FearlessFixxer

I wasn't opining on whether or not it would be right or wrong to leave the church if it accepted LGBTQ peeps. Actually, I think it would be justified from a position of orthodoxy.

I would include going inactive over this issue as part of the leaving crowd in this context. By leave, I mean no longer participate. I personally know at least 5 people who would 100% leave the church over accepting LGBTQ in full fellowship...they might even leave over a lesser degree of acceptance. I doubt they are alone.

While I might quibble with a few specific points, I agree broadly with your pushback, but only in the context of the the status quo being policy and not doctrine. My anecdotal observations, both online and in person, tell me that your view that this is policy and not doctrine is held by very small minority of members and, if my assessment is accurate, I think it negates your points. In regards to this being an easier/smaller shift than the race issue, I will say this....I don't know what metrics we would use to determine the size of each shift, but the key distinction I see is that there was nothing inherently against black people being accepted in full fellowship in the basic tenets of the plan of salvation (pre-existence, come to earth as a test, get married for time and all eternity, enter the celestial kingdom). With same sex marriage is would require a change in one of the most fundamental teachings of the church (I say doctrine, you say policy). As for unsealed hetero couples being able to fully participate now, the problem there is that they have a path to being sealed, either in this life or the next. also, a gay couple would currently be automatically barred from serving in certain callings like youth and primary (unless that policy has recently changed).... As a side note, I personally know a handful of very active, true believing members who would be completely done with the church if they accepted gay people. they would not seek to follow the prophet or understand god's will, they would see it as a sign that the church has fallen into apostasy. My gut tells me they are far from alone.

I have read many of the comments, but not all so someone may have already made the points I am about to make. Here is my perspective as a exmo... I think what the LGBTQ/allies want is full fellowship. This means full equality, including Celestial Marriage to same sex partners. From their perspective, anything less than this would be discriminatory, just like it was discriminatory when black people had access to a lesser membership in the church. It is true that making this change with not bring very many people back to the church, if any at all, but the reason why people want this is not so they can go back to church. It is to protect future LGBTQ people being born into the church from suffering the discrimination that the current folks do. Having said all that, I personally don't think the church will ever bend on this one (although I hope to be proven wrong some day). The church is a business and I don't think giving in will ever be a good business decision like giving in on the race issue was. They currently stand to lose more members than gain on the change and I don't think that will ever change. Those that take issue with the status quo will continue to leave and those that are fine with it will stay. Since current leaders essentially choose their replacements, they are going to try and choose people that think like them. Furthermore, I think this is a difficult doctrine to pivot on. The basic plan of salvation is arguable the longest lasting unchanged doctrine in the church. I don't see a way for them to pivot without seriously damaging their unique truth claims. I think that the top brass has accepted that the church will continue to shrink and they are fine with it. They don't need the money. 50 years from now the church will be even smaller and more regional than it is now and it will eventually become a very wealthy version of the what the Amish people are today... That is my prediction. Cheers