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Message to LGBT Mormons: Church Is Evolving

Message to LGBT Mormons: Church Is Evolving

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Retired NFL star Steve Young and his wife, Barbara, brought that message to a conference of LGBT Mormons and their supporters this weekend.

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LGBT Mormons need to have faith and be patient as their church evolves to a more accepting stance, pro football great Steve Young and his wife, Barbara, told a conference of gay Mormons Saturday.

"More and more people are opening their hearts every day," Barbara Young said at the 2013 International Affirmation Conference at the University of Utah, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. "You are teaching them about [gays] and Jesus and that his love is infinite."

Steve Young, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said he seeks, "to build bridges with my gay brothers and sisters. We need to see each other as Jesus sees us."

The Youngs are both Mormons -- Steve Young is a direct descendant of early church leader Brigham Young, and his wife is a convert. California residents, they made news in 2008 for opposing Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment that ended marriage equality in California for a time; it was recently nullified by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Barbara Young has a gay brother.

She told conference attendees, "One of the most beautiful things about this church is that it can evolve. It may not go as fast as everyone wants, but it is evolving." She urged them to be "patient like Jesus," adding, "If we consciously embrace Jesus' teaching of empathy, compassionate, and love, the future world will be different."

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.