I may be Mormon but I'm also pro choice and pro gay marriage. The main reason I've been struggling going to church is that I have a hard time stomaching all the republican party wackos that go to my church. It wasn't always this way. Once upon a time, many, if not most Mormons were Democrats. In recent years, I wouldn't even let them into my house or call me. Now I will say that I had a very positive experience growing up in the church. I became a liberal when I came to California and roomed with two liberal Mormons.

The LDS (Latter Day Saints) articles of Faith include #12 - "We believe in being subject to Kings, Presidents, Rulers, and Magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

This includes the right to equal protection and the part of the Declaration of Independence called the pursuit of happiness. Here is where I think the church has crossed the line. I completely disagree with them. I support my gay friends, neighbors, and fellow Americans in their seeking of the same liberties that I have. I will someday get married and have children. I know other Mormons that have grown apart from the church for these and other reasons of conscience. I have not reached that point because I want to be a part of change, a message of peace and acceptance. See, I want to go to church for familial and spiritual reasons, not hate, and I do feel conflicted. The Mormon Church is not a democracy. Advocating for change will most likely get me kicked out of the church, but so be it, I can't live with myself if I'm expected to hate. It is a conflict, but one that I am choosing to live with. I will march with you, advocate for you. You are what you are; part of me is being a Mormon and that I cannot change. Forgive me for settling on being conflicted. I have many gay friends, neighbors, and workmates, and I will continue to be their friends and support them no matter what the church says.

Here's my take on marriage. Any one deserves the right to get marriage, some might be religious marriages, some might be civil marriages, but everyone should have the right to marry whomever they feel they want to commit a lifetime to. But I also believe churches have the right to not allow gay marriage and to refuse to perform gay weddings. It also has the right to excommunicate people for adultery, fornication, homosexual activity, blasphemy, bigamy, pissing on the front lawn of the temple, or whatever other rules they want to establish for membership in the church. When you get baptized, you agree to these rules. If you don't want to follow these dictates, don't join and this goes for any other church.

Am I wrong to maintain my membership in my church? I love the Gospel, I think it is beautiful and it gives me life. I don't want to live outside it. Is my thinking wrong? I don't think so and either does my God.

- Connor

Adherents are usually referred to as Latter-day Saints, LDS, or Mormons. They consider themselves part of Christianity. LDS Church theology includes Christian doctrines of restorationism (via Joseph Smith, Jr.), millenialism, continuationism, penal substitution, a form of Apostolic succession, rejection of original sin, practice of baptism by immersion, and practice of the Eucharist (called by them the Sacrament). LDS Church theology is also different from traditional Christianity in a number of ways, including rejection of the Nicene Creed, belief in a unique theory of human salvation that includes three heavens, a doctrine of "exaltation" which includes the ability of humans to become gods and goddesses in the afterlife, and unique sacramental ceremonies performed privately in temples. The Church has an open canon which includes four scriptural texts: the Bible (both Old and New Testament), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Other than the Bible, the majority of the LDS canon constitutes revelation dictated by Joseph Smith, and includes commentary and exegesis about the Bible, texts described as lost parts of the Bible, and books said to be written by non-Biblical prophets.

The history of the LDS Church is typically divided into three broad time periods: (1) the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr. which is in common with all Latter Day Saint movement churches, (2) a "pioneer era" under the leadership of Brigham Young and his 19th Century successors, and (3) a modern era beginning around the turn of the 20th century as the practice of polygamy was discontinued. It is often misinterpreted that they still believe in polygamy, but they do not. They believe that a man should only have one wife and that marriage is ordained of God.

The early history of the LDS Church is shared with other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, who all regard Joseph Smith, Jr. as the founder of their religious tradition. Smith gained a small following in the late 1820s as he was dictating the Book of Mormon, which he said was a translation of words found on a set of golden plates that had been buried near his home in western New York by an indigenous American prophet. Smith said he had been in contact with an angel Moroni, who showed him the plates' location and had been preparing him for a role as a religious leader.

On April 6, 1830, in western New York, Smith organized the religion's first legal church entity, the Church of Christ. The church rapidly gained a following, who viewed Smith as a prophet. In the 1830s, missionaries from the church converted thousands of new members and established outposts in Kirtland, Ohio and Missouri, where Smith intended to build a "city of Zion". In 1838, Smith left Kirtland to Missouri after being charged with improper banking practices during the financial panic of 1837. In Missouri, a war with non-Mormon settlers soon ensued, leading to the church's official expulsion from Missouri.

After Missouri, the church built the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, where Smith served as the city's mayor and leader of the militia. As church leader, Smith also instated the then-secret practice of plural marriage, and taught a form of theocratic Millennialism which he called "theodemocracy". As a result of public disagreement over these two issues, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith (second in line to the presidency), were assassinated on June 27, 1844 by an angry mob.

After Smith's death, a succession crisis ensued, and the majority of Smith's followers chose Brigham Young as their leader. Young had been a close associate of Smith's and was senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve. Other groups of Latter Day Saints followed other leaders, and formed some of the other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.

The theology of the LDS Church consists of a mixture of Biblical doctrines with revelations and other commentary by LDS leaders, particularly Joseph Smith, Jr. The most authoritative sources of theology are the faith's canon of scripture, which includes the Bible (usually the Authorized King James Version), the Book of Mormon (a book said to be translated from buried golden plates that the faith characterizes as "Another Testament of Jesus Christ"), the Doctrine and Covenants (a set of revelations), and the Pearl of Great Price (including further translations by Smith and church historical items). These are called the faith's Standard Works. Of these books, the church holds the Book of Mormon in highest regard as "the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of [their] religion".[26] The Bible is accepted as "the word of God as far as it is translated correctly".[27] Deeper and less-known LDS doctrines may be found in the remaining two works, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Sometimes, parts of an translation of the Bible by Joseph Smith, Jr. is considered authoritative, and some excerpts have been included in the Pearl of Great Price.

Other sources of doctrine include the LDS Endowment ceremony, as well as statements by LDS leaders. The church teaches that its top leaders (general authorities) are prophets, and that their advice usually originates from God through The Holy Ghost.

Some members of the church are encouraged to serve as missionaries, either full-time, part-time or as "service" missionaries. All missionaries serve on a volunteer basis, and none are paid for their service. While members are encouraged to serve as missionaries, there is no requirement to do so.

Unmarried young men between the ages of 19 and 25 who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood and meet standards of worthiness and preparation are especially encouraged to serve a two-year, full-time proselytizing mission. These are the backbone of the worldwide missionary effort. Women who desire to serve a mission must be at least 21 and unmarried, and are generally called to serve 18-month missions. A would-be missionary must request that he or she be considered for service, then must go through interviews with church authorities to determine worthiness and ability to perform the duties. Once this is done, they "put in their papers," then wait to see where they will be called to serve. Full-time missionaries may be called to serve anywhere in the world, and often know nothing about the mission area that they will be assigned to. If necessary, they will be taught the language they must use. Missionaries are expected to pay their own expenses (though some are partially supported by other church members, especially if they come from less-affluent areas). With few exceptions, a missionary will serve the entire period of his or her calling in one mission, but will be moved around within the mission boundaries. Exceptions may include missionaries who develop health problems while on their missions and wish to continue to serve by being transferred to a mission close to home, or those in areas that impose length-of-stay limits on foreign "workers." Also, sister missionaries called to the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission spend approximately three months "in the field" somewhere else in the United States.

Retired married couples and other older people are allowed to serve missions as well, and their length of service varies from three to 36 months. Many of these older missionaries are on "service missions," rather than proselyting, but many also serve at church historical sites throughout the world or where there is a special need. There are approximately 350 missions worldwide with approximately 53,000 full-time proselytizing missionaries. At any given time, there are also over 3,000 service missionaries, serving as health care specialists, doctors, craftsmen, artisans, construction supervisors, agricultural experts and educators for developing countries, and educators, historians, family history researchers, and leadership trainers. Missions often overlap in their geographical areas of authority, when necessary to serve portions of the resident population. For instance, within the bounds of one mission might also be special missions serving a foreign-speaking immigrant community, inner-city areas, historical sites, Welfare Program resources such as storehouses and farms, etc., and even missions specifically created for a unique project, such as temple construction or making films for the church. These special missions are generally in addition to the approximately 350 missions mentioned above, and number in the hundreds.

Every full-time and service missionary is the responsibility of a Mission President and his wife, who are generally called for several years at a time (and, like the missionaries they lead, they pay their own way). They provide administration of day-to-day operations, as well as spiritual guidance of the missionaries. The exceptions are part-time missionaries who are serving in their own neighborhoods under the direction of their Bishop or Branch President.