This Day On Gay Utah History May 14th

 

This Day On Gay Utah History May 14th

14 May

John C Bennett

1842  Nauvoo, Illinois city council passed an ordinance prohibiting brothels in the city. An eyewitness later claimed that Mayor John C. Bennett had built one. The city council ordered it ripped down as a public nuisance. Lorenzo D. Wasson, Joseph Smith's nephew, reported that he had knowledge of "Bennett and his prostitutes." Whatever Bennett's connections to the brothel, if any, it is unimaginable that it could have survived without the knowledge of the leaders of the church, yet due to a tacit acceptance, perhaps because the brothel was protected by Bennett, or it might have been an integral part of an emerging system of sexual experimentation then underway in Nauvoo, as Bennett later implied. On May 17, 1842 Bennett resigned as mayor and voluntarily left the Mormon Church. Two days later Joseph Smith was elected Mayor and Hyrum Smith was elected as vice-mayor.

Magnus Hirschfeld

1897-The Scientific Humanitarian Committee was founded in Berlin by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld to organize opposition to legal and social oppression of homosexuals in Germany. It would be the first of several pre-Nazi Gay liberation organizations in Berlin.

1928-A statement was published by the Nazi party declaring that anyone who even thinks of committing homosexual acts is an enemy of Germany.

1971-Friday- Boys In the Band , the first openly Gay play

performed in Utah opened at Theater 138 .The original Theater 138 was housed in an historical old church house at 138 S. 200 East for nearly 20 years, but it was closed down in 1986 when the building was purchased by Mountain Fuel Supply -- and was subsequently turned into a parking lot. Ariel Ballif, Tom Carlin and Stu Falconer were the founders of, and inspiration for, Theatre 138, from the day it opened in 1966 until the doors closed on August 1, 1989 For two decades, the three men -- Ballif, Falconer and Carlin -- teamed up to produce such shows as Peter Shaffer’s EQUUS, a play with nudity, STICKS AND BONES, a play with profanity, BOYS IN THE BAND, a play about homosexuality (which played to sellout crowds) and CHICAGO, a bawdy musical.

Bella Abzug

1974-Bella Abzug (D-NY) and Edward Koch (D-NY) introduced HR-14752, the first Gay rights bill to be introduced into the US House of Representatives. It sought to add sexual orientation to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Walter Kelbach

1977 Convicted murderer Walter Bernard Kelbach age 39, adopted Ron Ziegler, a 21 year old fellow inmate as his son. In an adoption order signed in March by 3^rd District Court Judge Stewart M,. Hanson Sr.  Kelbach became the legal father of Ziegler who was  serving zero to five years for attempted theft. Attorney Jonathan King handled the adoption but was disciplined by Warden Sam Smith for actions the court had not authorized through the prison. In his order disciplining King, Warden Smith said both Kelbach and Zeigler negotiated without authority and used the suit as a gimmick to circumvent inmate relationships. “Both of you are wards of the state of Utah, Warden Smith ordered. Since then Mr. King said “Ron Kelbach” has been moved to another section of the prison and the authorities there refused to  let them visit each other. Mr. King filed a federal court action to allow Kelbach to visit his newly acquired son.. (05/14/77 SLTribune B1)

1978- The Gay Service Coalition Board Meeting met with Ray Henke, John Meng, Bill Woodbury, Ken Kline and Lee in attendance. The Gay Help Line was moved to John Meng’s new residence with no interruption in service. The lawsuit brought against The OPEN DOOR  by Steve Cote was dropped but had to pay Coalition had to $450 in lawyer fees. Steve Cote sued the Open Door for implying that he was Gay.

1981-Ronald Reagan cancelled the White House subscription to the Gay magazine The Advocate.

1988- A Community Dance was held at the Unitarian Church sponsored by LGSU, Affirmation, and Unconditional Support. 

1988 Desert and Mountain States PWA Coalitions Urge Treatment Focus, Lobbying of AIDS Organizations At a meeting on May 14 and 15, People With AIDS Coalitions in six states issued a call for AIDS organizations to work toward a unified approach with more attention to treatment access issues. The Desert and Mountain States Regional Conferences of People With AIDS Coalitions, representing PWA coalitions in Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Tucson, urged the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA), NAPWA board members, and the AIDS community, to:  Focus and direct political action by AIDS organizations. "We feel that the time has come for a single focus, rather than a thousand voices crying in the wind.". Work for the release and availability of lifesaving treatments. Lobby all AIDS organizations to involve themselves in making treatments more available. Urge persons with AIDS and their friends to pressure the FDA and other agencies or organizations to speed the study and release of treatments. Ask all PWA groups and leaders to work toward finding appropriate treatments and making them available. The group will meet again in Boston in July, 1988. For a copy of the statement, or for more information, call Chuck Mayer, PWA Coalition of Tucson, (602) 792-3775, or call Earl Thomas, PWA Coalition of Colorado, (303) 837-8214. [Utah’s coalition would later be founded by David Sharpton]

1997 05/14/97Page: B2 Student Turns Family Tragedy Into AIDS Lesson Byline: BY TOM QUINN SPECIAL TO THETRIBUNE   OGDEN -- AIDS killed Veronica Hernandez's parents. The 17-year-old ninth-grader at Ogden High School wanted to turn the experience into an education effort to let young people know that the virus that causes the fatal disease can happen to anyone.   On Tuesday her efforts paid off when a piece of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt went on display at the high school. It will remain through Thursday.   In 1996, Veronica told the story of how the disease had affected her life and submitted an essay to a contest sponsored by the Utah  AIDS Foundation.   She won. As a prize, she and five other Utah contest winners traveled to Washington, D.C. While there, they saw the entire quilt spread out on the mall between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, taking up the space of 15football fields.   Listed by the Guiness Book of Records as the largest community art project in the world, the quilt contains 40,000 panels made by friends and family members of those who have died from AIDS.  When not joined together, the quilt's 3-foot by 6-foot panels are exhibited around the world. While in Washington, Veronica met Cleve Jones, the man who conceived of the quilt and is in charge of it.   She asked Jones if part of the quilt could b displayed at Ogden High. Not only did Jones agree to send the portion of quilt Veronica and her family made, but to come and speak to the school. Jones will speak to the student body Thursday on what the quilt represents and on the dangers of HIV, which is transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids. Veronica also will tell her story to the students.   She says her father, Angelo, who died in 1992, contracted HIV from dirty needles and passed it on to her mother, Liza, through sexual contact. Liza Hernandez died in 1995. Her parents were divorced when Liza discovered that her former husband was lying in a hospital bed dying from AIDS. He had never bothered to inform Liza that she might be infected, Veronica said.   But tests confirmed the presence of the AIDS antibodies in Liza, and that the affliction had progressed too far for effective treatment.   When her mother died, Veronica says she was surrounded by her family.   ``I feel really good about having the AIDS Quilt here,'' Veronica said Tuesday. ``I don't mind talking about how AIDS has affected me and my family. It feels good to talk about.''

David Nelson

1995 The Salt Lake Tribune Letter: Not Funny, Marlon So Utah Board of Education Chairman Marlon Snow is faced with the problem of homophobic discrimination and violence in America's public schools, including his own, and his response is the flippant and overused one-liner whine, "God made Adam and Eve ... not Adam and Steve" ("Expert: End Gay Discrimination," The Salt Lake Tribune, April 30). He suggests that bisexual, gay and lesbian students get what they deserve, especially in his schools. I'm sure that Mr. Snow's wit could fill the comic void left by Andrew Dice Clay. He could even take it on the road: Dead-baby jokes in Somalia, knee-slappers about how many militia men it takes to light a fuse in Oklahoma, and love-it-or-leave-it, rip-snorting about child abuse. Think of the show tour: Bosnian battlefields and Japanese subways, for example. Wherever people are desperate and hurt, Mr. Snow could show them how truly humiliated they can be. In the meantime, Mr. Snow should keep his day job if he can, and like former State Office of Education Superintendent James Moss did with trying to rewrite Holocaust history, learn from the embarrassment he brings our state with his stupid, fraternity-style antics. As an openly gay former student who dropped out of a local high school 16 years ago for the reasons Mr. Snow would like to dismiss and joke about, I'm especially concerned that he would so gleefully and officially continue the antagonism and hurt that I and other students faced. DAVID NELSON Salt Lake City

Camille Lee

1999 The Salt Lake City School District rejected an application for an East High School club intended to promote understanding of Gay, lesbian and bisexual people.  "It surprises me that in the wake of the Colorado thing, they're doing more to exclude kids instead of making them feel included," said Camille Lee, an East High science teacher listed as the adviser on the application for the Rainbow Club.  " The Salt Lake City Board of Education banned all noncurricular clubs in 1997 rather than grant club status to the Gay Straight Alliance at East High. Salt Lake Tribune

Michael Bergin

2003 Michael R. Bergin  was born Oct 5, 1973, in Provo, Utah. He grew up in Provo and attended Timpview High School, American Fork High School, Utah Valley State College, and the University of Utah. He worked most recently as a customer service representative for powersellers at eBay. His family wrote the following: "Mike had a brilliant mind and many gifts, including penetrating thought, an artistic eye, and an incisive wit. His taste in music, film and the arts leaned toward the lesser-known, more substantive artists. He was given the gift of love, which impacted friends, family, pets and people he met casually. He treasured family ties and was a skilled genealogist." "His personality was a force to be reckoned with, as revealed in his website. He touched our lives in many ways by fixing recalcitrant computers, hooking up and managing electronic devices and systems, providing a surprise bit of family history, bringing home an orphaned cat, informing us of new musical artists, telling quietly of spiritual experiences, displaying unexpected boisterous humor, and reminding us when we deviated from our high standards." Michael died of pneumonia in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 14, 2003. He was haunted by the suicide of his close friends Daniel A. Britsch and Tad Alexander Clayton, who were also gay and Mormon. Dan committed suicide in Tempe, Arizona, on October 2, 1993, and Tad committed suicide in Bountiful, Utah, on June 11, 2002. 

Quote by Michael: "I knew that my father was the Church spokesperson regarding homosexuality in the mid-'80s, but not until I semi-moved into my dad's office did I become aware of just how deceitful, unethical, and literally contrary to official Church doctrine the 'Brethren's' actions were. Things have changed since then, but that doesn't negate the facts of what happened back then."

2003 Jim Dabakis to Ben Williams- hi Ben I just finished reading your history of the k. ries awards. How interesting and great that this information is being saved. Great work. i think you are a treasure to the community. Jim Dabakis-

• Ben Williams to Jim Dabakis -Thank you. I have always appreciated your dedication to improving the lives of the Gay community. Best Regards Ben

2003 MARK THRASH Please join aspirants to the throne...Mark Thrash, Candidate for Emperor,  Chaise Manhattan, Candidate for Empress and Heidi Ho West Waters, Candidate for Empress As they present... CANDIDATE COMMAND PERFORMANCE Tonight @ 9:00 PM - Trapp Door*   $5.00 donation**  *A private club for members. **Proceeds benefit the General Fund.

2003 Chad Keller Subject Service Project- I will adopt the three planters there by the chess boards their by the Downtown Alliance offices, as it is on my way home every day and is on my route for much of what I do downtown they are the very best.  Adoption 1) Chad Keller--Mixed Media Adoption 2) Chad Keller--Utah Stonewall Historical Society Adoption 3) Chad Keller--Julie Wright New Millenium Chapter, City of Hope.  #1 is my business, and 2& 3 are organizations I work with on their boards.  I’ve been looking for an excuse to get my hands in the dirt so this is as good of excuse as any!! Thanks! I assume I need to just weed, deadhead, and keep clean of debris? Chad

2004  Rally for same sex marriage at the Salt Lake City- County Building on west steps is being sponsored by Salt Lake Metro. Bring signs, posters, banners, but remember signs must be hand held no sticks according to state statutes. Carrie and Elisia Ross-Stone are two lesbian grandmothers riding on their bicycles from San Francisco to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to raise awareness of the need for equal civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian people. Mayor Rocky Anderson will welcome the duo. Other events over their stay: 9pm Friday May 14 Welcome reception and barbecue fundraiser Paper Moon, a private club for members, 3737 S State St. Donation requested.

•  2004 Babs De Lay"  Grandmas Cycling Across the Country in Salt Lake  thanks michael.[Aaron]..i will announce this on the radio today [Thursday]. except for the event at the paper moon. i don't see your group doing anything at mo diggity's (my bar).  discrimination? hope not. we hold 325 in the main room, 45 in in the non-smoking room.

 2006 SLC benefits plan OK'd Judge rules that marriage not essential in naming beneficiary By Jason Bergreen The Salt Lake Tribune Councilwoman Jill Remington Love was "thrilled" that a judge Friday approved a plan to offer health benefits to Salt Lake City employees' designees - be they roommates, relatives, or gay or straight domestic partners. In a five-

Stephen L Roth

 page opinion, 3rd District Judge Stephen L. Roth concluded that the "adult designees" dependent insurance plan is ultimately defined by the relationship between an employer and an employee and has nothing to do with marriage. "The Adult Designee Benefit therefore is not 'substantially equivalent' to any 'benefit provided under Utah law to a man and a woman because they are married,' nor does it make the relationship between employee and an adult designee 'substantially equivalent' in 'legal effect' to marriage between a man and a woman," the judge wrote. The ruling helps clarify Utah's Defense of Marriage Act and a similar constitutional amendment known as Amendment 3. The Utah Public Employees Health Program, which administers the city's health insurance, wasn't sure and wanted a judge's ruling on whether the council plan is legal before implementing it. "We [the council] believed and felt strongly that we were within the law," Love said Saturday. Mayor Rocky Anderson had signed a similar executive order in September 2005 that would have extended health insurance benefits to single employees' gay or straight domestic partners. The order was being challenged in court as violating the state's traditional marriage laws when it was overridden by the council ordinance. Judge Roth's ruling was conveniently made during the city's benefit plan open-enrollment period. Adult designees' children also can participate in the program. Designees must intend to live together indefinitely and are financially dependent. "Adult designees and their children fall within the plain meaning of dependent and are therefore within the broad scope of 'employee's dependents' who are 'eligible for coverage' as 'covered individuals,' " Roth wrote. Utah Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, sponsored a bill earlier this year that would have allowed cities to offer health insurance to people other than employees' spouses or children. However, it would have forbidden cities from subsidizing it. The bill failed. 

LaVar Christenson

Christensen said Saturday that he still doesn't think the extended health coverage offered by Salt Lake City should be footed by taxpayers, and that legislators needed to continue debating the issue. For now, he agreed that it was the council's decision to make and not Anderson's. The council expects to subsidize the plan by up to $225,000 at least once and could continue to help fund the program. The American Civil Liberties Union, which had filed a friend-of- the-court brief on behalf of Dianna Goodliffe, a victim advocate in the Police Department, also responded to Friday's ruling. "We certainly support the plan," said ACLU attorney Margaret Plane. Goodliffe's partner has health insurance through her job, but may want to stay home to care for the couple's diabetic daughter. "We're absolutely pleased to know about the ruling and pleased for our client," Plane said. Judge Roth's ruling went on to state that, "The flexibility to extend the traditional concept of dependent as Salt Lake City proposes to do to meet the changing expectations of the marketplace and needs of employees can therefore be argued to be in the city's interest as an employer and public entity." Love, who was the main architect of the benefits plan, said she hopes other Utah cities will use the this model when offering dependant benefit coverage. "We're glad we're now able to proceed with implementation of our program," City Attorney Ed Rutan said. Tribune reporters Matt Canham and Rebecca Walsh contributed to this report. Salt Lake City's "adult designee" benefits plan * The council's plan allows unmarried city employees to sign up "adult designees" for health insurance. * The two must live together and be fin ancially dependent. * Such designees can be domestic partners, relatives or roommates. * The council will subsidize the plan by about $225,000 this year. 

Candy Dale

2014 Wednesday Judge strikes down Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban Court  The state must start issuing licenses on Friday. U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Dale ruled Tuesday evening, May 13, 2014, that Idaho's laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutionally deny gay and lesbian citizens of their fundamental right to marry.  U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Dale wrote in her decision Tuesday evening that Idaho’s laws barring same-sex marriage unconstitutionally deny gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry.  Dale said the state must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples starting at 9 a.m. Friday. "The Plaintiffs are entitled to extraordinary remedies because of their extraordinary injuries," Dale wrote, saying same-sex couples in Idaho have been denied the economic, emotional and spiritual benefits of marriage. "Plaintiffs suffer these injuries not because they are unqualified to marry, start a family, or grow old together, but because of who they are and whom they love," she wrote. However, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter already has said he intends to appeal the case, meaning an appellate court could still put the weddings on hold.  "I am firmly committed to upholding the will of the people and defending our Constitution," Otter said. The ruling comes as Utah awaits a decision from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on its same-sex marriage ban, which was stricken down in December by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby. Shelby held that the law demeans same-sex couples "for no rational reason." Dale said marriage works a fundamental change on the lives of all who experience it, and it holds immense personal and spiritual significance. "This case asks a basic and enduring question about the essence of American government: Whether the will of the majority, based as it often is on sincere beliefs and democratic consensus, may trump the rights of a minority?" the judge wrote. Idaho’s laws wrongly stigmatize gay and lesbian couples and relegate their families to second-class status without sufficient reason, she said. But it’s not just the immense significance of marriage as a ceremonial right that is at issue in the ruling, Dale noted. It’s also the many ways a legal marriage affects the daily life of a spouse.  "From the deathbed to the tax form, property rights to parental rights, the witness stand to the probate court, the legal status of ‘spouse’ provides unique and undeniably important protections," Dale wrote. Still, she built in a three-day delay in the ruling, apparently in response to a request from the governor.  Otter cited the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.  "In 2006, the people of Idaho exercised their fundamental right, reaffirming that marriage is the union of a man and a woman," he said in a statement. "Today’s decision, while disappointing, is a small setback in a long-term battle that will end at the U.S. Supreme Court. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said he would consult with the governor on the state’s appeal.  Four Idaho couples in November filed the lawsuit against the governor and Ada County Clerk Chris Rich challenging the marriage ban. The couples are Sue Latta and Traci Ehlers; Lori and Sharene Watsen; Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer; and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson. Latta and Ehlers married in 2008 in California, and the Watsens married in 2011 in New York. Both couples have children and say Idaho wrongly treats Ehlers as a legal stranger to her grandchildren and requires Lori Watsen to obtain a new power of attorney every six months so she can have legal authority to consent to medical treatment for her son.  "We won," Latta said, holding the hand of her wife, Traci Ehlers. The couple spoke on the steps of the federal courthouse Tuesday evening, surrounded by their friends and family as well as their attorneys and the three other plaintiff couples. "I think we’re going to go celebrate," Ehlers said. Beierle and Rachael Robertson of Boise said they would be back at the courthouse Friday morning to get a marriage license.  "The first person I called when I got the news was my mom, and she said, ‘I’m so proud of you Amby,’" Beierle said, holding back tears. "I don’t think people understand what that means to native Idahoans who love this state and want to stay in this state but who want to be heard. It feels amazing." Their attorney, Deborah Ferguson, said the ruling recognized that the families are part of Idaho’s community and that they deserved the same protections and respect as other families.  "The court’s ruling is a victory not only for the courageous couples who brought this case, but for everyone who cares about freedom and fairness," Ferguson said in a statement.  Restore Our Humanity, the group backing the legal fight against Utah’s ban, applauded Dale’s decision.   "These marriage equality bans are falling left, right and center," said group spokesman Matthew Spencer. "We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community in Idaho, and we’re proud to see them pressing forward."  A ruling on Utah’s appeal is expected any day. Since Shelby’s ruling in December, federal courts have overturned same-sex marriage bans in 10 other states. Other states’ bans have been overturned by state judges.  "Last summer, the [U.S.] Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act because it humiliates tens of thousands of children of same-sex couples, and you don’t need to be a lawyer to understand what that means," said Cliff Rosky, University of Utah law professor and

Cliff Rosky

 chairman of the board for Equality Utah. "The thing that gets lost in all this talk of states’ rights ... is that the children neither know nor care whether their parents are being harmed by the federal government or the state government. They just know that their parents are being harmed and that they’re being harmed.

2020 Proposed name change exposes divisions in Mormons Building Bridges, spurs creation of new LGBTQ support group By Peggy Fletcher Stack Salt Lake Tribune It was intended as a simple nod to LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson’s vow to vanquish the term “Mormon.” Instead, the short-lived move to change the name of Mormons Building Bridges, an LGBTQ support group, to “Saints Building Bridges” signaled subtle but serious differences for the prominent group and prompted some notable departures. At its core, the conflict is about how, when or whether to approach gay rights issues in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — which considers acting on same-sex attraction a sin — as insiders. It's also about whether to publicly call out the faith and its policies. Should Bridges appeal to active churchgoers who respect their leaders as mouthpieces for God yet yearn for more LGBTQ understanding in the pews and from the pulpit? Or should the group at least acknowledge that church policies and teachings have harmed these believers, no matter how kindly they are treated within the faith? It’s not a question of end goals — both factions hunger for a better future for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints — but of methods and priorities. Such distinctions 

Erika Munson 

prompted Bridges co-founder Erika Munson to step away and start a new group, Emmaus. Munson, a straight married Latter-day Saint mom of five from Sandy, launched Bridges in 2012, and shortly thereafter engaged Kendall Wilcox, a gay Latter-day Saint filmmaker, in the effort to ease some of the tensions between the LDS and LGBTQ communities. They began in 2012 by amassing more than 300 church members dressed in their Sunday best to march in that year’s Utah Gay Pride Parade. The purpose: Send a message of love to the state's gay community, a message they believed was compatible with their religion. ‘It hurt people’s hearts’ — How the LDS Church’s now-rescinded policy affected these LGBTQ believers and why the pain persists  It marked the beginning of a grassroots movement to heal wounds and build relationships. By year’s end, Bridges was chosen as The Salt Lake Tribune’s Utahns of the Year. The group’s participants were not out to debate doctrine or politics, organizers said, but to promote love and listening. Still, their simple yet potent gesture echoed around the globe, setting an example for fellow believers who then took up the style, if not the name, in many other Pride parades. They also attracted national and international media attention. Some gay activists were wary, of course, given that the group declined to weigh in on the issue of the day: marriage equality. But a lot has happened in the Utah-based faith and in the United States since then. Rulings and rules-Same-sex marriage is now legal across the country, though the LDS Church remains opposed to the practice. “The [Supreme] Court’s decision does not alter the Lord's doctrine that marriage is a union between a man and a woman ordained by God,” it declared in July 2015. “While showing respect for those who think differently, the church will continue to teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine.” The faith did give its blessing earlier that year to statewide nondiscrimination protections in housing and the workplace for LGBTQ individuals in a compromise that also provided safeguards for religious liberty. Then, in November 2015, the church instituted a policy that deemed same-sex couples “apostates” and generally barred their children from church rituals like baptism until they were 18. Latter-day Saint leaders reversed that edict in April 2019, leaving many LGBTQ members and their allies hurt and angry that it was established in the first place. A new road- By 2020, Munson feared Bridges’ fragile balance had tipped too far toward those who see mostly harm in the church’s position on homosexuality. She wanted to continue to reach out to those who believe in the faith’s inspired leadership, she says. “We need to be 

John Gustav-Wrathall

both LGBTQ-affirming and church-affirming.” So Munson enlisted the help of John Gustav-Wrathall, former executive director of Affirmation, a support group for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and their families, and together they have created Emmaus, named for the road where two biblical disciples walked with the resurrected Christ. “Emmaus is a community of heterosexual/cisgender and LGBTQ Latter-day Saints,” the group’s vision statement says, “who are called to ministry for the safety, well-being and happiness of LGBTQ people in and adjacent to the [church].” The new group believes that “there is a place in Christ’s church and in our Heavenly Parents’ plan for every single one of us,” the statement adds, “and our hearts ache for the anguish caused by misunderstanding and lack of knowledge.” They maintain “the way forward lies through relationship, connection and listening,” organizers say. “… We recognize that real change takes time and requires patience. We know from experience the power of relationship to transform understanding. We are committed to a process that fosters connection, communication, learning and empathy.” This approach “will be most compelling as we have conversations with church leaders,” says Gustav-Wrathall, an excommunicated gay Mormon in a long-term same-sex relationship who nonetheless, before the coronavirus clampdown, regularly attended weekly Latter-day Saint services in Minneapolis. “The voices and presence of those who are currently active will be critical in helping the church to understand how to do better ministering in our wards, which would dramatically increase the percentage of LGBTQ folks who feel sustained and strengthened and able to participate in the church, and help raise awareness so that family members and friends of those who leave the church will be more loving and supportive of those who have left.” That’s also why he and Munson thought a name change would be a smart idea. “If we were serious about continuing to engage with the church,” he says, “we had to use language that wouldn't mark us as alien to the church.” Emmaus will not likely march in any parades, he says. That was a particularly “potent moment and symbol that was outwardly focused,” he says. “What’s needed now is more inwardly focused, a more internal healing ministry.” For its part, Bridges’ mode of operation has no single leader or group hierarchy. Wilcox, who has been openly critical of top Latter-

Kendall Wilcox

 day Saint leaders for their sermons and positions on LGBTQ issues, is one of several fellow volunteers to have stepped forward to maintain the community that now has thousands of participants. It is “a movement centered around a sense of ministry and mission,” according to its mission statement. “It is not a formal organization, and there are no formal members.” Wilcox argues that believing Latter-day Saints should stay engaged with Bridges and with the LGBTQ community, even when some challenge church doctrine and leaders or simply express their pain and anger at the faith. “They may experience what I call ‘divine discomfort’ about how their church treats LGBTQ people,” he says. “But we want to have a community in which both sides learn to build spiritual skills for responding.” What is the “tolerance threshold,” Wilcox asks, for active Latter-day Saints “to truly listen to the lived experience of the LGBTQ members in their midst?” And why should these members “be coddled in the status quo?” He wants to reach people anywhere along the spectrum of belief and practice, creating a safe place for all who have ever been a part of the church. That is why, he says, the “Mormon” name will remain.