I'm glad to hear the Mormons say that any kind of unkindness towards homosexuals has no part in our society. I agree.

Dos "unkindness" include denying Gay folk equal protection under the law and denying Gay couples equal access to civil marriage?

I think they just want to disassociate themselves from, … well, themselves.

The statement also reiterated the faith's belief that all sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong and said the church defines marriage as being only between a man and a woman.

What sort of ambivalence is this? Are we supposed to believe the Mormon Church has seen the light? It's the same old gobbledygook about marriage being between a man and a woman and all sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong.

If marriage is only between a man and a woman then the Mormon Church does not accept that gays and lesbians can marry; by the same token in a dastardly display of catch 22 it also opines that sexual relations between unmarried folks is wrong--no way Jose can homosexuals win with this sort of double speak and the declaration that gays should not be mistreated is an awful con that the gay community should reject.

If you keep reiterating to your congregation that the gay lifestyle is wrong, either directly or indirectly, then you are igniting hatred and inciting possible aggressions against homosexuals. What religion wants to do with homosexuals is to separate them from their sexuality; a fundamental and integral part of all human beings.

"You may be doing wrong but you must be treated humanely!" Baloney! The bigots are washing themselves clean with feigned compassion.
R Anon

R Anon How exactly does spreading your own bigotry and misconceptions make you any different? Are you honestly trying to link behavior with how people should be treated? Using your thought process we can't say any behavior is wrong because it would encourage people to treat them inhumanely. You may disagree about the correctness of the gay lifestyle, but to infer anything beyond that is pure nonsense.

R Anon......I guess we can't say that child pornography is wrong, because it might offend those who participate in it. Likewise with drug dealing. I mean, we wouldn't want any drug dealers killing themselves because certain members of society think what they're doing is wrong.

Religious leaders of ANY religion have the right and responsibility to advise their members on moral issues. But that doesn't mean those members have the right to harass those who don't believe the same. People should have the right to vote for societal laws tthey want enforced. The votes were cast for Prop 8, and the people's choice should be respected.

How in the world can a church honestly operate by leaving out the word of God in the bible that says homosexuality is wrong? Another question is, why does the Sun operate a faith section on it's website if no one on the site supports God and His word. What is the point? There is no debate here.

Clay,

The Sun provides blogs in the interest of fostering open debate -- not as one-sided, no-questions-asked conveyors of simplistic world views. That's what churches are for, after all.

T Anon--that you would equate drug dealing and pornography with homosexuality says a lot to me--say no more, pal. I get your drift--but here is a nasty fact--religious leaders have preached that homosexuality is a curable and reversible illness and this lie has done much damage to those who were at the experiment's end. Churches should take this moral stand you say? By being against homosexuality they have caused many homosexuals within the church to go undercover rather than face discovery, condemnation and shame. Your churches are full of hypocrisies and lies. People will speak again and Prop 8 will fall-- every injustice that rises will one day find its burial ground when the people who allowed those injustices to flourish are themselves buried.
R Anon

R Anon no one equated drug dealing and pornography with homosexuality other than in context of a particular views might offend those who involved. Speaking of lies you're telling some good ones yourself by laying all the blame for homosexuality being curable at the feet of religion. For that matter how can any of us be sure it isn't? I kind of doubt it myself, but there is much about it we still do not know. The medical and psychological communities held the same views at one time. I'm sure you'll find a way to blame religion for that as well. The world not just churches are full of hypocrisies and lies you simply pick and choose when and where you will point them out. You deny the reality of the difference between actions and individuals. Just because I believe homosexual acts to be immoral doesn’t mean I have the right to treat anyone differently. I will say I think that too many religious groups spend time concerning themselves over secular law on this issue. As long as freedom of religion isn’t compromised I could care less if the secular law wants to recognize gay marriage.

R-Anon, equating homosexuality with disease is not an invention of the Christian right. It was deemed as such in the early days of sexology as far back as Havelock Ellis (Sexual Inversion 1897) and Krafft-Ebing (Psychopathia Sexualis 1894). In fact it was not removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II) until 1973.

At that time it was replaced with Sexual Orientation Disturbance which focused on those “who are either disturbed by, in conflict with, or wish to change their sexual orientation. Dr. Lehne of Johns Hopkins coined the word “homophobia” to describe the fear of being perceived as gay in the context of the use of that fear by the heterosexual culture to compel conformity.

So called “reparative therapy” has been embraced by a handful of crackpots among the Christian Right.

It is intellectually dishonest to suggest that mainstream churches are teaching that homosexuality is a “curable and reversible illness.” They are not. Such nonsense comes from a handful of people who are clearly in the minority.

Dana very informative post. Thanks for sharing that information.