Question
Gramps,
Is it wrong for a person to attend a wedding of a same-sex couple? What if my child marries someone of the same sex, would it be wrong for me to attend?
Greg
Answer
Greg,
In order to answer your question, I reach out to Richard Ostler who is very much involved with the LGBTQ community and helped to create the website Listen, Learn & Love . My answer is coming from the 1st article.
Question: “What about Mormons who support same-sex marriage privately among family and friends or publicly by posting entries on Facebook, marching in pride parades or belonging to gay-friendly organizations such as Affirmation or Mormons Building Bridges? Can they do so without the threat of losing their Church membership or temple privileges?”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson: “We have individual members in the Church with a variety of different opinions, beliefs, and positions on these issues and other issues… In our view, it doesn’t really become a problem unless someone is out attacking the Church and its leaders — if that’s a deliberate and persistent effort and trying to get others to follow them, trying to draw others away, trying to pull people, if you will, out of the Church or away from its teachings and doctrines.” Source: Quote from the January 27, 2015 press conference of Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder D. Todd Christofferson, LDS Leaders Oaks, Christofferson on religious freedom, LGBT rights.
See also March 2015 KUTV interview with Elder D. Todd Christofferson where he addresses the same basic questions:
Reporter: “I know that in one of the temple recommend interview questions it asks do you agree with elements that are against the church and I guess, I mean, could it be interpreted that if people supported gay marriage that would be agreeing with something that was against the church?”
Christofferson: “Well it’s not do you agree with a person’s position or an organization’s position – it is are you supporting organizations that promote opposition or positions in opposition to the church.”
Reporter: “So would supporting gay marriage threaten somebody’s membership in the church if they went out say on Facebook or Twitter and actively advocated for it?”
Christofferson: “That’s not an organized effort to attack our effort or attack our functioning as a church if you will.”
Reporter: “So members can hold those beliefs even though they’re different from what you teach at the pulpit?”
Christofferson: “Yes. And we. . you know, our approach in all of this, as Joseph Smith said, is persuasion. You can’t, he said, you can’t use the Priesthood and the authority of the church to dictate. You can’t compel, you can’t coerce. It has to be gentleness, persuasion, love unfeigned as the words are in the scripture. “
Gramps
