“Mormon opposition to gay marriage will never change, says apostle Oaks, citing ‘statement of eternal truth.”
That was the headline on the sltrib.com article about the speech by Dallin Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, during the church’s most recent General Converence. This slap in the face to my LGBTQ community exposes the internalized homophobia of the LDS Church. It also outs its amorality and hypocrisy.
A headline the very next day, “Mormon leaders condemn bigotry,” shows the height of Mormon duplicity outed vis-a-vis the a-man-and-a-woman marriage mania.
Those who engage the LDS Church — as did LGBTQ members and Mormon progressives by attending the General Conference — need to be outed. State Sen. Jim Dabakis, a gay man, needs to be outed for attending the General Conference, in his words, “out of respect.” As a gay man, Jim is enabling the LDS Church to continue its hateful campaign which has been responsible for youth suicide in the LGBTQ community.
And Daisy Thomas, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party attended the General Conference as well. Respect and talk?
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, a progressive gay woman, has yet to condemn this anti-LGBTQ statement. She needs to be outed on the moral issue here. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams needs to be outed for not condemning his church’s statement. He needs to put aside his concern that, if he runs, he may not be elected to Congress for his constituents may be “offended” if stands on the high moral ground.
Troy Williams, executive director of Equality Utah, has yet to condemn the church at this writing. The LGBTQ community has been talking for years, yet the church says: “Sorry, you are not acceptable.” Progressive leadership is being snookered.
Some of my Facebook friends, including former Sen. Steve Urquhart, a friend of the LGBTQ community, have suggested: “Let it rest, walk away.” Let’s look at the history of those who chose not to walk away, not let it rest on civil rights: Thich Quang Duc, Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayrad Rustin, Gordon Hirabayashi , W.E.B. Du Bois, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, Lysander Spooner, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, Mahatma Gandhi, Yuri Kochiyama, Oskar Schlinder, Rosa Parks, Harvey Milk, Miriam Makeba, Harish Iyer, Desmond Tutu, MalcolmX, Malala Yousafzai, et al.
I am stunned by the passive naïveté by our LGBTQ leaders and “progressive” political leaders in Utah. Their fear of offending the church is palpable, their silence is consent.
Jim Dabakis, Jackie Biskupski, Troy Williams, Ben McAdams, LGBTQ practicing Mormons as well as all “progressive” non-Mormons who say “Walk away” are enabling higher risks of gay youth suicide.
Andrea Hood, a suicide prevention specialist for the Utah Department of Health, told KUTV News, “Youth who feel highly rejected from family members or their community when they come out as being LGBTQ are eight times higher risk of suicide.”
In one week last July, two Mormon gay youth committed suicide. At that time the LDS Church issued a statement that included: “Every soul is precious.” Except, that is, for LGBTQ souls, and particularly the souls of the children of same-sex marriages.
For politically ambitious non-Mormons, be relentless opponents of religious intolerance and do not stoop to compromising basic human rights principles. You may not get elected in Utah, but you are moral, closer to your Gods. One of my Facebook contacts went to far as to imply Democrats need Mormon votes to win elections, implying let the LDS position on same-sex marriage rest. No morality here.
Every LGTBQ Mormon immediately should leave the LDS Church and pray to their God directly as did my Mom. As a devout Catholic, she stated to me more than once: “I don’t care what the pope says, my relationship is directly with God”.
Terry Marasco
Terry Marasco, Salt Lake City, is a businessman and community activist.