SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- After decades of silence, LDS church officials have agreed to meet with a gay Mormon support group that has sought to forge understanding between the faith's leaders and its gay members.
"We're pleased the Church is opening up the possibility for dialogue," said Dave Melson, Affirmation's assistant executive director. "Affirmation has tried 5 or 6 times over the past 31 years to meet with church leaders. This is their second response. The first resulted in platitudes and nothing more."
Among the specifics Affirmation wants to address: the historical treatment of gays by the Church, including recommendations for aversion therapies to "cure" homosexuality; recommendations for more effective counseling methods; ways to avoid family break-ups; and a change in the honor code at church-owned Brigham Young University that can result in expulsion for sexually active gay students. The same standard applies to straight students.
"None of this requires a change in doctrine," said Melson. "They're good for both gays and the Church."
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