Tag: Gay

  • Thin Line

    Thin Line

    Excerpt from a June 12 2019 Church Educational System Training Broadcast. Talk by Jeffrey R. Holland, ‘Angels and Astonishment’: 1

    As the world becomes increasingly secular, we must learn how to be ever more helpful and exemplary for our young men and women who have to defend their faith while living in a culture that often denies it or, worse yet, demeans it. The gap between our faithful young people and the sometimes-antagonistic world around them is, at least as an overall generalization, widening with every passing day. That is, of course, “a given” in the prophecies of the latter days, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to address nor any more fun to face. In this little summary of the world, our students are endearingly referred to as Generation Z because of certain characteristcs. These characteristics highlight some of our challenges in teaching:2

    They are always wired to something. “They’ve never known a world without the internet, or cell phones [or ear buds]. … Google has always existed [for them].”  They may never have seen a rotary dial telephone or made a call from something called a booth. But that’s okay because this group prefers to text anyway.

    Through this ubiquitous electronic network, they have been exposed to flagrant, destructive pornography at very, very early ages.

    They tend to “[support] gay marriage and transgender rights … [as] part of everyday life. It would be rare for a Z to not have a [close] friend from the LGBT community.”4 Because of this sociability, the thin line between friendship and condoning behavior begins to blur and to be difficult to draw.

    “They’re post-Christian. Almost a quarter,” (these are not our LDS students, but they are in fact the world that we’re looking at), “Almost a quarter (23 percent) of America’s adults—and a third of millennials—are ‘nones,’ claiming no religious identity at all. Many Zs are growing up in homes where there’s no religion whatsoever, [giving them] no experience [and no context for] religion [in their own lives].” 

    A recent study into Australian teens’ attitudes toward religion made headlines for its findings that 52 percent of them do not identify with any religion and only 37 percent believe in God. 

    Pastor and author James Emery White has written extensively on their spiritual circumstance. He said, “First, they are lost. They are not simply living in and being shaped by a post-Christian cultural context. They do not even have a memory of the gospel [or a gospel context]. The degree of spiritual illiteracy is simply stunning. … [Second], they are leaderless. Little if any direction is coming from their families, and even less from their attempts to access guidance from the internet.” 

    According to an article published in USA Today, Generation Z is the loneliest subgroup we have known in society.  The article cited a 2010 BYU study that concluded (quote), “Loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making it even more dangerous than obesity.” 

    Around 53 percent of 13-year-old American girls are unhappy with their bodies. This number grows to 78 percent by the time girls reach 17, still ours. Over 50 percent of teen girls and 30 percent of teen boys use unhealthy weight-control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives. 

    Lastly, they have short attention spans. Some report the average attention span for Zs is about eight seconds.  I would have lost them in the first three bullets we have shown here.

    Well, seminary and institute teachers are not going to solve all of these problems overnight, but the Brethren do look to you to be well-versed, well-prepared, spiritually in tune, and significantly able to address questions on these issues when they arise and to deal with them if you have to in real time. With your midweek contact, you are more accessible to students than almost all of the other teachers in the Church are able to be, so be wise in how you do it, but be certain that the Brethren do want and expect you to help—formally and informally, in class and out—in teaching the policies, and practices, and doctrines of the Church.

    References

    References
    1 ‘Angels and Astonishment’, June 12 2019 Church Educational System Training Broadcast, Jeffrey R. Holland – https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/broadcasts/article/satellite-training-broadcast/2019/06/14holland
  • Culture of Evil

    Culture of Evil

    Excerpt from a June 11, 2019 BYU Hawaii Devotional by Dallin H. Oaks: 1

    We live in stressful times.  For some young people the stresses are financial:  loss of employment or home or financial security.  For others, the stresses are associated with painful separations from those we love, such as caused by divorce of parents or other threats to personal security.  We also have the challenge of living in a godless and increasingly amoral generation.  More and more publicized voices deny or doubt the existence of God.  More and more support the idea that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made and can be accepted or rejected as one chooses, each person being free to decide for himself or herself what is right and wrong.

    Along with these challenges—and caused by them—we are confronted by a culture of evil and personal wickedness in the world.  This includes:

    Dishonesty

    Pornography

    Perversions

    The diminishing of marriage and childbearing

    The increasing frequency and power of the culture and phenomenon of lesbian, gay, and transgender lifestyles and values

    Finally, you live in a culture that focuses on individual rights and desires rather than the responsibilities and cooperative efforts that have built our societies.

    References

  • Revelation

    Revelation

    Excerpt from a Young Adult Devotional talk by Russell M. Nelson, January 10, 2016: 1

    This prophetic process was followed in 2012 with the change in minimum age for missionaries and again with the recent additions to the Church’s handbook, consequent to the legalization of same-sex marriage in some countries. Filled with compassion for all, and especially for the children, we wrestled at length to understand the Lord’s will in this matter. Ever mindful of God’s plan of salvation and of His hope for eternal life for each of His children, we considered countless permutations and combinations of possible scenarios that could arise. We met repeatedly in the temple in fasting and prayer and sought further direction and inspiration. And then, when the Lord inspired His prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, to declare the mind of the Lord and the will of the Lord, each of us during that sacred moment felt a spiritual confirmation. It was our privilege as Apostles to sustain what had been revealed to President Monson. Revelation from the Lord to His servants is a sacred process, and so is your privilege of receiving personal revelation.

    Excerpt from a ‘A Message from the First Presidency’, First Presidency Shares Messages from General Conference Leadership Session, 4 April 2019: 2

    At the direction of the First Presidency, President Oaks shared that effective immediately, children of parents who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender may be baptized without First Presidency approval if the custodial parents give permission for the baptism and understand both the doctrine that a baptized child will be taught and the covenants he or she will be expected to make.

    A nonmember parent or parents (including LGBT parents) can request that their baby be blessed by a worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holder. These parents need to understand that congregation members will contact them periodically, and that when the child who has been blessed reaches 8 years of age, a Church member will contact them and propose that the child be baptized.

    Previously, our handbook characterized same-gender marriage by a member as apostasy. While we still consider such a marriage to be a serious transgression, it will not be treated as apostasy for purposes of Church discipline. Instead, the immoral conduct in heterosexual or homosexual relationships will be treated in the same way.

    The very positive policies announced this morning should help affected families. In addition, our members’ efforts to show more understanding, compassion and love should increase respect and understanding among all people of goodwill. We want to reduce the hate and contention so common today. We are optimistic that a majority of people — whatever their beliefs and orientations — long for better understanding and less contentious communications. That is surely our desire, and we seek the help of our members and others to attain it.

    These new policies are being sent to priesthood leaders worldwide and will be included in online updates to our Church handbook for leaders. These changes do not represent a shift in Church doctrine related to marriage or the commandments of God in regard to chastity and morality. The doctrine of the plan of salvation and the importance of chastity will not change. These policy changes come after an extended period of counseling with our brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and after fervent, united prayer to understand the will of the Lord on these matters.

    References

    References
    1 Becoming True Millennials, Russell M. Nelson, January 10, 2016 – https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-devotionals/2016/01/becoming-true-millennials?lang=eng
    2 First Presidency Shares Messages from General Conference Leadership Session, 4 April 2019 – https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/first-presidency-messages-general-conference-leadership-session-april-2019
  • 2018 General Conference

    2018 General Conference

    Information taken from ‘October 2018 General Conference’ on LDS.org: 1

    Saturday Morning Session
    Russell M. Nelson — 6:37
    Quentin L. Cook — 16:13
    M. Joseph Brough — 9:51
    Steven R. Bangerter — 11:11
    Ronald A. Rasband — 15:41
    David A. Bednar — 15:45
    Dallin H. Oaks — 15:48

    Saturday Afternoon Session
    D. Todd Christofferson — 15:09
    Dean M. Davies — 12:17
    Ulisses Soares — 14:35
    Gerrit W. Gong — 14:46
    Paul B. Pieper — 11:54
    Dieter F. Uchtdorf — 19:38

    General Women’s Session
    Joy D. Jones — 11:53
    Michelle Craig — 11:57
    Cristina B. Franco — 10:57
    Henry B. Eyring — 14:02
    Dallin H. Oaks — 13:14
    Russell M. Nelson — 16:18

    Sunday Morning Session
    M. Russell Ballard — 15:19
    Bonnie H. Cordon — 12:29
    Jeffrey R. Holland — 16:12
    Shayne M. Bowen — 11:50
    Neil L. Andersen — 15:37
    Russell M. Nelson — 15:43

    Sunday Afternoon Session
    Henry B. Eyring — 15:59
    Brian K. Ashton — 10:17
    Robert C. Gay — 10:24
    Matthew L. Carpenter — 10:58
    Dale G. Renlund — 13:48
    Jack N. Gerard — 11:09
    Gary E. Stevenson — 15:10
    Russell M. Nelson — 8:02

    Totals
    29 Males | 393:25 Min
    4 Females | 47:16 Min

    References

    References
    1 October 2018 General Conference – https://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng
  • Families

    Families

    Excerpt from, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” by Chieko N. Okazaki: 1

    I don’t think I’m going out very far on a limb to say that I know that you either have someone in your family with at least some of these problems or you know somebody has some these problems. This is what real families deal with the real world. And they don’t stop being families.

    A divorced family is not a broken family. It’s a family with a particular set of circumstances that it needs to work with. A family with a gay child is not a failed family. It’s a family with a member who needs special love and understanding and who has love and understanding to give back. A family with a pregnant teenager is not a dysfunctional family. It’s a family with a complex set of decisions to make.

    References

  • Same Logic

    Same Logic

    Excerpt from an October 1990 General Conference address by Apostle Boyd K. Packer: 1

    Gay and Lesbian Rights
    “Several publications are now being circulated about the Church which defend and promote gay or lesbian conduct. They wrest the scriptures attempting to prove that these impulses are inborn, cannot be overcome, and should not be resisted; and therefore, such conduct has a morality of its own. They quote scriptures to justify perverted acts between consenting adults. That same logic would justify incest or the molesting of little children of either gender. Neither the letter nor the spirit of moral law condones any such conduct.”

    References

    References
    1 Covenants, October 1990 General Conference – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/covenants?lang=eng
  • Dangers

    Dangers

    Excerpt from an address by Apostle Boyd K. Packer, ‘All-Church Coordinating Council’, May 18, 1993: 1

    “The dangers I speak of come from the gay-lesbian movement, the feminist movement (both of which are relatively new), and the ever-present challenge from the so-called scholars or intellectuals. Our local leaders must deal with all three of them with ever-increasing frequency. In each case, the members who are hurting have the conviction that the Church somehow is doing something wrong 12 members or that the Church is not doing enough for them.

    To illustrate, I will quote briefly from letters on each of those subjects. They are chosen from among many letters which have arrived in the last few weeks. These have arrived in just the last few days.

    The Gay/Lesbian Challenge

    The first is from a young man, possibly a gay rights activist:
    “May 3rd marks my 18th year in the Church. As a gay Mormon, I have witnessed and experienced first-hand during those eighteen years what it’s like to be homosexual in a Church which is sometimes less than accepting of its gay members. My experiences have run the range from incredible, Spirit-filled and loving encounters with members, Bishops and Stake Presidents to a laughable run-in with a departing Mission President. May I share with you some of the more permanent and meaningful memories?”

    After a page or two of those, he said:
    “So in a spirit of friendship I offer that which I have to give–the life experience of a gay Mormon. At your convenience I would be happy to meet with you to discuss the issues facing gay Latter-day Saints and the Church. The purpose for meeting is not to debate, or to presumptively call you to repentance, or to be called to repentance myself for being gay. The point is to meet together and share what we have for the good of The Kingdom and the furthering of the Will of the Lord here on Earth.”

    The Feminist Movement

    The next quotation is from a woman who is hurting, and perhaps wonders if anyone but the feminists care about her problems:

    “I’m upset that I was always advised to go back and try harder only to get abused more.I need some comfort, I need solace, need hope, need to know Heavenly Father sees all I have endured. What hope do I have for a chance to live with Heavenly Father? If temple marriage is the key to the celestial [kingdom], where am I? Outside gnashing my teeth for eternity? Help me.”

    The Scholars

    The last is from a self-described intellectual:
    “My concern is that the Brethren are contending with the church’s own scholars…. In the Catholic Church, the great scholar’s efforts were used by the Church to refine and strengthen the doctrine (St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, for example). In our Church, the scholars are put down, even banished [and he names three of them, and they would be names all of whom you would know].

    Once again I extend an offer to you to be a peacemaker between the Brethren and the scholars, if you wish me to attempt it, since I know so many in both groups. More than that, I understand the mind-sets of both groups. These letters and hundreds more are from members who are hurting or leaders who are worried.”

     

    References

    References
    1 ‘All-Church Coordinating Council’, Boyd K. Packer (May 18, 1993) – http://emp.byui.edu/HUFFR/All%20Church%20Coordinating%20Council–Boyd%20K.%20Packer.htm
  • New Horizons for Homosexuals

    New Horizons for Homosexuals

    Excerpt from Spencer W. Kimball’s 1971 pamphlet ‘New Horizons for Homosexuals’:1

    So long as you tolerate this “gay world” and its degenerate people, you are in a very desperate situation and you are playing with fire just like a child who might be pounding a bomb with a hammer.

    Homosexuality can be cured if the battle is well organized and pursued vigorously and continuously.

    References

  • Manly Things

    Manly Things

    Excerpt from Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference, February 15, 2014:[footnote]Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks[/footnote]

    Q. How do you help a young man or young woman who comes in and says “I think that I’m gay“?

    A. Elder Perry. Give them association with manly things, strong men that represent the ideal of relationships, a man who is vigorous and knows the power he holds.

     


    Crash Course:

    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths
    Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks

  • Courage

    Courage

    Image: Video of 12 year old gay Mormon youth sharing her testimony, told to ‘sit down’ after coming out to her congregation (Mormon Leaks). 

    Savannah’s testimony:

    My name is Savannah and I want to share my testimony with you.

    I believe I am a child of heavenly parents. I don’t know if they talk to us, but I feel in my heart that they made me and that they love me. I believe I was made the way I am, all parts of me, by my heavenly parents.

    They did not mess up when they gave me brown eyes, or when I was born bald. They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay. God loves me just this way because I believe that he loves all his creations.

    I do believe he made this way on purpose, not part of me is a mistake.

    I do not choose to be this way, and it is not a fad. I cannot make someone else gay and being around me won’t make anyone else this way. I believe that God wants us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different, especially if they are different. Christ showed us this.

    I believe that we should just love. I believe I am good. I try my best to be nice to each other and stick up for those that are hurting. I know I’m not a horrible sinner for being who I am. I believe God would tell me if I was wrong.

    I hope someday to go on dates, go to school dances, to hold hands and to go off to college. I hope to find a partner and have a great job. I hope to get married and have a family.

    I know these dreams and wishes are good and right. I know I can have all of these things as a lesbian and be happy. I believe that if God is there, he knows I am perfect, just the way I am and would never ask me to live my life alone or with someone I am not attracted to.

    He would want me to be happy. I want to be happy. I want to love myself and not to feel shame for being me. I ask you…

    At this point the first counselor of the stake presidency cut Savannah’s microphone and told her to “sit down“


    Crash Course:

    12-year-old girl comes out to her Mormon congregation – CNN
    How one Mormon girl’s brave coming out started a national conversation – Mashable
    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths

  • Proposition 8

    Proposition 8

    Image: Elder Lance Wickman – LDS General Authority

    Elder Lance Wickman in a 2012 interview speaking about the LDS churches involvement in the California Proposition 8 amendment against marriage equality: [footnote]Elder Wickman – Thoughts on Proposition 8[/footnote]

    “The first thought that comes to my mind is the shear heroism of our members in California, and others who stood up with them to defend marriage. They truly were heroic, metal of honor service as far as I am concerned. Almost in the same vein, contrary to what some may think it was the members not the church, yes the First Presidency of the church sent a letter that was read in sacrament meeting urging members to get involved, and thats all that was needed and they were galvanized by it.”

    From The Daily Dot, March 23, 2017[footnote]The long crusade: How the Mormon Church continues to war against gay marriage – The Daily Dot[/footnote]:

    New documents released by the transparency website MormonLeaks allege that LDS leaders did more than give their members pizza to encourage them to volunteer: The church’s leadership was directly involved in ongoing efforts to block marriage equality. And it continues to advocate for discrimination against the LGBTQ community, here and abroad, even despite recent attempts to build bridges with queer people.

    Training materials, presentation documents, and emails shared exclusively with the Daily Dot suggest even stronger ties between the Mormon Church and anti-marriage efforts than what has previously been alleged. After conservatives successfully passed Prop 8, a report from the Wall Street Journal claimed that the LDS Church provided volunteers and financial donations to the campaign. But the new materials suggest that the effort was directly supervised by members of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, its highest leadership board.

    Titled “Proposition 8 Grassroots Program,” a PowerPoint presentation leaked to the site was what leaders used to train supervisors assigned to man phone-banking and door-to-door efforts. An organizational chart in the document suggests that Elder John C. Dalton, a member of his area’s Quorum of the Seventy, directly facilitated political organizing for Prop 8, serving as state chairman. In his role, Dalton oversaw campaign leadership, as well as communicating with bishops and the presidents of local stakes, the LDS term for a group of churches that share the same district.

    Directly supervising Dalton were two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Elders M. Russell Ballard and Quentin L. Cook. L. Whitney Clayton, senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy, also served as his superior.

    On Oct. 28, 2008, Dalton reached out directly to the team just days before the campaign to wish them luck and tell volunteers to press onward. It is this email that speaks directly to these leaders’ direct involvement in Prop 8 organizing.

    “We have been able to make hundreds of thousands of phone calls, rallies, bus tours, outreach programs on campuses and a host of other community activities,” Dalton wrote. “And all this has been done by your volunteer efforts and the members of your wards, branches, and institutes. I congratulate you on your dedication and faithfulness. Each evening as Elder Clayton and the statewide leadership conference call on Prop 8, you are uppermost in our minds and hearts. How proud we are to be associated with all of you.”

    The “Operations Manual” for the Prop 8 campaign further points to constant contact between elders and local churches to compel voters to show up at the ballot box that November. The manual, which was specifically for the Santa Monica area, opens with a quote from Edmund Burke—which was previously invoked by President Gordon B. Hinckley in a speech condemning pornography and “sex perversion.” It offers a statement of purpose for the campaign: “All that is required for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.”

    Image: Page from the LDS “Proposition 8 Grassroots Program” training presentation – Organization Chart[footnote]‘Proposition 8 Grassroots Program’ Training Presentation – Mormon Leaks[/footnote]

     

    Crash Course:

  • Homosexual Addiction

    Homosexual Addiction

    In 1981 Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. Of the First Quorum of the Seventy gave an address titled ‘Turning the Hearts'[footnote] Turning the Hearts, Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. – LDS.org [/footnote].

    The more controversial elements such as birth control and homosexuality were later censored from the textual version of the address on LDS.org, though the audio version remains complete. Some of the discrepancies include:

    “I consider it a great honor and a privilege to greet you this afternoon *in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.*” The *part* was edited out.

    At 1:21 (after the words “very serious attack today all over the world”), he talks about birth control and the destruction of families. About 53 seconds of the talk was cut out of the text.

    At 2:24 (after the words “the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee”), another 24 seconds is missing from the text. He remarks on the destruction of families by “those who represent the so-called ‘alternate lifestyle’” and decries vasectomies.

    At 4:58 (after the words “keep it from being ‘wasted’ when the Lord comes”), 28 seconds was edited out of the text. He said: ‘I have often wondered how or why the earth would be wasted if children’s hearts are not turned to their fathers. Today, it’s very clear for all to see. When the Lord comes, if He finds nothing but birth control, abortions, sterilizations, and homosexuals, the Earth is wasted.’

    At 6:46 (after the words “when they see what a great blessing they were to you,” which are different in the text for some reason), another 28 seconds was edited out of the text. He said: ‘If children have a happy family experience, they will not want to be homosexuals, which I am sure is an acquired addiction, just as drugs, alcohol, and pornography are. The promoters of homosexuality say they were born that way, but I do not believe this is true. There are no female spirits trapped in male bodies and vice versa. He who made them made them male and female. Every form of homosexuality is sin, said the living prophet Spencer W. Kimball.’

    Crash Course:

    Turning the Hearts, Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. – LDS.org

    Mormon and Gay – Official LDS Website

    MamaDragons – We are a supportive group of mothers. We are shelter for their children. We are champions of faith, family, and LGBTQIA communities.

    Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Wikipedia