Gay marriage in Utah may be national tipping point

Excerpts of Utah's battle over gay marriage is a sign of a larger shift by Niraj Chokshi and Carol Morello, Washington Post
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A fresh battle over same-sex marriage in conservative Utah, the heart of Mormon country, has offered gay-rights advocates hope that their effort has reached a national tipping point.

The judge who struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban refused to stay his own ruling Monday, beating back the third challenge in two days to his Friday ruling declaring the state's ban unconstitutional. Utah is expected to take its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, but in the meantime hundreds of same-sex couples continued to get married at Salt Lake City's county courthouse.

Official explanation of Race and the Priesthood

Included in the post are:

• Excerpts of Race and the Priesthood, from the Gospel Topics section of LDS.org, the 3rd in a  series of explanatory articles by the church addressing difficult issues in Mormon History
• A few brief observations about the article
• Two speeches by Brigham Young referenced in the article. Because they are not readily available on the Internet in their entirety, they are included here.
• Brigham Young Address, January 23, 1852
• Brigham Young Address, February (January?) 5, 1852