The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a new approach to transgender individuals in the global faith of 17.2 million members — and it has created a firestorm among LGBTQ members and their allies.
The policies may be the most extreme since the hotly disputed, and now-discarded, exclusion policy of November 2015 regarding same-sex couples.
Under the newly released guidelines, members who have transitioned in any way — whether surgically, medically or socially — cannot receive temple recommends, work with children, serve as teachers in their congregations or fill any gender-specific assignments, such as president of the women’s Relief Society.
They cannot stay at most youth camps overnight. And they are urged to use single-occupancy restrooms at church meetinghouses or station a “trusted person” outside to keep others from entering when they use a restroom that aligns with their personal gender identity.
Here are excerpts from The Salt Lake Tribune’s “Mormon Land” podcast on the changes, with religion scholar Taylor Petrey, editor-in-chief of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and author of “Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism,” and Michael Soto, a transgender and queer man who grew up in the church, is a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University in justice studies, and serves as president of Equality Arizona.
What were your initial reactions to these new guidelines?
Petrey • My first reaction was worry. Then, as I was digging into all of the changes, it was increasingly concerning, as I saw some of the ways that transgender people were being stigmatized.…It fed into a lot of the fearmongering that has been happening about trans people in the world right now.
Soto • My first reaction was I wanted to show up for my community, and so I spent Monday talking to trans members of the church and families of trans members of the church.…My next reaction was that I wanted to help the church know trans people better, because I think when you know us, then you know that treating us the same way as you treat cisgender people is good.
Anything positive in these changes?
Petrey • The church should be congratulated ... for taking a neutral stance with respect to the “causes” of transgender identity ... for not saying it’s a mental illness or some other kind of misinformation that is spread about transgender individuals. ... That it encourages a loving, respectful engagement is another positive thing. ... The church is putting forward this ideal of a loving and respectful way of engaging with this issue that, frankly, other Christians and other Latter-day Saints don’t always do.
(Courtesy) Religion scholar Taylor Petrey says the church's new policies "fed into a lot of the fearmongering" about transgender individuals.
What about negatives?
Petrey • The new policies remove a lot of the space that local leaders had to really minister to trans people and to find appropriate ways of engaging them in their congregations and communities, and this new document and the new policies really undercut their ability to do so. The old policy was a little bit more relaxed with respect to social transitioning. It certainly allowed for a wider range of callings that people might be able to hold.
Michael, tell us about your transitioning.
Soto • So I grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, before cellphones and the internet. I had no language for who I was, but my very first memories of being a human being were of knowing that I was a boy, and telling everyone that very clearly, and then having very kind family members kind of pat me on the head and say, “Oh, you’re confused, sweetie.” It wasn’t until I was in college that I met a transgender person and knew that we existed in the world. [I realized] there was language for who I am, and there are other people like me. And, more importantly, there’s a way for me to truly be who I am, not just in my spirit, you know, but in my body. It’s been about 25 years of living openly and authentically as the human being that I’ve always been, and, for me, it’s the greatest gift of my life. It’s also how I found a relationship with God. I did not have a relationship with God before I transitioned. I feel loved by God and like he meant for me to be who I am in this life as a trans person, doing what I do.
How did your family react to this?
Soto • When I came out, it was the late ‘90s, and there was not the kind of information or support that there is today for trans people or even LGBTQ people. So my family didn’t react, well, right? They were really scared. They didn’t know what it meant. My dad told me that he would never call me by a different name, he would never come to my wedding, he wouldn’t support me in any way, and that I couldn’t have contact with my younger brothers. Those things backfired significantly because, ultimately. he lost out on time with me. About 10 years after I came out, he came to Arizona, spent some time together. He later apologized and said, “You know, I am so sorry that I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I reacted the way that I did. You are the person I raised you to be. It looks a little different than I thought it would look, but I’m so proud of you. You live a life that is good and kind, and you make a positive impact in the world.” My mom and I had a similar experience. And now my mom can’t even refer to me and my childhood with feminine pronouns.
(Michael Soto) President of Equality Arizona Michael Soto says Latter-day Saint leaders need to learn more about transgender people.
Do you think trans members and their allies will leave the church over this?
Petrey • It’s not clear what the future will be or how local congregations and individuals are going to be able to work through [the pain of] their trans members. It’s definitely a period of mourning right now, though.
Soto • The best thing that we can do in this moment is not be afraid to make choices that prioritize [trans members’] safety and mental health and our well-being. Sometimes that means prioritizing those boundaries — whether that’s in interpersonal relationships or relationships with organizations, and that’s a healthy thing to do.
Is this like the discarded November 2015 policy?
Petrey • There are a lot of resonances there. Like in 2015, this seems to be a kind of pulling back from, or an expression of fear about, the potential of new people being in our congregations that we’re not totally comfortable with. If there’s any kind of light at the end of the tunnel, it’s that policies can change, and they will change. They’re not rooted in any of our sacred texts. There are no rules around any of that stuff. We get to make up the rules as we want as a church.
What did you think of the guidelines on restroom use?
Soto • I sort of had a flashback moment to my younger days and earlier transition and making sure that the bathroom was empty and staying outside while another trans person used the restroom. I’ve had to have friends do that for my safety many times in my life because it’s actually transgender people that face violence in bathrooms.…Most people don’t know who is trans and who is not. [Restroom rules] are pretty much unenforceable, unless you have someone stationed at the door checking in someone’s pants, right?
What about limiting trans members’ access to children?
Soto • It’s misinformation that causes harm to all of us. Trans people are not predators. We are human beings that just want to live our lives. Data shows that predators of children are overwhelmingly cisgender and heterosexual. Some of the best parents I’ve ever known in my life are trans people.
Petrey • There’s another way in which these policies are really restricting the visibility of trans people in their wards and congregations. The number of callings that are now available to them is extremely small and that contributes, unfortunately, to the problem of making them invisible, and it sends the message that you’re not really fully welcome here.… Invisibility can just be so harmful here, because it prohibits people from making and building those relationships.
Could the church find itself at the center of protests or other backlash over these policies?
Soto • That naturally happens quite a lot. We live in a very politically turbulent time, right? ... We all have a right to express our dissent, our dissatisfaction and to organize around that. And so there certainly could be those kinds of ramifications. For me, I think that there are many ways to create change, and we should engage in those ways as respectfully, kindly and compassionately for one another as possible. ...If there are protests, if there are actions, let’s try to not judge people, right? Let’s listen to the hurt that people feel. Let’s make space to welcome people even when we’re upset, right? ... That’s what Christ would do is would make space for people, listen to people and try to find a way to move forward.
What could the church do to help its trans members feel welcome?
Soto • I don’t necessarily know that the church is in a place to support trans people, so my call to them — my sort of action item — is to learn from trans people, be in a relationship with us. Let us teach you for a while.
To hear the full podcast, go to sltrib.com/podcasts/mormonland. To receive full “Mormon Land” transcripts, along with our complete newsletter and exclusive access to all Tribune religion content, support us at Patreon.com/mormonland.
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.