As part of what seems to be a trend among Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' members, a group of parents and family members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Mormons have produced a poignant "It Gets Better" video.
The new clip was reportedly released in conjunction with a national conference for LGBT Mormons in Washington D.C. over the weekend and, as Pink News notes, "aims to confront the homophobic image" associated with the Mormon church.
In the video, parents recall emotional struggles of reconciling their faith with having LGBT children. "I remember coming down and seeing my son attempt suicide," one father recalls. "That was hard for a parent." But much of the clip is quite optimistic. "Having gay children has been one of the best things that has happened to me," one mother notes. "I am a better person. Gay people have taught me how to truly love."
The clip's release seems to support what CNN's Dan Merica describes as a recent shift in the Mormon church's stance on the LGBT community. Among those interviewed by Merica was former Mormon bishop Kevin Kloosterman, who likened his much-publicized apology to a crowd of gay and straight Mormons at a November 2011 conference on gay and lesbian issues in Salt Lake City to a "coming out" process of sorts.
All in all, it sounds like a big leap from a group so imminently tied to Prop 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, which has since been declared unconstitutional.
Merica also points to another "It Gets Better" video produced by an LGBT group at Brigham Young University (BYU), where 98 percent of the student body are practicing Mormons, and required to follow an honor code, which includes adherence to dress and grooming standards and abstinence from extramarital sex, among other restrictions.
That video, which has since gone viral, was released earlier this month.
View the BYU clip along with other "It Gets Better" videos below:
