Brigham Young University on Wednesday clarified its honor code, stating that “same-sex romantic behavior” is “not compatible” with the principles of the Mormon college.
The school created confusion in February when it removed the section of its online honor code pertaining to gay relationships. The move came after church leadership updated the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’s 2020 handbook to soften language regarding gay people.
Paul Johnson, the commissioner of the Church Education System, wrote in an open letter to students and faculty at the Mormon-owned BYU that despite “much discussion and some misinterpretation” following the handbook’s change, the school’s stance on gay relationships remains unchanged.
“A foundational doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that ‘marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of his children,” Johnson wrote. “Church leaders have long taught these principles.”
BYU’s honor code contained language prohibiting “all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings.” Its abrupt removal led many students to do things on campus that otherwise would have been banned, such as public same-sex kissing and hand-holding.
BYU later clarified that the code’s removal was only intended to bring the school up-to-date with the Mormon handbook, which, while it did not change its stance on gay marriage or gay relationships, encouraged Mormons to support members who are attempting “to live the law of chastity.”
In a campus-wide email, honor code director Kevin Utt answered student questions about how the school would handle future cases involving gay issues. Utt told students to “encourage” gay students to comply with the code.
“Encourage is not synonymous with ‘turn someone in,'” he wrote. “Encourage is an action that means to give support, confidence or hope to someone. We are all members of the BYU community — thousands of people coming together to develop faith, intellect and character, and we should always reach out in love and support to those around us.”
