It will be interesting to see how many TBM will be upset by the letter written by the first presidency. After the TSCC push for proposition 8, they don't want any more bad blood. People got upset and vandalized the temples in Salt lake and Los Angeles. This is going to be a "test of their faith". I find it disturbing the church is not consistent.

Someone who attends or has access please return and report on the content of the letter.

Oooh, can't wait to hear.

"I find it disturbing the church is not consistent."

You must be disturbed A LOT! The LDS 'church' has not been consistent on anything from its beginning until now.

So true. Hence the joke:

How many Mormons does it take to change a light bulb?

Two. One to change the light bulb and the other to insist nothing has changed.

+1

Either way there are going to be a lot of upset TBMs who will defect.

There is an official statement on lds.org. The way I read it, it pretty much says 'we never cared what a person's orientation was as long as they abided by our standards while participating in our troops, and that is still the way it will be, so the BSA decision doesn't really change anything'.

"We never cared what a person's orientation was...."

An oft quoted scene is the one in "Fargo" where the consumer is forced to buy the clearcoat after the fact. We feel like the consumer, and the Macy character is the church.

Which is ridiculous, because I'm pretty sure the whole point of the controversy was whether or not to admit --openly-- gay scouts.

Super curious as to what they're going to say.

Yeah, they aren't concerned with a person's orientation. They only have an ex-gay group whose goal is "diminishing same sex attraction."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2013 02:55PM by Makurosu.

I can't imagine what the letter will say.


We're announcing that we no longer care if you are gay, come and join our scout troop.

Somehow I can't quite picture that one.

There will probably be a lot of boys taken out of scouts. That's a problem for a mormon parent. Isn't scouts a required thing? I can't remember how that works.

How hilarious.

"Brothers and Sisters, a few years ago we stood up before you, asking you for money to keep gays away. Now we're pretending we like them! No, you're not getting your money back."

From lds.org:

"Salt Lake City —

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded today to the Boy Scouts of America vote on its membership policy with the following statement:

"For the past 100 years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has enjoyed a strong relationship with Boy Scouts of America, based on our mutual interest in helping boys and young men understand and live their duty to God and develop upright moral behavior. As the Church moves forward in its association with the Boy Scouts of America, Church leaders will continue to seek the most effective ways to address the diverse needs of young people in the United States and throughout the world.

"The Church’s long-established policy for participation in activities is stated in the basic instructional handbook used by lay leaders of the Church: 'young men … who agree to abide by Church standards' are 'welcomed warmly and encouraged to participate' (Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 8.17.3). This policy applies to Church-sponsored Scout units. Sexual orientation has not previously been—and is not now—a disqualifying factor for boys who want to join Latter-day Saint Scout troops. Willingness to abide by standards of behavior continues to be our compelling interest.

"These standards are outlined in the booklet For the Strength of Youth and include abstinence from sexual relationships. We remain firmly committed to upholding these standards and to protecting and strengthening boys and young men.

"The Church appreciates BSA’s reaffirmation of its commitment to 'duty to God,' which includes service to others and moral behavior—central principles of our teaching to young men. As in the past, the Church will work with BSA to harmonize what Scouting has to offer with the varying needs of our young men. We trust that BSA will implement and administer the approved policy in an appropriate and effective manner.

"A letter signed by the First Presidency of the Church is being sent to all Latter-day Saint congregation leaders throughout the United States. The letter will include the reaffirmation of Church policies and standards referenced in today's public statement."

*********************************

Same ol' same ol'. Since the policy "change" is really doing nothing more than recognizing that some boy scouts may be brave enough to actually speak up and say something about their feelings, the Boy Scouts of America is simply saying that they're not going to kick you out for that. The church is saying what they can get away with and still enforce their horrendous rules. You want to talk about being gay, fine. But we'll shame the hell out of you if we find out you're doing anything about it.

"We were never at war with Eurasia"

George Orwell, 1984.

If the church were truly led by a prophet, they would have come up with a reasonable, wise, unchanging policy on gays the very first time it was brought up. Instead they waffle about, wring their hands and parse words.