Hi there,
In years past, a group called Mormons Building Bridges (MBB) has been organizing Mormon allies to participate in Pride parades across North America. While this group and its intentions are laudable (in my view), there has been a troubling turn of events in the interim since last year's Pride season.
Since then, their church has introduced a new policy targeting legally married same-sex couples for excommunication and disqualifying their children from baptism in the Mormon (aka LDS) church.
To MBB's credit, this was met with public expressions of dismay by at least one of their board members (e.g., see www.sltrib.com/...).
But two unfortunate realities remain:
- MBB restricts their Pride signage to official LDS church messaging (e.g., scripture, hymns, but most disconcertingly, LDS "General Authority" statements). See mormonsbuildingbridges.org/...
- As an example of this messaging, this quote from an LDS leader is front and center on the landing page at mormonsbuildingbridges.org :
“Our doctrine—not just belief, but doctrine—that sexual relations are only appropriate and lawful in the Lord’s eyes between man and woman legally and lawfully married is unchanged and will never change.” —Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve
That is a doctrine and belief that is a bridge to nowhere for my LGBT family members.
Borrowing from the PrideFest Denver mission statement, these are my aspirations regarding Pride:
"...a time for all elements of our community to come together as one group to honor and learn from the past while affirming our future."
Unless and until Mormons Building Bridges can affirm their commitment to a future for my daughter that includes marrying the person she loves, without being made to feel less-than by the kind of public expressions of doctrine and belief that MBB touts in its approach to "bridge-building"...
I sincerely feel that Pride organizers should exercise their discretion and welcome MBB to participate in Pride only if/when their stance regarding marriage equality is clarified.
Respectfully,
Chino Blanco