Mormon church breaks silence

In rare public comments the Church of the Latter-Day Saints has warned against intolerance and endorsed Utah anti-discrimination laws but said religious people had a right to views based on faith.

The Mormon church has spoken out about the “erosion of religious liberties” in the US as a result of what it sees as a rising tide of intimidation and retaliation from supporters of gay rights.

In a rare public statement, the normally introspective top leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed the nation as well as its 15 million members worldwide about what it said was a significant modern problem. D Todd Christofferson, one of the 12 apostles who stand at the pinnacle of the church, said: “We want to share with you our concerns about the increasing tensions and polarization between advocates of religious freedom and advocates of gay rights.”

The church’s comments come at a crucial time in the US. Same-sex marriage is spreading rapidly across the country, with 36 states now permitting it, and the US supreme court agreed this month to consider whether it should be allowed nationwide as a constitutional right.

In that context, the Mormon church was offering a kind of double message to the country and beyond: the leadership also said it accepted legal protections for the LGBT community against discrimination in areas such as housing, employment or public service.

A senior female leader of the church, Neill Marriott, said that for centuries there had been “ridicule, persecution and even violence against homosexuals and ultimately most of society realized that such treatment was simply wrong".

Read the full story at: theguardian.com