LDS Church members leaving the Sunday morning session of General Conference were greeted outside the south gate of Temple Square by about 150 people holding placards protesting the church's involvement in a California ballot initiative that would reinforce marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.
Utahns for Fairness protest organizer and Salt Lake resident Jared Wood said he expected 25 to 50 people to participate and was surprised to see the numbers grow. Most of the protesters live in Salt Lake City, he said. "I guess there were more people upset enough about this to be here than I expected," Wood said. He said his hope was to "call on LDS Church leaders to cease political involvement. We want complete treatment under the law -- job discrimination, housing issues and adoption rights."Steven Peterson was among protesters with LDS missionary tags hanging from their shirt pockets. "For 20 years I sought help from every bishop I went to. If God has all truth, Mormons don't have it," he said. He said he joined the protest with the hope of creating an opportunity for increased communication with LDS Church members and leaders. "Every time there is an opportunity for dialogue, it helps wash away their stereotypes."
The Knight Initiative will let California voters decide March 7 whether to amend their state constitution to reinforce the definition of marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. While some clergy will perform same-sex marriages, no state recognizes such unions under the law.
Inside Temple Square, Elder John Dickson of the Quorums of the Seventy offered the church's response to the protest by saying the fact the protesters were there demonstrates the value of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects free speech. "We're grateful they have that right," Elder Dickson said. "We hope they understand we have the same right to speak out on an important moral issue."
Elder Dickson restated the position church President Gordon B. Hinckley made during the priesthood session of the conference Saturday evening. "We know that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God," Elder Dickson said. The church is actively supporting the Knight Initiative because it is an important moral issue. The LDS Church is part of a larger coalition of religious faiths supporting the initiative, and money being used to support the initiative is coming directly from church members, not from church funds, Elder Dickson added.
The protesters mostly stood quietly or talked among themselves as they displayed signs. Kellie Foreman of the Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee said the group decided the protest would be silent to respect the people they would encounter -- and silent with the hope people emerging from Temple Square would respect the protesters' positions.
President Hinckley said Saturday night the church would continue to "deal with those legislative matters which are of a strictly moral nature, or which directly affect the welfare of the church." He also added emphatically that the church's opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage "should never be interpreted as justifications for hatred, intolerance or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group."
Many conferencegoers regarded Sunday's protest with mild indignation. Others entering the south Temple Square entrance paid little attention to the group.
Salt Lake resident Debbie Arana, who watched the gathering at the Temple Square gate, termed the protest "stupid, " adding it was "no big deal."
Ralph Gurney of Emmett, Idaho, glanced at the demonstration, smiled and asked "Isn't America great?" -- then answered, "Well, we all have our free agency."
Emilio Escobar, El Salvador, said he respects the protesters' rights to express their opinions, "I ask only that they respect my beliefs and principles."
South Jordan teenager Kellie Williams said she was not offended by the demonstration. "I just think they're wasting their time."
Staff writer Jason Swensen contributed to this story.