Mormons and gay people

As you rely on the Spirit, you may want to adapt some of the following suggestions to meet the needs of your ward’s circumstances:

• Reach out to individuals who are familiar with LGBT issues to help you learn and understand their perspectives. 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.”³

• Be careful not to limit members’ opportunities to contribute if they identify as gay or transgender.

  I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t know whether I would have risen above these influences to arrive where I am today if these had been the messages in my youth.

  Because I have been so blessed to find and sustain a successful marriage, I feel a deep responsibility to speak out. It is my testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the power it has to enrich our lives.

  And to me, the word living implies that we have guidance in our time for how the gospel applies to the needs of our time. She is the author of Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction (By Common Consent Press, 2021).

  

  And that much of the rest, that has been perhaps acquired over time and is more cultural than doctrinal, can slip away, and we can really learn to be disciples.”¹

• Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles extended the invitation to “be at the forefront in terms of expressing love, compassion, and outreach.

  We will discuss the history of LDS teachings about homosexuality, the recent emergence of “queer Mormon theology,” and how LGBTQ Latter-day Saints navigate the complex tensions of their religion and sexuality. In each case, the parents expressed sincere love for their child coupled with various levels of concern that their child would not fit in the ward community.

  Eventually, other families also shared similar information with me, and I realized that even though I wasn’t too familiar with these experiences, as a bishop I had the privilege of helping all of my ward members build a more unified community, no matter what they were experiencing.

  I quickly realized that to be a more effective bishop, I needed to be willing to try to understand the experiences of members who identify as LGBT and their families.

  … Let’s not have families exclude or be disrespectful of those who choose a different lifestyle as a result of their feelings about their own gender.”²

To encourage my ward to study the latest apostolic teachings on this topic, we dedicated one of our combined fifth Sunday lessons to discuss how we could better follow the guidelines.

And regardless of our role in the ward, it’s a blessed responsibility and privilege to build a more unified community by seeking to better love, understand, and support each of our spiritual brothers and sisters.

As President Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President, testified: “If you keep your mind open and your heart open, you find out lots of wonderful things about people that you might not have ever expected.

A Gospel Topics essay explains: “The Church distinguishes between same-sex attraction and homosexual behavior. People who experience same-sex attraction or identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual can make and keep covenants with God and fully and worthily participate in the Church. I also aim to steer the conversation within the Church toward a framework that respects diverse experiences while remaining firmly anchored in gospel truths.

This book is my effort to do just that.