Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy
Source: Washington Post
Religion
Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Reporter covering religion
April 4 at 11:44 AM
Children of LGBT parents can now be blessed or baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church officials declared in a new policy on Thursday, reversing a 2015 decision to exclude those children from the rituals until they were 18. The church will also update its handbook for leaders, removing the label of “apostasy” for same-sex marriage.
“We pray these teachings will be received in the same spirit we received them from the Lord and have shared them with our leaders — as positive and inspiring instruction that will bless many lives,” three Mormon leaders said in a joint statement on Thursday. The policy was announced during the leadership session of the church’s 189th Annual General Conference.
The initial decision to exclude LGBT families from the core rituals, announced in June 2015, was met with fierce criticism across the Mormon Church. Several Mormon leaders weren’t sure how to implement the policy, said Matthew Bowman, a historian of the Mormon Church.
“There have been local leaders who have slow-peddled it, put it on hold, who sought further clarification,” he said. “Because of that, the impact of it has not been what it could have been.”
This story is developing.
Sarah Pulliam Bailey is a religion reporter, covering how faith intersects with politics and culture. She runs The Washington Post's religion blog. Before joining The Post, she was a national correspondent based in New York City for Religion News Service. Follow https://twitter.com/spulliam
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/04/04/mormon-church-allow-baptisms-blessings-children-lgbt-parents-reversing-policy/
Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy
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because it kept Brigham Young University's athletic teams from joining the NCAA!
rocktivity
run by power-hungry controlling zealot assholes. Guess they felt they might be losing a money base so - what the hell - let them be baptized in the grace of God. The old white guys were dying away so they decided to "reform" themselves. Jesus hates hypocrites.
As a gay former Mormon who's family are active members of the Mormon Church this disgust me. This "policy" should have never been part of anything they claim to be.
“While we cannot change the Lord’s doctrine, we want our members and our policies to be considerate of those struggling with the challenges of mortality,” the statement said. “We want to reduce the hate and contention so common today.”
Gay people are not struggling with "challenges of mortality" the church is.
This is how inauthentic the Mormon Church really is. When they ultimately do arrive at full gay inclusion, the damage they will have left in their wake will be so significant that no one will trust them.
Utah's teen suicide epidemic is out of control.
https://www.kuer.org/post/can-lds-church-be-blamed-utah-s-lgbt-suicides#stream/0
