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I stumbled across an article in the National Catholic Reporter entitled “Catholics Should Learn from the Mormons.” The article discusses how the Mormons in Utah have reached a legislative compromise assuring both gay rights and freedom of religion. I suspect many people will find the article very interesting, especially those with concern about gay rights. What I find so interesting is the example of how the Church and the LGBT community dealt with their differences in a mutually beneficial way. Today’s political climate is overwhelmingly confrontational, adversarial, manipulative and divisive. So I couldn’t help but feel good about how the Church is being part of the solution to the legislative battlefield many states are falling into. You can find the article at.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/faith-and-justice/catholic-bishops-should-learn-mormons Quoting from the article are two examples of LDS Church leaders changing deeply held teachings:
Quote:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints respects tradition and does not change teaching easily. But Mormons do have a pragmatic side. With the entire nation aligned against them in 1896, they gave up on polygamy as part of a deal to get statehood for Utah. When they see that they are losing, they are willing to make compromises. . . .
The Mormon leadership began to rethink their political strategy (but not their theology) after California’s Proposition 8 first succeeded in banning gay marriage in California in 2008 and then was overturned by a federal court in 2010. The Mormons had partnered with the Catholic bishops in spending millions of dollars in a bitter fight over the proposition, but they ultimately lost. They, like the U.S. bishops, had been pilloried nationwide for their opposition to gay marriage. . . .
Seeking areas of mutual benefit, despite deeply felt differences:
Quote:The Mormons have shown that if protection of religious liberty is combined with an expansion of protection of gays from discrimination, then a deal is possible. . . . All people in Utah have equal access to at least two essential services — housing and employment — while also protecting religious freedom.”
Pulling together as a team, rather than haranguing the opponent:
Quote:. . . What was significant was that members of the community can come together, obviously representing different constituencies, and can dialogue and can try to work something out in a respectful, courteous manner that will allow for all parties to feel that they have been listened to. I thought that was significant. You don’t have to be constantly haranguing one another.
Quote:. . . The key to Utah’s success was that “it involved all of the stakeholders and it really did try to create a good balance.” It does not work. . . if “people are just staking out their positions and neither side is willing to really come to the table and talk about how to make this work.
While most political discourse is like a roll in the mud, I take heart in this example that the Church is taking the high ground, IMO. Would that all our political, and theological, discussions could all be so civil.Love this. I wish the Ensign would reprint this. Not for church kudo’s but for ward and family efforts. I think the message has become so offensive on local levels, it is so ingrained, we forget people are attached. We need to get the word out that we need to honor and respect our LGBT friends – members and non.
I thought it was interesting the Catholic church was not part of the “friend of the court” brief filed by us in conjunction with other churches recently. Traditional (read not gay) marriage is the topic. What I appreciate is how the opening post gave us excerpts of the article — I have to exercise too much self-discipline to go to a simple link and then sort out what is important in the article, and is not. I wish everyone who posted an article would do this…increases readership…
What the two groups require and have in common (LGBT and Mormons) are a respect for individual rights and freedom of conscience. That said, the current pope Francis is a breath of fresh air.
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