conservative church – LDS – to support Dan Reynolds’ LoveLoud Festival for LGBTQ youths
An unlikely supporter of Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds‘ concert which “benefits at-risk LGBTQ youths” LoveLoud Festival has emerged – from all places – the church!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a statement in support of the concert. It is quite unusual because of the church’s reservation on the issue of same-sex marriage.
The LoveLoud Festival which will be held Aug. 26 at Utah Valley University’s Brent Brown Ballpark and features Imagine Dragons and Neon Trees, two bands whose paths to stardom began in Utah, could be the church’s way of restoring its popularity, especially amongst the LGBTQ after 2016 mass resignation by members and heavy criticism the church has suffered, over anti-LGBT beliefs of the church.
Even Reynolds, who launched the event, also has been strong in his criticism of the LDS Church stance on gay members. The Grammy Award-winning singer told Billboard magazine in June that his church’s stance was “very dangerous and hurtful and hateful thing to preach and to teach our children.”
While we will like more than anything to be objective, an open support by a very conservative church brings uneasiness. Nevertheless, the same church had updated its website to include more statements of love and acceptance for gay members, while holding to its behavioral standards in 2016. Therefore, this might just be another move in countering the criticisms it has suffered in the previous year.
The question now is, should the church so openly indulge such practice in a bid to show it is adapting a more liberal approach in dealing with the LGBTQ? Can we say this is an act of love or is the church simply conceding to pressure?
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