Utah State students respond to LDS church manual revisions
Utah State University students are responding to revisions to Handbook 1 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which clarifies that children of same-sex couples may not join the LDS church until they are 18 years old and meet certain criteria.
Senior Jeannie Woller said she brushed off the information at first because of the understanding between the gay community and the LDS church — “there’s a fostering of love,” she said, so she didn’t look too deeply into it.
“And then I read the article that was posted on KSL,” Woller, an English major, said. “I was utterly disappointed in the church — completely baffled and floored, to be honest. As somebody who was raised in that church, and who identifies now as a more sexually fluid person — currently dating a girl — it hurt a lot.”
According to the updated handbook, children of same-sex marriage will not be allowed to receive a name and a blessing, which is typically performed by elders when children are babies. In order for the child to participate in certain ordinances of the church, he or she must receive special permission from the Office of the First Presidency. In addition to being 18 years old, the child must disavow the practice of same-sex cohabitation and marriage and not live with a parent living in such a situation.
Troy Williams, executive director of Equality Utah, said it’s always shocking for a same-sex couple to hear themselves referred to as “apostates.” Equality Utah’s mission is to secure equal rights and protections for LGBT Utahns.
“Children of same-sex couples are treasured,” Williams said. “We want to honor all families.”
Woller said she has never held any animosity towards the religion. She attributes her morals and many of her qualities to her upbringing.
“Last night was the first time I felt a glimpse of anger at this thing that I consider a part of me,” she said. “I can’t revel in the goodness of this church that I believe has fantastic qualities. I can’t revel in the church that my parents grew up in, that my mother loves, that my grandparents fostered me in. I can’t share that with my children, because my children will not be wanted in it. And that stings in unimaginable ways.”
Senior mechanical engineering major Ty Rupp thinks leaving the church and raising one’s children in the church is a double-standard, because he said it is an “all-or-nothing thing.”
“The LDS church is not a buffet,” said Rupp, who is an active member of the faith. “You don’t come and take what you like and then leave what you don’t like. It’s never been that way. It’ll never be that way.”
The church is in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation, Rupp said. He thinks the church is covering its bases for when concerns arise in the future.
“I don’t think it’s a question of whether or not they want to extend fellowship to certain people. It’s the practicality of same-sex marriages — how many of them would actually be happy with their children joining the LDS church,” Rupp said. “It’s a potential nightmare in the future for them.”
What Rupp is more concerned about, however, is the amount of attention it has received on social media. The change reflects a stance the faith has already taken on the issue of same-sex marriage, and the revision in the manual is just for bishops and stake presidents.
“They’re just clarifying their literature on it,” he said. “Social media isn’t even a true forum for enlightened discussion. It’s mostly just mud-slinging.”
According to church doctrine, parents will be held accountable for their children’s upbringing in the next life. Rupp thinks this point is important for people to understand.
Woller wants USU students to take a step back and think about religion as an individual. With same-sex marriage legal in every state, Woller said it’s becoming socially acceptable and Latter-day Saints should welcome different beliefs — when they do that, “they are going to get along with the rest of humanity.”
Brittney Mattison is studying piano pedagogy online through USU, and while she is not an active member of the LDS church, she was raised in the faith. Her concern is that the change — and the resulting social media posts — are causing emotional stress among her LGBT friends, as well as her LDS friends.
“I have some friends who identify as LGBT who actively go to the LDS church, I’m afraid this will cause tension between them and other members,” Mattison said. “I hope they will react to it with love, by studying what their church really teaches and by believing in the golden rule — love one another.”
Several USU students shared a photo that read, “If you’re struggling after learning about the new LDS Church policy on children of LGBTQ couples, and you need to talk to someone, please reach out.” It included a suicide hotline and a lifeline for LGBT individuals and invited the reader to message the sharer. In a large font, it read, “You are loved. You are wanted.”
Twitter user @alclark35 tweeted a Bible verse, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37.”
The LDS church released a video on mormonnewsroom.org on Friday addressing the concerns about the manual revisions. In the video one of the faith’s apostles, Elder D. Todd Christofferson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, clarified the church’s position.
“We regard same-sex marriage as a particularly grievous or significant, serious kind of sin that requires Church discipline. It means the discipline is mandatory — doesn’t dictate outcomes but it dictates that discipline is needed in those cases,” Christofferson said. “It’s a statement to remove any question or doubt that may exist.”
He went on to explain that when a baby is blessed in the church, a membership record is created. It then “triggers” an expectation that the child will attend and be involved which church, which Christofferson said creates a conflict in the home.
“It’ll be another thing that people will either have to build their faith on or move forward with,” Rupp added.
Members of the Latter-day Saint Student Association council declined to comment, saying they aren’t qualified to represent the church’s standpoint on the issue.
Woller hopes that USU students will think critically about the change and decide whether they think the church can be wrong.
“At the end of the day, I have to find it within myself to come to peace with this because I can’t hold onto anger, and I honestly don’t want to,” Woller said. “Because this is a church that I grew up loving and I’d like at some point for my kids to find that love, as well.”
New information will be added to this story as it is received.
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