceases any same-sex sexual activity, making a heterosexual marriage possible.[80]

Oaks stated in 2007 that marriages should not be entered under false pretenses,[4] but also stated a heterosexual marriage would be appropriate for a man attracted to men who had "shown their ability to deal with these feelings or inclinations and put them in the background, and feel a great attraction for a daughter of God".[4] The most recent statement by a general church leader as of 2015 was when the apostle Oaks stated that leaders "definitely do not recommend marriage as a solution for same-gender feelings. No, it’s not a therapy. In times past, decades ago, there were some practices to that effect. We have eradicated them in the church now."[72] Another recent mention is in the church website on homosexuality which features a gay man married to a straight woman.[212]

Research on views and outcomes Edit

Several surveys have been done on the topic of LGBT Mormons and opposite-sex marriages. A 1997 study by members of the BYU Family Studies Department found that of over 200 single LDS women of diverse ages polled, 33% would be willing to seriously date and consider marriage with a hypothetical LDS college grad who had been sexually active with other men 3 years ago.[213] A 2015 study found that 51% of the 1,612 LGBT Mormon respondents who had entered a mixed-orientation marriage ended up divorcing,[208]: 301 [214] and projected that 69% of all these marriages would ultimately end in divorce.[30]: 108 [215][216] The study also found that engaging in mixed-orientation marriages and involvement in the LDS Church were correlated with higher rates of depression and a lower quality of life for LGBT people.[208]: 301, 304  In 2007 during a panel held in a church headquarters building, several gay LDS members reported that they were able to maintain their heterosexual marriage.[217]

Political involvement around LGBT rights Edit

Main article: LGBT rights and the LDS Church
See also: LDS Church and politics in the USA
 
The LDS Church has held notable influence on laws around LGBT individuals in the United States, especially in the state of Utah.

The LDS Church has been involved with many pieces of legislation relating to LGBT discrimination and same-sex marriage.

Motivations Edit

Church leaders have stated that it will become involved in political matters if it perceives that there is a moral issue at stake and wields considerable influence on a national level.[218][219][220] In 1997 then church president Gordon Hinckley declared the church would "do all it can to stop the recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States", and the apostle M. Russell Ballard has said the church is "locked in" if anything interferes with the principle of marriage only being between a man and a woman.[3]: 73 [221]

 
The church distributed hundreds of thousands of these Protect Marriage Coalition lawn signs during their involvement with the pro-Prop 8 campaign.[222]

Same-sex marriage Edit

Church involvement around same-sex marriage legislation include playing important roles in defeating same-sex marriage legalization in Hawaii (Amendment 2), Alaska (Measure 2), Nebraska (Initiative 416), Nevada (Question 2), California (Prop 22), and Utah (Amendment 3).[3]: 2, 65, 69, 71, 78, 85  During Prop 8 church members represented as much as 80 to 90 percent of the early volunteers petitioning voters door-to-door and 50 percent of the campaign funds in support of it.[223] Church leaders are prohibited from employing their authority to perform same-sex marriages, and church property cannot be used for same-sex weddings or receptions.[3]: 250  A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute survey found that over half (52%) of Mormon young adults (18–29) supported same-sex marriage while less than a third (32%) of Mormon seniors (65+) did the same.[145]: 11 [224]

Employment, housing, businesses Edit

The church opposes same-sex marriage, but does not object to rights regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference.[225]

A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute survey found that over half (53%) of all Mormon adults believed small private business should be able to deny products and services to gay or lesbian people for religious reasons (compared to 33% of the 40,000+ American adults surveyed),[145]: 15, 23  and 24% of all Mormon adults oppose laws that protect LGBT Americans against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.[224][145]: 20 

LGBT Mormon suicides and homelessness Edit

Main article: LGBT Mormon suicides
 
LGBT persons are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Suicides Edit

In society at large LGBT individuals especially youth are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide[226][227] due to minority stress stemming from societal anti-LGBT biases and stigma, rejection, and internalized homophobia.[228] Some individuals and organizations have linked church teachings against homosexuality and the treatment of LGBT Mormons by other members and leaders as contributing to LGBT Mormon suicides.[229][230][231] LDS historian Gregory Prince stated that by condemning homosexuality as "evil, self-inflicted, and impossible in postmortal existence" LDS Church leaders have enabled harsh behavior by its members with the alarming number of LDS LGBT homeless and Utah's highest per capita teen suicide rate in the country manifesting the effects of this cruelty.[3]: 4 

LGBT Mormon suicides and experiences with suicidal ideation have received media coverage.[232][233][234] In January 2016 the LDS Church mourned over reported suicides of LGBT Mormons and stated that leaders and members are taught to "reach out in an active, caring way to all, especially to youth who feel estranged or isolated."[235] The Affirmation website reported over 30 LGBT Mormon victims died by suicide between 1971 and 2008[236][237] including five gay male BYU students who all died by suicide in 1965.[3]: 290 [108]: 156 [238]

Homelessness Edit

In 2013 it was estimated that among the approximately 1000 homeless Utah youths, 30% to 40% were LGBTQ with about half of those coming from LDS homes[239][240] Another survey showed about 5,000 youth in Utah experience homelessness per year with 60% coming from LDS homes, and over 40% of unhoused Utah youth were LGBT.[227] The Youth Futures Homeless Shelter in the predominantly-LDS city of Ogden, Utah reported in 2015 that over half their often homeless youth clients self-identified as gay or trans.[241] A survey by the Utah Department of Human Services found 48% of gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers in the state seriously considered suicide in 2021.[242] In the large 2012 survey "Growing Up LGBT in America" over two-thirds of LGBT youth in Utah reported not feeling accepted in their community, compared to 42% of LGBT youth nationwide, and 3/4 said they would need to leave Utah to feel accepted.[243]

LGBT students and BYU Edit

Main article: BYU LGBT history
See also: Timeline of BYU LGBT history, BYU USGA, and Church Educational System Honor Code
 
LGBT BYU students at an unofficial LGBTQ BYU organization (USGA) meeting in 2017.

Brigham Young University (BYU) is the largest religious university in North America and is the flagship institution of the LDS Church's educational system. Several LGBT rights organizations have criticized BYU's Honor Code as it relates to LGBT students and The Princeton Review has regularly ranked BYU among the most LGBT-unfriendly schools in the United States.[244][245] As of 2017 BYU campus offered no official LGBT-specific resources.[246] Large surveys of over 7,000 BYU students in 2020 and 2017 found that over 13% had marked their sexual orientation as something other than “strictly heterosexual,” while the other survey showed that .2% had reported their gender identity as transgender or something other than cisgender male or female.[160][161]

University actions and policies Edit

 
BYU has been ranked as the worst large US university for LGBT persons.[244][245]

BYU has seen many changes in policies around its LGBT student population. In 1962 a ban on students known to have a homosexual orientation was enacted by Ernest Wilkinson, but softened a decade later by his successor Dallin H. Oaks to only ban "overt and active homosexuals."[24]: 375 [247][248] Under Oaks there was a system of surveillance and searches of student dorms in order to expel students suspected of any same-sex sexual activity.[249][250][251] These efforts included stakeouts by BYU security looking for license plates of BYU students at gay bars in Salt Lake City and fake contact advertisements placed in gay publications attempting to ensnare BYU students.[252][24]: 442 [253] In the late 1990s a reference to "homosexual conduct" was added to the BYU Honor Code,[254] and there was a ban on coming out for lesbian, gay, or bisexual students.[255][256][257] In 2007, BYU changed the honor code to read that stating one's sexual orientation was not an honor code issue.[258] In February 2020, BYU removed the ban on "homosexual behavior" from its Honor Code,[259] which many initially thought allowed LGBT students to perform public displays of romantic affection, although, like straight students, they still must abstain from sexual relationships outside of marriage.[259] However, BYU leadership later stated that removing "homosexual behavior" from the Honor Code still did not permit any public displays of romantic affection towards a same-sex partner, sparking more criticism and protests from some LGBT people and supporters.[260][261][262]

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ a b "Same-Sex Marriage". LDS Church. July 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "What is the Church's position on homosexuality? Is it OK to be friends with people who have homosexual feelings?". Ensign. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. July 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2023. The church opposes homosexual behavior ... Homosexual behavior is contrary to [our] purpose and violates God's commandments. ... Neither the Lord nor His church can condone any behavior that violates His laws. Again, we condemn the immoral behavior, not the person.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Prince, Gregory A. (2019). Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. ISBN 9781607816638.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Interview With Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Lance B. Wickman: 'Same-Gender Attraction'" (Press release). LDS Church. September 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2023. See also The Salt Lake Tribune's archived transcript here.
  5. ^ a b Hinckley, Gordon B. (November 1998). "What Are People Asking about Us?". Ensign. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  6. ^ a b . mormon.org. LDS Church. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2014 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ a b c Gedicks, Frederick Mark (July 31, 2008). "Church Discipline and the Regulation of Membership in the Mormon Church". Ecclesiastical Law Journal. Cambridge University Press. 7 (32): 43. doi:10.1017/S0956618X00004920. S2CID 143228475. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Simmons, Brian (December 2017). Coming out Mormon: An examination of religious orientation, spiritual trauma, and PTSD among Mormon and ex-Mormon LGBTQQA adults (PDF). University of Georgia Theses and Dissertations (PhD). Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia. p. 65. [A] current temple recommend [allows one] to participate in temple ordinances. In order to hold a current temple recommend, a person must attest to their ecclesiastical leaders that they maintain faith in the LDS Church, and live according to the standards (including no sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage and abstaining from coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs).
  9. ^ a b "Temples". churchofjesuschrist.org. LDS Church. June 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Beaver, Michelle (March 11, 2011). "Mormon church has a fractured history with gays". The Mercury News. San Jose, California: Digital First Media. Retrieved January 16, 2023. There are three levels to the heaven in which Mormons believe, and to make it to the highest level, one must be married. Perhaps the most sacred church ordinance is the temple marriage, a "sealing" between a man and a woman that is believed to be eternal, according to Richley Crapo, a Utah State University professor. There is no place for homosexuality in Mormon marriages, and no place for noncelibate homosexuals in the top level of Mormon heaven, unless that person has repented accordingly in the afterlife.
  11. ^ a b c Petrey, Taylor G. (February 4, 2015). "My Husband's Not Gay: Homosexuality and the LDS Church". Religion & Politics. St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University in St. Louis. John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. Retrieved February 27, 2023. In the Mormon cosmos, as presently understood, there is simply no room for same-sex relationships. For Mormons, the afterlife consists of heterosexual pairs of divinized men and women. Often church leaders have counseled Mormons who experience same-sex attraction that their unwelcome feelings will disappear in the afterlife. ... [T]he very structure of heaven can only accommodate opposite-sex marriages.
  12. ^ Browning, Bill (December 21, 2021). "Utah billionaire leaves Mormon church with blistering accusation it is actively harming the world". LGBTQ Nation. San Francisco, California. from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
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  19. ^ a b c Fletcher Stack, Peggy (November 30, 2018). "'Mormonism's Scarlet Letter'? It's a mark on their membership that follows some gay Latter-day Saints throughout their lives". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. from the original on February 1, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ a b Kimball, Spencer W. (1976) [1969]. The Miracle of Forgiveness (23rd print ed.). Bookcraft. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-88494-192-7. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive. [Homosexuality] is curable and forgivable. ... Certainly it can be overcome .... [T]o those who say that this practice ... is incurable, I respond: 'How can you say the door cannot be opened until your knuckles are bloody ...? It can be done.'
  21. ^ a b Kimball, Spencer W. (July 10, 1964). A Counselling Problem in the Church. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. pp. 13–14. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive. We know such a disease [homosexuality] is curable.
  22. ^ a b Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems. LDS Church. 1992. pp. 3–4. Retrieved November 3, 2016. [S]uch thoughts and feelings, regardless of their causes, can and should be overcome and sinful behavior should be eliminated. ... Change is possible.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Prince, Gregory A. (September 27, 2017). (PDF) (Speech). Sterling M. McMurrin Lecture Series. University of Utah Tanner Humanities Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Video of the speech.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Quinn, D. Michael (1996). Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252022050 – via Google Books.
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  26. ^ a b . mormonsandgays.org. LDS Church. December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012.
  27. ^ a b c Jones, Morgan (February 7, 2018). "The Weeds' story is one of many stories of LGBT Latter-day Saints that continue to be written". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Today, [LDS] Family Services says it offers the following: 'We assist individuals and families as they respond to same-sex attraction. Our therapists do not provide what is commonly referred to as 'reparative therapy' or 'sexual orientation change efforts'.'
  28. ^ a b Fish, Jessica N.; Russell, Stephen T. (August 2020). "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts are Unethical and Harmful". American Journal of Public Health. 110 (8): 1113–1114. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305765. PMC 7349462. PMID 32639919. With substantial evidence of serious harms associated with exposure to [sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE)] particularly for minors, 21 states (and multiple cities and counties) have passed bipartisan laws or regulations prohibiting SOGICE. ... Furthermore, compared with LGBTQ youths with no exposure, those exposed to SOGICE showed 1.76 times greater odds of seriously considering suicide, 2.23 times greater odds of having attempted suicide, and 2.54 times greater odds of multiple suicide attempts in the previous year.
  29. ^ a b c d e Galliher, Renee; Bradshaw, William; Hyde, Daniel; Dehlin, John P.; Crowell, Katherine (April 2015). "Sexual orientation change efforts among current or former LDS Church members". Journal of Counseling Psychology. 62 (2): 95–105. doi:10.1037/cou0000011. PMID 24635593. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via ResearchGate.
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  39. ^ a b Rector, Hartman Jr. (April 1981). Turning the Hearts. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. Event occurs at 6:47. [T]o be homosexual ... I am sure is an acquired addiction, just as drugs, alcohol and pornography are. Video also available at churchofjesuschrist.org
  40. ^ a b c Understanding and Changing Homosexual Orientation Problems. LDS Church. 1981. pp. 6–7. If the father is rejecting or uninvolved, or if the mother becomes 'smothering' in an attempt to fill the void left by a weak father, the child can become ... a prime candidate for homosexual (homoerotic) thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
  41. ^ a b Packer, Boyd K. (1978). To The One. LDS Church. pp. 36–38. Retrieved February 26, 2023 – via Internet Archive. Have you explored the possibility that the cause [of homosexual temptation] ... will turn out to be a very typical form of selfishness—selfishness in a very subtle form? ... It is very possible to cure it by treating selfishness.
  42. ^ a b c Packer, Boyd K. (1976). To Young Men Only. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  43. ^ a b Faust, James E. (September 1995). "Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil". Ensign. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  44. ^ Understanding and Changing Homosexual Orientation Problems. LDS Church. 1981. p. 4. Because man does have moral free agency it is inconsistent to believe that a person's homosexual orientation is inborn or locked in, and there is no real hope of change.
  45. ^ Homosexuality. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. 1981. p. 2. Retrieved February 27, 2023. It is inconceivable that—as some involved in homosexual behavior claim—[the Lord] would permit his children to be born with desires and inclinations which would require behavior contrary to his plan. Also quoted in Newsweek here.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h Oaks, Dallin H. (October 1995). "Same-Gender Attraction". Ensign. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  47. ^ Kimball, Spencer W. (1980). "President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality". Ensign. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious ... sin of homosexuality.
  48. ^ Brown, Victor L. (June 1970). "Wanted: Parents With Courage". Improvement Era. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. p. 46. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive. A normal 12- or 13-year-old boy or girl exposed to pornographic literature could develop into a homosexual. Also linked here.
  49. ^ Benson, Ezra Taft (October 1982). Fundamentals of Enduring Family Relationships (Speech). LDS General Conference. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. [S]exual promiscuity, homosexuality, drug abuse, alcoholism, vandalism, pornography, and violence. These grave problems are symptoms of failure in the home ....
  50. ^ Kimball, Spencer W. (April 1978). Listen to the Prophets (Speech). LDS General Conference. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Once the carnal in man is no longer checked by the restraints of family life and by real religion, there comes an avalanche of appetites ... whether it is an increase in homosexuality, corruption, drugs, or abortion.
  51. ^ Brown Jr., Victor (July 1975). "Two Views of Sexuality". Ensign. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Parents need to know that lack of proper affection in the home can result in unnatural behavior in their children such as homosexuality ....
  52. ^ Clarke, J. Richard (April 1977). Ministering to Needs through LDS Social Services (Speech). LDS General Conference. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Homosexuality would not occur where there is a normal, loving father-and-son relationship.
  53. ^ Brown Jr., Victor L.; Bergin, Allen E. (1973). Homosexuality: Welfare Services Packet 1 (PDF). LDS Church. pp. 4–5 – via Internet Archive. Homosexual behavior begins in various ways. Some young children are molested by strangers, acquaintances, or even relatives. ...However, not all who are molested become homosexual.
  54. ^ Byrd, A. Dean (September 1999). "When a Loved One Struggles with Same-Sex Attraction". Ensign. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Homosexuality results from an interaction of social, biological, and psychological factors. These factors may include ... sexual abuse ....
  55. ^ a b Packer, Boyd K. (1978). To The One. LDS Church. Retrieved February 26, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  56. ^ Brown, Victor L. (April 1971). The Meaning of Morality (Speech). LDS General Conference. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. The Lord ... did not intend either of the sexes to adopt the other's traits ... men should look and act like men and that women should look and act like women. When these differences are ignored ... [it] can lead to ... homosexuality.
  57. ^ Bergin, Allen (October 1988). "Questions and Answers". Liahona. LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. For example, though a person may suffer from homosexual inclinations that are caused by some combination of biology and environment ....
  58. ^ "Same-Sex Attraction". LDS Church. Retrieved February 27, 2023. We may not know precisely why some people feel attracted to others of the same sex, but for some it is a complex reality and part of the human experience.
  59. ^ Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems. LDS Church. 1992. p. 3. Retrieved November 3, 2016. Be careful not to label the person as 'homosexual' or 'gay'. Such labels can undermine the person's believe that change is possible ....
  60. ^ Mayne, Mitch (March 17, 2016). "How Mormonism Is Creating an Increasingly Toxic Environment for Its LGBT Youth". Huffington Post. New York City. Retrieved February 27, 2023. There are no homosexual members of the church. We are not defined by sexual attraction. We are not defined by sexual behavior. We are sons and daughters of god and all of us have different challenges in the flesh.
  61. ^ a b . Mormon and Gay. LDS Church. October 2016. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive. If you experience same-sex attraction, you may choose to use a sexual orientation label to describe yourself. ... If you decide to ... openly identify as gay, you should be supported.
  62. ^ "Same-Sex Attraction". LDS Church. June 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2023. Identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual or experiencing same-sex attraction is not a sin and does not prohibit one from participating in the church, holding callings, or attending the temple.
  63. ^ a b c Quinn, D. Michael (1996). Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 379. ISBN 978-0252022050. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Google Books. Shortly after that [May 21,] 1959 meeting of the Church Board of Education, [Brigham Young University (BYU)] began 'aversion therapy' to 'cure,' 'repair,' or 'reorient' the same-sex desires of Mormon males. These young men were referred to this program by BYU's mental health counselors, by LDS bishops and stake presidents, by BYU's office to enforce student standards, or by referrals from outside BYU (such as mission presidents and general authorities).
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  202. ^ Atkinson, Sally (June 7, 2011). "Clark Johnsen: From Mormon Missionary to Broadway in The Book of Mormon". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 27, 2023. On the show-stopper 'Turn It Off,' sung by a closeted missionary struggling with his sexuality. 'I'm one of the few missionaries who actually was out to myself as a gay person on my mission and out to some of my mission companions—the ones who asked. [The Book of Mormon song] 'Turn It Off' is such an insightful view into the psychology of a homosexual missionary in particular, but also into all Mormons. In the church, you don't say you're gay, you say you have homosexual tendencies, because gay is this label they want you to hopefully outgrow, which I tried to do. It didn't work.
  203. ^ "Many Utahns Think Homosexuality Can Be Overcome". Park Record. Park City, Utah: Swift Communications. Associated Press. November 13, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via University of Utah.
  204. ^ Fletcher Stack, Peggy (October 3, 2015). "Conversion therapies don't work, experts say, so why do gay Mormons still seek them out?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. from the original on February 1, 2023 – via Internet Archive. Therapists with LDS Family Services do not offer any kind of 'sexual-orientation change efforts,' church spokesman Doug Andersen confirms. But they are willing to help members who 'desire to reconcile same-sex attraction with their religious belief.' The church 'maintains professional relationships with a variety of organizations to ensure the diverse needs of church members can be met in an individualized and ethical way ... and may refer those seeking counseling to professional therapists,' the spokesman says, 'but [it is] not in the business of recommending third-party for-profit organizations, retreats or workshops.' Neither does the Utah-based faith 'discourage individuals from trying to address issues arising from same-sex attraction.' The church's silence on groups such as Journey [Into Manhood], however, should not, Andersen says, be 'construed as a tacit endorsement or stamp of approval.' Without explicit condemnation from top LDS leaders, change programs have sprung up, tapping into a yearning for normalcy and acceptance.
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October 15, 2023
homosexuality, church, jesus, christ, latter, saints, homosexual, sexual, activity, condemned, sinful, church, jesus, christ, latter, saints, church, chastity, church, teaches, that, does, approve, same, marriage, adherents, participate, same, sexual, behavior. All homosexual sexual activity is condemned as sinful by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints LDS Church in its law of chastity and the church teaches that God does not approve of same sex marriage 1 2 Adherents who participate in same sex sexual behavior may face church discipline Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions including those who self identify as gay lesbian or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same sex marriage and any homosexual sexual activity or sexual relationships outside an opposite sex marriage 3 116 4 5 However all people including those in same sex relationships and marriages are permitted to attend the weekly Sunday meetings 6 In order to receive church ordinances such as baptism 7 and to enter church temples adherents are required to practice sexual abstinence outside a legal marriage between one man and one woman 8 9 Additionally in the church s plan of salvation noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive exaltation unless they repent during mortality and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation 10 11 The church s policies and treatment of LGBT people has long been a source of controversy both within and outside the church 12 13 14 They have also been a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members 15 16 17 The LDS Church has campaigned against government recognition of same sex marriage and the topic of same sex marriage has been one of the church s foremost public concerns since 1993 3 1 It has also supported legislation protecting members of the LGBT community against discrimination in employment that also exempt religious institutions from honoring these protections 18 Penalties from church leaders are stiffer for same sex sexual sins than for heterosexual ones in matters of general church discipline missionary requirements and code of conduct enforcement at church run universities 19 The church s statements and actions throughout its history have overwhelmingly focused on male homosexuality and only rarely on female homosexuality lesbianism or bisexuality 3 20 Church leaders previously taught that homosexuality was a curable condition 20 21 They counseled members that they could and should change their attractions 22 and provided therapy and programs with that goal 23 13 19 24 377 379 From 1976 until 1989 the church handbook of policies called for church discipline for members attracted to the same sex punishing merely being homosexual with sanctions similar to those for acts of adultery and child molestation 3 16 43 Even celibate gay people were subject to excommunication 24 382 422 25 139 Church publications now state that individuals do not choose to have such attractions its church run therapy services no longer provides sexual orientation change efforts and the church has no official stance on the causes of homosexuality 26 27 4 These current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the option of potentially harmful attempts to change their sexual orientation 28 29 entering a mixed orientation opposite sex marriage 3 27 30 108 or living a celibate lifestyle without any sexual expression 31 11 32 20 21 Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Summarized changes in teachings through the decades 1 2 In canonized scripture 1 3 Proposed historical tolerance 1 4 Early instances 1 4 1 Patriarch Joseph Fielding Smith 1 5 Increasing attention from leadership 2 Current beliefs and policies 2 1 Baptismal requirements 2 2 Missionary service requirements 2 3 Pro LGBTQ teachings 2 4 November 2015 policy change 2 4 1 The reversal 2 5 Terminology used by the church 2 6 Homosexuality after death 3 Leader and member actions towards LGBT individuals 3 1 LGBT experiences 3 2 Polls on member views 4 Views on gender diversity and identity 5 LGBT Mormon people and organizations 5 1 Statistics 5 2 LGBT LDS people 5 3 LGBT LDS organizations 5 4 Depiction in pop culture and media 6 Criticism and controversies 6 1 Among members 6 2 Among the public 6 3 Packer s address 6 4 Protests 7 Sexual orientation change efforts 7 1 Self help 7 2 BYU aversion therapy program 7 3 Therapist led conversion therapy efforts 7 4 Decline 8 Mixed orientation marriage 8 1 Prevalence 8 2 No longer recommended 8 3 Research on views and outcomes 9 Political involvement around LGBT rights 9 1 Motivations 9 2 Same sex marriage 9 3 Employment housing businesses 10 LGBT Mormon suicides and homelessness 10 1 Suicides 10 2 Homelessness 11 LGBT students and BYU 11 1 University actions and policies 12 See also 13 References 14 External links An LGBT pride flag in front of the Salt Lake City Utah temple Overview EditFor a chronological guide see Timeline of LGBT Mormon history Summarized changes in teachings through the decades Edit For a chronological guide see Timeline of teachings on homosexuality in the LDS church Since the first recorded mentions of homosexuality by top church leaders teachings and policies around the nature etiology mutability and identity around same sex romantic and physical attractions have seen many changes through the decades 33 45 46 34 23 13 21 Church rhetoric around homosexuality has softened over time 35 36 169 170 37 For example global church leaders called general authorities in the past unambiguously pronounced over 30 purported causes of homosexuality e g addiction 38 39 contagion recruiting domineering mother 40 selfishness 41 and denied any biological explanation 3 19 The church has since reversed many of its stances around homosexuality including moving to a stance of neutrality on the origins of homosexuality and acknowledging by implication that past leaders encouragement of mixed orientation marriages may have been erroneous 3 217 A table summarizing some of the major shifts in official dialogue is shown below Summary of changes in teachings on homosexuality Topic Earlier teachings Transitional teachings Current teachingsInborn No 42 13 43 15 44 45 Maybe 46 5 No position 4 Causes Addiction 39 masturbation 47 pornography 48 family dysfunction 49 50 51 smothering mother 40 distant or weak father 52 40 sexual abuse 53 54 selfishness 41 speaking about it 55 34 39 gender non conforming dress or behavior 56 Biological and environmental factors 57 No position 4 1 58 Identity and labels Wrong to use gay labels 46 5 59 60 Identifying as gay is acceptable 61 62 Sexual orientation change efforts Electroshock aversion therapy recommended 63 64 reparative therapy encouraged 65 curable disease 21 20 should be overcome 22 Conversion therapy may be appropriate 4 1 denounces any abusive practices 66 Reparative therapy and other sexual orientation change efforts no longer practiced 67 27 Heterosexual dating and marriage As a therapeutic step 68 69 5 6 70 71 Not to be seen as a therapy or solution 4 1 72 Though the church s position of homosexual behavior as sinful has remained the same the tone in rhetoric from top leaders has gone from confrontational condemnation to sympathetic concern for those afflicted with same sex attraction 73 11 13 However some researchers from the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion argue that this shift is ultimately just reproducing the same anti LGBTQ rhetoric but disguising it in a kinder package with a gentler facade to deflect criticism of overt homophobia and that this rhetoric serves to strengthen institutional church power and the heterosexual subordination of LGBTQ people despite their growing societal acceptance 73 11 12 17 In reference to the harsh rhetoric on homosexuality of the past the apostle D Todd Christofferson stated in 2015 I think we can express things better The same year the apostle Dallin H Oaks spoke on the topic saying I know that the history of the church is not to seek apologies or to give them We sometimes look back on issues and say Maybe that was counterproductive for what we wish to achieve but we look forward and not backward 74 Previous teachings that have changed include the belief that homosexual attractions themselves were a curable illness In 1959 in response to a rash of arrests of gay men in Utah and Idaho church president David O McKay appointed the apostles Spencer W Kimball and Mark E Petersen to focus on curing gay members 75 381 24 377 That same year the church s largest school Brigham Young University BYU began its on campus electroshock aversion therapy program attempting to eliminate or diminish homosexual attractions which lasted over three decades into the mid 1990s 63 3 90 At the time the American Psychiatric Association APA classified homosexuality as a mental illness in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM and Kimball adamantly stated on multiple occasions that it could and should be cured 76 69 7 Kimball also taught that local church leaders could influence gay members by quoting scripture to them appealing to their reason encouraging them to abandon gay lovers and associates praying with them and encouraging them to replace any sexual expression of homosexual feelings with heterosexual dating 69 2 6 In 1973 the APA removed homosexuality from the DSM 77 and in 1990 the World Health Organization WHO removed homosexuality from its list of disorders in the International Classification of Diseases 78 79 Later the church softened its stance on gay feelings instead shifting to a focus on homosexuality as a behavior that should be overcome This change was reflected in a 1992 guidebook update removing all previous references to homosexuality as a disease 80 Top leaders also taught on several occasions from the 1970s to the early 2000s that homosexual feeling may stem from a confusion over one s gender identity or gender roles 81 341 Since then the church has acknowledged the differences between gender identity and sexual orientation 82 83 84 Some changes in teachings have seemed abrupt and contradictory as was the case in 1995 when a First Presidency leader affirmed in the church s Engisgn magazine that the idea of an inborn homosexual orientation was a false belief with no scientific evidence reasoning that if homosexuality were inborn it would frustrate God s plan 43 In the next month s edition however the apostle Oaks refuted those statements though without referring to them directly by asserting that inheritance may have a complex relationship with a person s homosexual orientation 85 58 46 In canonized scripture Edit See also The Bible and homosexuality Christianity and homosexuality and Homosexual behavior and Judaism The entire body of canonized LDS scriptures i e the Bible the Book of Mormon the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants is silent on same sex sexual activity except for the Bible 86 114 However one man s heterosexual misconduct coupled with forsaking a ministry was described in the Book of Mormon as the most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost 87 88 The church interprets certain Bible passages as forbidding same sex erotic behavior 29 89 230 Proposed historical tolerance Edit LDS historian Greg Prince wrote that prior to 1968 there was no standardized church response to homosexual attractions and intercourse and that the most frequent response for over a century had been benign neglect 3 17 Similarly the LDS raised historian D Michael Quinn stated that early church leaders had a more tolerant view of homosexuality given that during the 19th century the church like American society as a whole was relatively tolerant of same sex intimate relationships Quinn also stated that several prominent Utahns were not disciplined after stating they were living in romantic relationships with their same sex domestic partners though historic evidence often only hints at and does not prove sex between particular individuals 24 page needed 90 For example Mormon Tabernacle Choir director Evan Stephens never married a woman but had intimate relationships and shared a bed with a series of male domestic partners and traveling companions 91 These relationships were described with a euphemism in a church magazine 24 237 246 92 Also notable was the relationship of Louise B Felt and May Anderson the church s first two general presidents of Primary the church s organization for children They lived together in the same bedroom for decades and were referred to by other top Primary leaders as the David and Jonathan of Primary 24 125 Quinn s interpretations of previous leaders views and the nature of Evan Stephens relationships and that of Felt and Anderson were criticized as a distortion of history by BYU church apologists Rhett James and George Mitton 93 Additionally LDS raised sociologist Kimball Young cited the early church s practice of sealing men to each other as evidence of latent same sex romantic desires 94 24 136 138 Early instances Edit There were several known or alleged instances of members participating in same sex sexual and romantic relationships in the 19th century and early 20th century These include the young man George Naylor 95 1200 the actress Ada Russell 24 427 428 and the researcher Mildred Berryman 96 97 24 226 228 During the early days of the church when same sex sexual activity by a member was suspected the accused was sometimes disfellowshipped or excommunicated and from 1852 on under the church controlled Utah Territory legislature any sex between males was punished by the courts 95 98 Just over a decade after the church s founding the first known instance of church discipline for same sex sexual activity occurred over the alleged acts between church leader John Bennett and Francis Higbee 24 266 267 Historian Valeen Avery has suggested that one of church founder Joseph Smith s sons David Hyrum Smith born in 1844 died in 1904 may have been gay 99 Patriarch Joseph Fielding Smith Edit Main article Joseph Fielding Smith presiding patriarch nbsp Patriarch Smith was released amidst accusations of homosexual affairsOne of the more prominent instances of same sex erotic activity by a Mormon man in the early 20th century was that of the presiding patriarch Joseph Fielding Smith He served in the position only four years before being released by church president George Albert Smith reportedly for reasons of ill health 100 However there is evidence he had been involved in several gay affairs with at least three men 24 369 371 101 102 Increasing attention from leadership Edit Though the terms homosexuality was in use in the United States US since 1892 the first instance of the term homosexuality in top church leader s public discourse was in a 1952 General Conference speech 103 24 422 3 15 The first time homosexuality was explicitly discussed in the church s Handbook of Instructions was in the 1968 edition over 130 years into the church s history 3 10 Quinn has suggested that early LDS Church leaders had a more tolerant view of homosexuality but leaders like then apostle Gordon B Hinckley have stated that top leaders have always considered homosexual behavior a serious sin 104 105 It appears that by the 1940s church leaders developed a greater preoccupation with homosexual behavior as by 1947 apostle Charles Callis was assigned to handle cases of church members suspected of or having confessed to same sex sexual behavior 106 75 271 Additionally surveillance had been organized in 1945 to stop reported male male sexual activity in the church s now demolished Deseret Gymnasium steam room 85 307 Callis was succeeded in his appointment over homosexual cases by the apostle Spencer W Kimball in 1947 75 271 107 Kimball began sharing this role with apostle Mark E Petersen in 1959 75 381 85 307 108 147 Within eight years they had collectively counseled over one thousand individuals on the topic of homosexuality 3 33 From 1969 through at least 2013 nearly every year saw at least a mention of homosexuality in top leaders discourse in general conference and the church s main magazine 73 6 From the 1950s into the 1990s top leaders taught that homosexuality was a problem correlated with the destruction of American society 73 6 8 Additionally from the 1970s into at least the present they taught it was related to the destruction of the family 73 6 8 10 and a contradiction of God given gender norms 73 6 10 11 Current beliefs and policies EditAs of 2022 all homosexual or same sex sexual activity is forbidden by the church in its law of chastity and the church teaches that God does not approve of same sex marriage 1 109 Adherents who participate in same sex sexual behavior may face church discipline As of 2018 penalties from church leaders are stiffer for same sex transgressions than for heterosexual ones in general church discipline missionary requirements and honor code enforcement at church owned universities 19 Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions including those who self identify as gay lesbian or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same sex marriage and all sexual relations outside an opposite sex marriage 3 116 4 5 All people however including those participating in same sex activity and relationships are permitted to attend weekly church worship services 6 According to church teachings after their deaths non celibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive unless they repent and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement for exaltation 10 11 In Mormon cosmology God the Father is a heterosexual man married to at least one Heavenly Mother and reproduction for exalted beings is an important element of the afterlife 110 47 49 The church teaches that homosexual behavior has always been a grievous sin 105 42 and it no longer holds a position on the origins of homosexuality 3 217 218 4 46 Baptismal requirements Edit In order to receive church ordinances such as baptism and to participate in temple rites adherents are required to abstain from same sex relations or any sexual activity outside a legal marriage between one man and one woman 8 9 As of 2019 when baptismal candidates confess during a baptismal interview to having committed any homosexual transgression they require special clearance from a full time mission president in order to be baptized 7 111 112 Any past heterosexual activity however does not require special clearance from a higher leader unless the person is still cohabiting with any sexual partner out of wedlock 7 Missionary service requirements Edit nbsp Full time young adult proselyting missionaries typically commit to 18 24 months of full time service Openly gay but celibate members are allowed to be missionaries 3 4 Currently openly gay youth can serve a full time proselyting mission for the church if they abstain from sexual activity 3 4 Although sex of any kind before a heterosexual marriage may permanently bar a person from serving as a church missionary 113 any homosexual acts from the age of 15 and later almost always disqualifies a missionary candidate for service even after years of subsequent celibacy except in rare cases 19 114 28 29 Pro LGBTQ teachings Edit In 1999 church president Gordon B Hinckley publicly welcomed lesbian and gay people into LDS congregations 115 116 and in an interview affirmed them as good people 117 Church leaders have spoken out against gay bashing and other physical or verbal assaults on those involved in homosexual relationships 46 118 26 They have also encouraged members to befriend gay members 46 105 The church website now implicitly acknowledges the biological causes of homosexuality 3 4 November 2015 policy change Edit In November 2015 the church updated its policies regarding those in legal same sex unions stating that such couples are apostates from the church 119 120 14 These policies also barred such couples children either adopted or biological from being baptized confirmed ordained or participating in mission service until reaching adulthood and obtaining permission from the First Presidency 3 258 119 Prior to this local leadership had more discretion on whether or how far to pursue church disciplinary action against members in same sex marriages The policy was controversial and received national criticism 3 261 266 The reversal Edit In April 2019 the church reversed its policy on couples in same sex marriages no longer automatically treating same sex marriage as apostasy for church discipline Additionally children of same sex couples would now be allowed to receive blessings from a priesthood holder in good standing and be baptized However it still considered same sex marriage to be a serious transgression and may discipline church members involved in any same sex sexual activity 121 Terminology used by the church Edit Church leaders now teach that it s acceptable to identify as gay 61 117 Previously church leaders stated that the terms homosexual lesbian and gay should only be used as adjectives to describe feelings or behaviors and not to describe people 3 109 198 216 4 Church leaders have referred homosexuality as a sexual orientation 4 Since the 1990s through at least 2015 church leaders have tended to use the term same gender attraction SGA instead of homosexuality in official publications 122 26 Many members have reflected that language in their self identifications with its use being interpreted as an in group signalling of adherence to LDS sexual mores 122 23 24 28 Homosexuality after death Edit On several occasions between 2006 and 2009 multiple top leaders stated that attractions to those of the same sex won t exist after death saying it must be true 123 124 that gay or lesbian inclinations will not exist post mortality 125 and only occur right now in mortality 126 322 4 The 2007 church publication God Loveth His Children stated that others may not be free of this challenge of same gender attraction in this life but that our bodies feelings and desires will be perfected in the next life so that every one of God s children may find joy in a family 33 46 127 4 128 The 2012 church website MormonsAndGays org also stated that a person s attraction to the same sex can be addressed and borne as a mortal test It should not be viewed as a permanent condition some people may not have the opportunity to marry a person of the opposite sex in this life a just God will provide them with ample opportunity to do so in the next 129 130 Additionally in the church s plan of salvation noncelibate gay and lesbian individuals will not be allowed in the top tier of heaven to receive what s called exaltation to become like God unless they repent and a heterosexual marriage is a requirement 10 11 Leader and member actions towards LGBT individuals EditThe church has occasionally addressed the treatment and views of LGBT members Church leaders have given discretion to local leaders on whether to hold church courts for suspected homosexual members with options ranging from acquittal to excommunication 3 17 In 2000 the apostle Packer addressed part of a speech to gay and lesbian youth stating church leaders don t reject but rather love them and show their love by teaching and disciplining them 131 132 Additionally the 2007 church pamphlet God Loveth His Children stated that some gay members had felt rejection by other members and criticized members who did not show them love The document asked gay members to show love and kindness to help other church members become less rejecting 127 From 1976 until 1989 under president Kimball the church handbook called for church discipline for members attracted to the same sex equating merely being homosexual with the seriousness of acts of adultery and child molestation even celibate gay people were subject to excommunication 3 16 43 24 382 422 25 139 Kimball s numerous publications discussing curing homosexuality and condemning same sex attractions even without action and his rise to the church presidency in 1973 set the stage for years of harsh treatment of gay church members 3 36 37 LGBT experiences Edit There are many current and former members of the church who are attracted to people of the same sex and they have had a range of positive and negative experiences with their own spiritual lives in the church and with leaders and other members 133 2 8 27 42 44 For example one member who dated other men reported never having problems with his local leaders 134 Another instance was a Church employee who described in a 2011 article how his stake president denied his temple recommend resulting in him getting fired from his job simply because of his friendship with other gay men and his involvement in a charity bingo for Utah Pride 134 One former LDS bishop and temple ordinance officiator Antonio A Feliz said that his Peruvian mission was directed in the early 1960s 135 by South American area authorities to not teach known homosexuals 136 Several church employees have been fired 137 138 139 or pressured to leave for being gay despite their celibacy 81 162 163 140 or for expressing support of LGBT rights 141 142 Research has found many nonheterosexual members have significant difficulty reconciling their sexual and religious identities 73 2 Polls on member views Edit Numerous surveys have been conducted to gauge LDS member views on LGBT topics In a 2007 US poll only one fourth 24 of members agreed that homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted less than any other major religious group in the survey except for Jehovah s Witnesses and two thirds 68 of LDS adherents said it should be discouraged 143 In a similar poll seven years later there were small changes with one third 36 saying homosexuality should be accepted and about half 57 stating it should be discouraged 144 A 2017 poll found that 40 of LDS members supported same sex marriage while a slim majority 53 were opposed 145 10 In the same poll two thirds 69 of adherents supported laws that protect LGBT Americans against discrimination in employment housing and public accommodations 145 15 20 However half 53 of church members said small private business should be able to deny products and services to gay or lesbian people for religious reasons 145 15 20 Older surveys from the 20th century include a 1977 Utah poll in which three fourths of LDS identified responders opposed equal rights for gay teachers or ministers and 62 favored discrimination against gay people in business and government versus two thirds and 38 respectively of non LDS responders 146 3 15 147 220 At BYU a 1997 poll found that 1 3 of male students would avoid befriending a gay student and 42 of all students believed that even celibate honor code following gay members should be banned from attending the university 148 149 Views on gender diversity and identity EditMain article Gender minorities and the LDS church Expressions and identities for sexuality and gender are separate but related aspects of a person and stem from similar biological origins 150 151 152 1 The church has acknowledged differences between gender identity and sexual orientation stating that leaders have unfinished business in teaching on transgender situations 83 84 153 Gender identity and gender roles play an important part in Latter Day Saint teachings which assert a strict binary of spiritual gender for spirit bodies Leaders say every person s spirit body is a literal offspring of Heavenly Parents 3 19 276 154 155 According to current church policy transgender and other gender diverse members who have undergone an elective transsexual operation are banned from temple rites or receiving priesthood authority Additionally a transgender baptismal candidate who had already undergone gender confirming surgery can only be baptized with First Presidency approval and a person currently considering such a surgery is barred from baptism 84 156 153 As of 2020 members who even non surgically gender transition will receive membership restrictions particularly with respect to priesthood and temple ordinances 157 158 159 LGBT Mormon people and organizations EditMain article LGBT Mormon people and organizations Statistics Edit Though there are no official numbers for how many members of the LDS Church identify their romantic orientation as gay bisexual or lesbian Large surveys as recent as 2020 at the predominantly LDS BYU have found over 13 of students had marked their sexual orientation as something other than strictly heterosexual 160 161 A 1972 study showed that between 10 and 13 percent of college aged LDS men reported past experimentation with male male sexual activity which was similar to the percentage of non LDS men 162 Another poll of BYU students in 1997 found that 10 had a gay family member and 69 knew someone attracted to those of the same sex 148 Gary Watts former president of Family Fellowship estimated in 2007 that only 10 percent of gay members stayed active in the church 163 nbsp nbsp Some nationally recognized LGBT former Mormons Tyler Glenn left and Kate Kendell LGBT LDS people Edit Prominent LGBT or same sex attracted church members include the apostle Christofferson s brother Tom citation needed and therapist Ty Mansfield citation needed Prominent LGBT former members include writer Dustin Lance Black singer Tyler Glenn historian D Michael Quinn gay rights activist Leonard Matlovich and attorney Kate Kendell LGBT LDS organizations Edit nbsp nbsp Some principle homosexual Mormon groups Organizations that have supported members and former members attracted to those of the same sex include Affirmation North Star Mormons Building Bridges Mama Dragons Evergreen International USGA Previous break off LDS based churches for LGBT people included the United Order Family of Christ in the 70s and the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ in the 80s Depiction in pop culture and media Edit See also Latter Day Saints in popular culture LGBT Mormon characters and themes have been featured in many films plays and pieces of literature with some examples listed below Films Latter Days G B F 164 and The Falls trilogy 165 166 Documentaries Believer Mormon No More 8 The Mormon Proposition Same Sex Attracted 167 168 My Husband s Not Gay 169 Transmormon 170 249 and Church and State 171 TV series Room 104 172 173 and The Catch 170 277 279 Stage productions Book of Mormon musical 174 Angels in America 8 14 175 176 Facing East 175 177 Confessions of a Mormon Boy 175 and Missa Solemnis or The Play About Henry 175 178 Books Advise and Consent 179 180 Criticism and controversies EditMain article Criticism of the LDS church The church s policies and treatment of LGBT people has long been a source of controversy both inside and outside the church 13 181 and a significant cause of disagreement and disaffection by members 182 183 16 Among members Edit A 2011 online survey of over 3 000 individuals who no longer believe church truth claims found that around ten percent would consider returning if among several changes LGBT persons were accepted and treated equally 184 Past leaders teachings on reparative therapy and the origins of homosexuality have also been criticized 185 186 Among the public Edit The controversial policies for LGBT persons has made an impression on the general public A 2003 nationwide Pew Research Center survey of over 1 000 LGBT Americans found that 83 of them said the LDS Church was generally unfriendly towards lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people surpassed only by the Muslim religion at 84 181 Additionally in May 2008 a Georgia Tech gay rights manual referred to the LDS Church as anti gay After two students sued the school for discrimination a judge ordered that the material be removed 187 Packer s address Edit nbsp Packer s conference address published here has been criticized of condoning anti gay violence 108 150 188 189 One general conference address later distributed as a pamphlet that generated controversy was Packer s To Young Men Only which condones an example of a male missionary who punched his missionary companion for making romantic advances with Packer stating Well thanks Somebody had to do it 190 42 Historians Michael Quinn and Connell O Donovan have argued these comments essentially advocated anti Gay violence 108 and that the church itself endorsed such behavior by continuing to publish Packer s speech in pamphlet form 191 38 39 Former bishop David Hardy also condemned the pamphlet and other publications as promoting violence against gay people and providing harmful misinformation to his gay son 188 189 In 1995 Oaks said Our doctrines obviously condemn those who engage in so called gay bashing physical or verbal attacks on persons thought to be involved in homosexual or lesbian behavior 46 In 2016 the church ceased publishing the pamphlet and removed it from the church website 192 Protests Edit The policies and treatment of LGBTQ individuals have prompted several protests and mass resignations including the following November 2 2008 Hundreds of people gathered at the Salt Lake City library in a protest of Prop 8 organized by LDS mothers of gay children 193 194 195 November 6 2008 In Los Angeles over two thousand people protested at the LDS temple over the LDS Church s heavy involvement in the recent passing of California s Prop 8 banning same sex marriage 196 November 7 2008 Three days after Prop 8 passed nearly five thousand protesters gathered at the Salt Lake Temple 197 That evening a candlelight vigil by about 600 mothers of LGBT children was also held at the Salt Lake Temple 195 194 193 October 7 2010 Thousands of individuals surrounded Temple Square in protest of Boyd K Packer s Cleansing the Inner Vessel conference address in which he characterized same sex physical attractions as impure and unnatural tendencies that could be overcome 13 November 14 2015 In response to a policy change on members in same sex marriages and their children 1 500 members gathered across from the church s offices to submit their resignation letters 183 198 with thousands more resigning online in the weeks after 199 16 In early November top church leaders updated the Church Handbook banning a child of a parent living in a same gender relationship from baby blessings baptism confirmation priesthood ordination and missionary service until the child had moved out was of legal age disavow ed the practice of same gender cohabitation and marriage and received approval from the Office of the First Presidency The policy update also added entering a same sex marriage as a type of apostasy mandating a disciplinary council 14 However according to a November 2016 study the vast majority of active members supported the new policy on same sex parents and their children 200 Sexual orientation change efforts EditMain article Sexual orientation change efforts and the LDS Church See also BYU LGBT history Aversion therapy at BYU nbsp The 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon satirized church teachings on changing sexual orientation with an LDS missionary character saying he could turn it off like a light switch in reference to his gay feelings 201 202 Because of its ban against same sex sexual activity and same sex marriage the LDS Church has a long history of teaching that its adherents who are attracted to the same sex can and should attempt to alter their feelings through righteous striving and sexual orientation change efforts also called conversion therapy or reparative therapy 29 158 These current teachings and policies leave homosexual members with the option of potentially harmful attempts to change their sexual orientation 152 2 3 entering a mixed orientation opposite sex marriage MOM or living a celibate lifestyle without any sexual expression including masturbation 28 31 11 32 20 21 Self help Edit In the 60s and 70s Church leaders taught that homosexuality was a curable disease and they encouraged self help attempts by homosexual members to change their sexual orientation and cultivate heterosexual feelings 23 13 19 While the LDS Church has somewhat softened its stance toward LGBTQ individuals in recent years leaders continued to communicate into 2015 that changing one s sexual orientation was possible through personal righteousness prayer faith in Christ psychotherapy and group therapy and retreats 29 96 BYU aversion therapy program Edit nbsp BYU s Honor Code office required some students reported for homosexual behavior to undergo electroshock and vomit aversion therapies in the 1970s 108 155 To assist in members efforts for sexual orientation change church leaders developed an aversion therapy program on BYU campus for gay adolescents and adults in 1959 since simply being attracted to people of the same sex was an excommunicable sin under church president Kimball 63 23 2 The on campus aversion therapy program lasted into the mid 1990s 3 90 Therapist led conversion therapy efforts Edit Teachings later changed as it became clear these self help and aversive techniques were not working From the 80s to the 2000s reparative therapy also called conversion therapy became the dominant treatment method and it was often recommended by the church endorsed group Evergreen Member attitudes reflected church leaders For example in a 2010 survey of 625 Utah residents 55 of LDS identified respondents believed sexual orientation could be changed 203 and a 2015 survey of 1 612 LGBT Mormons and former Mormons found that 73 of men and 43 of women had attempted sexual orientation change usually through multiple methods across many years 29 5 Decline Edit Counselor led sexual orientation change efforts were declining among members around 2015 as church teachings evolved 23 17 20 204 Leaders had explicitly stated in the 2012 MormonsAndGays website that same sex sexual attractions were not a choice 23 21 and affirmed in the 2016 MormonAndGay update that therapy focusing on a change in sexual orientation was unethical the approach church leaders had used for decades 205 194 195 206 27 The 2016 update however still offered qualified statements that reparative therapy should be an option and promised that orientation change could occur 205 195 The implicit indorsement of conversion therapy was overturned in 2019 152 4 5 207 Mixed orientation marriage EditFurther information Mixed orientation marriage nbsp A heterosexual couple in front of an LDS temple following their temple sealing marriage ceremony LDS leaders have stated that opposite sex marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step for members physically attracted to those of the same sex 72 4 1 Many gay and lesbian members of the LDS Church have felt that they should marry someone of the opposite sex because of the church s emphasis on marriage According to LDS historian Greg Prince for decades church leaders counseled many men to marry a woman with the promise this would cure their homosexuality and the overall track record of these mixed orientation marriages MOMs has generally been dismal often catastrophic and sometimes lethal despite the best intentions 3 27 30 108 208 The church s 2012 website acknowledged by implication that past leaders advice for individuals attracted to the same sex to marry someone of the opposite sex may have been erroneous 3 217 Leaders have said that homosexual attractions will not continue past death 4 and that those who don t have an opportunity to be married in this life will in the afterlife 209 46 Prevalence Edit Evergreen director David Pruden was quoted as stating in 2002 that 40 of the approximately 150 callers requesting help each month on their hotline were Mormon men married to women and distressed about their homosexual attractions 25 134 Additionally a 2004 publication quoted Family Services statistics which showed that about half of the approximately 400 gay Mormon men they had seen as clients for over a year during the past 30 years were married though only half of those were able to stay married 25 135 210 The church teaches that heterosexual marriage is one of several requirements for afterlife entry into the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom Church leaders previously encouraged this with one former church employee stating in 1986 that he had experienced pressure to marry at the age of 24 in the belief that it would change his homosexual feelings later resulting in a divorce 211 Artist Trevor Southey stated that he was counseled by the church to marry a woman in an attempt to reorient his sexuality and the marriage ultimately failed 3 9 No longer recommended Edit The first high ranking LDS leaders to publicly speak out against mixed orientation marriages was Gordon Hinckley in 1987 when he stated that marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step to solve problems such as homosexual inclinations or practices 105 3 29 Church publications now warn local congregation leaders that encouraging members to attempt to cultivate heterosexual feelings generally leads to frustration and discouragement 80 Previously the church had taught that it was possible to overcome same sex feelings 55 36 38 and that heterosexual feelings can emerge once an individual ceases any same sex sexual activity making a heterosexual marriage possible 80 Oaks stated in 2007 that marriages should not be entered under false pretenses 4 but also stated a heterosexual marriage would be appropriate for a man attracted to men who had shown their ability to deal with these feelings or inclinations and put them in the background and feel a great attraction for a daughter of God 4 The most recent statement by a general church leader as of 2015 was when the apostle Oaks stated that leaders definitely do not recommend marriage as a solution for same gender feelings No it s not a therapy In times past decades ago there were some practices to that effect We have eradicated them in the church now 72 Another recent mention is in the church website on homosexuality which features a gay man married to a straight woman 212 Research on views and outcomes Edit Several surveys have been done on the topic of LGBT Mormons and opposite sex marriages A 1997 study by members of the BYU Family Studies Department found that of over 200 single LDS women of diverse ages polled 33 would be willing to seriously date and consider marriage with a hypothetical LDS college grad who had been sexually active with other men 3 years ago 213 A 2015 study found that 51 of the 1 612 LGBT Mormon respondents who had entered a mixed orientation marriage ended up divorcing 208 301 214 and projected that 69 of all these marriages would ultimately end in divorce 30 108 215 216 The study also found that engaging in mixed orientation marriages and involvement in the LDS Church were correlated with higher rates of depression and a lower quality of life for LGBT people 208 301 304 In 2007 during a panel held in a church headquarters building several gay LDS members reported that they were able to maintain their heterosexual marriage 217 Political involvement around LGBT rights EditMain article LGBT rights and the LDS Church See also LDS Church and politics in the USA nbsp The LDS Church has held notable influence on laws around LGBT individuals in the United States especially in the state of Utah The LDS Church has been involved with many pieces of legislation relating to LGBT discrimination and same sex marriage Motivations Edit Church leaders have stated that it will become involved in political matters if it perceives that there is a moral issue at stake and wields considerable influence on a national level 218 219 220 In 1997 then church president Gordon Hinckley declared the church would do all it can to stop the recognition of same sex marriage in the United States and the apostle M Russell Ballard has said the church is locked in if anything interferes with the principle of marriage only being between a man and a woman 3 73 221 nbsp The church distributed hundreds of thousands of these Protect Marriage Coalition lawn signs during their involvement with the pro Prop 8 campaign 222 Same sex marriage Edit Church involvement around same sex marriage legislation include playing important roles in defeating same sex marriage legalization in Hawaii Amendment 2 Alaska Measure 2 Nebraska Initiative 416 Nevada Question 2 California Prop 22 and Utah Amendment 3 3 2 65 69 71 78 85 During Prop 8 church members represented as much as 80 to 90 percent of the early volunteers petitioning voters door to door and 50 percent of the campaign funds in support of it 223 Church leaders are prohibited from employing their authority to perform same sex marriages and church property cannot be used for same sex weddings or receptions 3 250 A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute survey found that over half 52 of Mormon young adults 18 29 supported same sex marriage while less than a third 32 of Mormon seniors 65 did the same 145 11 224 Employment housing businesses Edit The church opposes same sex marriage but does not object to rights regarding hospitalization and medical care fair housing and employment rights or probate rights so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference 225 A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute survey found that over half 53 of all Mormon adults believed small private business should be able to deny products and services to gay or lesbian people for religious reasons compared to 33 of the 40 000 American adults surveyed 145 15 23 and 24 of all Mormon adults oppose laws that protect LGBT Americans against discrimination in employment housing and public accommodations 224 145 20 LGBT Mormon suicides and homelessness EditMain article LGBT Mormon suicides nbsp LGBT persons are at a higher risk of depression anxiety and suicide Suicides Edit In society at large LGBT individuals especially youth are at a higher risk of depression anxiety and suicide 226 227 due to minority stress stemming from societal anti LGBT biases and stigma rejection and internalized homophobia 228 Some individuals and organizations have linked church teachings against homosexuality and the treatment of LGBT Mormons by other members and leaders as contributing to LGBT Mormon suicides 229 230 231 LDS historian Gregory Prince stated that by condemning homosexuality as evil self inflicted and impossible in postmortal existence LDS Church leaders have enabled harsh behavior by its members with the alarming number of LDS LGBT homeless and Utah s highest per capita teen suicide rate in the country manifesting the effects of this cruelty 3 4 LGBT Mormon suicides and experiences with suicidal ideation have received media coverage 232 233 234 In January 2016 the LDS Church mourned over reported suicides of LGBT Mormons and stated that leaders and members are taught to reach out in an active caring way to all especially to youth who feel estranged or isolated 235 The Affirmation website reported over 30 LGBT Mormon victims died by suicide between 1971 and 2008 236 237 including five gay male BYU students who all died by suicide in 1965 3 290 108 156 238 Homelessness Edit In 2013 it was estimated that among the approximately 1000 homeless Utah youths 30 to 40 were LGBTQ with about half of those coming from LDS homes 239 240 Another survey showed about 5 000 youth in Utah experience homelessness per year with 60 coming from LDS homes and over 40 of unhoused Utah youth were LGBT 227 The Youth Futures Homeless Shelter in the predominantly LDS city of Ogden Utah reported in 2015 that over half their often homeless youth clients self identified as gay or trans 241 A survey by the Utah Department of Human Services found 48 of gay lesbian and bisexual teenagers in the state seriously considered suicide in 2021 242 In the large 2012 survey Growing Up LGBT in America over two thirds of LGBT youth in Utah reported not feeling accepted in their community compared to 42 of LGBT youth nationwide and 3 4 said they would need to leave Utah to feel accepted 243 LGBT students and BYU EditMain article BYU LGBT history See also Timeline of BYU LGBT history BYU USGA and Church Educational System Honor Code nbsp LGBT BYU students at an unofficial LGBTQ BYU organization USGA meeting in 2017 Brigham Young University BYU is the largest religious university in North America and is the flagship institution of the LDS Church s educational system Several LGBT rights organizations have criticized BYU s Honor Code as it relates to LGBT students and The Princeton Review has regularly ranked BYU among the most LGBT unfriendly schools in the United States 244 245 As of 2017 BYU campus offered no official LGBT specific resources 246 Large surveys of over 7 000 BYU students in 2020 and 2017 found that over 13 had marked their sexual orientation as something other than strictly heterosexual while the other survey showed that 2 had reported their gender identity as transgender or something other than cisgender male or female 160 161 University actions and policies Edit nbsp BYU has been ranked as the worst large US university for LGBT persons 244 245 BYU has seen many changes in policies around its LGBT student population In 1962 a ban on students known to have a homosexual orientation was enacted by Ernest Wilkinson but softened a decade later by his successor Dallin H Oaks to only ban overt and active homosexuals 24 375 247 248 Under Oaks there was a system of surveillance and searches of student dorms in order to expel students suspected of any same sex sexual activity 249 250 251 These efforts included stakeouts by BYU security looking for license plates of BYU students at gay bars in Salt Lake City and fake contact advertisements placed in gay publications attempting to ensnare BYU students 252 24 442 253 In the late 1990s a reference to homosexual conduct was added to the BYU Honor Code 254 and there was a ban on coming out for lesbian gay or bisexual students 255 256 257 In 2007 BYU changed the honor code to read that stating one s sexual orientation was not an honor code issue 258 In February 2020 BYU removed the ban on homosexual behavior from its Honor Code 259 which many initially thought allowed LGBT students to perform public displays of romantic affection although like straight students they still must abstain from sexual relationships outside of marriage 259 However BYU leadership later stated that removing homosexual behavior from the Honor Code still did not permit any public displays of romantic affection towards a same sex partner sparking more criticism and protests from some LGBT people and supporters 260 261 262 See also Edit nbsp LDS Church portal nbsp LGBT portalLGBTQ people and the Community of Christ Timeline of LGBT Mormon history LGBT Mormon people and organizations Gender minorities and the LDS Church BYU LGBT history Sexuality and Mormonism LGBT rights in Utah List of Christian denominational positions on homosexualityReferences Edit a b Same Sex Marriage LDS Church July 2019 Retrieved February 27 2023 What is the Church s position on homosexuality Is it OK to be friends with people who have homosexual feelings Ensign Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church July 2012 Retrieved February 28 2023 The church opposes homosexual behavior Homosexual behavior is contrary to our purpose and violates God s commandments Neither the Lord nor His church can condone any behavior that violates His laws Again we condemn the immoral behavior not the person a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Prince Gregory A 2019 Gay Rights and the Mormon Church Intended Actions Unintended Consequences Salt Lake City Utah University of Utah Press ISBN 9781607816638 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Interview With Elder Dallin H Oaks and Elder Lance B Wickman Same Gender Attraction Press release LDS Church September 2006 Retrieved February 27 2023 See also The Salt Lake Tribune s archived transcript here a b Hinckley Gordon B November 1998 What Are People Asking about Us Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Worship with Us What to Expect mormon org LDS Church Archived from the original on February 15 2019 Retrieved July 2 2014 via Internet Archive a b c Gedicks Frederick Mark July 31 2008 Church Discipline and the Regulation of Membership in the Mormon Church Ecclesiastical Law Journal Cambridge University Press 7 32 43 doi 10 1017 S0956618X00004920 S2CID 143228475 Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Simmons Brian December 2017 Coming out Mormon An examination of religious orientation spiritual trauma and PTSD among Mormon and ex Mormon LGBTQQA adults PDF University of Georgia Theses and Dissertations PhD Athens Georgia University of Georgia p 65 A current temple recommend allows one to participate in temple ordinances In order to hold a current temple recommend a person must attest to their ecclesiastical leaders that they maintain faith in the LDS Church and live according to the standards including no sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage and abstaining from coffee tea alcohol tobacco and illicit drugs a b Temples churchofjesuschrist org LDS Church June 2019 Retrieved February 27 2023 a b c Beaver Michelle March 11 2011 Mormon church has a fractured history with gays The Mercury News San Jose California Digital First Media Retrieved January 16 2023 There are three levels to the heaven in which Mormons believe and to make it to the highest level one must be married Perhaps the most sacred church ordinance is the temple marriage a sealing between a man and a woman that is believed to be eternal according to Richley Crapo a Utah State University professor There is no place for homosexuality in Mormon marriages and no place for noncelibate homosexuals in the top level of Mormon heaven unless that person has repented accordingly in the afterlife a b c Petrey Taylor G February 4 2015 My Husband s Not Gay Homosexuality and the LDS Church Religion amp Politics St Louis Missouri Washington University in St Louis John C Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Retrieved February 27 2023 In the Mormon cosmos as presently understood there is simply no room for same sex relationships For Mormons the afterlife consists of heterosexual pairs of divinized men and women Often church leaders have counseled Mormons who experience same sex attraction that their unwelcome feelings will disappear in the afterlife T he very structure of heaven can only accommodate opposite sex marriages Browning Bill December 21 2021 Utah billionaire leaves Mormon church with blistering accusation it is actively harming the world LGBTQ Nation San Francisco California Archived from the original on December 21 2021 Retrieved February 27 2023 a b c Winters Rosemary February 23 2023 Mormon apostle s words about gays spark protest The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved November 16 2016 a b c Bailey Sarah Pulliam November 11 2016 Mormon Church to exclude children of same sex couples from getting blessed and baptized until they are 18 The Washington Post Archived from the original on January 17 2023 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Murphy Caryle Most U S Christian groups grow more accepting of homosexuality pewresearch org Pew Research Center Retrieved February 27 2023 a b c Levin Sam August 15 2016 I m not a Mormon fresh mass resignation over anti LGBT beliefs The Guardian Retrieved February 27 2023 Hatch Heidi April 13 2016 Millennial Mormons leaving faith at higher rate than previous generations Salt Lake City Utah CBS KUTV Retrieved February 27 2023 Goodstein Laurie March 12 2015 Utah Passes Antidiscrimination Bill Backed by Mormon Leaders The New York Times New York City Archived from the original on February 25 2023 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive a b c Fletcher Stack Peggy November 30 2018 Mormonism s Scarlet Letter It s a mark on their membership that follows some gay Latter day Saints throughout their lives The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Archived from the original on February 1 2023 via Internet Archive a b Kimball Spencer W 1976 1969 The Miracle of Forgiveness 23rd print ed Bookcraft p 82 ISBN 978 0 88494 192 7 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Homosexuality is curable and forgivable Certainly it can be overcome T o those who say that this practice is incurable I respond How can you say the door cannot be opened until your knuckles are bloody It can be done a b Kimball Spencer W July 10 1964 A Counselling Problem in the Church Provo Utah Brigham Young University pp 13 14 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive We know such a disease homosexuality is curable a b Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems LDS Church 1992 pp 3 4 Retrieved November 3 2016 S uch thoughts and feelings regardless of their causes can and should be overcome and sinful behavior should be eliminated Change is possible a b c d e f Prince Gregory A September 27 2017 Science vs Dogma Biology Challenges the LDS Paradigm of Homosexuality PDF Speech Sterling M McMurrin Lecture Series University of Utah Tanner Humanities Center Salt Lake City Utah Archived from the original PDF on March 28 2019 Retrieved February 27 2023 Video of the speech a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Quinn D Michael 1996 Same Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth Century Americans A Mormon Example Champaign Illinois University of Illinois Press ISBN 978 0252022050 via Google Books a b c d Schow Ron Fall 2005 Homosexual Attractions and LDS Marriage Decisions PDF Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought 38 3 133 143 doi 10 2307 45227379 JSTOR 45227379 S2CID 254393745 Retrieved June 18 2017 a b Love One Another A Discussion on Same Sex Attraction mormonsandgays org LDS Church December 6 2012 Archived from the original on December 6 2012 a b c Jones Morgan February 7 2018 The Weeds story is one of many stories of LGBT Latter day Saints that continue to be written Deseret News Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Today LDS Family Services says it offers the following We assist individuals and families as they respond to same sex attraction Our therapists do not provide what is commonly referred to as reparative therapy or sexual orientation change efforts a b Fish Jessica N Russell Stephen T August 2020 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts are Unethical and Harmful American Journal of Public Health 110 8 1113 1114 doi 10 2105 AJPH 2020 305765 PMC 7349462 PMID 32639919 With substantial evidence of serious harms associated with exposure to sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts SOGICE particularly for minors 21 states and multiple cities and counties have passed bipartisan laws or regulations prohibiting SOGICE Furthermore compared with LGBTQ youths with no exposure those exposed to SOGICE showed 1 76 times greater odds of seriously considering suicide 2 23 times greater odds of having attempted suicide and 2 54 times greater odds of multiple suicide attempts in the previous year a b c d e Galliher Renee Bradshaw William Hyde Daniel Dehlin John P Crowell Katherine April 2015 Sexual orientation change efforts among current or former LDS Church members Journal of Counseling Psychology 62 2 95 105 doi 10 1037 cou0000011 PMID 24635593 Retrieved February 27 2023 via ResearchGate a b c Dehlin John P 2015 Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Identity Conflict and Psychosocial Health Amongst Same Sex Attracted Mormons PhD Utah State University Retrieved February 26 2023 a b Phillips Rick 2005 Conservative Christian Identity amp Same Sex Orientation The Case of Gay Mormons Frankfurt Germany Peter Lang Publishing ISBN 978 0820474809 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Academia edu a b Cook Bryce Summer 2017 What Do We Know of God s Will for His LGBT Children An Examination of the LDS Church s Current Position on Homosexuality Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought 50 2 doi 10 5406 dialjmormthou 50 2 0001 S2CID 190443414 Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Vance Laura March 13 2015 Women in New Religions New York City New York University Press ISBN 978 1479816026 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books Harrison Mette Ivie March 18 2016 Mormons and Gays Where Are We Now Huffington Post New York City Retrieved February 27 2023 Schow Ron Schow Wayne Raynes Marybeth June 1991 Peculiar People Mormons and Same Sex Orientation Salt Lake City Utah Signature Books pp xxiv xxvii ISBN 978 1 56085 046 5 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Young Neil J July 1 2016 Out of Obscurity Mormonism Since 1945 Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0199358229 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books Mormon stance on gays softening Richmond Times Dispatch October 9 2013 Archived from the original on February 8 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Mormon Church Elder Calls Homosexuality an Addiction The New York Times Associated Press April 6 1981 p A12 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved April 22 2023 a b Rector Hartman Jr April 1981 Turning the Hearts Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church Event occurs at 6 47 T o be homosexual I am sure is an acquired addiction just as drugs alcohol and pornography are Video also available at churchofjesuschrist org a b c Understanding and Changing Homosexual Orientation Problems LDS Church 1981 pp 6 7 If the father is rejecting or uninvolved or if the mother becomes smothering in an attempt to fill the void left by a weak father the child can become a prime candidate for homosexual homoerotic thoughts feelings and behaviors a b Packer Boyd K 1978 To The One LDS Church pp 36 38 Retrieved February 26 2023 via Internet Archive Have you explored the possibility that the cause of homosexual temptation will turn out to be a very typical form of selfishness selfishness in a very subtle form It is very possible to cure it by treating selfishness a b c Packer Boyd K 1976 To Young Men Only LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive a b Faust James E September 1995 Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Understanding and Changing Homosexual Orientation Problems LDS Church 1981 p 4 Because man does have moral free agency it is inconsistent to believe that a person s homosexual orientation is inborn or locked in and there is no real hope of change Homosexuality Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church 1981 p 2 Retrieved February 27 2023 It is inconceivable that as some involved in homosexual behavior claim the Lord would permit his children to be born with desires and inclinations which would require behavior contrary to his plan Also quoted in Newsweek here a b c d e f g h Oaks Dallin H October 1995 Same Gender Attraction Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Kimball Spencer W 1980 President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sin of homosexuality Brown Victor L June 1970 Wanted Parents With Courage Improvement Era Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church p 46 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive A normal 12 or 13 year old boy or girl exposed to pornographic literature could develop into a homosexual Also linked here Benson Ezra Taft October 1982 Fundamentals of Enduring Family Relationships Speech LDS General Conference LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 S exual promiscuity homosexuality drug abuse alcoholism vandalism pornography and violence These grave problems are symptoms of failure in the home Kimball Spencer W April 1978 Listen to the Prophets Speech LDS General Conference LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Once the carnal in man is no longer checked by the restraints of family life and by real religion there comes an avalanche of appetites whether it is an increase in homosexuality corruption drugs or abortion Brown Jr Victor July 1975 Two Views of Sexuality Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Parents need to know that lack of proper affection in the home can result in unnatural behavior in their children such as homosexuality Clarke J Richard April 1977 Ministering to Needs through LDS Social Services Speech LDS General Conference LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Homosexuality would not occur where there is a normal loving father and son relationship Brown Jr Victor L Bergin Allen E 1973 Homosexuality Welfare Services Packet 1 PDF LDS Church pp 4 5 via Internet Archive Homosexual behavior begins in various ways Some young children are molested by strangers acquaintances or even relatives However not all who are molested become homosexual Byrd A Dean September 1999 When a Loved One Struggles with Same Sex Attraction Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Homosexuality results from an interaction of social biological and psychological factors These factors may include sexual abuse a b Packer Boyd K 1978 To The One LDS Church Retrieved February 26 2023 via Internet Archive Brown Victor L April 1971 The Meaning of Morality Speech LDS General Conference LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 The Lord did not intend either of the sexes to adopt the other s traits men should look and act like men and that women should look and act like women When these differences are ignored it can lead to homosexuality Bergin Allen October 1988 Questions and Answers Liahona LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 For example though a person may suffer from homosexual inclinations that are caused by some combination of biology and environment Same Sex Attraction LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 We may not know precisely why some people feel attracted to others of the same sex but for some it is a complex reality and part of the human experience Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems LDS Church 1992 p 3 Retrieved November 3 2016 Be careful not to label the person as homosexual or gay Such labels can undermine the person s believe that change is possible Mayne Mitch March 17 2016 How Mormonism Is Creating an Increasingly Toxic Environment for Its LGBT Youth Huffington Post New York City Retrieved February 27 2023 There are no homosexual members of the church We are not defined by sexual attraction We are not defined by sexual behavior We are sons and daughters of god and all of us have different challenges in the flesh a b Frequently Asked Questions Mormon and Gay LDS Church October 2016 Archived from the original on December 25 2019 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive If you experience same sex attraction you may choose to use a sexual orientation label to describe yourself If you decide to openly identify as gay you should be supported Same Sex Attraction LDS Church June 2019 Retrieved February 27 2023 Identifying as gay lesbian or bisexual or experiencing same sex attraction is not a sin and does not prohibit one from participating in the church holding callings or attending the temple a b c Quinn D Michael 1996 Same Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth Century Americans A Mormon Example Champaign Illinois University of Illinois Press p 379 ISBN 978 0252022050 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books Shortly after that May 21 1959 meeting of the Church Board of Education Brigham Young University BYU began aversion therapy to cure repair or reorient the same sex desires of Mormon males These young men were referred to this program by BYU s mental health counselors by LDS bishops and stake presidents by BYU s office to enforce student standards or by referrals from outside BYU such as mission presidents and general authorities Blattner Robert L October 1 1975 Counseling the Homosexual In A Church Setting Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy 1 1 9 Retrieved February 27 2023 What is the church s feeling about electric shock and other forms of behavior modification Our experience so far has been that most people coming to us can be helped with it Bingham Ronald D Potts Richard W April 1 1993 Homosexuality An LDS Perspective Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy Brigham Young University 19 1 14 Archived from the original on November 4 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 Most Church leaders seem to agree that professional counselors can play an important role in helping individuals experiencing problems with homosexuality The church has supported efforts of the LDS Social Services and other consulting professionals to research the issues and to offer a reparative therapy approach which assumes that homosexual behavior can be changed Woodruff Daniel March 15 2016 New book details LDS teen s humiliating gay conversion therapy in Utah Salt Lake City Utah CBS KUTV Retrieved February 27 2023 The church denounces any therapy that subjects an individual to abusive practices Seeking Professional Help mormonandgay lds org LDS Church October 2016 I t is unethical to focus professional treatment on an assumption that a change in sexual orientation will or must occur Kimball Spencer W 1976 1969 The Miracle of Forgiveness 23rd print ed Bookcraft p 86 ISBN 978 0 88494 192 7 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Some have convinced themselves that they have no desire toward the opposite sex L et this individual repent of his perversion force himself to return to normal pursuits and interests with the opposite sex and this normal pattern heterosexual dating can become natural again a b c Kimball Spencer W Petersen Mark 1970 Hope for Transgressors LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Understanding and Changing Homosexual Orientation Problems LDS Church 1981 pp 20 25 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Brigham Young University Homosexual orientation problems are often a reflection of poor interpersonal relationships with peers Discuss dating and dating practices Give female interaction assignments S peaking to a girl may be considered a task as may inviting her to a movie However to actually meet her escort her to the movie escort her home and say goodnight is an experience cycle designed to meet a predetermined goal Homosexuality Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church 1981 p 6 Retrieved February 27 2023 Encourage the member to be in appropriate situations with members of the opposite sex even if he has to force himself Encourage him if single to begin dating and gradually increase its frequency a b c Oaks Dallin H January 29 2015 Trib Talk LDS leaders Oaks Christofferson will appear on Trib Talk to discuss religious freedom Salt Lake City Utah The Salt Lake Tribune Event occurs at 17 32 Archived from the original on December 15 2021 Retrieved February 27 2023 via YouTube We definitely do not recommend marriage as a solution for same gender feelings No it s not a therapy In times past decades ago there were some practices to that effect We have eradicated them in the church now a b c d e f g Cragun Ryan T Williams Emily Sumerau J E September 2015 From Sodomy to Sympathy LDS Elites Discursive Construction of Homosexuality Over Time Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 54 2 291 310 doi 10 1111 jssr 12180 via ResearchGate Fletcher Stack Peggy January 30 2015 We all can be more civil on LGBT issues Mormon leader says The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 a b c d Kimball Edward L Kimball Andrew E 1977 Spencer W Kimball Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Salt Lake City Utah Bookcraft ISBN 978 0884943303 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Kimball Spencer W January 5 1965 BYU Speeches of the Year Love vs Lust Speech Transcript reprint with permission by the Mental Health Resource Foundation at mentalhealthlibrary info Note References to homosexuality were removed in the reprinted version of the speech in the 1972 book compilation of Kimball s speeches Faith Precedes the Miracle Haldeman Douglas C April 1994 The practice and ethics of sexual orientation conversion therapy Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 62 2 221 227 doi 10 1037 0022 006X 62 2 221 PMID 8201058 ProQuest 614322014 Cochran Susan D 2014 Proposed declassification of disease categories related to sexual orientation in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems ICD 11 Bulletin of the World Health Organization World Health Organization 92 9 672 9 doi 10 2471 BLT 14 135541 PMC 4208576 PMID 25378758 Chhiber Ashley July 3 2014 World Health Organization told to declassify sexual orientation as basis of mental disorders PinkNews Retrieved February 27 2023 a b c Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems LDS Church 1992 Retrieved November 3 2016 a b Waterman Bryan Kagel Brian 1998 The Lord s University Freedom and Authority at BYU Salt Lake City Utah Signature Books ISBN 978 1 56085 117 2 via Google Books Frequently Asked Questions Mormon and Gay LDS Church October 2016 Archived from the original 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27 2022 via Google Books Betancourt Roland October 6 2020 The Overlooked Queer History of Medieval Christianity Time Magazine Retrieved April 10 2023 Quinn D Michael Winter 1995 Male Male Intimacy among Nineteenth century Mormons a Case Study PDF Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought 28 4 105 28 doi 10 2307 45226148 JSTOR 45226148 S2CID 254394319 Retrieved February 27 2023 May Anderson Primary Association eds October 1919 Evan Bach A True Story for Little Folk by a Pioneer The Children s Friend Vol 18 Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church p 386 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books James Rhett S Mitton George L 1998 A Response to D Michael Quinn s Homosexual Distortion of Latter day Saint History Review of Books on the Book of Mormon Brigham Young University 10 1 141 JSTOR 44794028 Retrieved February 27 2023 Williams Ben August 18 2004 Same Sex Temple Sealings Did the Early LDS Church Embrace Homosexual Relationships Salt Lake Metro Vol 1 no 9 Salt Lake City Utah p 21 Archived from the original on September 28 2011 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Issuu com a b Stewart Chuck December 16 2014 Proud Heritage People Issues and Documents of the LGBT Experience Third ed ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1610693981 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books McHugh Kathleen A Johnson Grau Brenda Sher Ben Raphael 2014 Mildred Berryman Papers Making Invisible Histories Visible Los Angeles University of California Los Angeles Center for the Study of Women p 68 ISBN 9780615990842 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Wood Stacy Cube Caroline Mildred Berryman papers 1918 1990 Online Archive of California University of California Los Angeles Oakes Amy October 3 2012 Diversionary War Domestic Unrest and International Conflict First ed Stanford University Press p 125 ISBN 978 0804782463 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books Young created a Mormon theocracy in the Utah territory his word was law in matters both religious and secular He established a separate legal system and oversaw the selection of representatives to the territorial legislature Avery Valeen Tippetts 1998 David and Charley From Mission to Madness Last Son of the Mormon Prophet Champaign Illinois University of Illinois Press pp 232 243 ISBN 978 0 252 02399 6 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Patriarch to the Church Released from Duties Improvement Era Vol 49 no 11 LDS Church November 1946 pp 685 708 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive O Donovan Connell Quinn D Michael Chronology of Events on Patriarch Joseph Fielding Smith s Homosexuality affirmation org Affirmation Archived from the original on January 22 2010 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Bates Irene M 1996 Lost Legacy The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch 2003 Paperback ed Champaign Illinois University of Illinois Press pp 195 196 200 doi 10 5406 j ctv80c9xm ISBN 9780252071157 JSTOR 10 5406 j ctv80c9xm Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Clark J Reuben October 2 1952 Home and the Building of Home Life Relief Society Magazine pp 793 794 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive T he crimes for which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed we have coined a softer name for them than came from old we now speak of homosexuality which it is tragic to say is found among both sexes Not without foundation is the contention of some that the homosexuals are today exercising great influence in shaping our art literature music and drama White Michael April 5 1987 Mormon Links AIDS to Sexual Adventurism The Washington Post Retrieved February 27 2023 a b c d Hinckley Gordon B May 1987 Reverence and Morality Ensign LDS Church p 45 Retrieved February 27 2023 Mohrman K May 2015 Queering the LDS Archive Radical History Review 2015 122 154 doi 10 1215 01636545 2849585 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Academia edu Williams Ben September 1 2011 The birth of Mormon homophobia QSaltLake Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 27 2023 a b c d e O Donovan Connell 1994 The Abominable and Detestable Crime against Nature A Brief History of Homosexuality and Mormonism 1840 1980 In Corcoran Brent ed Multiply and Replenish Mormon Essays on Sex and Family Salt Lake City Utah Signature Books ISBN 978 1560850502 Archived from the original on March 27 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Lilly Christiana April 18 2014 Gay Mormon Affirmation Can Help South Florida Gay News Retrieved February 28 2023 Sutton Travis May 2009 According to their wills and pleasures the sexual stereotyping of Mormon men in American film and television PDF Masters of Film thesis University of North Texas Preach My Gospel A Guide to Missionary Service March 2019 ed LDS Church p 210 Retrieved February 27 2023 Kimball Edward L 1996 Confession in LDS Doctrine and Practice BYU Studies Quarterly Brigham Young University 36 2 12 Retrieved February 27 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy Unintended consequence of church s raising the bar The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 Handbook 1 Stake Presidents and Bishops Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church 2010 Archived from the original on November 15 2017 Goecker Liesl July 14 2007 A call for more Christlike approach The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 27 2023 Hinckley Gordon B November 1999 Why We Do Some of the Things We Do Ensign LDS Church Retrieved February 27 2023 Our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God They are welcome in the church a b Lattin Don April 13 1997 Musings of the Main Mormon Gordon B Hinckley president prophet seer and revelator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints sits at the top of one of the world s fastest growing religions San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco California Retrieved February 27 2023 Church Responds to HRC Petition Statement on Same Sex Attraction Press release LDS Church October 12 2010 Retrieved February 27 2023 Sexual activity should only occur between a man and a woman who are married However that should never be used as justification for unkindness a b Mormons Sharpen Stand Against Same Sex Marriage The New York Times New York City November 6 2015 Archived from the original on February 28 2023 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Neugebauer Cimaron November 5 2015 LDS Church adds same sex marriage to definition of apostasy KUTV CBS LDS Church dumps its controversial LGBTQ policy cites continuing revelation from God The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Archived from the original on February 7 2023 Retrieved February 23 2023 via Internet Archive a b Brown Loren B 2015 What s in a Name Examining the Creation and Use of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Labels Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy Brigham Young University 37 1 Retrieved April 10 2023 Coviello Peter 2019 Make Yourselves Gods Mormons and the Unfinished Business of American Secularism Chicago University of Chicago Press p 222 ISBN 9780226474335 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books Elder Bruce C Hafen Speaks on Same Sex Attraction Press release LDS Church September 19 2009 Archived from the original on June 11 2019 Retrieved February 27 2023 The Mormons Jeffrey Holland Interview PBS March 4 2006 Retrieved February 27 2023 Givens Terryl L Neilson Reid L 2014 The Columbia Sourcebook of Mormons in the United States Columbia University Press ISBN 978 0231520607 ProQuest 2130840276 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books a b God Loveth His Children LDS Church 2007 Archived PDF from the original on April 19 2009 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Olsen Jessica January 20 2017 Study shows LGBT BYU students at higher risk for depression suicide The Daily Universe Provo Utah Brigham Young University Mormons and LGBT A 20 Year Timeline Retrieved February 27 2023 Saletan William December 10 2012 Queer Today Gone Tomorrow The Mormon case for gay marriage Slate Retrieved February 27 2023 Peterson Kristen December 19 2012 Struggling to Find Common Ground with the Mormon Church s New Compassion for Gays Las Vegas Weekly Greenspun Media Group Retrieved February 27 2023 Smith Gregory L 2011 Shattered Glass The Traditions of Mormon Same Sex Marriage Advocates Encounter Boyd K Packer Mormon Studies Review Brigham Young University 23 1 65 68 70 Retrieved February 27 2023 Petrey Taylor G Winter 2011 Toward a Post Heterosexual Mormon Theology Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought 44 4 139 140 doi 10 5406 dialjmormthou 44 4 0106 S2CID 171451944 Archived PDF from the original on May 20 2016 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Garbero John March 20 2019 Familiarity with Homosexuality Changes Hearts What Lay Members and Former Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Think about LGBP Issues BYU Undergraduate Honors Theses Honors Undergraduate thesis Vol 78 Brigham Young University ISSN 2572 4479 Retrieved February 28 2023 a b Bracken Seth April 14 2011 Living gay in the Mormon Church QSaltLake Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 27 2023 Feliz Antonio A April 11 2011 Out of the Bishop s Closet A Call to Heal Ourselves Each Other and Our World Second ed Alamo Square Press p 24 ISBN 9780962475177 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Bouldrey Brian May 1 1996 Wrestling with the Angel Faith and Religion in the Lives of Gay Men Reprint ed Riverhead Trade p 298 ISBN 978 1573225458 via Google Books Fruhwirth Jesse March 22 2011 Man Fired from LDS Church For Refusing to Give Up Gay Friends Salt Lake City Weekly Retrieved February 27 2023 Shire Emily May 13 2014 Mormon U Forces Gays to Be Celibate The Daily Beast Retrieved February 27 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy November 19 2011 Openly gay BYU producer filmmaker fired The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 Gay Professor Leaves University PDF Sunstone Salt Lake City Utah December 1996 p 74 Retrieved February 27 2023 Hollingshead Todd June 14 2006 BYU fires teacher over op ed stance The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 Schmidt Samantha July 19 2017 Mormon university instructor fired after Facebook post supporting LGBT rights she says The Washington Post Archived from the original on December 3 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive U S Religious Landscape Survey Religious Beliefs and Practices Diverse and Politically Relevant PDF Pew Research Center June 2008 p 92 Retrieved February 27 2023 Three quarters of Jehovah s Witnesses 76 about six in ten Muslims 61 and roughly two thirds of Mormons 68 and members of evangelical churches 64 say homosexuality ought to be discouraged Views about homosexuality Pew Research Center 2014 Retrieved February 27 2023 Data also shown here a b c d e f Fisch Friedman Molly Vandermaas Peeler Alex Griffin Rob Cox Daniel Jones Robert P 2018 Emerging Consensus on LGBT Issues Findings From the 2017 American Values Atlas PDF prri org Public Religion Research Institute Retrieved February 27 2023 Bardsley J Roy October 9 1977 Area Residents Oppose Equal Rights for Gays The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah p A1 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Newspapers com Winkler Douglas A May 2008 Lavender Sons of Zion A History of Gay Men in Salt Lake City 1950 1979 PhD of Philosophy Salt Lake City Utah University of Utah Department of History Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books a b Fletcher Stack Peggy November 9 1997 42 Percent At BYU Want Gays Kept Out Gays Unwelcome Say Many at BYU The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah pp B1 B5 ProQuest 288817289 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Newspapers com In the first study BYU student Samuel Clayton with the help of several faculty members gave questionnaires anonymously to 420 students in randomly selected classes Some of Clayton s findings include 69 percent know someone who is same sex oriented 12 percent have a family member who is same sex oriented 24 percent would avoid befriending a same sex oriented student 56 percent believe same sex oriented students should be allowed to attend BYU if they obey the honor code Clayton said there was a significant gender gap Only 16 percent of women would avoid befriending a same sex oriented person compared to 33 percent of men Smart Michael March 22 1997 BYU Student Poll Ban Gay Students The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah p D2 ProQuest 288698514 Archived from the original on February 3 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Newspapers com As part of a project for their English class Sam Clayton Dale Franklin and Melanie Dinger conducted the school approved survey to 420 students in randomly selected classes on campus Clayton feels the results show a substantial amount of intolerance and prejudice among students towards same sex oriented people Clayton who says he is gay points to the 42 percent of students who are ignorant of or opposed to the school s policy He also said that while 91 percent of those surveyed said they were familiar with the church s stance only a third actually were Resolution on Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools American Psychological Association August 2014 Retrieved February 27 2023 Bao Ai Min Swaab Dick F April 2011 Sexual differentiation of the human brain Relation to gender identity sexual orientation and neuropsychiatric disorders Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 32 2 214 226 doi 10 1016 j yfrne 2011 02 007 PMID 21334362 S2CID 8735185 Retrieved February 27 2023 via ScienceDirect a b c Bradshaw William S Dehlin John P Galliher Renee V June 17 2022 Sexual Complexity A Comparison between Men and Women in a Sexual Minority Sample of Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Religions 13 6 561 doi 10 3390 rel13060561 a b Levin Sam March 28 2016 Transgender and Mormon keeping the faith while asking the church to change The Guardian Retrieved February 27 2023 The Family A Proclamation to the World LDS Church 1995 Retrieved February 27 2023 Bednar David A June 2006 Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan Ensign p 83 Retrieved February 27 2023 Allen Samantha March 15 2016 Mormon Man Risks Excommunication By Sharing His Transition The Daily Beast Retrieved February 27 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy Noyce David February 21 2020 LDS Church publishes new handbook with changes to discipline transgender policy The Salt Lake Tribune Archived from the original on January 23 2023 Retrieved March 2 2023 via Internet Archive a b Riess Jana February 20 2020 New LDS handbook softens some stances on sexuality doubles down on transgender members but bet on more changes The Salt Lake Tribune Archived from the original on December 6 2022 via Internet Archive Transgender Understanding Yourself LDS Church June 2020 Retrieved March 2 2023 a b Report on the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault PDF news byu edu Brigham Young University November 2017 p 2 Archived PDF from the original on January 11 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 The online survey was conducted in spring 2017 Email invitations were sent to 29 471 BYU students 13 784 48 started the survey and 12 602 completed the survey for a response rate of 43 Demographic data revealed the survey participants to be very similar to the broader BYU population in terms of gender ethnicity year in school and other measures Key demographics include the following Gender 52 male 48 female and 0 2 transgender or other a b Klundt Jared S Erekson David M Lynn Austin M Brown Hannah E March 1 2021 Sexual minorities mental health and religiosity at a religiously conservative university Personality and Individual Differences 171 110475 doi 10 1016 j paid 2020 110475 ISSN 0191 8869 S2CID 228862206 Retrieved February 27 2023 via ScienceDirect Smith Wilford E Autumn 1976 Mormon Sex Standards on College Campuses or Deal Us Out of the Sexual Revolution Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought Champaign Illinois University of Illinois Press 10 2 76 81 doi 10 2307 45224574 JSTOR 45224574 PMID 11614391 S2CID 42345681 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Duke University Press Burgarino Paul August 20 2007 Mormon church changes stance on homosexuality The Oakland Tribune Retrieved February 23 2023 Levithan David Stein Darren May 16 2014 David Levithan and filmmaker Darren Stein in conversation The Guardian Retrieved February 27 2023 The film skewers the ridiculousness of teen girls wanting a GBF Gay Best Friend like an accessory or trend but it also skewers ethnicity religion clique culture I wanted the scenes where the closeted Mormon Topher seduces Tanner and Brent to be sexy and provocative I ve never thought it was fair that it s fine to have a romantic or sexual male female kiss but when it comes to two boys kissing it s so chaste and unsexual Lynn Logan October 4 2013 Testament of Love An Interview With Filmmaker Jon Garcia Huffington Post New York City Retrieved 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fodder for theatrical productions including the 2011 Tony Award winner The Book of Mormon in which Elder McKinnley echoing the teachings of Boyd K Packer would encourage other gay Mormons to Turn it off like a light switch a b c d Fagg Ellen March 15 2008 Plays about gay Mormons attracting audiences nationally The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Archive of 14 University of Iowa Retrieved February 27 2023 Clements Derrick November 3 2016 Facing East explores rift in LGBT LDS community Daily Herald Archived from the original on November 7 2016 via Internet Archive New Play Focuses on Gay Mormon Suicide QSaltLake Salt Lake City Utah February 5 2008 Retrieved February 23 2023 Anderson J Seth May 29 2017 LGBT Salt Lake Images of Modern America Arcadia Publishing p 20 ISBN 9781467125857 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Google Books Kotraba Kellie May 26 2013 Gay Mormon characters step out of the shadows The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Religion News Service Retrieved February 27 2023 a b A Survey of LGBT Americans Pew Research Center June 13 2013 Retrieved February 27 2023 Riess Jana April 14 2016 Are Mormons in their 20s and 30s leaving the LDS Church Religion News Service Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Moyer Justin November 16 2015 1 500 Mormons quit church over new anti gay marriage policy organizer says The Washington Post Retrieved February 27 2023 Understanding Mormon Disbelief whymormonsquestion org Open Stories Foundation Retrieved February 27 2023 via IssueLab org Jensen Jeffrey R 1996 Homosexuality A Psychiatrist s Response to LDS Social Services Speech Sunstone Symposium Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 27 2023 via Sunstone F ar too many of our lesbian and gay youths kill themselves because of what you say about them those who believe your false promises and remain celibate in the hopes of eventual cure are consigned to a misery Transcript available here via Affirmation Jensen Jeffrey R 1997 We See What We Believe The Heterosexualization of Gay Men and Lesbians in the LDS Church Speech Sunstone Symposium Washington D C Retrieved February 27 2023 via Sunstone Transcript available here via Affirmation Belonsky Andrew May 2 2008 Gay Pamphlet Sparks Religious Debate Queerty Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Groutage Smith Hilary August 6 2000 Mormon Pamphlets on Gays Criticized The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah p B2 ProQuest 281191122 via Newspapers com a b Hardy David E April 15 2001 BYU s Dismissal of Gay Students Continues Confusion for Gays Parents The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah p AA4 ProQuest 281141066 via Newspapers com Message to Young Men To Young Men Only LDS Church October 2 1976 Event occurs at 10 30 Archived from the original on July 5 2020 Alternative YouTube com link Quinn D Michael Fall 2000 Prelude to the National Defense of Marriage Campaign Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities PDF Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought 33 3 1 52 doi 10 2307 45226709 JSTOR 45226709 S2CID 254297822 Retrieved February 27 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy November 14 2016 LDS Church retires Mormon apostle s little factory pamphlet The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 a b LDS Moms Hold Anti Prop 8 Vigil QSaltLake Salt Lake City Utah November 3 2008 Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Frank Nathaniel April 24 2017 How Prop 8 Woke Up a Sleeping Gay Giant The Advocate Los Angeles Retrieved February 27 2023 a b Eskridge Jr William N September 2016 Latter Day Constitutionalism Sexuality Gender and Mormons PDF University of Illinois Law Review 4 1269 Retrieved February 27 2023 Gay marriage supporters take to California streets Atlanta Georgia CNN November 8 2008 Retrieved February 27 2023 Bates Karen Grigsby November 7 2008 Gay Marriage Ban Protesters Target Mormon Church NPR Retrieved February 27 2023 Healy Jack November 15 2016 Mormon Resignations Put Support for Gays Over Fealty to Faith The New York Times New York City Archived from the original on February 25 2023 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Internet Archive Pratt Morgan November 16 2015 3 500 Leave LDS Church In Mass Resignation Utah Public Radio Retrieved February 27 2023 Riess Jana November 1 2016 Commentary Most U S Mormons approve of church s policy on gay couples study shows The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 Glitz Michael June 28 2011 The Book Of Mormon Why Aren t More People Offended Huffington Post New York City Retrieved February 27 2023 What about Turn It Off In this show stopper for Tony nominated supporting actor Rory O Malley as Elder McKinley some missionaries share their approach to confusing thoughts or bad feelings W hen you have gay thoughts for your best friend well Turn it off Non believers hear hypocrisy and an absurdly simplistic solution to difficult issues Turn it off Like a light switch Just go flick It s our nifty little Mormon trick It s not an official approach by any faith as such but numerous fundamentalist faiths acknowledge that some men are inherently gay They want those men to simply tamp down these bad feelings and marry a woman anyway because with prayer and the proper spouse and God s love you can be alright Atkinson Sally June 7 2011 Clark Johnsen From Mormon Missionary to Broadway in The Book of Mormon The Daily Beast Retrieved February 27 2023 On the show stopper Turn It Off sung by a closeted missionary struggling with his sexuality I m one of the few missionaries who actually was out to myself as a gay person on my mission and out to some of my mission companions the ones who asked The Book of Mormon song Turn It Off is such an insightful view into the psychology of a homosexual missionary in particular but also into all Mormons In the church you don t say you re gay you say you have homosexual tendencies because gay is this label they want you to hopefully outgrow which I tried to do It didn t work Many Utahns Think Homosexuality Can Be Overcome Park Record Park City Utah Swift Communications Associated Press November 13 2010 Retrieved February 27 2023 via University of Utah Fletcher Stack Peggy October 3 2015 Conversion therapies don t work experts say so why do gay Mormons still seek them out The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Archived from the original on February 1 2023 via Internet Archive Therapists with LDS Family Services do not offer any kind of sexual orientation change efforts church spokesman Doug Andersen confirms But they are willing to help members who desire to reconcile same sex attraction with their religious belief The church maintains professional relationships with a variety of organizations to ensure the diverse needs of church members can be met in an individualized and ethical way and may refer those seeking counseling to professional therapists the spokesman says but it is not in the business of recommending third party for profit organizations retreats or workshops Neither does the Utah based faith discourage individuals from trying to address issues arising from same sex attraction The church s silence on groups such as Journey Into Manhood however should not Andersen says be construed as a tacit endorsement or stamp of approval Without explicit condemnation from top LDS leaders change programs have sprung up tapping into a yearning for normalcy and acceptance a b Petrey Taylor G June 15 2020 Tabernacles of Clay Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism Chapel Hill North Carolina University of North Carolina Press ISBN 978 1469656212 Mormon and Gay LDS Church October 2016 Archived from the original on February 27 2023 Retrieved February 26 2023 via Internet Archive While shifts in sexuality can and do occur for some people it is unethical to focus professional treatment on an assumption that a change in sexual orientation will or must occur Again the individual has the right to define the desired outcome Law Tara November 29 2019 Why the LDS Church Joined LGBTQ Advocates in Supporting Utah s Conversion Therapy Ban Time Retrieved March 2 2023 a b c Galliher Renee Bradshaw William Dehlin John P Crowelle Katherine April 25 2014 Psychosocial Correlates of Religious Approaches to Same Sex Attraction A Mormon Perspective Journal of Gay amp Lesbian Mental Health 18 3 284 311 doi 10 1080 19359705 2014 912970 S2CID 144153586 Retrieved February 26 2023 via ResearchGate Oaks Dallin H 1988 Pure in Heart Salt Lake City Utah Bookcraft pp 61 62 ISBN 978 0 88494 650 2 via Internet Archive Schow Ron 2004 The Persistence of Same Sex Attraction in Latter day Saints Who Undergo Counseling or Change Therapy Archived from the original on December 11 2011 Lindsey Robert October 30 1986 Utah Now Facing Problem of AIDS The New York Times New York City p A19 ProQuest 111005850 Retrieved February 26 2023 A lot of men are forced to marry and they play around on the side said Davyd Daniels a former Mormon William Blevins 40 a former librarian at the Mormon Church s genealogical center said the church put pressure on him to marry at 24 in belief it would cure me of homosexual leanings It did not he said adding that I still had my feelings and that after he fathered four children the church discharged him then excommunicated him and forced him to disclose the identities of several other employees at the church s headquarters with whom he had had sexual relations Elizabeth s Story Ricardo s Wife LDS Church October 2016 Retrieved February 26 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy November 9 1997 42 Percent At BYU Want Gays Kept Out Gays Unwelcome Say Many at BYU The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah p B5 ProQuest 288817289 Archived from the original on February 4 2022 Retrieved February 27 2023 via Newspapers com Respondents then were asked four questions 1 Would they gracefully decline or accept the request to work with him for one year 2 After one year he is romantic and sexually attracted to you but he still has same sex attraction He promises never to engage in any sex outside marriage Would you accept or decline 3 You continue your friendship and he works hard until you are convinced he has only a weak same sex attraction He is romantically and sexually attracted to you Would you accept or decline 4 Would your response change if he had never been sexually active Researchers found that 33 percent answered yes to question 1 11 percent to question 2 23 percent to question 3 and 33 percent to question 4 Fletcher Stack Peggy January 14 2015 Study Reveals What Really Happens When Gay Mormon Men Marry Straight Women Huffington Post New York City Retrieved February 26 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy February 23 2023 If a gay Mormon man marries a woman divorce is likely study finds The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah The study found that Between 51 percent and 69 percent of mixed orientation Mormon marriages end in divorce well above the roughly 25 percent of LDS couples who split up Ring Trudy January 13 2015 Study Mixed Orientation Mormon Marriages Likely to Fail The Advocate Los Angeles Retrieved February 26 2023 Moore Carrie A Gay LDS men detail challenges Deseret News Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church Retrieved February 24 2023 Ayers Michael D October 15 2012 When Mormons Go to Washington Vanity Fair Retrieved February 26 2023 Barnes Jane February 1 2012 There Is a Dark Side to Mormonism The New York Times New York City Retrieved February 26 2023 Grant Tobin April 27 2015 Five things you should know about Mormon politics Religion News Service Retrieved February 26 2023 Berkes Howard January 9 2009 New Mormon Temple Sacred Or Secret All Things Considered NPR Retrieved February 26 2023 Karger Fred October 15 2016 Mormon Church Bleeding Members Over Gay Marriage Huffington Post New York City Retrieved February 26 2023 McKinley Jesse Johnson Kirk November 14 2008 Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage The New York Times New York City Archived from the original on January 16 2023 Retrieved February 26 2023 via Internet Archive a b Mims Bob May 1 2018 Most Mormons remain against gay marriage new poll shows but that opposition is fading fast younger LDS support it The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Archived from the original on December 14 2022 via Internet Archive Johnson Kirk November 11 2009 Mormon Support of Gay Rights Statute Draws Praise The New York Times New York City Archived from the original on May 2 2022 Retrieved February 26 2023 via Internet Archive LGBT Populations A Dialogue on Advancing Opportunities for Recovery from Addictions and Mental Health Problems PDF samhsa gov United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services Archived PDF from the original on March 20 2021 Retrieved February 26 2023 via Kentucky State Department for Behavioral Health Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities a b Fletcher Stack Peggy March 15 2014 Program aims to stop suicide homelessness in LGBT Mormon youth The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 Meyer Ilan H Northridge Mary E 2007 The Health of Sexual Minorities First ed US Springer pp 242 247 doi 10 1007 978 0 387 31334 4 ISBN 978 0 387 31334 4 Retrieved February 23 2023 Fletcher Stack Peggy January 28 2016 Suicide fears if not actual suicides rise in wake of Mormon same sex policy The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Utah Retrieved February 23 2023 Parkinson Daniel Barker Michael The LGBTQ Mormon Crisis Responding to the Empirical Research on Suicide PDF Retrieved February 26 2023 via RationalFaiths com Greene David July 7 2016 Mama Dragons Try To Prevent Suicides Among Mormon LGBT Children NPR Retrieved February 26 2023 Jackson Lauren July 19 2016 Devotion and despair The lonely struggle of a gay Mormon Atlanta Georgia CNN Retrieved February 26 2023 Samuels Diana February 25 2010 Memorial held for gay Mormon who committed suicide in Los Altos The Mercury News San Jose California Digital First Media Retrieved February 26 2023 Moore Carrie A December 2 2005 Alone in the fold Many LDS gays struggle to cling to faith despite their yearnings Deseret News Salt Lake City Utah LDS Church Retrieved February 26 2023 Lang Nico March 20 2017 I see my son in every one of them with a spike in suicides parents of Utah s queer youth fear the worst Vox Suicide Memorial Affirmation Archived from the original on January 17 2014 Forum Discusses Suicide Prevention Among Mormons PDF Sunstone No 125 Salt Lake City Utah December 2002 p 79 Archived PDF from the original on August 18 2022 Retrieved February 26 2023 a hre, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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