New changes to marriage and parenting policies have same-sex Mormon families up in arms.
From The New York Times:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is facing a growing backlash from Mormons upset about a new policy that bars children of same-sex parents from baby-naming ceremonies and baptisms, and declares members in gay marriages to be apostates subject to excommunication.
The policies have hit hard in a church that considers family bonds central in this life and eternal in the afterlife. While church members are pouring out their pain and confusion at family dinners and on Mormon blogs, critics are planning a “mass resignation” in a park adjacent to the church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City on Saturday...
Obviously, there is nothing illegal here; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the ability to make whatever rules they wish to its own organization. And the Mormon establishment certainly isn't known for being particularly advanced when it comes to rights (men of African descent only gained equality in the church in 1978; women still haven't gained the priesthood). Still, we have to shake our heads are this backwards move in a society that is leaning forward.