Beyond Heteronormativity: The Queer Struggle for Mormon Identity in the 1980s and 90s

In 1985, a new Mormon sect was formed in the western United States—The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ (RCJC). This group represented a radical departure from the traditional teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), offering an inclusive form of Mormonism designed specifically for those rejected by the larger LDS Church, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. The formation of RCJC was a direct response to the increasing marginalization of queer Mormons, who had long struggled to reconcile their sexual identities with their faith. Leaders of RCJC contended that the LDS Church was failing in its responsibility to “preach the gospel to all people,” a central tenet of Mormon belief.[i] By discouraging missionaries from teaching queer individuals and condemning non-heterosexual relationships, the LDS Church was seen by RCJC as failing to embody the gospel's inclusive message. The result was the creation of a new religious space, one that embraced the LGBTQ+ community and allowed queer Mormons to live authentically in accordance with their faith.

This paper focuses on the history and development of the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, which was initially founded under the name the Church of Jesus Christ of All Latter-Day Saints. By examining the RCJC's formation and practices, I aim to provide an in-depth analysis of the intersection of Mormonism, gender, and sexuality in the late twentieth century. The RCJC emerged during a time when the cultural and religious landscapes in the United States were undergoing significant shifts, particularly in relation to changing attitudes toward sexuality, identity, and gender. During the 1980s and 90s, queer Mormons grappled with what it meant to be both Mormon and queer, seeking spaces where they could navigate the complexities of their identities without abandoning their faith. Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons, a national organization founded in the late 1970s, provided one such space. It offered queer Mormons an opportunity to explore the relationship between their gender, sexuality, and religious identity in an environment that acknowledged their challenges and offered solidarity. However, within Affirmation, debates often arose over the degree to which the organization should retain a distinctly Mormon identity. Some members argued that Affirmation was too closely tied to Mormon orthodoxy, while others believed it was insufficiently connected to the faith’s teachings. This tension over what it meant for an organization to be “Mormon enough” led some members to seek a more defined and unapologetically Mormon expression of queer religious practice, leading to the creation of the RCJC.

The Los Angeles chapter of Affirmation played a pivotal role in the establishment of RCJC. A group of disillusioned queer Mormons, including early church leaders José Antonio Feliz, Pamela Calkins, and Robert McIntier, decided to form a new religious community that would continue to perform Mormon priesthood ordinances while embracing queer identities. These leaders, alongside other queer Mormons, held Family Home Evenings (FHEs), Sacrament meetings, and even temple ordinances, including sealings between same-gendered couples. The RCJC utilized a transportable PVC tabernacle to carry out its religious rituals and maintained a sense of continuity with traditional Mormon practices, despite its rejection of certain LDS Church teachings. 

These rituals and theological debates reflect a continued commitment to a shared Mormon cultural heritage, even as RCJC positioned itself as a distinct breakaway faction from the LDS Church. Like many earlier Mormon breakoff factions, RCJC recognized the LDS Church as holding certain truths and authority, but it also critiqued the Church as a flawed institution that failed to live up to its moral and spiritual obligations. RCJC’s emphasis on preaching the gospel to all people, especially queer individuals, was a direct challenge to the exclusionary practices of the LDS Church. By reinterpreting Mormon teachings in a way that embraced LGBT people, RCJC strove to create a more inclusive and just version of Mormonism—one that did not demand the abandonment of one's sexual identity in order to be accepted into the faith community.

This paper approaches Mormon history from a queer theoretical perspective. By employing the frameworks of queer theory and queer-of-color critique, I aim to shed light on the various ways in which queer Mormons navigated their religious and sexual identities in the face of both religious orthodoxy and social stigmatization. This project asks: how did queer Mormons make sense of their identities as both Mormon and queer? How did they forge a new space within the Mormon tradition that both affirmed their queerness and allowed them to maintain a sense of belonging in the Mormon faith? In addressing these questions, I draw upon the work of scholars such as Peter Coviello in Make Yourselves Gods (2019) and K. Mohrman in Exceptionally Queer (2022), whose studies offer valuable insights into the entangled histories of sexuality and Mormonism. This paper is part of a larger research project that seeks to understand the ways in which changing sexual norms, including those imposed by the rising Religious Right, shaped Mormon sexualities in the late twentieth century.

The primary research method for this paper is archival research, including the examination of the “Affirmation: The Gay and Lesbian Mormon Records, 1977-2010” and the “Utah Pride Center Records, 1976-2001,” which are housed at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. These documents offer invaluable insight into the history of queer Mormon activism and the development of organizations like Affirmation and the RCJC. Through this archival analysis, I hope to illuminate how queer Mormons in the 1980s and 90s navigated the complexities of their religious and sexual identities, offering a new chapter in the history of Mormonism that challenges traditional notions of faith, sexuality, and identity.

[i] Latter-day Saints frequently use Mark 16:15, Revelation 14:6, and D&C 88:103 to argue that the gospel should be preached to all “kindred, tongue, and people.”