LDS Church And LGBT Non-Discrimination Law Credibility

My first post this year and imagine my surprise when I realize that my last post of 2014 was on the exact same topic.  Back then, the church had to quickly scrub a webpage of what looked like their plans for this announcement.  Apparently, they were preparing this almost exactly a month ago.  Now we know they were indeed going to issue a statement. Since I covered this in greater detail earlier (see prior link), I’ll be brief.

A few of days ago, the LDS Church came out and pushed for LGBT non-discrimination legislation…so long as it is exempt from it.

Its easy to mandate rules on others you are exempt from, I guess.  And that’s the problem.  At this point, they’ve undermined any credibility they had on this issue.  If you’re going to advocate for a law for everyone else (including your own members), then you best be subject to it as well. If you are unwilling to follow such a law, it might be better to just not say anything at all.

I just can’t take anyone seriously who says: ‘This is a great law everyone should follow as long as I don’t have to’.

UPDATE (March):  It is now well known that the church is backing the bill (SB296 – Antidiscrimination And Religious Freedom Amendments) that it is exempt from while leaving members with no such exemption (“good for thee but not for me”).  The Baptist’s* Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission have a good write up on individual religious freedom concerns related to the bill: Is Utah’s LGBT-religious liberty bill good policy?

*Yeah, I know the Baptists are not aligned with the LDS Church on doctrine but the article establishes common ground (religious liberty), is very respectful, and well written.

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