Jesus is anoyed by Mormons

Mormon church says bishop acting alone in civil union fight

(Chicago, Illinois) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that an Illinois bishop was acting alone in sending an e-mail to members of his ward urging them to oppose a civil union bill before the state legislators.

Send / ShareAdd CommentBut the Utah-based denomination has not ruled out becoming involved in the issue in the future.

The e-mail, sent to at least one LDS ward in Illinois, was authorized by Bishop Chris Church of the Nauvoo, Illinois, 3rd Ward, and was sent out by that website’s ward administrator.

It urges members of the church to call their local legislators and tell them to oppose the bill. The e-mail claims that civil unions would “empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise.” It goes on to also claim that “it will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores.”

The e-mail raised the concerns of national LGBT civil rights groups. The Mormon Church was instrumental in the passage of anti-gay measures in a number of states.

It was heavily involved in the Proposition 8 campaign in California, a voter-based initiative that prohibits same-sex marriage in that state, a similar constitutional amendment in Arizona and the defeat this year of a package of LGBT rights bills in Utah called the Common Ground Initiative.

The e-mail prompted the Human Rights Campaign to issue an alert to its members.

“It is irrefutably clear that the LDS Church is fighting an anti-gay crusade throughout the nation, targeting any form of equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community,” said Bruce Bastian, a member of the board of the Human Rights Campaign and former member of the LDS Church. “Church leaders want nothing more than to do their hateful work in secrecy, but the time has come to shine a light on their insidious efforts. If the LDS Church won’t tell the truth, we will.”

But Thursday, the LDS Church’s National Public Affairs Office said the e-mail was not part of a coordinated effort by the Mormon Church but an isolated act. Still, it did not rule out future involvement if the civil union bill appears to gain support in the legislature.

“As is widely known, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of traditional marriage,” the LDS statement said.

“The Church has not taken a position on any legislation currently being considered by the Illinois State Legislature. The Church did not send an e-mail to its members in regards to House Bill 2234, although a false report to the contrary has been circulated. An e-mail was sent from a local Illinois church leader to his congregation — one of 129 congregations in the state — who was free to express his own views.”
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