Brody's Notes... LDS Church Extends Extraordinary Act Of Goodwill To LGBTQ Community Leaders

By Mark Singer (Washington DC) DEC 23 | A Salt Lake City, Utah television station, ABCNews4, reported that on Saturday, December 18th, the LDS Church had invited several prominent Utah Gay leaders to its annual Christmas concert in the city's historic Mormon Temple, including Academy Award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who received an Oscar in 2008 for his screenplay 'Milk,' a Gus Van Sant film about slain LGBTQ equality rights icon, slain San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk.

Black, who grew up in a Mormon household, told ABCNews4's Chris Vanocur, in a lengthy phone conversation,  that it was "a honor" to see the concert and it was an, "extraordinary act of goodwill." He also said conversation has been started between the gay community and the Church and that, “both sides are trying to find common ground.”
The station first learned of the story after a picture was a published on Facebook, which  Bruce Bastian and Jim Dabakis, both prominent Utah gay activists, are pictured standing either side of Black Saturday at the LDS Church's Christmas concert.
In a written release after ABCNews4 ran the story, the LDS Church stated:

"The Church frequently extends invitations to social events to community leaders representing a variety of views, beliefs and organizations."

Vanocur also reports that sources indicate the LDS Church might also be willing to make even more of an outreach in the future. This could, perhaps, include helping to provide homeless gay youths with shelter and support.