Mormons Threaten To Leave Boy Scouts

Last night the Mormon Church issued a press release in which they threaten to end their relationship with the Boy Scouts over the end of the ban on openly gay leaders.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board. In spite of a request to delay the vote, it was scheduled at a time in July when members of the Church’s governing councils are out of their offices and do not meet. When the leadership of the Church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined. The Church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation. However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America. As a global organization with members in 170 countries, the Church has long been evaluating the limitations that fully one-half of its youth face where Scouting is not available. Those worldwide needs combined with this vote by the BSA National Executive Board will be carefully reviewed by the leaders of the Church in the weeks ahead.

The Mormon Church is the nation's largest sponsor of the Boy Scouts with over 30,000 LDS chapters comprising about 15% of total membership.

UTAH: LDS Donates To LGBT Center

The Mormon Church has made its first-ever donation to an LGBT organization. Ben Winslow reports for Salt Lake City's Fox affiliate:

The LDS Church quietly made a $2,500 donation to the non-profit Utah Pride Center to help its efforts with LGBT homeless and youth. The money, coming in the form of access to the Bishop’s Storehouse, will provide food for those in need, the Utah Pride Center told FOX 13. In a grant letter, the LDS Church wrote: “We are grateful to be able to serve your efforts in this worthy project and appreciate the work that you and others are doing related to this initiative.” The LDS Church declined to comment beyond what it wrote in that letter, a spokesman told FOX 13. Members of the Utah Pride Center were thrilled with the donation. “The Utah Pride Center is grateful for the church’s help in our efforts to provide food for those in our community who are in need,” said the center’s board president, Kent Frogley, in a statement.

The donation did not comes as a surprise as the group had applied for the grant.

Mormon Church To SCOTUS: Say No To Same-Sex Marriage Because It Will Deprive Us Of "Citizenship Rights"

A coalition of religious denominations including the Mormon Church has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which they argue that the legalization of same-sex marriage will, among other things, deprive them of "citizenship rights." An excerpt:

A right to same-sex marriage also would supplant the States’ “historic and essential authority to define the marital relation” with an exertion of federal ju­dicial power beyond the democratic process. Representative democracy matters to religious organizations and people of faith. Their capacity to build communities where their values are respected and their ways of life protected depends on the plu­ralism that our democratic institutions foster and secure. The fundamental liberty of religious believers to participate with other free citizens in deliberating about and shaping the character of their common destiny has been protected by this Court’s determina­tion to read the Constitution as a charter for “people of fundamentally differing views.” To de­clare an unprecedented constitutional right to same-sex marriage would deny people of faith who support traditional marriage the liberty to participate as equal citizens in deciding which values and policies will govern their communities. We urge the Court to trust the people and their democratic institutions to resolve the marriage issue, as it has on other divisive issues so many times.

The brief is also signed by Assemblies Of God, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Wesleyan Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Church Of God, the National Association of Evangelicals, and a dozen others. (Tipped by JMG reader Corey)

Log Cabin: We Helped Make Utah Happen

"Having visited the Beehive State and Governor Herbert less than two years ago, I know firsthand how hard Log Cabin Republicans of Utah President James Humphreys and his team have been working to achieve this monumental victory. The passage of this bill in Utah should show Republicans around the country that the balance between LGBT rights and religious liberty is not a zero-sum game. Likewise, advocates on the gay left would do well to see that an all-or-nothing approach to LGBT protections with no reasonable religious exemption will doom passage of any similar non-discrimination protections in GOP-controlled legislatures, be they state or federal. I'm proud of the many Republicans, common-sense LGBT advocates, and the Log Cabin Republicans of Utah who worked tirelessly to achieve this historic milestone in the reddest of red states." - Log Cabin Republicans head Gregory Angelo, via email.

UTAH: State House Overwhelmingly Passes LGBT Non-Discrimination Bill

Via Salt Lake City's Fox affiliate:

The gallery was packed as Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, presented the bill. Behind him were his co-sponsors, Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, and Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams, R-Layton. “There was a lot of people and a lot of faith that went into this particular bill,” Dee said, crying. An LGBT nondiscrimination bill, which has been attempted for years in the Utah State Legislature, got massive support after it received the blessing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. SB296 was the product of heavy negotiations between its sponsors, gay rights groups and the LDS Church.

Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, took her fellow lawmakers to task declaring it “embarrassing” that they even had to deal with this in 2015. Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, believed “Utah can be a light on the hill to lead” by passing model legislation. “Homosexuality is not a civil right but equal access to housing and employment is,” Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville, said. In a 65-10 vote, SB296 passed. The gallery, filled with many members of Utah’s LGBT community, erupted in applause. The vote was so emotional, the House reading clerk could not find the words to start reading the next bill. She wiped her tears and handed the next bill to an assistant to read.

The House also approved a bill that would allow state employees to opt-out of performing same-sex marriages, although someone else in the clerks' offices will still have to perform them. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert will sign the LGBT non-discrimination bill in a ceremony to be held tonight.

RELATED: As you'll see at the link above, the House also approved a "license to discriminate" bill regarding public accommodations. HB322 is expected to face a tough battle in the final legislative session of the state Senate.

Tweet Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

HRC Slams LDS "Truce" On LGBT Rights

Via press release from the Human Rights Campaign:

“Symbolically, seeing the church leaders advocating so openly for these protections will no doubt be deeply meaningful to Mormon families with LGBT members, and provide encouragement to LGBT youth in the church,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “But, as a matter of public policy, it appears deeply flawed.” Doctors would still be allowed to deny medical care. Pharmacists would still be allowed to refuse to fill valid prescriptions. And landlords, as well as business operators, would still be allowed to reject LGBT people. All in the name of religion.

“We share the church’s commitment to freedom of religion. We embrace the principles of the First Amendment and believe churches do and should have the right to make determinations about who fills their pews. But non-discrimination protections only function when they are applied equally,” Warbelow said. "It should be stated that there are countless LGBT Mormons, and Mormon allies, who support equality, not in spite of their faith but because of it."

The Mormon church in recent years has been adjusting its language around LGBT people to be kinder, more accepting. Today’s announcement reflected that, but falls far short of embracing full inclusion and equality for LGBT people. “All Americans should have the right to be employed, receive housing and services in environments free of discrimination,” Warbelow said. "We await the day the church embraces that fully, without any exceptions or exemptions.”

My post on today's press conference by Mormon Church leaders is here.

UTAH: LDS Church Backs LGBT Rights In Return For Stiffer Religion Carve-Outs

Via Salt Lake City's Fox affiliate:

In at least one big and bruising culture-war battle, the Mormon church wants to call a partial truce. Convening a rare press conference on Tuesday at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Mormon leaders pledged to support anti-discrimination laws for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, as long the laws also protect the rights of religious groups. In exchange, the Mormon church wants gay rights advocates — and the government — to back off. “When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,” said Elder Dallin Oaks, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles. “Such tactics are every bit as wrong as denying access to employment, housing or public services because of race or gender.”

At today's press conference Oaks cited Houston's subpoenaing of pastors as a recent example of Christians being oppressed. In 2009 the Mormon Church backed an LGBT rights ordinance in Salt Lake City and while they say they still oppose same-sex marriage, today's announcement is meant to indicate support for similar legislation elsewhere. With one condition.

UPDATE: Openly gay Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis just sent us a statement.

"I am proud that the LDS Church has seen fit to lead the way in non-discrimination. As a religious institution, Mormons have had a long history of being the victims of discrimination and persecution. They understand more than most the value and strength of creating a civil society that judges people by the content of their character and their ability to do a job. Since serving as a Senator, and as the only LGBT member of the Utah legislature, I can say one of the joys of the job has been to meet and enjoy the company of LDS officials. I know that together, we can build a community that strongly protects religious organizations constitutional liberties and, in addition, creates a civil, respectful, nurturing culture where differences are honored and everyone feels welcome. Now, lets roll up our sleeves, get to work and pass a statewide Non-Discrimination Bill."

Dabakis is the co-founder of Equality Utah. Hours after same-sex marriage became legal there in December 2013, he married his husband in a ceremony officiated by Salt Lake City's mayor.

UNSHOCKING: Study Shows "Ex-Gay" Mormons Have Very High Divorce Rate

Via the Salt Lake Tribune:

The LDS couples profiled on TLC’s "My Husband Is Not Gay" may find these statistics sobering: Marriages like theirs — same-sex attracted husbands and straight wives — are two to three times more likely to end in divorce than others. That finding and others come from a newly released in-depth survey of 1,612 self-selected LGBT/same-sex attracted Mormons and former Mormons, thought by researchers to be the largest study ever conducted with this population. Rather than tapping a random sample, John Dehlin, a doctoral student at Utah State University, and Bill Bradshaw, a retired Brigham Young University professor, with help from Renee Galliher, also of USU, solicited responses via various websites, including pro-Mormon outlets such as North Star International and those more critical such as Dehlin’s own "Mormon Stories" podcast. 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.

Mind-blowing, huh?

Mormon Church Confesses: Yes, Joseph Smith Married As Many As 40 Women

The Mormon Church has finally formally acknowledged that its founder Joseph Smith married as many as 40 women, one of whom was only 14 years old at the time.

Elder Steven E. Snow, the church historian and a member of its senior leadership, said in an interview, “There is so much out there on the Internet that we felt we owed our members a safe place where they could go to get reliable, faith-promoting information that was true about some of these more difficult aspects of our history. “We need to be truthful, and we need to understand our history,” Elder Snow said. “I believe our history is full of stories of faith and devotion and sacrifice, but these people weren’t perfect.” The essay on “plural marriage” in the early days of the Mormon movement in Ohio and Illinois says polygamy was commanded by God, revealed to Smith and accepted by him and his followers only very reluctantly. Abraham and other Old Testament patriarchs had multiple wives, and Smith preached that his church was the “restoration” of the early, true Christian church. Most of Smith’s wives were between the ages of 20 and 40, the essay says, but he married Helen Mar Kimball, a daughter of two close friends, “several months before her 15th birthday.” A footnote says that according to “careful estimates,” Smith had 30 to 40 wives. The biggest bombshell for some in the essays is that Smith married women who were already married, some to men who were Smith’s friends and followers.

The revelation notes that Smith probably didn't have sex with all his wives as some of them were merely "sealed" into being his eternal wife in the next life. And on the next planet.

LDS Explains Mormon Underwear

Via the Washington Post:

For years, the Mormon Church’s undergarments have been mocked and misunderstood. Often referred to jokingly as “magic Mormon underwear,” the garb, which resembles a T-shirt and shorts, has been ridiculed on Broadway, referenced in political campaigns and exploited online for profit. That’s why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has come forward to explain one of its most sacred Mormon mysteries. The church released a four-minute video on its Web site, comparing the white two-piece cotton “temple garments” to the priest’s cassock, nun’s habit, Jewish prayer shawl, Muslim’s skullcap and Buddhist monks’ saffron robes. It rejected the perception that the garments have protective powers. The term “magic underwear” is “not only inaccurate but also offensive,” the video said. “There is nothing magical or mystical about temple garments, and church members ask for the same degree of respect and sensitivity that would be afforded to any other faith by people of goodwill.”

Mormons, Catholics, & Evangelicals Ask SCOTUS To Uphold Utah Gay Marriage Ban

The above-named religious groups have filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to uphold Utah's ban on same-sex marriage. Via the Associated Press:

The religious groups urged the Supreme Court on the basis of tradition and religious freedom to uphold a state's right to disallow gay and lesbian couples to wed. "Legal uncertainty is especially burdensome for religious organizations and religious believers increasingly confronted with thorny questions," the brief says. "Is their right to refrain from participating in, recognizing or facilitating marriages between persons of the same sex, contrary to their religious convictions, adequately shielded by the First Amendment and other legal protections? Or is further legislation needed to guard religious liberties in these and other sensitive areas?" Last month, attorneys for three Utah gay and lesbian couples formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take Utah's appeal of a favorable gay marriage ruling.

The brief is relatively short. Equality Case Files has the full filing.

Oregon Shooter Planned To Kill "Sinners"

The 15 year-old who last week went on a shooting spree at an Oregon high school wrote in his diary that he planned to kill "sinners."

Jared Padgett, an active member of an Gresham, Ore., Mormon church, shot and killed a student and injured a teacher during the attack on Reynolds High School before turning the gun on himself, police said. While searching through the teen's home, officers found his journal, Portland's KGW reported. In the diary, Padgett detailed plans to kill the "sinners" at his school, police said. No specific students or teachers were named as targets. His writings did not outline how or when the killings would occur, police said. Padgett was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Church elder Earl Milliron told the TV station that the 15-year-old was "highly regarded for his spirituality." The teen, his brother and his father were all active in their Oregon church, Milliron said.

Padgett brought his AR-15 to school in a guitar case that also held several hundred rounds of ammunition.

UTAH: Gays Banned From Mormon Parade

The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

Days of ’47 Parade organizers have denied a float application from Mormons Building Bridges, saying an entry from the group founded to improve relationships between Latter-day Saints and the gay community would be too controversial. "The parade is very specific in its requirement that no float can enter that will create controversy," Executive Vice President Greg James said Tuesday. "We wouldn’t have the Mormons Building Bridges float in there any more than we’d have the NRA [National Rifle Association] or something else that might turn people off." The July 24 event, which celebrates the Mormon pioneers’ 1847 arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, is Utah’s biggest parade. "We’re nonpartisan. We don’t take a position on any issue," James said. "One of the problems in the country right now is everyone is too polarized. We’re just trying to stay as neutral as we can."

Other groups rejected for the parade: PFLAG, Utah Pride, Equality Utah. (Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

VIRGINIA: Haters File 21 Marriage Ban Defense Briefs With Fourth Circuit Court

Twenty-one amicus briefs were filed yesterday with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in defense of Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. The briefs were filed on behalf of the usual axis of evil: the Concernstipated Women, the Liberty Counsel, Phyllis Schlafy's Eagle Forum, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Mormon Church, the Southern Baptists Convention, the Heritage Foundation, the Virginia Catholic Conference, David Barton's WallBuilders, the Family Research Council, the North Carolina Values Coalition, and the (completely fake) American College of Pediatrics. Also filing briefs are the states of West Virginia and Indiana.

Individuals filing briefs include former NOM chairman Robert George and nutbag homocon Voldemort horcrux Robert Oscar Lopez, who claims that authorities are too afraid of the gay mafia to investigate reports of molestation by gay parents.

Another of the individual filings is from some crackpot named David Boyle who argues, among other deranged claims, that gay people should not be allowed to marry because there was this one time when a lesbian died from "vaginal fisting." Seriously. Equality Case Files has posted all of the briefs at the first link. There's surely nothing worth worrying about in any of them since these are pretty much all the same dirtbags who have lost everywhere else. But if you want to amuse yourself, dig into the briefs and recap what you find in the comments. A better way to waste your Saturday, of course, would be to commit some delicious deviant sodomy. But hey, it's your weekend.

Eleven States File Anti-Gay Marriage Brief With Tenth Circuit Court Of Appeals, Major Religious Denominations File Too

Eleven states have filed a brief with the Tenth Circuit Court in support of Utah's defense of its ban on same-sex marriage.

The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Notably there were 16 states that signed on to the pro-Defense of Marriage Act and pro-Prop 8 briefs before the Supreme Court. Those weighing in on marriage bans before the Supreme Court were also Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin; but Colorado and Nebraska did not.

Also filing a brief yesterday was a coalition of major religious denominations.

Lawyers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote the brief, which was signed by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. “Our respective religious doctrines hold that marriage between a man and a woman is sanctioned by God as the right and best setting for bearing and raising children,” it says. “We believe that children, families, society, and our nation thrive best when husband-wife marriage is upheld and strengthened as a cherished, primary social institution.”

Yesterday there was a brief from Mark Regernus too.

UTAH: State Special Counsel Says He Took Marriage Case As A Religious Duty

The Human Rights Campaign reacts: "It’s alarming that the reason Gene Schaerr gives for taking this position has nothing to do with the U.S. Constitution or the legal issues at play. Schaerr’s entire motivation for taking this anti-equality case is to impose a certain religious viewpoint on all Utahns – and that’s wrong. When you become an attorney, you take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, not any particular religious doctrine. It’s interesting that his stated motivation for the new position is not one of the arguments made by the State of Utah. It’s fair to question whether all of the arguments they have made are just an elaborate front for some other agenda."

Mormon Church Says It Won't File Court Brief Against Utah Marriage (For Now)

Via Salt Lake City's Fox affiliate:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not currently planning to file an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the appeal of a ruling that struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, a spokeswoman for the LDS church confirmed Thursday. The LDS church did file two such briefs last year, when they asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. LDS church spokeswoman Jessica Moody said the current plan not to file an amicus curiae could change at a later date.

Interesting. But let's see if this holds.

Dear Utah, Love California

Via Memeographs.

Meanwhile In Provo...

Utah County is the home to Brigham Young University.