Change, Progress, Leadership, LGBTQ issues, and the LDS Church

Jeff at LDS Q&A created this on 2/16/20:

A friend of mine — who’s no longer active & with whom I have very frequent debates/discussions — complained to me this AM that the Church changes all the time.  I told him he’s right.  Our church does change.  And it’s a good thing.

We have had many such discussions in the past.  We respect each other, but disagree a lot.  A lot!

Then I told him that he criticizes the LDS Church for changing and for not changing.  “Which is it”, I asked?  Should we change or not?  You can’t have it both ways!

I asked him to think of his favorite organization and least favorite.  His least favorite — at least the one he nags about the most — is the LDS Church.  He didn’t commit to another organization, saying the Church was the only organization he belonged to.

Not letting him off the hook, I asked him about his favorite college and how they changed through the years.  He understood my point — lots of challenges and even possibly (gasp and yikes!) mistakes in adapting with the times.

Nobody anticipates every challenge decades in advance and avoids these complex challenges and social issues.  Everyone changes and adapts.  I’d argue the better the leadership the better the changes.  The LDS Church is blessed with very capable, experienced, thoughtful, and inspired leaders.

But, don’t forget!  Our prophets aren’t perfect.  They’re fallible, despite being great individuals:

Image result for lgbtq

The issue my friend brought up was this story (read link below) about the LDS Church and the upcoming support concert for LGBTQ youth.   Dan Reynolds — lead singer for Imagine Dragons — is one of the major performers at this event.  Dan is LDS and has criticized the Church’s LGBTQ positions in the past.  The Church’s relationship with the LGBTQ crowd has been rocky to say the least.  Dan praised the LDS Church’s announcement, supporting this event.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/08/16/imagine-dragons-dan-reynolds-gets-a-boost-for-his-lgbtq-fundraising-concert-from-an-unexpected-source-the-mormon-church/

The Church and its leaders love everyone, including LGBTQ kids (and adults).  The Church hasn’t changed doctrinal positions.  Yet, they may be taking effective steps toward more positive outreach.

By the way, I love Imagine Dragons.  Dan and his band are awesome!