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Mormons Now Free to be Gay on Facebook Salt Lake News - published March 27, 2015 SALT LAKE CITY - In a surprise announcement last week, LDS Church leaders revealed that members will no longer be punished for being gay on Facebook . In an exclusive interview, church spokesperson, LaRue Walker, told The News , "While they still adamantly oppose gay marriage, the Brethren have determined that coming out on venues as shallow as social media does not pose a threat to an individual's eternal salvation." Otherwise faithful Mormons may now feel free to "like" gay and lesbian themed pages, join LGBT groups, follow gay advocates, post on their gay and lesbian friends' walls, and write comments favoring gay marriage and other LGBT rights. "I just changed my cover photo to a rainbow flag," said BYU junior, Homer Filbert, who plans to marry his girlfriend in the Provo temple next month. "Finally I'm free to be me . . . at least on Facebook." In sp...

Natalie and her surrogate When I was a Mormon I was always going to baby showers. After all, Mormon women are always having babies. Mormon showers were women-only events featuring sickeningly cutesy games and cake or cookies paired with some vile sort of punch. In fairness, it's been a while since I've been to an LDS baby shower. Perhaps they've changed. Maybe the food's better these days, and the games more fun. Maybe now some are even coed, acknowledging (gasp!) that men might actually share in the burdens of childcare. But something tells me that the Mormon version couldn't live up to the Exmormon shower that Sheli, Sarah and I recently threw for Natalie and Dave who are expecting a baby girl via surrogate. Our hosts, Sheli and James, went all out, opening up their beautiful house. The games were kick-ass hilarious. Dave makes a play-dough baby James pins a sperm on the uterus Baby bottle beer guzzling contest The food was amazing, especially James and Sheli'...

Twenty-three years ago I was an emotional train wreck. My hands were covered with eczema and I had nightmares about being trapped in a box. I knew I was faced with the unfortunate choice between my church and my sanity. Fortunately, I opted for sanity. And I was fortunate. I had the love and support of my husband and children. (Not all ex-Mormons do.) Plus my hands stopped itching and I was back to getting a good night's sleep. But in other ways my situation sucked. Back then, the only thing close to a support group for doubters was Sunstone. And while the Sunstone community was, and continues to be, an excellent home for liberal Mormons, it can be a less than perfect place for ex-Mormons. We needed a home of our own. Bizarrely, like so many ex-Mormons, I no longer believed in the golden plates, the first vision, or the living prophet. But I still bought into that erroneous assumption that those who left the church were angry, bitter people who were offended by some triviality and ...