Continued from Al

factors involved with homosexuality, and it

no longer recommends traditional marriage
as a solution. Current church doctrine conceming homosexuals can be summarized
as, "Love the sinner, hate the sin."

"There has been progress," Essig said.

....
"Just the mere mention of the word homo- :3
sexuality 20 or 30 years ago would get you 3
in serious trouble."
Despite the changes, though, the church
has continued to make financial contribu-
::
tions to political campaigns that would out-
law same-sex marriage in various states.
0
And it still' disciplines actively gay mem- :-"
hers.
'Their policies are still very. clearcut,"
Essig said. "If we act on being gay like
they act on being straight, we'll be excom
municated."
As a result of church policy, Essig's life,
and the lives of thousands of other Mor
mons, have been defined by conflict - the
conflict between their homosexual feelings,
or the homosexual feelings ofa family
member, and their religion.
ssig heads a group called Reconcilia
tion, which provides Family Home
Evenings for gay Mormons. Two other
Cache natives, Dr. Gary Watts and his wife,
Millie, co-chair Family Fellowship, a sup
port and education group for the families of
gay LDS members. The Wattses have two
ga ' children. Another group, Affirmation,
has 33 chapters throughout the world as
well as an extensive Web site, www.affir
mation.org. Still another group, Gamofites,
is geared toward gay Mormon fathers.
Some people who've been involved with
the groups, like Steve Dunn, the widower
of former Logan High Principal Allison
DUDll, have been excommunicated by the
h for acting on their homosexual feel
refusing to submit to reparative
emp:i. Ot ers. like the Watts' lesbian
ghrer. have chosen to have their names
:-emo :ed from church membership rolls in
order to avoid the disciplinary process.
Others. like the Wattses themselves, remain
members but have become far less active
due to their beliefs. Still others, like Essig,
remain active, faithful members of the
church, fighting for change from
withiQ..
r
'But all a'r alike in ilfai ihei stories'put
human [a,ces, on a;yery,c!otrovrs.ial issue.
The issue is so emotionally arid politically
charged; according to LDS spokesman
Coke Newell, that the church will not even
comment on it beyond providing a written
opinion that was approved in 1999. The
opinion, which consists of statements made
by church President Gordon B. Hinckley,
appears alongside this article.
"Our hearts reach out to those who struggle with feelings of affinity for the same
gender," the opinion begins. "We remember you before the Lord, we sympathize
with you, we regard you as our brothers
and sisters. However, we cannot condone
immoral practices on your part any more
than we cari condone immoral practices on
the part of others."

:1church was absolutely silent and distant to

I.me," he said. "They closed'that door. It was
as ifl had died. ... The church completely
, abandoned us."
In addition to church discipline, the
;'. Dunns faced ostracism from both family
and friends. Dunn said that with the excep
tion of a few couples who remained close,
no on even stopped by to see how he was
'doing.
Fortunately, the Dunns' children were
supportive, and they were able to find com
fort in groups like Family Fellowship. In
fact, despite their difficulties, the Dunns
managed to prosper both personally and
professionally.
"Allison and I went through just an
. extraordinary amount of pain dealing with
this issue, but it made us better people,"
/Dunn said recently, choking back tears dui- /
ing a telephone interview.
, Dunn eventually left USU and became
,an education consultant. Meanwhile, Alli. Ison became principal of Logan High.
I - But the Dunns soon faced another crisis
l1when Allison was diagnosed with cancer in
1996. Steve served as Allison's caretaker
until her death in 2001, and thereafter he
remained in Logan for 18 months before
ccepting a faculty position at Newman
University in Wichita, Kan.
Since then, he has dated men, but hasn't
had any serious relationships.
"I'm just not ready to have that kind of
relationship with someone," he said. "I'm
still not reaqy emotionallv to move on."

'f

Courtesy Jim and Karen_ Blair

Steve and Allison Dunn are shown in the mid-1990s. Allison Dunn later became principal of
Logan High School. Although Steve Dunn was openly gay, the couple stayed married until
'.o.llic:nn',:, rlA::ith from r.ancer in 2001.