Group of Mormons Join Utah Pride Parade Again

SALT LAKE CITY -- For a second straight year, a large group of Mormons took part Sunday in the Utah Pride Parade in a show of support for the gay community.

Some 400 people from the grassroots group Mormons Building Bridges marched under a banner reading "Family Reunion" in the annual parade in Salt Lake City.

Last year, their participation marked the first time such a large group of Mormons had joined the parade.

Mormons Building Bridges organizer Erika Munson told The Salt Lake Tribune ( HTTP://BIT.LY/1ASR16Q ) that the group and others have helped change public attitudes toward gay people. She notes bishops no longer excommunicate members who come out.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still teaches its members that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that same-sex relationships are sinful. But the church recently launched a campaign encouraging members to be more compassionate toward gay and lesbian members of the church.