GEEKERY  
ADVENTURE  
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20091111

but I be done seen about everything

I was quite surprised to find an NPR article in my news feed this morning titled Mormon Church Backs Salt Lake City's Gay Rights Law.

Having been a Mormon in the SF bay area while Prop 8 was going down, I felt like I knew the church's attitude: everyone is a child of God, but only heterosexual marriage is okay.  I didn't get why it was so important for marriage to be only heterosexual, and there was a whole lot of discussion about it, as many of the members in the area are fairly progressive.  Needless to say, it was a time of a lot of conflict between individuals and the institution.

I knew that the church wasn't against the individuals of the LGBT community, just against homosexual marriage.  (And premarital sex, so it often feels like they're against homosexual relationships, but I sure hope they never get into legislation about that.)  So when I read the aforementioned article, it didn't come as a huge shocker, at least in retrospect; it was consistent enough with their previously declared positions.  

But it did make me extremely happy that they were making the effort.  The church does see where it could do better, and is having open conversation about it.  If there is one thing that I think the world could use more of, it's the willingness to be a little flexible and converse about differences.  I think knowing your own position and defending it is noble too, but we already have strong tendencies to do that.

And though I like the call to change, perhaps the church is wise in its decision to go about change slowly--it makes people more open in the long run. 

Update: NYT article on the topic

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