A while back, I became good friends via the internet, with a young trans woman in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Her openness about her transition played a significanhttps://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/08/19/lds-church-updates-transgender/t role in my corresponding transition, which was in its earliest stages at the time.

Mostly, it was her compelling and tragic back-story that affected me. As most Utahans are, she was raised as a Mormon, a baptized member of the Church of Latter-Days Saints (LDS). I admit to having little knowledge about that specific religion. I never knew a Mormon, nor had I really thought much about its teachings. To me, it was at best a vaguely-understood, curious sect, which had built a magnificent tabernacle housing a great choir, and basically controlled Utah's politics and laws. Oh, and Mitt Romney was one of its most prominent members.

But for my Utahan trans friend, Mormonism affected every aspect of her life. Her parents, particularly her father, were active members prior to their divorce. Like many of us, she felt feminine and early in life, began exhibiting feminine behavior: dressing like a girl, playing with dolls, etc.

This behavior greatly disturbed her father, who sent her to a conversion therapy camp. This was a humiliating and tortuous experience for my friend and the fact that it didn't change her behavior, infuriated her father. Soon after, my friend was subjected to ongoing sexual abuse by a family member. She didn't identify who the culprit was, but the abuse was ongoing for a while until the abuser was found out and sent to prison.

My traumatize friend struggled through her early teens, ashamed and confused by her sexuality. She was outed when she tried to kiss a boy during a sleepover, so she overcompensated and began dating a girl in her class. At age 17, she impregnated this girl and they married.

As a young couple, they had three more children, all the while, my friend desperately trying to tamp down her feminine side. Eventually, she came out to her spouse, who shared that she had similar male feelings. At that point, my friend decided to openly begin her transition to a woman, while her spouse became transitioning to a trans man.

Although they stayed the best of friends, the two divorced, as they pressures put on them by their families was too much for them to bear as a couple. It was soon after that I met my friend in an online forum.

The reason why I related her story to you in such detail, is because of this recent publication of the newest edition of the General Handbook for the Church of Latter-Day Saints. In brief, the changes made were not good for transgender members.

As noted in an article from the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, dated August 19, 2024:

"The updates — released Monday along with additional guidance on temple garments, a new responsibility for teenage girls and other topics — reaffirm the church's stance that gender, which it defines as biological sex at birth, is 'an essential characteristic in Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness' and that leaders should discourage individuals from transitioning in any form."

Previously, the LDS Church left it up to "leanings of bishops (lay leaders of congregations) and stake presidents (lay regional leaders)," to determine how to treat trans members. This latest version of their General Handbook doesn't allow for such discretion and specifies the treatment.

• Individuals are instructed to attend gender-specific meetings and activities that align with their assigned sex at birth.

• Individuals who have transitioned in any way — whether surgically, medically or socially — cannot work with children, serve as teachers in their congregation or fill any gender-specific assignments...

• When it comes to gender-specific overnight activities such as youth camps, individuals can attend only those that align with their assigned sex at birth.

• In the case of other overnight activities...[such as] youth conferences, those who have transitioned in any way will be released at the end of the day to a guardian responsible for arranging accommodations.

• [Transgender] members should use a single-occupancy restroom when available. If unavailable, they can counsel with leaders to find an alternative solution. Examples suggested include people using the restroom that aligns with their assigned sex at birth or one that corresponds to the individual’s “feeling of their inner sense of gender, with a trusted person ensuring that others are not using the restroom at the same time."

Furthermore, "Only those who have not transitioned in any way can be baptized and confirmed...cannot receive [permission] to enter the church’s temples...[and are] forbidden from receiving or exercising the all-male priesthood."

In summary, transgender Mormons are non-persons.

Of course, such edicts exist in various form in other religions, both officially and unofficially. What makes the LDS guidelines spelled out in their General Handbook so sobering, is that the expressed mindset will affect not just those within the confines of that church, but ALL transgender people living in the state of Utah, as Mormonism is basically the state religion. Any individual Mormon feeling sympathetic to the transgender community is jeopardizing their own standing both within the church and among their neighbors.

I know from my friend that there are transgender activists in Utah who have been making a valiant effort to keep the LDS' teachings and the state's laws separate, but it is a constant battle. While Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed into law a bill banning conversion camp therapy in 2023, that same year he also approved a trans health care ban.

The battle for recognition and respect and fair treatment for our community is being fought on many fronts and against many enemies. While Utah is over 1,600 miles away from where I sit right now, the prevailing mindset in that state is amongst us here, too.

Remain aware, stay vigilant and become involved. Our complacency is the best weapon of our foes.

--- Anni