My gay mormon hero
Buckley Jeppson is facing excommunication because he's a practicing, gay mormon. No news there. The news comes from the status of his relationship. He's legally married to his partner, Mike Kessler, as of 27 Aug 2004. Thank you Toronto! A quick jaunt over to the church's website confirms that the LDS church is specifically against homosexuality in general. So I do expect Brother Jesspon to feel the full force of mormon indignation.
But, as this news article points out, his excommuncation would be "the first time a Mormon in a legal, same-sex marriage was punished by the church." When members of the LDS church agree to live according to the principles of that faith, most of these agreements are vague and general. For example, stealing isn't specifically spelled out.
Interestingly, the concept of chaste living is one of those rare cases where it is spelled out. I was personally and individually explained chaste living and asked to agree to live a chaste life in perpetuity. This chaste living is spelled out as having sex only with your spouse, to whom you're lawfully and legally married. So, in this rare case where the specifics are spelled out directly, the definition doesn't exclude gay marriage.
This isn't to say that the LDS church is caught and has no recourse for punishing homosexual parishioners. From baptism on, members agree to abide by the counsel of the current leaders, whatever that counsel may be. So Brother Jeppson is still in defiance of church counsel.
But I feel that this situation does remove one shield that church leaders and its members might have been hiding behind. Can't say that gays simply are subject to the same rules as straights, meaning that they can't have premarital sex. And unfortunately, gays can't marry, so all of their sex is premarital and verboten. In Canada, there are legally and lawfully married gays. You can't pretend that it's the premarital sex that's the problem. Nope. Make no mistake that the problem is that its gay sex, and only that it's gay sex.
"I'm not attending in a dress or wearing a boa or anything," Jeppson said. "I show up in my suit and white shirt and split after sacrament meeting. I just want to participate and I want to worship quietly in a safe place." While Jeppson doesn't go there, I will. I'm going to church, in modest drag. Nothing in For the Strength of the Youth against a boa!
But, as this news article points out, his excommuncation would be "the first time a Mormon in a legal, same-sex marriage was punished by the church." When members of the LDS church agree to live according to the principles of that faith, most of these agreements are vague and general. For example, stealing isn't specifically spelled out.
Interestingly, the concept of chaste living is one of those rare cases where it is spelled out. I was personally and individually explained chaste living and asked to agree to live a chaste life in perpetuity. This chaste living is spelled out as having sex only with your spouse, to whom you're lawfully and legally married. So, in this rare case where the specifics are spelled out directly, the definition doesn't exclude gay marriage.
This isn't to say that the LDS church is caught and has no recourse for punishing homosexual parishioners. From baptism on, members agree to abide by the counsel of the current leaders, whatever that counsel may be. So Brother Jeppson is still in defiance of church counsel.
But I feel that this situation does remove one shield that church leaders and its members might have been hiding behind. Can't say that gays simply are subject to the same rules as straights, meaning that they can't have premarital sex. And unfortunately, gays can't marry, so all of their sex is premarital and verboten. In Canada, there are legally and lawfully married gays. You can't pretend that it's the premarital sex that's the problem. Nope. Make no mistake that the problem is that its gay sex, and only that it's gay sex.
"I'm not attending in a dress or wearing a boa or anything," Jeppson said. "I show up in my suit and white shirt and split after sacrament meeting. I just want to participate and I want to worship quietly in a safe place." While Jeppson doesn't go there, I will. I'm going to church, in modest drag. Nothing in For the Strength of the Youth against a boa!