Mormon Church Suddenly Tolerant of Gays? Don't Believe it.

So what do you do if you're a fabulously wealthy religious organization (like, say, the LDS Church) that spends an inordinate amount of time and money to deny marriage rights to certain people (like, say, me) - and you discover that there's a documentary film coming out that shines a harsh light on your dark dealings?  Answer: You go into damage control and support some modest civil rights for the people you've spent countless years vilifying.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:  Hours after the LDS Church announced its support Tuesday night of proposed Salt Lake City ordinances aimed at protecting gay and transgender residents from discrimination in housing and employment, the City Council unanimously approved the measures.  "The church supports these ordinances," spokesman Michael Otterson told the council, "because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage."

Do not do violence to the institution of marriage?  Like, stab it with a knife?  Throttle it with a rolling pin?  Please.

The makers of the above-mentioned documentary, which is called "8:The Mormon Proposition," have this to say:  Stop the presses!  The LDS church, via spokesman Michael Otterson, held a special news conference today to announce to every soul in the entire universe that they support "the right of people (gays) to have a roof over their heads and the right to work without being discriminated against."  Wow, what a stance!  A truly groundbreaking day in the progression of civil rights. Gays can now have a roof over their heads and not be fired from their jobs thanks to the stamp of approval from the Mormons.  C'mon, really?   ...Did gay folks really need the church's nod of approval to have what Otterson himself admitted are "common-sense rights?"  Now I'm sure all the national press is eating this up with a spoon printing headlines of "WHOA! MORMONS ENDORSE SOMETHING THAT HELPS GAYS" and so on.  Because that's the angle the church wanted and that's the easiest angle to fit into 250 words or less.  And that's just lazy journalism.  Because if you read the church's statement, it's really full of the same old mumbo jumbo.  (8:TMP then convincingly ties this sudden show of tolerance by LDS to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential ambitions.  Recommended reading.)

Below is the trailer.  Decide for yourselves if these Mormon leaders are sincere.  Listen to what they say about gays:

"I believe they're probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of."

"It would be better to be dead than a homosexual."  ....  Watch it:    (HT:Pam's House Blend.)

Comments

[Amanda]

It's all about public relations with the Mormon Church. Before Prop 8, Mormonism was only known as the religion that used to promote polygamy. Now, they're known as THE anti-gay religion. (With Catholicism a close second.) It will take more than this TINY show of decency to change that. They have branded themselves as haters.

[Rainbow Dad]

Left to its own devices, the Mormon Church would still be excluding blacks. Same thing with the Catholic church protecting pedophiles. It took laws and public opinion to change those practices.

[Daniel]

hey, if it gets the job done... even if it IS public pressure that drives them to it, if they actually contribute funds, they're coming around.

[Rae]

I'm somewhat pleasantly surprised that the anti-discrimination code passed: the Prop 8 fiasco wasn't that long ago after all. It's a step in the right direction. I only mention that hesitantly because praising Utah for this (and it's Mormon residents) feels like cheerleading for someone just doing their job.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the 8 documentary!

[Rod]

Most of the comments on this website have apparently branded all active LDS/Mormons as anti-gay which is not true. Those whose comments are against Mormons don't really know what a true Mormon is. We are not a cult and most of us have our own thinking head on our shoulders and can judge others (gay or otherwise) for ourselves just like other people in the world. The LDS church is not the only religion that backed Prop 8, check your facts. You anti-Mormons need to first truly understand us before you judge us as with any person afiliated with a religion.

[Don Harryman]

This is a cheap PR ploy for a so-called Church (more accurately a political and social organization that mirrors the Republican Party's far right (Glenn Beck anyone?) and corporate America. The Mormons have a long well documented hatred of black people, now they have shifted their sights to homosexuals. This is a PR stunt meant to blunt criticism.