LDS Halloween events no "cross-gender" costume flier angers some residents

SANDY, Utah—

At least one resident is angry after an LDS Church ward flier said to not show up with masks or cross-gender costumes at this Saturday's Halloween trunk-or-treat event.

The flier advertises an LDS Halloween event where kids trick-or-treat in the parking lot of the stake center. It is unclear if the Crescent 16th Ward has a problem with cross-dressing costumes or simply wants to promote what it deems is appropriate dress at the event. But the flier angered one mother in Sandy.

"It has everything to do with not loving your fellow man because they choose to dress a specific way," says mother Raquel Smith.

Smith, who is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says the event sends the wrong message to the children.

"I think definitely a child as young as a toddler can understand when a parent says 'no honey, you can't be Spiderman or Harry Potter because you're a girl and that's a boy.' I think that immediately tells your child their decisions are wrong," says Smith.

LDS Bishop Dennis Toone leads the ward hosting the trunk-or-treat. His family says a young women's group created the flier before hundreds went out to the community. Since Bishop Toone suffered a loss in his family, he didn't want to appear on camera. But in a published report, Toone defended the flier saying "I thought it was church policy. I'll defend the church and anyone who doesn't like it doesn't have to come.”

LDS spokesperson, Scott Trotter, said that the church dictates the no-mask policy for such events, however the cross-dressing ban is not policy and event rules like that are up to the discretion of the bishop or church members. Trotter said that he does not know why such language was used, but assumes that it was a means to promote appropriate dress.

Some in the community are just as upset as Raquel Smith.

“I don't think anyone should be excluded. I think if you're a Christian-loving person. I think everyone should love everybody. To exclude somebody is not fair," said Gilbert, who asked FOX 13 not to use his name.

Aaron Vaughn, Web ProducerFOX 13 News

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Antigay School Beating Caught on Tape

By Lucas Grindley

A brutal case of antigay bullying in an Ohio high school has been caught by cell phone video and is emblematic of violence experienced or feared by LGBT students every day.
The video catches the attacker waiting for the gay student, a 15-year-old boy named in the report as "Zack" by ABC's WSYX in Ohio. The station interviewed the victim's mother, who describes what she saw of the vicious beating on tape.

"The boy stood there and waited on him, and waited on him, and waited on him," she told WSYX. "And then as soon as he walks in the door, the boy hits him. Zack walks away, 'What did I do? Why are you doing this?' And he keeps walking away."

But then the boy grabs Zack, stands over him on the ground and delivers at least seven punches in quick succession, the smacks audible on the tape.The mother told the station that her son might have a concussion and chipped teeth, and that she wants that attack pursued as a "hate crime." The mother is certain it was motivated by her son being gay."It's my son," she said, "and they did it just because he's a homosexual.""I was waiting for somebody," says the boy, whose identity is hidden in the news report. "I covered myself, I shielded my body, and he just kept hitting me and nobody did anything."The station reports that antigay comments were made on the attacker's Facebook page two days earlier.

You Can't Pray The Gay Away... End Of The Ex-Gay Movement?

Man who tried to help people banish homosexual attractions says he never saw it work

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Last week, John Smid, the former director of Love in Action, the country’s oldest and largest ex-gay ministry, acknowledged on his blog that, contrary to the claims of the movement he represented for decades, gay people cannot become straight. “I’ve never met a man who experienced a change from homosexual to heterosexual,” he wrote. He himself certainly has not. “I would consider myself homosexual and yet in a marriage with a woman,” he explained. He loves his wife and has no plans to leave her, but wrote, “this doesn’t change the fact that I am who I am and she is who she is.” Read Full Article

Theater: '14' examines violent therapy for gay Mormons in the 1970s

John Clarence Cameron doesn't view himself as a victim. But he wants the truth about what he endured to be told.

Cameron is not a victim, he says, because it was his choice to take part in so-called reparation therapy in 1974 while a student at Brigham Young University.

Cameron was one of 14 young men that year that volunteered for the therapy. Designed to "cure" them of their homosexual tendencies, the therapy consisted of hooking the men to electrodes and showing them pictures of other men. When the men were shown the images, they were administered electric shocks. Read Full Story

Worlds Apart? Mormon Man Encounters with Gay and Lesbian Folks

Gay Marriage Poll

Gay Marriage Poll

Touted by Mormons

Seems Dubious

Contrary to almost every other national poll regarding marriage equality, Deseret News, a newspaper owned by the Mormon Church, claims that two thirds of Americans oppose marriage equality.

When the mouthpiece of the Mormon Church publishes a new poll showing that two thirds of Americans now oppose marriage equality, it raises some questions. One needs to ask who conducted the poll, who was questioned, and whether respondents reflect the demographics of the national population. There is little such information in the article. All it or the attached graphics indicate is that 1,000 randomly chosen adults in 50 states were surveyed. Read Full Story HERE

“I’m a Mormon” Media Campaign Expands Across United States and Australia

“I’m a Mormon” Media Campaign Expands Across United States and Australia

There is a widespread conversation taking place about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members, and starting Monday, 3 October 2011, Mormons in 13 major cities in the United States and Australia will be taking part in that conversation in a more direct way.

The Church is continuing a national media campaign called “I’m a Mormon” that includes television spots, billboards, and ads on buses and on the Internet. The ads give a glimpse into the lives of Latter-day Saints from all over the world and refer people to the mormon.org website, where they can read the profiles of tens of thousands of Mormons, chat live with representatives who will answer questions about the faith and watch dozens of videos about members of the Church. Read Full Story Here

Hi, I'm David

I'm Gay. I'm a Mormon. I'm so much more. I believe in Christ!

About Me

In a nutshell I am Mormon, a Fencer, Gay, a huge fan of C.S. Lewis!... I mean HUGE Fan! I am an avid thinker, and a voracious ponderer. If I can, I will answer any question you ask me. My life is an open book. So go ahead, sit down and ask me anything. Read more by clicking HERE

Hi, I'm Daniel

I wanted to be a Buddhist. I started going to church in 1995. I was baptized in 1998. Now, I am a Mormon. And I'm gay.

About Me

I am Mormon with same gender attraction (outside the church, usually referred to as "gay"). Many people think that's a contradiction. It's think that's part of the purposes of God for me and the role I play in the Plan of Salvation. (Which will be explained more on this website.) Because I know that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father, I do not think or feel that the Church excludes me because of my same-gender attraction. Although, I cannot deny that culturally, it can be a challenge for me with other Latter-day Saints since there are not a lot of other Latter-day Saints with same gender attraction.Read more by clicking HERE

Hi, I'm Brent

I 'm a lot of different things in life, incuding being a Mormon and gay.

About Me

I was raised a member of the Mormon Church. I struggled with my sexuality as a youth into my early 30's. I even had my name removed from church membership records believing this would give me additional freedom to be myself. After living 10 years without my church membership I began to recognize and more fully appreciate all that I left behind. Read more by clicking HERE

Heroic Aspirations, Gay Marriage and the Mormon Church

My name is Brent Beal. I’ve been married for eighteen years. My wife and I have three beautiful kids. We are both university professors, we’re Mormon, and we support gay marriage.

I support gay marriage for two reasons.

Heroic Aspirations

People are people. On our bad days, we’re capable of unforgivable indifference and unimaginable cruelty. On most days we muddle through—we help each other out, we keep each other company. On good days, we do things that make the world a better place.

There are quite a few good days in our history. For me, when it comes to the issue of gay marriage, one day, in particular, sticks out: July 4, 1776. This is the day, of course, that the committee of the whole of the Continental Congress adopted the final draft of Declaration of Independence. Here’s the second sentence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

When I was younger, I found the reference to God comforting. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to a deeper understanding of the wisdom of referencing God as the ultimate source individual rights, but I also see now that that’s not the source of this passage’s power. What this passage does, in a heroically aspirational way, is elevate basic rights—the right to Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness—above all else. The existence of these rights is not open for debate. They cannot be put up for vote. The majority, even in a democracy, cannot take them away from the minority. All men are created equal, and they have certain rights, full stop. Notice that not only are these rights set safely beyond the reach of government—they are put beyond the reach of everyone, and that includes those who think God has informed them otherwise.

Read Full Article

Pink Dot Debut, Salt Lake

Pink Dot event kicks off in Salt Lake on national Coming Out Day

Web StaffFOX 13 News

5:32 p.m. MDT, October 11, 2011

SALT LAKE CITY— 

Thousands of supporters gathered for Utah's own Pink Dot celebration to show their support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Tuesday night's celebration at Spring Mobile Ballpark was the first Pink Dot celebration in the United States. The celebration started as a means for straight people to show support for the LGBT community. The idea was borrowed from Singapore where it originated in 2009 and has seen exponential growth in supporters.

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The group gathered in the ball park, nearly 3,000 in attendance wearing pink, to create a massive pink dot.

"It's important to show our love and our courage and our support for our brothers and sisters who are in the LTGB community. A lot of time we get a little short-changed," says event organizer Nikki Boyer.

FOX 13's Hope Woodside was there as the "Celebrity Ambassador" along with entertainers Kurt Bestor and singing group "The Anser."

Visit PinkDotUt.org for more information.