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LGBTQA+ Group Struggles For Recognition At Mormon-Run BYU

BYU Campus in Provo, Utah
bikeprovo.org
BYU Campus in Provo, Utah

An LGBTQA+ group at the Mormon church-owned Brigham Young University is trying to get recognition from the school but hasn't had its application approved for three years.

Members of the Understanding Same Gender Attraction group said they feel like they've been strung along by school administrators.

They say their organization would be invaluable for gay students who feel lost and are looking for a community.

The school's associate dean of students Casey Peterson says he's met with the group but worried that recognizing them would hurt other student organizations.

BYU students are held to a strict honor code that forbids physical intimacy that encourages same-sex attraction.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that being attracted to someone of the same sex is not a sin, but acting on it is.