Mormons and Gays
Utah’s pioneer heritage is the saga of an oppressed people who wanted little more than the opportunity to live in peace and be protected by their own government. 150 years later, descendants have forgotten the lessons of this injustice and are eager to join in on marginalizing those who are different. S.B. 24 is flying through the legislature and amendments to both state and federal constitutions “defending” marriage have widespread support in Utah. Regarding S.B. 24, The House Judiciary Committee asked Rep. L. Christensen what reasons existed to deny marriage or civil unions to gays. He gave two often cited motives: the historical sanctity of marriage and the need to clearly communicate being gay is wrong.
These hate filled motivations are rife with hypocrisy. While claiming to support Christian values, the LDS church and other “defenders” conveniently fail to mention that Christ never mentioned homosexuality during his ministry and that those he most frequently scolded were the Pharisees who condemned others while claiming to be God’s chosen people. “Defenders” also claim to be protect the traditional sanctity of marriage but forget that for most of human history marriage has been little more than another property acquisition for men in which the groom purchased his pubescent wife/wives from her father.
As loathe as LDS faithful are to admit it, members and gays share similar histories. Both have been accused of trying to brainwash children. Both have been ridiculed for what they feel in their hearts is true. Both have been accused of trying to destroy marriage. Opponents have tried to destroy both communities. Laws have been passed to sanction killing both, and both continue to be targets of those who claim a superior knowledge. Even so, the church claims divine inspiration to justify denying rights to gays. The crusaders used God in this vein, as did Salem witch hunters, Nazis, and the Taliban. True, those groups didn’t have the Book of Mormon or D&C to guide them, but those books never even mention homosexuality as a sin. They do however condemn hypocrisy over 16 times. The Bible arguably mentions gays 8 times. It cites hypocrisy 30 times. Why peculiar good and queer bad?W. Jay CarlsonUSU Alum1458 Heritage CenterSalt Lake City, UT 84120