"I have seen and heard nothing from the church stating that this policy came by revelation," Mason writes on Facebook, "nor are we asked to sustain it as such. We are never asked to sustain the Handbooks."
Policies, he adds, "come and go."
"Most of them are good and sensible," Mason says, "some of them are lame, misguided and even hurtful. As people of conscience, we are always within our rights to disagree with anything within the church, but especially policies. We can responsibly say to ourselves, to our friends and neighbors, to our fellow church members and to our priesthood leaders, 'I sustain my church leaders as men (and women) called by God and striving to lead his church by inspiration, but I do not agree with this policy of the church.' "
Many Mormons are calling on their church leaders to modify this new policy on same-sex couples — particularly the limitations affecting the children — and soon.
If podcaster John Dehlin's source is correct, that may happen.
On Wednesday, Dehlin, the excommunicated Mormon who divulged the Handbook 1 changes to the media last week, claimed he had reports that the LDS Presidency of the Seventy sent out a memo to regional leaders, saying that "there will be additional clarification on these changes from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve [Apostles] in the coming days."
When asked for confirmation, LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins "declined to comment."
pstack@sltrib.com
Twitter: @religiongal
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