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Provo • There's support within the Mormon church for gay members — if they follow the teachings of the church, attendees of the annual North Star conference were told Saturday morning.

And those teachings include no sexual relations outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.

Virginia Hinckley Pearce, a former counselor in the Young Women general presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told attendees, "I want to do my little part to help at least one of you leave today's conference, renewed in your pledge to the serve the master and feeling buoyed up by the support of others."

Pearce, the daughter of the late LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, prefaced her remarks by disclosing "I lack professional and institutional and firsthand, personal experience, frankly, with those who experience same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria," joking that she wondered "Why did I say I'd do this?"

"I'm terrified that the combination of my clumsiness and the freshness of some of your pain could come together in unintended but dreadful ways," she said.

But for the majority of her talk, Pearce did not directly address the subject of homosexuality, focusing on "working toward holiness" in remarks that were indistinguishable from many an LDS Church ward meeting. Her keynote address was complete with an opening prayer, hymn and a choir performance.

North Star is not affiliated with the LDS Church, but bills itself as an organization that "supports Latter-day Saint individuals and families concerned with sexual orientation or gender identity who seek to live in joy and harmony within their covenants, values and beliefs as members" of the church. In 2014, the group absorbed Evergreen International to form "the largest single faith-based ministry organization for Latter-day Saints who experience same-sex attraction."

Saturday's conference included sessions on how to have "courageous conversations with loved ones about your gender identity" and build "true masculinity on the rock of Christ," and "coming to terms with my child's same-sex attraction/gender identity."

Conferencegoers could buy pictures of the Salt Lake Temple along with copies of books like "My Son Is Gay: An LDS Father's Journey Into Love and Faith," "Mormons & Homosexuality: Setting the Record Straight" and "Born That Way? A True Story of Overcoming Same-Sex Attraction."

The LDS Church does not teach that same-sex attraction is a choice.

Pearce urged gay members to seek after Christ and straight members to support them. And she briefly offered two examples of people in her life she's seen deal with "same-sex attraction" and "gender dysphoria," a diagnosis for people who experience significant distress with the gender with which they were born.

She recalled a neighbor who was "absolutely undone" when her son "declared that he is experiencing same-gender dysphoria." Pearce said the woman was "just sitting there, thinking of everything [she] did wrong as a mother." But her Relief Society teacher expressed support.

"I think that's what we do for each other," Pearce said.

She also said that gay Mormons can return to the church if they give up gay behavior. Pearce recalled two "fabulous men" who went on LDS Church missions, "experienced same-sex attraction" and "built a life together," quitting the church.

But when one of the men died, the other felt compelled to attend an LDS Church service. "And he said, 'It washed through me in a powerful way that I needed to be back in the church,'" Pearce said.

The man left behind his home and "all of their associations." He "moved across the country," and shared his story with his new bishop and fellow ward members.

"I have to say that when he is brave enough to do that, he allows the rest of us to reach out," Pearce said. "And that's what happened in his ward."

She was speaking to a receptive audience of about 350 people, who gave a standing ovation to North Star's chairman, Jeff Bennion, and his wife, Tanya — a couple best known for appearing in the 2015 TLC special "My Husband's Not Gay."

That TV program followed three active LDS married couples (including the Bennions) in which the husbands experienced "same-sex attraction" but chose to be straight. "My Husband's Not Gay" drew fire for supporting "conversion therapy," which aims to change a person's sexual orientation. The practice has been discredited by the American Psychological Association, outlawed for minors in several states and is not advocated by LDS Church-employed counselors.

North Star takes no official position on conversion therapy, noting on its website that it "supports all efforts consistent with the gospel that help individuals live in more full harmony with their baptism and temple covenants."

The cost to attend the 2016 conference was $95 per day, or $155 for a Friday-Saturday pass, with scholarships available for those over 14.