"People who are attracted to members of their own sex can change."

Elder Bruce C. Hafen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, spoke at the 19th annual conference of Evergreen International; a nonprofit group that helps Mormons "overcome homosexual behavior" and "diminish same-sex attraction." The event was held at the LDS Church's Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City.

Hafen spent a large portion of his talk, held during a Sunday-like service, criticizing the gay-rights movement and denying a biological link to sexual orientation. Same-sex attraction is "not in your DNA," he said.

"Only the restored gospel has the fulness of these truths! Yet the adversary is engaged in one of history’s greatest cover-ups, trying to persuade people that this Church knows least—when in fact it knows most—about how our relationship with Christ makes true Christians of us."

Some Mormon Church observers view a recent speech by a church elder, who likened homosexuality to a mental illness, as a "big step backwards" in its efforts to adopt a more tolerant stance on gay issues. "The church has a long way to go to get into the 21st century," said Gary Watts, a Provo, Utah, physician. "They're making incremental movements. What Hafen has done is take them back 25 years." A spokesman for Mormons would not say whether the comments by general authority Bruce C. Hafen represented the church or whether its policies toward gays had changed.