The Supreme Court has decided to hear cases on DOMA and Prop 8, as same-sex couples began to marry in Washington — progressiveness is proving to be triumphant. Taking note of the gay rights movement is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church. 

On Dec. 6, the LDS Church launched a new part of their website titled Mormonsandgays.org. The Church’s previous stance on same-sex marriage revolved around the “law of chastity” that prohibits homosexual behavior. The Church explicitly opposed same-sex marriage, but took a more empathetic tone when expressing that homosexuality is not a sin.

This is the same Church that The Los Angeles Times reported donated $180,000 toward Proposition 8, a California initiative banning same-sex marriage. The same Church that has been accused of funding the anti-gay marriage group the National Organization for Marriage that backed Proposition 8 efforts.

However, Mormonsandgays.org proves to be well put together. The site flaunts videos of LGBT Mormons and their personal accounts of being gay in the Mormon Church. Even senior church leaders are highlighted expressing their views on the Church’s reconsiderations. Instead of tabooing the idea of homosexuality completely, NPR’s Howard Berkes said “the faith still steadfastly opposes gay marriage but urges compassion and understanding … the sin is in yielding to temptations.” 

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Truth is, there’s nothing progressive about the Church’s move at all. It isn’t a step forward if you don’t even budge.

Who cares if the Church thinks that homosexuality isn’t a sin anymore, that’s an outdated justification. A Mormon can be gay, but as soon as they act on homosexual instincts, it becomes sinful. The Church promotes this idea that you can be gay but not show it. The Church’s implications are that they oppose the innate urge of LGBT to seek love in a partner, but support it for its heterosexual members. While being gay is tolerated, it is not grounds for a relationship, or for any expression of being gay for that matter. Combined with the Church’s belief in celibacy, there is no possible room for LGBT Mormons to fulfill a future, whether that means marriage or sexual relations.

The image the Church wants to portray is that their beliefs are evolving to follow that of society. However, all they’re really doing is restructuring bigotry so it appears more attractive to outsiders. Sure, the Church is finally rationalizing homosexuality, but their position remains unchanged. Just because the Church now “tolerates” gay members, it doesn’t mean being a gay Mormon is any easier. They are discouraged from forcing themselves to seek opposite sex-partners and simultaneously discouraged from acting on homosexual instincts. Now exactly where does this leave room for a gay to identity as an LGBT Mormon?

The tolerant image the Church wants to portray isn’t just painted by the new website, it blurs it too. The website expresses that it “is a collection of conversations … with the loved ones of gay spouses, children or grandchildren who are dealing with the effects of same-sex attraction in their own lives.” I’m curious, what does the Church mean by the phrase “dealing with?” And how exactly does one’s preference for the same-sex affect another’s preference for the opposite sex? The Church is deceitful in claiming they are more tolerant when they flat-out address homosexuality as an issue or a problem rather than a lifestyle. They imply that choosing to be gay creates consequences that must be “dealt” with.

The Church isn’t any more tolerant than it was five years ago, they’re just trying to catch up. They aren’t being rational about homosexuality, they’re simply attempting to rationalize their outdated position on it. Sure, this may be a step forward for the Church, but it’s a step nowhere for everyone else. The Church thinks its new stance is making it easier to be gay and Mormon, when in fact, it’s making it just as difficult. LGBT Mormons must now not only reconstruct their identity and faith to accommodate the Church’s shifting views, but they must also determine how being openly gay coexists with not being able to act on gay instincts.

I’d rather have no voice at all than one created and censored on someone else’s conditions.

Adam is a junior in ACES. He can be reached at [email protected].