The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) held its twice-yearly General Conference in Salt Lake City last weekend. In his Saturday morning speech which I attended, and was televised to millions of faithful Mormons around the world, Apostle Dallin H. Oaks reaffirmed Church leadership’s strong and active opposition to gay marriage. No telling the damage that was caused by this “Word of God” to LGBT Mormons and their families. How many more Mormon teen suicides will it lead to? How many more Mormon families will feel they have to disconnect from their LGBT children, siblings, parents and friends? And how many more members will resign from the Mormon Church, just because of it?

40 Years and Counting

The Mormon Church has been leading its stealth campaign against all LGBTQ Americans since 1977. That’s when Utah became the second state in the country to ban gay marriage. The Church has not stopped ever since, having led anti-LGBTQ campaigns in at least 27 states over the last four decades. Take a look at this video: CLICK HERE

Then two years ago the Mormon Church lost the battle. The United States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage here on June 26, 2015. Now Church leaders have taken their crusade to other countries around the world.

Remember Prop 8

Nine years ago I discovered that the Mormon Church qualified, ran and its members funded the $40 million Yes on Proposition 8 campaign in my home state of California. I turned my discovery over to the Wall Street Journal which broke the story: CLICK HERE

The Church’s narrow campaign victory in California backfired. It created a PR nightmare for the Mormon Church which has only gotten worse.

Then we discovered that in addition to Prop. 8, the Mormon Church ran, lobbied and funded at least 26 other anti-gay marriage votes from the very first one in Hawaii in 1998 through California’s Prop 22 in 2000 and Prop 8 in 2008. Take a look at leaked documents given to me which detail so much of their “secretive” activities all over the country: CLICK HERE

Members Resigning Church

Membership has fallen in the U. S., Canada and Europe and their growth is the slowest in 80 years. Church Public Affairs has even admitted it. CLICK HERE

So one would think they would try and right the ship before it sinks. Church leaders have tried to make nice since their disastrous Prop 8 debacle. They even said they would step away from their decades of anti-LGBTQ activism.

They Lied

Instead right after Prop 8, Church leaders and their front group the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) marched across the country all the way to Maine and successfully took away that state’s recently passed gay marriage law by way of a November 3, 2009 referendum election. Next they went to North Carolina in May of 2012 and won there. Then they hit the proverbial brick wall. On November 6, 2012 they lost gay marriage elections in Minnesota, Maryland, Washington State and Maine which flipped from its 2009 vote. Those four victories were the catalyst for the Supreme Court decision to once and for all declare marriage equality the law of the land.

Sore Losers

Church leaders decided to do the unimaginable. Just four months after gay marriage became legal in all 50 states the Mormon Church implement its infamous November 5th “Policy.” This declaration forced out legally married Mormon same-sex couples from the Church. Their children were banned from the Church until they were 18, and then they had to choose between their parents who raised them and their Church. If they chose their Church, they had to disavow their parent’s sexual orientation.

The result of this hateful policy, scores of Mormon LGBTQ teen suicides and an estimated 25,000 resignations immediately followed.

Church’s Campaign of Hate Goes International

In spite of Church claims that they had gotten out of the anti-gay marriage business, they have not.

The Mormon Church has instead taken its bullying campaign across the globe. This last spring it was in Mexico, where just like they did in California they had a letter read in every chapel during Sunday services asking members to give of their time and means to defeat gay marriage in Mexico. They lost.

Right Now They’re Fighting Gay Marriage in Australia

The Mormon Church had taken its anti-LGBT campaign to Australia, where a plebiscite advisory vote by mail is taking place now on the rights of gay couples to marry. The results will be announced on November 15.

Mormon Church leaders in Australia (Pacific Area Presidency) released another one of their awful letters that were read in every Mormon congregation in Australia on Sunday, September 12 and Sunday, September 17. CLICK HERE

The purpose of the letter is clear, to tell every Australian Mormon to vote against gay marriage. The letter strongly reaffirms the Church’s position on the issue of gay marriage. It states that “children are entitled to birth within the bond of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother.”

It’s Time to Protect All Families

The Mormon Church can’t stop its evil ways no matter what the cost.

This four decade long Church crusade of hate forces members to choose between their Church and their family.

These regressive actions have adversely affected the Mormon Church. It is becoming increasingly clear, even to active participants of Mormonism, that the denial of rights to same-sex couples is cruel and anti-family.

Albert Einstein said, “the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.” It is sad to watch the Mormon Church struggle against the rights of LGBTQ people, not just because of all of the good they could achieve by dedicating those financial and human resources to actually helping and protecting families, but also because of the harm they continue to cause to LGBTQ people. It is time for them to stop this pattern of truly irresponsible behavior that endangers the lives of vulnerable youth and attacks the basic rights of families. It is time to protect all families.

Even if Mormon leaders continue in their fruitless and senseless global fight, Mormons all over the world can raise their voices and help LGBT Mormons in many ways. Many are already loud advocates for the right of same-sex couples to marry in the USA, in Australia, and in many other countries. Others have or are in the process of resigning their church membership. Others work from inside the Church to help leak documents and share tips on actions that the Mormon Church hides from the public. The effects of all of these actions when added together can be very powerful, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of Mormons who have chosen to leave the Church just within the last 2 years.

Fight Back

Courageous LGBT advocates and activists will continue to fight for the rights of everyone to marry whomever they wish in Australia and all over the world. The Mormon Church would be wise in supporting all families and changing its pattern of behavior that has done enough damage. There is still time to save lives.