An August meeting
between a gay Mormon support group and a social service
agency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
has been indefinitely delayed.
In a letter sent
July 23, Fred C. Riley, the outgoing director of LDS
Family Services, said the matter would best be handled by
his successor, who hasn't been selected. LDS Family
Services is an arm of the Salt Lake City-based
denomination.
Riley was to hold
the August 11 meeting at the request of church
president Thomas S. Monson. It was seen by leaders of
Affirmation, an international support group for gay,
lesbian, and transgender Mormons, as a sign that
church leaders were becoming more open to gay Mormons and
their families. Affirmation is not affiliated with the
church.
''We feel badly
about this but believe that for this to be the best
experience for all parties and to ensure appropriate
consistency and continuity of the process, it would be
best to postpone the meeting until the new
commissioner is named,'' Riley wrote to David Melson,
assistant executive director of Affirmation.
Melson said
Affirmation regrets the church's decision to put the meeting
on hold. It was the result of a February appeal to Monson to
open dialogue between the church and gay members.
''We've now
written to president Monson and asked if another general
authority can be designated to meet with us,'' Melson said.
It's unclear how
soon the meeting could be rescheduled. Melson said he
understood a replacement for Riley could be picked in three
to six months.
Church
spokeswoman Kim Farah confirmed Riley's departure from LDS
Social Services and said a search is under way for a
replacement.
''The reason the
August meeting with Affirmation was postponed is clearly
given in the letter,'' Farah said, adding that the church
had initially proposed a meeting date earlier than
August. ''The meeting was put on hold until August at
Affirmation's request.''
Melson said both
sides agreed to meetings in August because the
all-volunteer Affirmation executive committee already had
plans to travel to Utah for a conference.
The LDS church
teaches that being gay is not a sin and that gays are
welcome as church members but that homosexual relationships
are sinful and gays should remain celibate.
Mormons consider
traditional marriage an institution ordained by God, and
church leaders have in the past joined with religious
conservatives to lobby for its preservation.
This year, LDS
leaders are backing California's Proposition 8, which
would amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage,
which was legalized in May by the state supreme
court. LDS leaders have asked members to make
contributions of time and money for the campaign.
Some Mormons who
have acted on what the church has labeled ''same-gender
attraction'' have been excommunicated. Others have left the
denomination. George Cole, 27, who runs Affirmation's
young adult program, said the attitude of today's
Mormon youth is different.
''I suspect the
younger crowd is much less willing to be second-class or
just to leave the church over it. I really think they want
to have both,'' said Cole, of San Francisco.''
Affirmation was
founded in secret by students at the church-owned Brigham
Young University in Provo more than 30 years ago. The group
has tried unsuccessfully since then to create a
dialogue with church leaders.
''It was a
wonderful sign,'' said Cole of the planned meeting. ''I do
worry a little bit that there won't be any follow through
now, but I still have some faith in the church. It's
run by people doing what they can to make lives
better. I think they want to serve all of their
members.'' (Jennifer Dobner, AP)
