This is an absolute stunning article in the Tribune tonight.

What courage she has had in this situation.

Wow.

http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/5522210-155/after-leading-lds-congregations-and-designing wow.

I heard Laurie speak last month and was impressed with her courage and integrity. And believe it or not this was at a U.S. Army LGBT awareness event in Utah!!! There were a lot of people present who were previously indifferent or antagonistic to LGBT issues. She turned everyone of them into allies with her honest and sincere message.

The times, they are a changing. I'm gay and started working for the Army in 2000. At the time I thought I needed to do everything I possibly could to stay in the closet. Between the conservative Utah Mormon coworkers and the conservative military culture I was convinced I'd be beaten to death if anyone learned my secret. Now in 2017 I've been out and proud at work for years, and the Army command is conducting gay pride events. And it's been courageous people like Laurie who make change possible. I'm a bit ashamed of my timid approach to issues like this.

And if things weren't amazing enough, after the event an Army colonel who knows I'm gay made sure to ask me what I thought of the event.

During her address Laurie didn't go into a lot of detail about her religion, only that she'd been excommunicated (and of course we all knew what religion she was talking about). This is the first I've heard of her work as a Mormon temple architect.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2017 11:05PM by bezoar.

I work at a big Army post where hundreds of sailors, airmen, and Marines are also stationed (and uniformed Canadians and Brits). We now have lots of openly gay and lesbian military members serving, some of them in same-sex marriages with command sponsorship of their spouses. My closest ally and friend here is a lesbian co-worker, who just got out of the Army and became a contractor. My fear is that this could change under the current administration, which has already said they could not support it and would try to dismantle it. Keep your fingers crossed. It was not all that long ago that my friend and co-worker Paul F., who had gone through a couple of years of Russian language and technical training, was arrested by Air Force OSI for being gay. He was kicked out of the AF and given a less than honorable discharge, despite his talented service and the amount of money they had invested in him.

Huh? Have you done your homework?

http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/trump-in-1999-i-am-very-pro-choice-480297539914

Problems as follows:

Problem number 1--1999

Problem number 2--Donald Trump said it.

Problem number 3--I believe that the Defense Secretary has already stated an intention to rescind it.

//Ugh. Not here.//



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2017 12:44PM by cludgie.

Who would have predicted 30 years ago that today the US Army would be more open, tolerant, and supportive of gays than the mormons?

:)

I feel inspired to remember a sacred moment in Church history on Sept. 12, 2004 when Elder Earl C. Tingey of the Presidency of the Seventy under the direction of the 15 most holiest men on earth organized the TOOELE UTAH VALLEY VIEW STAKE and learned through revelation which man should lead that Stake. Elder Tingey was such a super inspired man of God :)

http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/34696/New-stake-presidents.html

So Laurie served for eight years as a stake president, designed (or helped to design) dozens of LDS temples, an MTC expansion, etc., and the Mormon church has no further use for her. Typical.

I rather like that she is maintaining her spirituality on her terms. The "boys' club" may state that you are no longer a member, but you can still show up anyway. I hope that no tithing whatsoever is going to the church from that family.

why Maybe in 50 or 75 years from now, the LDS church (IF still exists!) Could also do a slight shift :)

To be fair to the LDS church, it's an organization of zealous and uninspired idiots.