The 2009 incident opened the door to an unlikely series of back-channel talks between mid-level church officials and members of the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community. Meeting in private homes and other venues, they spent much of the next five years exchanging views, discussing policy changes, even socializing...
Well, this Times journalist makes it sound like it took five years for the LGBT "contingent" to "make progress" with the Mormons...and that the January press conference called by the LDS Church was the "end result" of that...
Sorry. But the 2009 "kiss incident" and ensuing "kiss-in" wound up working MUCH, MUCH faster. Basically, most of what the Lds Church said about wishing to elevate lesbians, homosexuals, bi-sexuals, and transgenders into minority class status was already communicated by the Lds Church late 2009:
* Homosexual rights: Mormon church supports Salt Lake City's protections for gay rights
...and Mormons Back Salt Lake City Gay Rights Laws
That first meeting "was awkward, but then we went around the room and talked about our personal journeys," said state Sen. Jim Dabakis, a gay Democrat who describes himself as "a cultural Mormon" and has been involved in the process from the start...The gay and lesbian contingent did not want to meet in church headquarters; the church officials did not want to venture into the offices of a group like Equality Utah or the Utah Pride Center. So Dabakis called Diane Stewart — friend, political activist, Mormon in good standing, same-sex marriage supporter...
So...Dabakis is a "gay" state senator from Salt Lake City, an ex-Lds missionary who was a Mormon convert at age 11...and has since left the church:
Born into a Greek-American family from Springfield, Massachusetts, Dabakis is the son of a machinist. Raised as a Greek Orthodox, he was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 11 so that he could play on a Church-affiliated basketball team. In 1971, he enrolled at Brigham Young University and sought guidance from Mark E. Petersen, one of the Church's apostles, about his homosexuality.[1] He was sent to the San Francisco bay area as a missionary and has since ceased to be a practicing Mormon.
Jim Dabakis
OKay...let me get this straight...
This homosexual Mormon seeks counsel from an Lds "apostle"...and, instead of helping him with his sexuality issues...he ensures he gets sent to San Francisco...
(Oh, yeah, that'll "help" Lds missionaries with homosexual leanings, all right!)
The 2009 incident opened the door to an unlikely series of back-channel talks between mid-level church officials and members of the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community.
OK...let me get this straight...WE have "G" (for gay), "L" (for lesbian), "T" (for transgender), and "B" (for bisexual).
So first to the GLBT contingent: Exactly why are you so exclusionary -- and prejudicial -- and discriminatory -- to not include the "P" in your movement or in these Lds Church meetings??? ("P" for polygamists)...
I thought the GLBT people were all about...
...inclusion...
...and non-"discrimination"...
...tisk, tisk, tisk...
...I guess the lie sounds forth by exactly which letter you exclude from your precious "narrow" acronym!!!
Now to the Lds church:
Why didn't you ensure somebody from the polygamist community was represented at these meetings?
Aren't they "discriminated" against in Utah...perhaps even more so by some Mormons re: employment and housing...???
When Monson and the oldest 5 apostles are gone, the door to gaydom will swing wide open. Maybe sooner.
I believe it was this site, not sure who, but the reason Romney signed the domestic partnership bill was to allow gay marriage...
because
it would redefine marriage...
which would...
allow polygamy back to America...
Which all good Mormons must engage in or go to hell according to their false prophet
and 2 months ago, a fine, wonderful Mormon woman told me she believed the biggest treason America is failing is because the LDS outlawed polygamy and Heavenly Father is judging the US...and she was dead serious.
further proof that the Mormon church is not Christian. You cannot be Christian and promote (or accept) homosexual practice.
So what it means is that the Mormons are now going to axcept the same law most other Churches have been excepting for years.
Which does not make it right of course.