Rethink Everything You Thought You Knew: Mormon Church Softens Its Stance on Homosexuality
The Mayans may not have been too far off predicting the end of the world in just 15 days, because today the Mormon church announced that it is softening its stance on homosexuality.
Well, sort of. Being gay is still a sin, but the church is now willing to admit that homosexuals are people too. They launched the website mormonsandgays.org, encouraging all Mormons to "love one another," and more specifically, "how we should treat each other as part of the human family."
Under the heading, "Where the Church stands," the site reads:
The experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is. Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God's children, including our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. [emphasis mine]
It may not seem like much, but it's a big step. This is the Mormon church admitting that being gay is not a personal choice, in no uncertain terms. The site still maintains that it is a sin to be in a same-sex relationship, but patience people.
As the Huffington Post points out, the Mormon church was one of the more active supporters of California's Proposition 8, a law which banned gay marriage and will likely find itself in Supreme Court soon. Mormon leaders were apparently "stunned" at the backlash they received from their financial support of a bigoted law and is looking "to heal tensions" with the LGBT community.
On mormonsandgays.org, Mormons curious about two dudes getting it in—but not in like a gay way, in like an academic way—will find testimonials from church leaders, ex-gays and their straight spouses.
