Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Does the Church Have a Single Standard?
LDS Leaders Claim They Treat Gays and Heterosexuals Equally, but Facts Show Otherwise

By Seba Martínez
November 2005

Since the 1980s LDS leaders have claimed that when they punish and discipline gay and lesbian members, they use the same standard that applies to heterosexuals. For instance, in an interview published in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 13, 1997, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "Now, we have gays in the church. Good people. We take no action against such people—provided they don't become involved in transgression, sexual transgression. If they do, we do with them exactly what we'd do with heterosexuals who transgress. We have a very strong moral teaching concerning abstinence before marriage and total fidelity following marriage. And, regardless of whether they're heterosexuals or otherwise, if they step over that line there are certain sanctions, certain penalties that are imposed." President Hinckley has made similar statements elsewhere, as have other church leaders.

Facts, however, clearly contradict this claim of a single standard. Consider the following examples:

At Brigham Young University, gay students have been expelled for holding hands, kissing, and receiving gifts from their same-sex dates. No one has ever heard of heterosexuals being expelled for these reasons. Is that the same standard?

According to the secretive Church Handbook of Instructions, "Church headquarters will automatically annotate a person's membership record when the stake president or bishop... submits a Report of Church Disciplinary Action showing that the person was disciplined for incest, sexual offense against or serious physical abuse of a child, plural marriage, an elective transsexual operation, repeated homosexual activity (by adults), or embezzlement of Church funds or property" (1998 edition, page 129). For repeated heterosexual activity, the annotation is not required. Is that the same standard?

The Church Handbook of Instructions lists adultery, fornication, and homosexual activity as some of the "serious transgressions" that require repentance before receiving a missionary call, but then makes clear that gays and lesbians may actually not be eligible to serve: "If a person has participated in homosexual activity during or after the last three teenage years, he or she will not be considered for full-time missionary service unless the bishop and stake president see strong evidence of lasting repentance and reformation, with at least one year free of transgression" (page 81). Such prevision doesn't exist for those who engaged in heterosexual activity. Is that the same standard?