Mormonism’s battle against gay marriage
You may have already read an AP article about a Florida man excommunicated for being gay writing his friends and family in California asking them to stand up and walk out of church services this past Sunday as leaders throughout the state read a statement from central church leadership in Salt Lake City asking Latter-day Saints throughout California to rally in support of a state marriage amendment in reaction to homosexuals being allowed to marry.
Today I joined a Facebook group called “Sign for Something” which is taking a stand against ecclesiastical encroachment in government, especially where gay marriage is concerned. There is also a website under construction at http://signforsomething.org/.
I believe strongly that no person should should be affected by the beliefs of any church unless that person submits themselves to the authority of that church by becoming a member.
And for members of a church that don’t agree with the actions of their church, they should respond by leaving. There is a growing movement of disaffected Latter-day Saints to do just this. A current thread at PostMormon.org is organizing such a movement, and believes they will see over one thousand current members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints submit their resignations in response to the church’s meddling in the politics of California. This group should also have a website up to facilitate this action soon.
3 responses so far
I found it very interesting that Signingforsomething.org allows only one point of view to be posted. Even the “Views that do not persuade us” section has been removed. It is certainly their right to l9mit points of view on your web page. It is hypercritical however, given the cry of “censorship” they level at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their volunteers are screening opposing views as “inappropriate and off topic.”
The purpose of the web site became clear when I saw this in the “Welcome” e-mail:
“IF YOU’RE RESIGNING “
“Some members have expressed a desire to resign their membership over this issue. While we are not encouraging resignation from the Church, we recognize that members have this right. The website MormonNoMore.com is a resource for those who have asked for this information. We would remind those contemplating resignation of the serious nature and ramifications of such action.”
Signingforsomething.org is passive –aggressiveness and very heavy on the aggressive side.
Be well.
Hi Sash,
Thanks for your comments. I want to stress that I am not part of the Signing for Something team running the site, so I can’t really speak for their reasons for not keeping a section devoted for opposing viewpoints. Frankly speaking, most of the opposing viewpoints I’ve heard or have read (apart from whatever may have gone through the screening on the site) are heavy with quotes from Leviticus and light on any valid arguments approaching even the slightest insight to the function of government and constitutional principle.
As for resignation, it’s actually surprising that the site isn’t pushing for this more. The conversation leading to the launch of the site can be found here.
It should be noted that Signing for Something has no official connection withPostMormon.org. Edit: Signing for Something is now an affiliate of PostMormon.orgIf you’d like to express your thoughts on the issue, please feel free to respectfully do it here.
I am one of the founders of Signing for Something.
Responding to Sash, we suggest that our site, like Fast and Testimony meeting, is not a place to engage in debate, but a place for folks who have common beliefs to share and strengthen one another. We do not encourage anyone to go to Church activities and make the kinds of statements there that they do on Signing for Something.
I disagree with Sash’s comment of us being “heavy on the aggressive side,” rather I think we are willing to allow anyone who wants to speak out in favor of gay marriage or in opposition to the church’s political stance. You will note that our site is not an “anti” site filled with statements about the Adam-God doctrine, Joseph Smith’s polygamy, Book of Abraham revelations, Kinderhook plates, etc. although some people have mentioned some of these kinds of issues occasionally. Our purpose is not to “bring down” the church, but rather to speak out in hopes that the leadership might just hear the voices of the minority.
Despite who our church aligns itself with in this area, our church is a minority and many of the posters to Signing for Something fear that regardless of the outcome of the Prop 8 battle (but much more ominously if it passes) the very coalition that we joined, will eventually turn on us and attack us. We are a very distinct minority also.
So, there are lots of voices heard at Signing for Something. But, just as fast and testimony meeting isn’t a place to state that you don’t believe Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, Signing for Something isn’t a place to support Proposition 8.
Best wishes.