LDS cancels meeting with Mormon gays

Just a few months ago, many gay Mormons eagerly awaited a historic meeting with the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Now, just days before the scheduled gathering, the LDS church is saying, “Never mind.”

David Melson, assistant executive director of Affirmation, an organization of gay and lesbian Mormons, received correspondence stating: “After much consideration, we have determined that it would be best to postpone our anticipated meeting on August 11.”

The letter was signed by Fred Riley, one of two people tapped by LDS President Thomas Monson to represent the church.

“We were very disappointed,” Melson said.

The church’s explanation, Melson said, was that Riley is being reassigned to another post, and that the meeting would be rescheduled after a new Family Services Commissioner is named in three to six months.

But Melson has his own thoughts as to why the church backed out: the debate over same-sex marriage in California, where Mormon churches have urged their 750,000 members to support a constitutional ban on the November ballot.

“The church is playing hardball right now,” Melson said. “And a meeting with us would be inconsistent with that position.”