United_Order_Family_of_Christ

United Order Family of Christ

United Order Family of Christ

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The United Order Family of Christ was a schismatic sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which was founded in 1966 in Denver, Colorado by David-Edward Desmond and existed until at least 1973−1974.[1][2][3]

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The United Order Family of Christ was founded specifically for young gay men only, ages 18 to 30.[4]: 380  Because they practiced a uniquely Mormon form of communalism[5] called the United Order in which they held "everything in common", Desmond affirmed that the Family was "not for the great majority of the Gay LDS". Desmond's title as the President of the Church was First Key. He may have solemnized same-sex marriages between people in his congregation.

This Mormon schismatic church was the third gay Christian church founded in the United States, the first being a Catholic schism founded by Father George Hyde in 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia and called the Eucharistic Catholic Church, which later moved to New York City. The second is the Metropolitan Community Church founded by the Reverend Troy D. Perry in 1968 in Los Angeles. Desmond's Homosexual Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lasted at least until 1973, when Desmond was still corresponding with David C. Martin (then editor of the Restoration Reporter), and probably until 1974.[4]: 438 [6]

David Edward Desmond

David E. Desmond was born in 1940 in Spokane, Washington to 19-year-old Joyce Betty Grasty and her husband Desmond (first name unknown). He married Sally Jo Hathaway from Costa Mesa, California in the St. George Utah Temple on December 8, 1965, though they presumably separated shortly after.[7] He lived in Denver, Colorado during the 1960s and 1970s. He died on May 11, 1983 in Pullman, Washington.[8] Grace Lutheran Church's Reverend Vernon Johnson held the funeral and he was buried in Fairmount Memorial Park, Spokane, Washington.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Hurteau, Pierre (2013). Male Homosexualities and World Religions (English Softcover Reprint ed.). New York City: St. Martins Press, LLC. p. 122. ISBN 9781137369888.
  2. [2]
    Shields, Steven L. (2001). Divergent Paths of the Restoration: A History of the Latter-day Saint Movement. Herald House. p. 100. ISBN 0830905693. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  3. [3]
    The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization. AltaMira Press. July 23, 2002. p. 107. ISBN 075910204X. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  4. [4]
    Michael Quinn, D. (June 2001). Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth Century Americans. ISBN 9780252069581.
  5. [5]
    Mohrman, Katherine A. (June 2017). Exceptionally Queer: Mormon Peculiarity and US Exceptionalism (PDF) (PhD). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Twin Cities. p. 335. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Gay Mormon Case Studies-United Family of Christ". Gaymormon.com. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  7. [7]
    "Details For Marriage ID#589396". BYU-Idaho Special Collections. Western States Marriages Index.
  8. [8]
    "Death Index 1907-1960 & 1965-2017; Desmond, David". Washington State Archives. Washington State Department of Health.

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