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Multiple News Agencies Are Reporting On the Policy Change


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Here is a list with links to the many stories being carried by local, national and even international news sources on the policy change.

NPR "In Major Shift, LDS Church Rolls Back Controversial Policies Toward LGBT Members"

SLC Tribune "LDS Church dumps its controversial LGBTQ policy, cites ‘continuing revelation’ from God" By Peggy Fletcher.

CNN "The Mormon church's new 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

Washington Post "Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy."

BBC "Mormon church pledges to reverse its anti-LGBT policy."

Buzzfeed "The Mormon Church Will Now Allow Same-Sex Couples To Baptize Their Children"

UPI "Mormon Church reverses policy against children of gay parents."

NY Daily News "Mormon church reverses LGBT policy, says children of same-sex couples can now be baptized."

USA Today "Mormons to allow baptisms for children of LGBTQ parents, won't expel those in same-sex marriages."

NY Times "Mormon Church to Allow Children of L.G.B.T. Parents to Be Baptized."

Reuters "Mormon church to allow children of LGBT couples to be baptized."

AP "Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids."

DW "Mormon Church makes surprise reversal in LGBTQ policy." 

NBC News "Mormons repeal ban on baptisms for children of gay parents."

Fox News "Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids."

Religious News Service "New Mormon policy no longer calls same-sex marriage ‘apostasy'."

DN "Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, updates handbook regarding 'apostasy'."

 

I realize we have two other threads going. Mods if you want to lock this, fine by me. I just thought it might be nice to have a glimpse of what this story looks like to the outside world, and not have it disappear in the fast moving other two threads.

Edited to add more sources.

 

Edited by CA Steve
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12 minutes ago, CA Steve said:

Here is a list with links to the many stories being carried by local, national and even international news sources on the policy change.

NPR "In Major Shift, LDS Church Rolls Back Controversial Policies Toward LGBT Members"

SLC Tribune "LDS Church dumps its controversial LGBTQ policy, cites ‘continuing revelation’ from God" By Peggy Fletcher.

CNN "The Mormon church's new 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

Washington Post "Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy."

BBC "Mormon church pledges to reverse its anti-LGBT policy."

Buzzfeed "The Mormon Church Will Now Allow Same-Sex Couples To Baptize Their Children"

 

I realize we have two other threads going. Mods if you want to lock this, fine by me. I just thought it might be nice to have a glimpse of what this story looks like to the outside world, and not have it disappear in the fast moving other two threads.

Glad you posted these!  I’ll take a look.

(Interesting all use either LDS or Mormon in the title.  Old habits I guess!)

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Additional...DN editorial:

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900064080/in-our-opinion-paradox-revelation-and-the-lgbt-baptism-policy-lds-latter-day-saint-church-mormon.html

Not a news agency, but don't want to start another thread for blogs, I will delete if you prefer...

https://www.fairmormon.org/blog/2019/04/05/a-look-at-the-churchs-change-of-policy-on-same-sex-couples-and-their-children

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2 minutes ago, Calm said:

I am fine with blogs too, that is sort of why I broke out Janna Riess' comment. No limit on what people want to add as far as references to how others are reacting is fine, I just don't want to start another discussion thread on the subject since we have two already.

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21 minutes ago, CA Steve said:

just don't want to start another discussion thread on the subject since we have two already.

Appreciate that.  Feel the same.  This is useful for references.

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7 hours ago, CA Steve said:

Here is a list with links to the many stories being carried by local, national and even international news sources on the policy change.

NPR "In Major Shift, LDS Church Rolls Back Controversial Policies Toward LGBT Members"

SLC Tribune "LDS Church dumps its controversial LGBTQ policy, cites ‘continuing revelation’ from God" By Peggy Fletcher.

CNN "The Mormon church's new 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

Washington Post "Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy."

BBC "Mormon church pledges to reverse its anti-LGBT policy."

Buzzfeed "The Mormon Church Will Now Allow Same-Sex Couples To Baptize Their Children"

UPI "Mormon Church reverses policy against children of gay parents."

NY Daily News "Mormon church reverses LGBT policy, says children of same-sex couples can now be baptized."

USA Today "Mormons to allow baptisms for children of LGBTQ parents, won't expel those in same-sex marriages."

NY Times "Mormon Church to Allow Children of L.G.B.T. Parents to Be Baptized."

Reuters "Mormon church to allow children of LGBT couples to be baptized."

AP "Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids."

DW "Mormon Church makes surprise reversal in LGBTQ policy." 

NBC News "Mormons repeal ban on baptisms for children of gay parents."

Fox News "Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids."

Religious News Service "New Mormon policy no longer calls same-sex marriage ‘apostasy'."

DN "Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, updates handbook regarding 'apostasy'."

 

I realize we have two other threads going. Mods if you want to lock this, fine by me. I just thought it might be nice to have a glimpse of what this story looks like to the outside world, and not have it disappear in the fast moving other two threads.

Edited to add more sources.

 

Hopefully each reporter will follow up with a visit to all the sessions of General Conference!

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Here's another one from our favorite ex-member and feminist Kate Kelly. 

"The Mormon Church announced an abrupt about-face on Thursday by reversing a punitive antigay rule now widely dubbed “the exclusion policy.”
Mormon antagonism toward LGBTQ folks has ramped up for decades, and this policy, introduced in 2015, was one example of its harshness."

It only gets worse after this. 

Changes Within the Mormon Church Are Too Little, Too Late 

 

Edited by JAHS
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1 hour ago, jkwilliams said:

The CNN article was written by a BYU grad. I don’t like the headline, but the article is quite perceptive. 

It would have been more perceptive (to me at least) had she at least attempted to clarify what we actually know about the causes of teen suicide in the state of Utah.  From her article:

"This policy change was met with widespread public backlash, with 1,500 Mormons renouncing their church membership in a publicized protest. Since then, many -- including Ellen DeGeneres-- have argued that there is an apparent correlation between the policy change and rising youth suicide rates in Utah."

That she did not reference Michael Staley’s statements is unfortunate.  I don't know how to link from another thread, but Calm has previously pointed toward his research on behalf of the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office about this “apparent correlation”:

There’s no data to show that, period,”… While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2016 that LGBT youth die by suicide at double the rate of their non-LGBT peers, Staley says data specific to Utah so far doesn’t validate the sexuality-religion narrative. “The people who are driving that narrative are going to be disappointed,” Staley says, while at the same time recognizing that “theoretically, it makes sense.” … Staley, an openly gay man, adds that in a nutshell, LGBT suicide with the LDS church as a factor “is not this overwhelming tidal wave.”

https://qsaltlake.com/news/2018/12/06/utah-research-on-faith-related-suicide/

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1 minute ago, Okrahomer said:

It would have been more perceptive (to me at least) had she at least attempted to clarify what we actually know about the causes of teen suicide in the state of Utah.  From her article:

"This policy change was met with widespread public backlash, with 1,500 Mormons renouncing their church membership in a publicized protest. Since then, many -- including Ellen DeGeneres-- have argued that there is an apparent correlation between the policy change and rising youth suicide rates in Utah."

That she did not reference Michael Staley’s statements is unfortunate.  I don't know how to link from another thread, but Calm has previously pointed toward his research on behalf of the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office about this “apparent correlation”:

There’s no data to show that, period,”… While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2016 that LGBT youth die by suicide at double the rate of their non-LGBT peers, Staley says data specific to Utah so far doesn’t validate the sexuality-religion narrative. “The people who are driving that narrative are going to be disappointed,” Staley says, while at the same time recognizing that “theoretically, it makes sense.” … Staley, an openly gay man, adds that in a nutshell, LGBT suicide with the LDS church as a factor “is not this overwhelming tidal wave.”

https://qsaltlake.com/news/2018/12/06/utah-research-on-faith-related-suicide/

Well, that’s certainly an interesting bit to focus on, but I was thinking more about what she said about doctrinal gray areas and the tension between bureaucratic will and revelation. But fair enough. 

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1 minute ago, jkwilliams said:

Well, that’s certainly an interesting bit to focus on, but I was thinking more about what she said about doctrinal gray areas and the tension between bureaucratic will and revelation. But fair enough. 

Yes, you're right.  I appreciated her discussion about the "gray areas" as well, and I agree that was much more the focus of her article.

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11 hours ago, Calm said:

Greg Smith's treatise (FairMormon link above) is the most thoughtful, sensible writing I have yet seen on this subject since the news broke two days ago. 

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12 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Greg Smith's treatise (FairMormon link above) is the most thoughtful, sensible writing I have yet seen on this subject since the news broke two days ago. 

Greg notes:

“Many sincere members of the Church struggled with the previous policy. For them and many others, we should understand this change as removing a heavy burden, for which we can rejoice.”

Do you agree that church leaders (or God?) placed a heavy burden on some members in November of 2015?

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8 minutes ago, SouthernMo said:

Greg notes:

“Many sincere members of the Church struggled with the previous policy. For them and many others, we should understand this change as removing a heavy burden, for which we can rejoice.”

Do you agree that church leaders (or God?) placed a heavy burden on some members in November of 2015?

Why this post showed up in my feed I don't know, but I'll take this occasion to mention that I still have you on ignore.

 

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19 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Why this post showed up in my feed I don't know, but I'll take this occasion to mention that I still have you on ignore.

 

Why on earth would you respond to someone when you’re ignoring them?  What purpose is served by telling someone you’re ignoring them?

So strange...

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16 hours ago, jkwilliams said:

I was living in Virginia when the policy change came out. My religious background had not come up much at all at work, so I was surprised at how many people approached me asking for some kind of explanation. All I could do was say I knew as much as they did and disagreed with the policy. One of my coworkers was a gay woman who is a salt-of-the-earth type. Previously, she had told me how she and her spouse always invited the missionaries in when they knocked on her door and even had them over for dinner a few times. When she heard about the policy, she thought it must be a misunderstanding, that the church wouldn't do something like that. I will never forget the shock and sorrow on her face as I explained that she'd understood correctly. If my anecdotal experience is worth anything, people who had either a positive opinion or no opinion about the church suddenly saw the church in a much more negative light. 

This is hearsay, but I've heard a couple of people report that they were missionaries during the 2015 policy and both lost quite a few investigators over the news.

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20 hours ago, CA Steve said:

Here is a list with links to the many stories being carried by local, national and even international news sources on the policy change.

NPR "In Major Shift, LDS Church Rolls Back Controversial Policies Toward LGBT Members"

SLC Tribune "LDS Church dumps its controversial LGBTQ policy, cites ‘continuing revelation’ from God" By Peggy Fletcher.

CNN "The Mormon church's new 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

Washington Post "Mormon Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, reversing 2015 policy."

BBC "Mormon church pledges to reverse its anti-LGBT policy."

Buzzfeed "The Mormon Church Will Now Allow Same-Sex Couples To Baptize Their Children"

UPI "Mormon Church reverses policy against children of gay parents."

NY Daily News "Mormon church reverses LGBT policy, says children of same-sex couples can now be baptized."

USA Today "Mormons to allow baptisms for children of LGBTQ parents, won't expel those in same-sex marriages."

NY Times "Mormon Church to Allow Children of L.G.B.T. Parents to Be Baptized."

Reuters "Mormon church to allow children of LGBT couples to be baptized."

AP "Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids."

DW "Mormon Church makes surprise reversal in LGBTQ policy." 

NBC News "Mormons repeal ban on baptisms for children of gay parents."

Fox News "Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids."

Religious News Service "New Mormon policy no longer calls same-sex marriage ‘apostasy'."

DN "Church to allow baptisms, blessings for children of LGBT parents, updates handbook regarding 'apostasy'."

 

12 hours ago, JAHS said:

Here's another one from our favorite ex-member and feminist Kate Kelly. 

"The Mormon Church announced an abrupt about-face on Thursday by reversing a punitive antigay rule now widely dubbed “the exclusion policy.”
Mormon antagonism toward LGBTQ folks has ramped up for decades, and this policy, introduced in 2015, was one example of its harshness."

It only gets worse after this. 

Changes Within the Mormon Church Are Too Little, Too Late 

If I am counting correctly that is a majority or 10 out of 18 articles using "Mormon Church." I know that issue has been alluded to, and is not the point of this thread but even the AP did not do what it agreed to do by referring to the Church correctly. Essentially none referred to the Church correctly although two local stories headlined with the more generic LDS Church. When a majority of news outlets do this, I think it shows perfectly why we as a church should stop calling ourselves Mormons and stop acceding to the use of the Mormon Church. I would like to see the elimination of the 2015 policy to be the last reference to the Mormon Church, but I believe it will take at least a decade or two to wean the public off of it to a substantial degree. The only way it will happen is if we stop doing it rather than just complaining about it. 

I see the shedding of the unpopular 2015 policy as a chance to mend fences enough to hopefully earn enough respect so as to get requests like honoring the correct name to be heeded. I realize the fence will still be there, but I would like to be better neighbors. I think it was a recent 20/20 show I saw where a community had passed through a property to gain access to public land on the other side for hunting and recreation. This included a small man who eventually bought the property and fenced it off. He would confront people at his gate with a large gun to tell them they were trespassing on his land. One who insisted on passage and repeatedly cut the locks was eventually shot. Pride can do that.

Our fence is not really there by choice. We invite people into Zion, but the outside world will always make us separate. We need not emphasize that.

Edited by RevTestament
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36 minutes ago, RevTestament said:

If I am counting correctly that is a majority or 10 out of 18 articles using "Mormon Church.

Actually I think you would have to make that count 15 out of 18. Five places that you did not include just used the word "Mormon" and while that can refer to members, in these cases I think it is meant to be shorthand for "Mormon Church".

Regardless of how we want to position ourselves in the broader community, I do not see media sources widely adapting the use of any other name beside "Mormons" or "The Mormon Church", especially in news article titles. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"   is simply too long a replacement for "Mormons" or "The Mormon Church", especially when you think about how many people read new sources on small mobile devices. Add into that the fact that even if a source choose to use the longer name, they will still have to add "also known as the "Mormon Church", it becomes an easy decision how to write it using the shorter and much more commonly known appellation.

Peggy Fletcher Stack had a good point on this regarding the church's request that after first identifying the church as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" , subsequent references to the church could be shortened to "The Church of Jesus Christ". To paraphrase she said that was unacceptable because that would indicate her article endorsed the LDS church as "THE" church of Jesus Christ, an implication she was not trying to make.

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