It’s a shame that Elder Snow didn’t say
this whilst actively serving. It’s also a shame that he wasn’t inspired to see the risks to LGBQT+ members before his granddaughters brought things into sharp focus for him.
“There’s nothing like having grandchildren. Do not mess with my granddaughters,” emeritus general authority Seventy Steven E. Snow said. “When I learned about my granddaughters, when they came out, that was real. That made a huge change in my life.”
Snow gave the opening prayer Friday at the Gather Conference, a two-day event in Provo organized by Lift + Love, a group designed to strengthen LGBTQ+ individuals and families in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
During a Q&A session, Snow voiced his belief that church members have a responsibility to make the institution safer and more welcoming.
“We need to do more. We need to be more inclusive,” Snow said. “We need to find a place — hard as it may be right now — we need to find a place for our friends, our grandchildren and our children to be at home in the church.”
When he was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy his words would have been more meaningful. I hope he’s apologised to his granddaughters for being a Yes man whilst in office. I also note he’s exhorting the members to be more inclusive, despite the solution to the problem being his senior colleagues in SLC. Blaming the members for the sins of the leaders is pretty shallow.
Pearson also shared the story of a bishop in her area who ministers to a lesbian couple in his congregation. “The bishop has said, ‘If I am ever instructed by somebody in authority above me to do anything to discipline those women, I would before that resign my post as bishop.’”
“I’ve heard similar stories,” Pearson said, “of bishops who have been that determined to make sure that everybody has a place there.”
If only Elder Snow had spoken as passionately as those Bishops when he was in a position to have influence.
Fifteen years ago, Snow said, he would have had a hard time imagining himself at an event like Gather. But as his granddaughters have “taken a step back from the church,” he said, he has developed a deeper understanding of the difficulties that LGBTQ+ members face.
“They could offer so much,” he said, “but it’s not an easy place for them to be — the church.”
So, having done nothing himself when he had the chance, he’s now telling the members
they need to do more. Is there a facepalm emoji? Had he started with a public apology for his past complicity in the institutional homophobia generated by Church policies and doctrines, I’d have had a bit more time for him. But no, in typical Church Leader fashion, he’s blaming the members for being unwelcoming.
