Posted on 11/15/2022 5:39:05 PM PST by Ennis85
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it would back proposed federal legislation to safeguard same-sex marriages, marking the latest show of support for the measure from conservative-leaning groups.
The nearly 17-million member, Utah-based faith said in a statement that church doctrine would continue to consider same-sex relationships to be against God’s commandments. Yet it said it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they didn’t infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose.
“We believe this approach is the way forward. As we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of LGBTQ individuals much can be accomplished to heal relationships and foster greater understanding,” the church said in a statement posted on its website.
Support for the Respect for Marriage Act under consideration in Congress is the church’s latest step to stake out a more welcoming stance toward the LGBTQ community while holding firm to its belief that same-sex relationships are sinful. Still, its stance toward LGBTQ people — including those who grow up in the church — remains painful for many.
Patrick Mason, a professor of religious studies at Utah State University, said the church’s position was both a departure from and continuation of its past stances — respecting laws yet working to safeguard religious liberty and ensuring they won’t be forced to perform same-sex marriages or grant them official church sanction.
“This is part of the church’s overall theology essentially sustaining the law of the land, recognizing that what they dictate and enforce for their members in terms of their behavior is different than what it means to be part of a pluralistic society,” he said.
The faith opposes same-sex marriage and sexual intimacy, but it has taken a more welcoming stance to LGBTQ people in recent years. In 2016, it declared that same-sex attraction is not a sin, while maintaining that acting on it was.
The bill, which has won support from Democrats and Republicans, is set for a test vote in the Senate Wednesday, with a final vote as soon as this week or later this month. It comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, with Justice Clarence Thomas issuing a concurring opinion indicating that an earlier high court decision protecting same-sex marriage could come under threat.
But it does put a new twist in their magic underwear!
“They know it’s the path to polygamy.”
This. Absolutely this.
Did someone look in a hat and lo and behold, Eohim has changed his mind again?
I wonder if they’re OK with mix ‘n match for a good old fashioned orgy.
So what recourse would the LDS Church have when the Alphabet People forget their side of the pledge? None. The law is in place and won't be rescinded and they won't stop pushing until every bit of opposition is browbeaten into submission.
There are a lot of fools lying in their eternal graves that were muchly duped by the followers of Joseph Smith . . . my wife and I were among them until we heard the glorious gospel of the blessed Lord and were marvelously saved back in 1976.
It wasn’t necessarily the Mormons’ fault . . . it is their faults for being stupid enough to listen to them and reject the word of God for the traditions of men.
They will one day meet Jesus, but He will say to them, “Depart from me, for I NEVER KNEW YE!”
There is nothing conservative in the least about that position.
No….!
Back when CA had the marriage initiative on the ballot, the Mormons bravely came forward for traditional marriage while other people buried their heads in the sand. But I guess that was 15-20 years ago now. Sigh…
This is the price for legal recognition of polygamy. Once the Supreme Court gives the all-clear, the LDS president will have another revelation to restore the practice.
Oh good, the gays will get their own planet…. Uranus.
I wonder if the lesbians will get their own planet too or will they have to be called up by the gay men?
Let’s see those homosexual marriages at the temple.
Welp... I never thought I’d live to see THAT happen...
Right in front of our eyes. Deceived is a good word for what we are seeing.
Have you seen this?
Since Pluto isn’t a planet anymore, the dykes and submissive little followers can have it and rename it Lesbos. Problem solved.
Follow the money?
Marriage or not, same sex couples are committing the sin.
An abomination in the eyes of all.
No matter which way the cultural winds blow, the Smith Movement will bend with them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.