Mormons Propose ‘mass resignation’ After change in Church Policies for gay people

A protest featuring a “mass resignation” of Mormons from their church Saturday over a recently announced policy on LGBT families is not a new form of opposition for the 185-year-old church. After they turn 18 years old, Janice and Trevor will have the chance to be baptized – but only if they disavow the practice of same-sex relationships and marriage.

The Church’s new policy bans children of same-sex couples from joining the Mormon faith..

In response to concerns from members, LDS Church spokesperson Michael Otterson said in a news release Friday that the rules are meant to prevent young children from being caught in a spiritual tug-of-war between teachings at home and church.

The clarification said the policy applies only to children whose “primary residence” is with a couple living in a same-gender marriage. “We hope that today’s guidance from church leaders and the additional commentary will help provide understanding and context to a few who may be considering resigning their membership”, according to CNN affiliate KUTV.

Long lines of Mormons handed in letters of resignation letters an attorney. More than 600 people have pledged to do the same on Saturday in a poll on Facebook.

For children who have already been baptized, the provisions do not curtail their membership activities of priesthood privileges, the leaders said.

He said of the new rules, “It’s coming out of place of love for these children”. According to a report from Fox News, the event is just the latest in a series of protests against the church for their new exclusionary policies. They were also overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from people all over the country.

Biskupski, the newly elected mayor, said she would reach out to LDS leadership in an attempt to bridge the gap between her supporters in the gay community and Mormons and others opposed to gay marriage.

“The people in the Mormon Church are finding that this is not a Christ-centred policy”.

“This is the first time I can remember disagreement with a Church policy cutting through the orthodox-heterodox divide”, said Lorie Winder Stromberg, a Mormon who is on the board of ordainwomen.org, a group advocating for Mormon women’s ordination.

The Mormon handbook is the guide for more than 30,000 Mormon churches worldwide, but it can not answer every question, Otterson said. It also considers same-sex marriage as an act in renunciation of the Mormon faith. “But that’s not a right that exists in the church”. “We don’t want to support them because they don’t support us”.

“We’ve actually had participation nationally in our event”, said organizer Lauren Elise McNamara, ” on our online event people have RSVP’d internationally and have been posting pictures of when they been taking theirs to the mailbox all week”.

Damien and Shelby Steadman, a married couple, both resigned from the church on Saturday.

Many said the decision to walk away is hard, but they felt it was the right decision to stand up for families.