Mass protest over Mormon church denying baptism to children of gay couples

“There’s no kindness in misdirecting people and leading them into any misunderstanding about what is true, what is right, what is wrong, what leads to Christ and what leads away from Christ”, Christofferson said.

The new rules bar children living with gay parents from being baptized until they’re 18.

Gov. Gary Herbert made the comments Thursday during his KUED-TV news conference.

Johansen rescinded his order Friday, but not before the issues simmering beneath five years’ worth of renewed goodwill and camaraderie boiled over in just a week.

The crowd included gay and lesbian couples as well as straight couples.

As a matter of fact, I don’t think it’s a case of forcing the teachings of the LDS Church on people at all.

Billed as a mass resignation by Mormons, people filled out paperwork and dropped off the resignation letters at a church building.

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.

“Many of them are asking, why are we wasting our time?”

According to media reports, as many as 1,000 people pledged to resign en masse from the Mormon Church.

Previous amendments by the Church have shown their attitudes toward same-sex couples, such as the church’s support of California Proposition 8 in 2008, the Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2 in 1998 and the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004, Hwang said.

Church spokesman Eric Hawkins reaffirmed the church’s longstanding opposition to same-sex marriage when the new guidelines were released.

The church “does not perform or accept same-sex marriage within its membership”, he said. It was later struck down by the courts.

It was an emotional scene in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday, where thousands of LGBT Mormons from dozens of states gathered.

Naugle said he will deliver the resignation letters symbolically to LDS headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.

During the last year, members of the gay community praised an openness from the church unseen since the 1970s, referred to among more liberal church members as the Camelot Years.

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

It is not a matter taken lightly by the hundreds of people who lined up Saturday at Harkness’ table at a city park to officially separate themselves from the church, part of a rally supporting the mass resignations of Mormons. “Being excommunicated is worse than dying in Mormondom”.

Thwock! Another Mormon who could now officially call herself an ex-Mormon.

But Mormon scholar Patrick Mason says targeting kids riled up even orthodox Latter-day Saints who don’t usually get on the LGBT bandwagon.

Gary: “Personally, I see the logic behind it – there’s only a few things that could be classified as apostasy within the LDS church, and one of those is continuing to go against an established doctrine”. So even if it does come from a good place, there are real effects of it. There have been increased suicide attempts and even if that’s not the intention, that’s the message they’re sending.