January 29, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — also known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church — have formally backed laws that institute special protections for homosexuals.
While the Mormon leaders are insisting at the same time on the need for religious protections, one prominent Evangelical leader has warned that they are being “naïve” because these homosexual “non-discrimination” laws are used to target people of faith.
“Jesus ministered to marginalized outcasts,” said Sister Neill Marriott, who spoke with other leaders at a press conference announcing the church's support for “laws and ordinances that protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing and employment.”
Elder Dallin Oaks, who is part of the Mormon Church's Quorum of Twelve Apostles, cautioned that the public support for these laws and ordinances did not mean the church was abandoning its support for religious liberty.
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“When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,” said Oaks at the press conference.
“It is one of today’s great ironies that some people who have fought so hard for LGBT rights now try to deny the rights of others to disagree with their public policy proposals.”
Shortly after the press conference, Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention said in a public statement that while “the Latter-Day Saints are well-intentioned,” they are also “naive on where the reality stands today.”
“I do not think, in most instances, sexual orientation ought to matter in housing or employment, but of course the proposals to address these concerns inevitably lead to targeted assaults on religious liberty,” said Moore.
However, Moore also said that, regardless of his disagreement with Mormon leaders, “I look forward to working with Mormons and others on protecting religious liberty for everyone in the years ahead.”