This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Many are lauding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for creating the website http://www.mormonsandgays.org. I don't give anyone props for inching closer to what should have already been a baseline for decent human behavior.

Why give the church credit for the tepid gesture of saying that gays and lesbians don't make the choice to be gay, while at the same time saying they aren't allowed to "act on their feelings"? If the church now says being gay isn't a choice, it should acknowledge the basic human right of gay people to love who they choose.

The website's driving message is: If you are gay, just stay celibate and everything will work out in heaven. That's just is not real life, and it's not fair to gays and lesbians living in 2012. To love someone and feel that love back is basic human dignity.

Journalists and community leaders should point that out.

Nicole Christensen

Salt Lake City