On Sunday, a group of Mormons will be wearing rainbow ribbons to church to show support for their LGBT brothers and sisters.
It’s called the Rainbow Mormon Initiative, and psychologist Kristy Money is the founder.
“I think that it can save lives, quite honestly,” Money says. She did her dissertation at Brigham Young University on youth suicide prevention in Utah. “There’s plenty of research that shows that kids are most likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors and be at risk for suicide if they are rejected from their families, homes, and communities. The rainbow ribbon is to say, I don’t reject you, I love you, I love you exactly the way you are, and you can come to me if you need anything, and I won’t judge.”
Money says the initiative is not intended to challenge LDS Church authorities, but it was catalyzed by a church policy change which labels same-sex married Mormons apostates and denies baptism to their children.
The initiative launches June 5th for Mormon LGBT allies around the world. It’s also the day of Pride Parade in Salt Lake City, and is a Fast Sunday, a day where Mormons go for twenty-four hours without food to experience spiritual closeness to God.
