SALT LAKE CITY—After decades of silence, Mormon church officials have agreed to meet with a gay Mormon support group that has sought to forge understanding between the faith’s leaders and its gay members.

In a letter received a couple weeks ago, leaders of Affirmation were invited to meet with Fred M. Riley, commissioner of Family Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Harold C. Brown, the agency’s past commissioner.

“We’re pleased the church is opening up the possibility for dialogue,” said Dave Melson, Affirmation’s assistant executive director. “Affirmation has tried five or six times over the past 31 years to meet with church leaders. This is their second response. The first resulted in platitudes and nothing more.”

In February, just three days after 80-year-old Thomas S. Monson was named president of the 13 million-member church, Affirmation petitioned the new leader to meet and begin an unprecedented conversation about gays in the church.

Riley’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, says he and Brown were asked by Monson to meet with Affirmation on his behalf.

“We believe that is always important to have the opportunity to be given better understanding of your points of view so that the church can appropriately understand your organization and how best to be helpful,” Riley wrote.

The meeting is scheduled for August, Riley confirmed in an email to The Associated Press.

Affirmation has about 2,000 GLBT members worldwide.