{"id":11354,"date":"2015-03-19T10:27:40","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T15:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=11354"},"modified":"2015-03-19T10:27:40","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T15:27:40","slug":"doctrine-or-discrimination-the-mormon-churchs-new-stance-on-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/doctrine-or-discrimination-the-mormon-churchs-new-stance-on-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctrine or discrimination: the Mormon church’s ‘new’ stance on homosexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Meghan Tribe<\/p>\n

Brad Steckelberg assumed everyone knew he was gay. A recent convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \u2013 colloquially referred to as the Mormon church\u2014Steckelberg disclosed his homosexuality prior to his baptism. He understood the church\u2019s stance on celibacy. He was willing to live within those parameters. But that became close to impossible once people in the church started setting him up with women.<\/p>\n

A younger church member passed along Steckelberg\u2019s email address and phone number to his mother. Another church member\u2019s sister found Steckelberg\u2019s email from the church directory and began emailing him. A missionary asked Steckelberg if he could give his phone number to a woman he baptized in another area, for as he put it, \u201cshe and I would be perfect together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perplexed and dumbfounded, Steckelberg reached out to his friend and missionary in the Pure Branch of The Church of Latter-day Saints in Pierre, South Dakota, for guidance. Steckelberg said his friend\u2019s haunting advice to him was, \u201cNo matter what you do, keep this a secret. Do not tell anyone about your attractions. And I\u2019m just telling you for your own good, that it won\u2019t end well if you start telling people.\u201d Steckelberg\u2019s friend identified the underlying irony of the Mormon Church\u2019s alleged shift on homosexuality.<\/p>\n

In January 2015, Mormon elders held a press conference<\/a> where they called upon local, state and federal governments to pass legislation \u201cprotecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodation,\u201d so long as these rights didn\u2019t infringe on the constitutional rights of churches or the integrity of the traditional family outlined in Mormon doctrine.<\/p>\n

To some, this signaled a change in the treatment and acceptance of LGBT Mormons. But to others, this was simply a red herring, only offering support for non-discrimination policies outside the church, so long as they gained protection in the guise of religious exercise to discriminate within it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver six thousand of us around the world are more than pleased to hear [this] announcement,\u201d said Kendall Wilcox, co-founder of Mormon\u2019s Building Bridges<\/a>, a Mormon grassroots group.<\/p>\n

The announcement, Wilcox said, was a huge step forward. According to Wilcox, it was an acknowledgement on the part of the Mormon elders of the shifting attitude in congregations toward acceptance of LGBT members, allowing for members of the church to be open to lifestyles of other members, without fear of sanctions or excommunication.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church appears to understand that discrimination is a problem,\u201d said Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the American Civil Liberties Union. But, \u201clook at what they\u2019ve suggested, [it\u2019s] just another form of discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Yohnka, the church\u2019s announcement was less centered on the protection of LGBT rights but focused more on the demand for protection for religious believers who discriminate based on sexual orientation. Under the idea of religious freedom proposed in this announcement, landlords could lawfully not rent to a lesbian couple, so long as their decision was based on a religious objection, Yohnka said.<\/p>\n

John Gustav-Wrathall, former senior vice-president and current board member of Affirmation<\/a>, an organization that seeks to support LGBT Mormons, called the announcement a precedent-setting statement that is encouraging to a lot of people. \u201cIt put the LDS church on record, at least in principle, supporting civil rights protection,\u201d Gustav-Wrathall said.<\/p>\n

Still, he identified that the core challenge of being a homosexual or transgender person within the Mormon church is doctrinal. In order to achieve the highest order of Mormon salvation, \u201cyou have to be married and [have] progeny. That is a very central aspect and one of the highest ordinances within the church,\u201d Gustav-Wrathall said. Therefore, not being able to enter into that kind of relationship creates a major existential problem that creates a deep crisis of faith for LGBT Mormons.<\/p>\n

Ryan T. Cragun, an associate professor at the University of Tampa who specializes in Mormonism, said that the whole Mormon concept of family is rooted in heterosexual normativity. \u201cHow do gay people fit in \u2013 they don\u2019t,\u201d Cragun said.<\/p>\n

In 1995, Mormon church President Gordon B. Hinckley presented\u00a0\u201cThe Family: A Proclamation to the World.<\/a>\u201d The Family Proclamation, as it is commonly known, affirms the familial structure within the Mormon church as between a man and a woman. It follows that there can be \u201cno sexual relations outside the bonds of a legal marriage between a man and a woman,\u201d said Paul S. Woodbury, president of the Illinois Chicago Mission. This is known as the law of chastity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have same gender attraction, they can fully participate in the church, but they have to live by the law of chastity,\u201d Woodbury said. \u201cIf they really want to practice this faith and be baptized, they have to abide by these rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodbury said people are actually excited to live these lives, comparing the struggle of homosexuals within the Mormon church to someone giving up alcohol. \u201cIt frees them from addiction, pains and challenges they may have had in their lives,\u201d Woodbury said.<\/p>\n

Dwight Cook, 57, struggled with his homosexuality until he left the Mormon church in 1998. \u201cBefore you were quickly dismissed as being evil and lesser,\u201d Cook said. \u201cNow, the attitude is more like, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re an alcoholic. We\u2019ll support you through your struggle. You\u2019re still inferior. But we\u2019re not so quick to exclude you and not so quick to put judgment upon you publicly.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: The Mormon church has come out with a new stance on LGBT rights but still maintain what some people see as discriminatory policies. (Jay Jacobsen<\/a>\/Creative Commons<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meghan Tribe Brad Steckelberg assumed everyone knew he was gay. A recent convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \u2013 colloquially referred to as the Mormon church\u2014Steckelberg disclosed his homosexuality prior to his baptism. He understood the church\u2019s stance on celibacy. He was willing to live within those parameters. But that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":11395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest","category-public-affairs","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nDoctrine or discrimination: the Mormon church's 'new' stance on homosexuality - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/doctrine-or-discrimination-the-mormon-churchs-new-stance-on-homosexuality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Doctrine or discrimination: the Mormon church's 'new' stance on homosexuality - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Meghan Tribe Brad Steckelberg assumed everyone knew he was gay. A recent convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \u2013 colloquially referred to as the Mormon church\u2014Steckelberg disclosed his homosexuality prior to his baptism. He understood the church\u2019s stance on celibacy. He was willing to live within those parameters. 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