Mormons Building Bridges

Founded| 2012; 13 years ago (2012)[1]
Type| 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

Mormons Building Bridges is a decentralized grassroots group composed primarily of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who seek to improve the attitudes between members of the LDS Church and the LGBT community.[2]

## Overview

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They facilitate communication and organizational efforts that help their gay members and friends to feel welcome within their church congregations and supported in their life’s path, focusing on ameliorating the experiences of LGBTQIA Mormon youth in hopes of decreasing the rates of their homelessness and suicides.[3] MBB states they are not sponsored by nor do they represent the LDS Church.[4]

## History

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MBB marching in the SLC Pride Parade Over 400 Mormons marched in the 2014 SLC Pride Parade - Photo by Jay Jacobsen

MBB was founded in 2012 by Erika Munson,[1] Kendall Wilcox[5] and Bianca Morrison Dillard.[6] The first official act of the group was to march in the Salt Lake City Gay Pride Parade on June 3, 2012.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Subsequently, Mormons Building Bridges was named Utahns of the Year by The Salt Lake Tribune on January 10, 2013.[6]

## Activities

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A large group of MBB members march in the Salt Lake City Pride parade each year with over 400 Mormons marching in the 2013 and 2014 parades to loud applause.[15] Smaller groups also march behind the MBB banner in other cities.

Several times a year, typically on religious holidays, MBB encourages its members to invite their LGBTQIA friends to attend local LDS church services in hopes of building ties between the two groups.[16]

MBB participates in the political process when opportunities present themselves that have the support of their members and do not oppose the LDS church's position. For example, they have joined with Equality Utah to help pass an LGBTQIA non-discrimination law in Utah which is based on the city ordinances that the LDS church has officially supported in the past.[17]

MBB also supports and endorse a number of other related efforts. They actively distribute the Family Acceptance Project materials[18] promote the Safe and Sound program [19] to find homes for homeless LGBTQIA youth in Utah, they participate in Pink Dot, and they encourage families to host Breaking Bread dinners where they invite Mormons and LGBTQIA friends to share a meal together and get to know each other. On the third Tuesday of each month, they hold Community Conversations on topics of interest to LGBT members at five libraries along the Wasatch Front. The public is invited. Sit With Me Sunday is an initiative to invite LGBT people to sit with friendly members in their neighborhood churches.[20]

## Notable people

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* Bianca Morrison Dillard
* Suzanne Fei, Computational biologist[21]
* Erika Munson
* Kendall Wilcox

## References

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1. ^ a b Healy, Jack (June 11, 2012). "Gentle Dissent on Gay Marriage Among Mormons". 11 June 2012. New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
2. ^ "Mormon group joins gay parade for second year". Standard-Examiner. Associated Press. June 2, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
3. ^ Figueroa, Carly (December 7, 2014). "Event aims to raise awareness of suicide, homelessness among LGBT Mormons". Fox13 News. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
4. ^ "FAQ". mormonsbuildingbridges.org. Mormons Building Bridges. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
5. ^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Gay BYU filmmaker ready to tell his story". 15 July 2011. Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
6. ^ a b Stack, Peggy Fletcher (January 10, 2013), "Tribune's Utahns of the Year: Mormons Building Bridges", Salt Lake Tribune, retrieved January 7, 2014
7. ^ Lyon, Julia. "Mormons march in Gay Pride Parade to build bridges". 3 June 2012. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
8. ^ Whitney, Zach. "Mormon Group Preaches Message of Acceptance in Gay Pride". 3 June 2012. KSTU Channel 13. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
9. ^ Page, Jared. "300-plus LDS Church members march in Pride parade". 3 June 2012. Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
10. ^ Pearce, Matt (June 4, 2012). "Mormons steal show at Gay Pride march in Salt Lake City". 4 June 2013. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
11. ^ Holpuch, Amanda (June 4, 2012). "Hundreds of Mormons march in gay pride parade in Salt Lake City". 4 June 2012. London: The Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
12. ^ Tenety, Elizabeth. "Some Mormons separate gay marriage rights from church rites". 8 June 2012. Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
13. ^ DuHadway, Kate. "Cache Valley residents march in Utah Gay Pride Parade to give 'message of love'". 5 June 2012. The Herald Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
14. ^ Young, Neil J. (June 13, 2012). "Equal Rights, Gay Rights and the Mormon Church". 13 June 2012. The New York Times Opinion Page, New York. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
15. ^ Reavy, Pat. "Loud applause follows Mormons Building Bridges along Utah Pride Parade route". DeseretNews.com. Deseret News. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
16. ^ Park, Sherri. "Welcoming gays in the pews". 9 March 2013. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
17. ^ Parker, Ray. "Mormons Building Bridges lobbies for protecting gays from bias". 19 Feb 2013. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
18. ^ Walker, Joseph. "New booklet targets LDS families of homosexual youth". 15 June 2012. Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2013.,
19. ^ "Safe and Sound Host homes for homeless LGBT youth". OUTreach Resource Center, Ogden, Utah. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
20. ^ Kuruvilla, Carol (December 28, 2014). "Mormon Allies Promise LGBT Christians: You Can Sit With Me At Church". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
21. ^ Peterson, Kathryn (October 4, 2013). "Coded in the DNA". Mormon Women Project. Retrieved July 29, 2019.

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