Tag: Pornography

  • We hear him v1

    We hear him v1

    April 2 2020 instagram Post, Church of Jesus Christ:1

    When we hear His servants, we hear Him. 

    Listen to the words of the Savior at general conference. 

    General Conference talk given by Hartman Rector Jr., ‘Turning the Hearts’, April 1981: 2

    “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.”

    References

    References
    1 April 2 2020 instagram Post, Church of Jesus Christ – https://www.instagram.com/p/B-ejqIxnKRj/
    2 Turning the Hearts, Hartman Rector Jr, April 1981 General Conference – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/04/turning-the-hearts?lang=eng
  • 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

  • Editing 2

    Editing 2

    General Conference talk given by Boyd K. Packer, ‘Cleansing the Inner Vessel’, October 2010:1

    Note: Bolded are the parts of the talk given in the original address, not appearing in written format on the official LDS church website.

    This general conference was convened at a time when there is such confusion and such danger that our young people hardly know which way they can walk. Having been warned through the revelations that it would be this way, the prophets and apostles have always been shown what to do.

    The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith “that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world.” When the keys were restored, they provided priesthood authority to be present in every home through the grandfathers, the fathers, and the sons.

    Fifteen years ago, with the world in turmoil, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the fifth proclamation in the history of the Church. It qualifies according to the definition as a revelation, and it is a guide that members of the Church would do well to read and to follow.

    It states in part: “We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

    “The Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.

    “And the Gods said: We will bless them. And … we will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.”

    This commandment has never been rescinded.

    “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”

    It is intended that we be happy, for “men are, that they might have joy.”

    Lehi taught that men are free and must be “free … to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day.”

    The old saying “The Lord is voting for me, and Lucifer is voting against me, but it is my vote that counts” describes a doctrinal certainty that our agency is more powerful than the adversary’s will. Agency is precious. We can foolishly, blindly give it away, but it cannot be forcibly taken from us.

    There is also an age-old excuse: “The devil made me do it.” Not so! He can deceive you and mislead you, but he does not have the power to force you or anyone else to transgress or to keep you in transgression.

    To be entrusted with the power to create life carries with it the greatest of joys and dangerous temptations. The gift of mortal life and the capacity to kindle other lives is a supernal blessing. Through the righteous exercise of this power, as in nothing else, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fulness of joy. This power is not an incidental part of the plan of happiness. It is the key—the very key.

    Whether we use this power as the eternal laws require or reject its divine purpose will forever determine what we will become. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

    There is something very liberating when an individual determines of his or her own free will to be obedient to our Father and our God and expresses that willingness to Him in prayer.

    When we obey, we can enjoy these powers in the covenant of marriage. From our fountains of life will spring our children, our family. Love between husband and wife can be constant and bring fulfillment and contentment all the days of our lives.

    If one is denied these blessings in mortality, the promise is that they will be provided for in the world to come.

    Pure love presupposes that only after a pledge of eternal fidelity, a legal and a lawful ceremony, and ideally after the sealing ordinance in the temple, are those life-giving powers released for the full expression of love. It is to be shared only and solely between man and woman, husband and wife, with that one who is our companion forever. On this the gospel is very plain.

    We are free to ignore the commandments, but when the revelations speak in such blunt terms, such as “thou shalt not,” we had better pay attention.

    The adversary is jealous toward all who have power to beget life. Satan cannot beget life; he is impotent. “He seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” He seeks to degrade the righteous use of the life-giving powers by tempting you into immoral relationships.

    The Lord used the expression “is like unto” to create an image His followers could understand, such as:

    “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man.”

    “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field.”

    In our day the dreadful influence of pornography is like unto a plague sweeping across the world, infecting one here and one there, relentlessly trying to invade every home, most frequently through the husband and father. The effect of this plague can be, unfortunately often is, spiritually fatal. Lucifer seeks to disrupt “the great plan of redemption,” “the great plan of happiness.”

    Pornography will always repel the Spirit of Christ and will interrupt the communications between our Heavenly Father and His children and disrupt the tender relationship between husband and wife.

    The priesthood holds consummate power. It can protect you from the plague of pornography—and it is a plague—if you are succumbing to its influence. If one is obedient, the priesthood can show how to break a habit and even erase an addiction. Holders of the priesthood have that authority and should employ it to combat cast out these evil influences.

    We raise an alarm and warn members of the Church to wake up and understand what is going on. Parents, be alert, ever watchful that this wickedness might threaten your family circle.

    We teach a standard of moral conduct that will protect us from Satan’s many substitutes or counterfeits for marriage. We must understand that any persuasion to enter into any relationship that is not in harmony with the principles of the gospel must be wrong. From the Book of Mormon we learn that “wickedness never was happiness.”

    Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations tendencies toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone. Remember, God He is our Heavenly Father.

    Paul promised that “God … will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You can, if you will, break the habits and conquer an addiction and come away from that which is not worthy of any member of the Church. As Alma cautioned, we must “watch and pray continually.”

    Isaiah warned, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

    Years ago I visited a school in Albuquerque. The teacher told me about a youngster who brought a kitten to class. As you can imagine, that disrupted everything. She had him hold the kitten up in front of the children.

    It went well until one of the children asked, “Is it a boy kitty or a girl kitty?”

    Not wanting to get into that lesson, the teacher said, “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a kitty.”

    But they persisted. Finally, one boy raised his hand and said, “I know how you can tell.”

    Resigned to face it, the teacher said, “How can you tell?”

    And the student answered, “You can vote on it!”

    You may laugh at this story, but if we are not alert, there are those today who not only tolerate but advocate voting to change laws that would legalize immorality, as if a vote would somehow alter the designs of God’s laws and nature. A law against nature would be impossible to enforce. For instance, what good would a vote against the law of gravity do?

    There are both moral and physical laws “irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world” that cannot be changed. History demonstrates over and over again that moral standards cannot be changed by battle and cannot be changed by ballot. To legalize that which is basically wrong or evil will not prevent the pain and penalties that will follow as surely as night follows day.

    Regardless of the opposition, we are determined to stay on course. We will hold to the principles and laws and ordinances of the gospel. If they are misunderstood either innocently or willfully, so be it. We cannot change; we will not change the moral standard. We quickly lose our way when we disobey the laws of God. If we do not protect and foster the family, civilization and our liberties must needs perish.

    “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”

    Every soul confined in a prison of sin, guilt, or perversion has a key to the gate. The key is labeled “repentance.” If you know how to use this key, the adversary cannot hold you. The twin principles of repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the awesome power of the tempter. If you are bound by a habit or an addiction that is unworthy, you must stop conduct that is harmful. Angels will coach you, and priesthood leaders will guide you through those difficult times.

    Nowhere are the generosity and the kindness and mercy of God more manifest than in repentance. Do you understand the consummate cleansing power of the Atonement made by the Son of God, our Savior, our Redeemer? He said, “I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.” In that supernal act of love, the Savior paid the penalties for our sins so that we might not have to pay.

    For those who truly desire it, there is a way back. Repentance is like unto a detergent. Even ground-in stains of sin will come out.

    Priesthood holders carry with them the antidote to remove the terrible images of pornography and to wash away guilt. The priesthood has the power to unlock the influence of our habits, even to unchain from addiction, however tight the grip. It can heal over the scars of past mistakes.

    I know of no more beautiful and consoling words in all of revelation than these: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”

    Sometimes, even after confession and paying penalties, the most difficult part of repentance is to forgive one’s self. You must come to know that forgiveness means forgiveness.

    “As often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.”

    President Joseph Fielding Smith told me of a repentant woman struggling to find her way out of a very immoral life. She asked him what she should do now.

    In turn, he asked her to read to him from the Old Testament the account of Lot’s wife, who was turned to a pillar of salt. Then he asked her, “What lesson do you gain from those verses?”

    She answered, “The Lord will destroy the wicked.”

    “Not so!” President Smith said that the lesson for this repentant woman and for you is “Don’t look back!”

    Strangely enough, it may be that the simplest and most powerful prevention and cure for pornography, or any unclean act, is to ignore and avoid it. Delete from the mind any unworthy thought that tries to take root. Once you have decided to remain clean, you are asserting your God-given agency. And then, as President Smith counseled, “Don’t look back.”

    I promise that ahead of you is peace and happiness for you and your family. The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is that a man and his wife and their children can be happy at home. And I invoke the blessings of the Lord upon you who are struggling against this terrible plague, to find the healing that is available to us in the priesthood of the Lord. I bear witness of that power in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

    References

    References
    1 ‘Cleansing the Inner Vessel’, October 2010 General Conference, Boyd K. Packer – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/04/turning-the-hearts?lang=eng
  • Editing

    Editing

    General Conference talk given by Hartman Rector Jr., ‘Turning the Hearts’, April 1981:1

    Note: Bolded are the parts of the talk given in the original address, not appearing in written format on the official LDS church website.

    I consider it a great honor and a privilege to greet you this afternoon in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am sure the Lord is much concerned about the families of the earth today.

    The family is the basic unit of society, and more importantly it is the basic unit of exaltation. It seems that nothing is more important to the Lord than a family. He has designed the greatest blessings for His children to be received through families, and the temple, of course, is the means of creating these eternal, exalted families.

    I believe that families are under a more serious attack today than at any time since the beginning of the world, with the possible exception of the days of Noah. It must have been bad then too. Maybe we today are not quite as bad as they were. Moses recorded in the Book of Genesis: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5.) I don’t believe I have ever known anyone quite that bad, whose “every thought was evil continually.”

    The Lord further indicated that all flesh was corrupt in those days, and so he brought forth the flood and destroyed all flesh except Noah and his family. Therefore, we are all descendants of righteous Noah. But the family concept is under very serious attack today all over the world.

    In many countries of the world today birth control is practiced. In some countries only one child per family is permitted. This is controlled through birth control, abortion and sterilization. If a second child is born the government takes it to rear. Since the real strength of a nation is in her families, I fear that such restrictions will literally destroy these nations. A documentary for TV was produced recently where it was shown that old people are dying for lack of love and attention. It seem s that children no longer care enough for their aged parents to visit them. Well, why should they anyway. The government takes care of them so why should the children bother with that chore. Today some governments pay full time employees to do nothing but visit their old people. It appears that this is one of the hidden evils which destroy families. Children no longer have to worry about their parents in their old age, so they completely neglect them.

    The Lord said from Mt. Sinai, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” (Ex. 20:12.) There’s precious little honor shown as children not even visit their parents. Of course we’re not lily white in this area here in the United States either. In 1980 was the year of the family here in the US of A. There were White House conferences held on the family in Maryland, Minnesota, and California, with delegates chosen from each state. In most states there was an attempt to get a resolution passed by the state convention, defining the family as any group of people living together. Not the traditional father, mother, children relationship but any group of people living together. And whom do you supposed would sponsor such a resolution. Is those who represent the so-called alternate lifestyle. Birth control is rampant. Sterilization, vasectomies increase annually. The statistics on abortion in the United States are mind boggling. For example, abortions will kill over 2 million babies in the next 12 months. Which amounts to three abortions every 60 seconds. Abortions kill more Americans in one year than all the wars did from Valley Forge to Vietnam. 8 Million American babies have been slaughtered since January the 22nd 1973 when the Supreme Court legalized abortion. Over 3 million dollars of American tax payers money will be used to pay for government funded abortions this year. How frightening.

    As I mentioned earlier we seem to have conditions today similar to those Noah faced; and the Lord speaks of smiting the earth with a curse, as happened at the time of the flood, and this will happen if there is not a turning of “the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” (Mal. 4:6.)

    There are those who feel that this turning of the hearts is strictly Elijah’s job, but in Doctrine and Covenants 98:16 [D&C 98:16] the Lord seems to give us that assignment. He said, “Seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children.”
    Elijah came and delivered the keys, but the Lord looks to us to do the work. In a little plainer translation of the Malachi scripture, the Lord said:
    “Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
    “And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
    “If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” (D&C 2:1–3; see also JS—H 1:38–39.)

    We, then, are in the very serious business of attempting to save the earth or to keep it from being “wasted” when the Lord comes. I have often wondered how or why the earth would be wasted if Children’s hearts did not turn to their fathers. Today is very clear for all to see. When the Lord comes if he finds nothing but birth control, abortion, sterilization, homosexuals the earth is wasted. What was the purpose of his creation anyway. The Lord said “we would go down for there is space there, and we will take of these materials and make an earth, whereon theses” meaning all of us “may dwell.” This earth was created so God the Father would have a place to send His children to receive bodies of flesh and bones and prove themselves. If we will no longer permit the Lord to send his children to this earth, then the earth is wasted, and as in the days of the flood He will surely destroy it.
    So what must we do? We must follow the living prophet, for herein is our only safety. He says, among other things:

    1. Complete four-generation family records and as far beyond as you can go.

    2. Write a personal and family history.

    3. Perform a reasonable number of temple ordinances by attending the temple as often as is practical.

    I personally believe that the writing of personal and family histories will do more to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to children than almost anything we can do. I am sure you will never turn your own children’s hearts more to you than you will by keeping a journal and writing your personal history. They will ultimately love to find out about your successes and your failures and your peculiarities. It will tell them a lot about themselves, too. They will get a great desire to raise a family of their own when they see what a great blessing they were to you.

    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.

    Also, I seriously doubt that you will ever turn your own heart more to your own fathers than by writing your family history. You must know a lot about them before you can write it. This will lead you to much in-depth research. I promise you will love them when you become acquainted with them. They were noble people, and they sacrificed much to give you the heritage you have today. They deserve the best you can give them, which of course is membership in the Church and the kingdom of God and the sealing of their loved ones to them.

    I am convinced that these records we are commanded to write are absolutely vital, not only to the salvation of our ancestors but also to ours, for are we not to be judged out of the books which John saw were to be opened, as recorded in Revelation 20:12 [Rev. 20:12]?

    “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

    After quoting this verse from Revelation, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 128:7–8 [D&C 128:7–8]:
    “You will discover in this quotation that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which was the book of life; but the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works; consequently, the books spoken of must be the books which contained the record of their works, and refer to the records which are kept on the earth. …

    “Now, the nature of this ordinance consists in the power of the priesthood, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Or, in other words, taking a different view of the translation, whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and whatsoever you do not record on earth shall not be recorded in heaven; for out of the books shall your dead be judged.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.)
    Sometimes we feel we just don’t have time to write in our journals. I wonder. President Kimball stood before the World Conference on Records last August and said: “By now, in my own personal history, I have managed to fill seventy-eight large volumes, which are my personal journal. There have been times when I have been so tired at the end of a day that the effort could hardly be managed, but I am so grateful that I have not let slip away from me and my posterity those things which needed to be recorded.” (Ensign, Oct. 1980, p. 72.)

    I am convinced that it is not what we have done here upon the earth that will condemn us at the last day; it is what we have not done that will ultimately stand to judge us. Why? Well the bad things we have done we can repent of and because the Lord Jesus Christ paid for these sins they will be blotted out. So they obviously won’t hurt us. The good things we have done we should record in our journals and personal history and the good things surely won’t hurt us. But the things we have not done, how do we repent of them. It’s what we should have done, and didn’t do, that will constitute our judgment.

    Is there any wonder the prophet Joseph said, “The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. Those saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation.” (Teachings of the Prophet, p. 193.)

    To become a savior on Mount Zion, then, goes far beyond the performance of the temple ordinance. It encompasses the personal and family history as well as the four-generation-and-beyond research—plus participation in the extraction program.

    Of course, none of this would mean very much if we did not have a holy house in which to perform this work. In this sense, temple building then becomes the most important work of this dispensation. How glorious to live upon the earth at this time and have part in the grand work of rearing the Lord’s house in nations around the world so the saving ordinances of the gospel and the ties that bind eternal families may be made available to all the children of the earth! Surely we are the most blessed people who have ever lived, to which I bear witness in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.

    Gary Bergera wrote to Elder Rector inquiring about the difference between the published version of his talk and the version reported in the Deseret News, Church News, and Salt Lake Tribune. Elder Rector replied in a hand-written note: 2

    “Sometimes it is not expedient to make people angry by telling them in too plain terms what their problems are. … Also the church [is] hoping to gain entrance into communist China so didn’t want to make waves,” according to an article in Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought. “I presume a combination of things made the First Presidency decide to eliminate certain portions of my remarks even tho’ they had received and cleared the talk before it was given. It is OK. They know best. However, what was said is still true.”

    (Gary J. Bergera, Letter to Hartman Rector, 11 May 1981; undated response handwritten on the bottom of the letter by Hartman Rector.)

    References

    References
    1 Turning the Hearts, Hartman Rector Jr, April 1981 General Conference – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/04/turning-the-hearts?lang=eng
    2 The LDS conference sermon you read online may not match the words spoken from the pulpit — a look at why speeches are sometimes ‘corrected’, The Salt Lake Tribune – https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/12/17/lds-conference-sermon/
  • Good Name

    Good Name

    Letter from the Houston Texas South Stake to Sam Young regarding disciplinary action: 1

    Dear Sam,

    This letter is a formal notice that the stake presidency will convene a formal disciplinary council in your behalf, the result of which includes the possibility of excommunication, disfellowshipment, formal probation, or no action. The reason for this council is that you are reported to have acted repeatedly in clear, open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders. You have, among other things:

    Encouraged others to vote opposed to Church leaders.
    Organized more than one public “action” that expressed opposition to the Church or its leaders.

    We will convene the council at 6pm on Sunday, September 9 at the Lexington Building in the stake offices. If you are not able to attend at this date and time, please let me know as soon as practicable.

    You are invited to attend this disciplinary council to give your response to the above. Although we welcome your attendance, it is not required; you may also submit your response in writing. Whether you attend is of course your choice.

    Disciplinary councils are sacred, confidential, ecclesiastical proceedings. If you do choose to attend your attendance and participation are conditioned upon your agreement to respect the process and abide by the standards governing the proceeding, including the following conditions:

    Everyone who attends the council including you and me, will sign an acknowledgment that the council will be conducted privately and confidentially and will not be recorded in any form. Anyone unwilling to do so will not be allowed to be present at the council. If you decline, you will not be allowed to be present, and any statement on your behalf to the council will have to the submitted in writing.
    You may call witnesses, one at a time, whose testimony is relevant to the issues I have set out above. However, any such witnesses must be identified to me in writing by name, ward and stake, at least three days in advance. You must also provide to me, in advance and in writing, a description of the subject matter on which they will testify and the content of their testimony. In order to offer testimony, witnesses must be members of the Church in good standing. I will abide by these same rules in regards to any witnesses that I may call.
    Any proposed testimony from witnesses must relate to the specific issues described above.
    I anticipate that it will take about 15 minutes for the evidence in support of the above issues to be presented to the council. You will be afforded three times that, or 45 minutes, to give your response.

    As mentioned above, if you choose not to attend the council in person, you may submit a written response that will be read to the council. I will read your statement word-for-word, without any comment from me, for up to 45 minutes.

    I feel inclined to let you know that, if it is your ultimate desire and if you wish to avoid this process entirely you have the option to request that your name be removed from the records of the Church. If you should make such a request, the council will be cancelled, and I will work with you to supply all of the information that you need to bring about that result.

    Sam, I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves you. We are his children. His work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I know that His son Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan to help us return to Him and live with our family forever. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real. He is our Savior and Redeemer. No matter the course you decide to take in this life, and no matter the outcome of this disciplinary council, as His representative in the stake where you reside, I stand ready to help you and your family in any way that I can. I will be here to meet with you and to work with you to help stregnthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. My hope is that you will choose to change your course and to return to the covenant path.

    Sincerely,

    President Houston Texas South Stake

    An August 30, 2018 Newsweek article, ‘MORMON BISHOP SAM YOUNG FACING EXCOMMUNICATION FOR WANTING TO STOP SEXUALLY EXPLICIT INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN’: 2

    Sam Young, a former Mormon bishop who staged a 23-day hunger strike in protest of the church’s policy to conduct one-on-one interviews with children involving sexually explicit questions, has been warned he faces being excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    Young, founder of Protect LDS Children, has been a constant critic of the church’s practice of allowing Mormon leaders to interview children and youths alone.

    Young believes many of the questions posed in the interviews are inappropriate. It is common for the leaders, often bishops, to ask the children about their sexual experience such as masturbation or viewing pornography in what is known as a “worthiness interview.”

    In July, Young began a 23-day hunger strike in order to raise awareness of the issue and urge the church to scrap the interviews.

    Young has now received a letter from the church delivered by “two long-term friends” which warns he faces possible excommunication during an upcoming disciplinary council meeting.

    “The reason for this council is that you are reported to have acted repeatedly in clear, open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders,” the letter says. The letter accuses Young of encouraging others to vote in opposition to the church leaders and organizing more than one public “action” to oppose the church.

    “Fast 23 days. Stand up to protect children. Speak out against a dreadful policy. Work to help the healing of countless kids who were severely wounded behind closed doors. Document the horrors. Apologize,” Young wrote in a blog post after receiving the letter. “And what do you get? Excommunication! After all, we are the Mormons. At least we used to be.”

    Young is not required to attend the hearing on September 9 and may submit his response in writing. It is not known what action he is deciding to take.

    Before staging the hunger strike, Young led a march of hundreds to deliver a petition signed by more than 55,000 people demanding an end to the one-on-one interviews.

    In June, the church announced they have updated their guidelines on interviews with children as a result of Young’s national exposure.

    Under a section entitled “Protecting Against Misunderstandings,” the church said children should now ask a parent or another adult to be in an adjoining room, foyer, or hall during the interview. The child can now also ask that another adult be invited to be present during the interview. “Leaders should avoid all circumstances that could be misunderstood,” the guidelines say.

    A list of simplified questions that should be asked to determine the child’s worthiness were also made public, including “do you live the law of chastity?” and “have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?”

    “Leaders adapt the discussion to the understanding and questions of the youth,” the guidelines state. “They ensure that discussions about moral cleanliness do not encourage curiosity or experimentation.”

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    From ‘Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops’, Church Discipline and Name Removal, 6.1: 3

    The purposes of Church discipline are (1) to save the souls of transgressors, (2) to protect the innocent, and (3) to safeguard the purity, integrity, and good name of the Church.

    References

  • Excommunication

    Excommunication

    Letter from the Houston Texas South Stake to Sam Young regarding disciplinary action: 1

    Dear Sam,

    This letter is a formal notice that the stake presidency will convene a formal disciplinary council in your behalf, the result of which includes the possibility of excommunication, disfellowshipment, formal probation, or no action. The reason for this council is that you are reported to have acted repeatedly in clear, open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders. You have, among other things:

    Encouraged others to vote opposed to Church leaders.
    Organized more than one public “action” that expressed opposition to the Church or its leaders.

    We will convene the council at 6pm on Sunday, September 9 at the Lexington Building in the stake offices. If you are not able to attend at this date and time, please let me know as soon as practicable.

    You are invited to attend this disciplinary council to give your response to the above. Although we welcome your attendance, it is not required; you may also submit your response in writing. Whether you attend is of course your choice.

    Disciplinary councils are sacred, confidential, ecclesiastical proceedings. If you do choose to attend your attendance and participation are conditioned upon your agreement to respect the process and abide by the standards governing the proceeding, including the following conditions:

    Everyone who attends the council including you and me, will sign an acknowledgment that the council will be conducted privately and confidentially and will not be recorded in any form. Anyone unwilling to do so will not be allowed to be present at the council. If you decline, you will not be allowed to be present, and any statement on your behalf to the council will have to the submitted in writing.
    You may call witnesses, one at a time, whose testimony is relevant to the issues I have set out above. However, any such witnesses must be identified to me in writing by name, ward and stake, at least three days in advance. You must also provide to me, in advance and in writing, a description of the subject matter on which they will testify and the content of their testimony. In order to offer testimony, witnesses must be members of the Church in good standing. I will abide by these same rules in regards to any witnesses that I may call.
    Any proposed testimony from witnesses must relate to the specific issues described above.
    I anticipate that it will take about 15 minutes for the evidence in support of the above issues to be presented to the council. You will be afforded three times that, or 45 minutes, to give your response.

    As mentioned above, if you choose not to attend the council in person, you may submit a written response that will be read to the council. I will read your statement word-for-word, without any comment from me, for up to 45 minutes.

    I feel inclined to let you know that, if it is your ultimate desire and if you wish to avoid this process entirely you have the option to request that your name be removed from the records of the Church. If you should make such a request, the council will be cancelled, and I will work with you to supply all of the information that you need to bring about that result.

    Sam, I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves you. We are his children. His work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I know that His son Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan to help us return to Him and live with our family forever. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real. He is our Savior and Redeemer. No matter the course you decide to take in this life, and no matter the outcome of this disciplinary council, as His representative in the stake where you reside, I stand ready to help you and your family in any way that I can. I will be here to meet with you and to work with you to help stregnthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. My hope is that you will choose to change your course and to return to the covenant path.

    Sincerely,

    President Houston Texas South Stake

    An August 30, 2018 Newsweek article, ‘MORMON BISHOP SAM YOUNG FACING EXCOMMUNICATION FOR WANTING TO STOP SEXUALLY EXPLICIT INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN’: 2

    Sam Young, a former Mormon bishop who staged a 23-day hunger strike in protest of the church’s policy to conduct one-on-one interviews with children involving sexually explicit questions, has been warned he faces being excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    Young, founder of Protect LDS Children, has been a constant critic of the church’s practice of allowing Mormon leaders to interview children and youths alone.

    Young believes many of the questions posed in the interviews are inappropriate. It is common for the leaders, often bishops, to ask the children about their sexual experience such as masturbation or viewing pornography in what is known as a “worthiness interview.”

    In July, Young began a 23-day hunger strike in order to raise awareness of the issue and urge the church to scrap the interviews.

    Young has now received a letter from the church delivered by “two long-term friends” which warns he faces possible excommunication during an upcoming disciplinary council meeting.

    “The reason for this council is that you are reported to have acted repeatedly in clear, open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders,” the letter says. The letter accuses Young of encouraging others to vote in opposition to the church leaders and organizing more than one public “action” to oppose the church.

    “Fast 23 days. Stand up to protect children. Speak out against a dreadful policy. Work to help the healing of countless kids who were severely wounded behind closed doors. Document the horrors. Apologize,” Young wrote in a blog post after receiving the letter. “And what do you get? Excommunication! After all, we are the Mormons. At least we used to be.”

    Young is not required to attend the hearing on September 9 and may submit his response in writing. It is not known what action he is deciding to take.

    Before staging the hunger strike, Young led a march of hundreds to deliver a petition signed by more than 55,000 people demanding an end to the one-on-one interviews.

    In June, the church announced they have updated their guidelines on interviews with children as a result of Young’s national exposure.

    Under a section entitled “Protecting Against Misunderstandings,” the church said children should now ask a parent or another adult to be in an adjoining room, foyer, or hall during the interview. The child can now also ask that another adult be invited to be present during the interview. “Leaders should avoid all circumstances that could be misunderstood,” the guidelines say.

    A list of simplified questions that should be asked to determine the child’s worthiness were also made public, including “do you live the law of chastity?” and “have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?”

    “Leaders adapt the discussion to the understanding and questions of the youth,” the guidelines state. “They ensure that discussions about moral cleanliness do not encourage curiosity or experimentation.”

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Excerpt from a 2007 interview by PBS with Dallin H. Oaks, ‘Mormons’: 3

    “It’s wrong to criticize leaders of the church, even if the criticism is true.”

    Excerpt from a February, 1987 Ensign article by Dallin H. Oaks, ‘Criticism’:
    4

    “Criticism is particularly objectionable when it is directed toward Church authorities, general or local. Jude condemns those who ‘speak evil of dignities.’ (Jude 1:8.) Evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed is in a class by itself. It is one thing to depreciate a person who exercises corporate power or even government power. It is quite another thing to criticize or depreciate a person for the performance of an office to which he or she has been called of God. It does not matter that the criticism is true. As Elder George F. Richards, President of the Council of the Twelve, said in a conference address in April 1947,

    “‘When we say anything bad about the leaders of the Church, whether true or false, we tend to impair their influence and their usefulness and are thus working against the Lord and his cause.’ (In Conference Report, Apr. 1947, p. 24.)”

    …

    Excerpt from ‘The Lord’s Way’ by Dallin H. Oaks, Pub. 1991: 5

    “Government or corporate officials, who are directly or indirectly elected or appointed by majority vote, must expect that their performance will be subject to critical and public evaluations by their constituents. That is part of the process of informing those who have the right and power of selection or removal. The same is true of popularly elected officers in professional, community, and other private organizations. I suppose the same is true of religious leaders who are selected by popular vote of members or their representative bodies. Consistent with gospel standards, these evaluations, though critical and public, should be constructive.

    A different principle applies in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the selection of leaders if based on revelation, subject to the sustaining vote of members. In our system of church government, evil-speaking or criticism of leaders by members is always negative. As President George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve said in a conference address in April 1947: “When we say anything bad about the leaders of the Church, whether true or false, we tend to impair their influence and their usefulness and are thus working against the Lord and his cause.” This is why the Holy Ghost will not guide or confirm criticism of the Lord’s anointed or of church leaders, local or general. This is why we are commanded and counseled to refrain from criticism of church leaders. It is for our own spiritual well-being.

    The Lord’s command to avoid criticism, faultfinding, and evil-speaking will never be welcome in a society where controversy is a popular form of entertainment, where opposition is institutionalized, and where personal criticism is commonplace. Some Latter-day Saints do not understand and accept the reality that the institution of “loyal opposition,” which serves a valuable purpose in a democracy governed by the majority, is a contradiction of terms when applied to a theocracy. Some also do not understand that the faultfinding is spiritually destructive to those who engage in it, and that members who engage in personal criticism of church leaders isolate themselves from the Spirit of the Lord. There are ways to differ with the church leaders, but they are the Lord’s ways, not the world’s ways.”

    References

    References
    1 Excommunication Notice, Tocubit Is Invisible’s Cubit – https://invisiblescubit.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/excommunication-notice/
    2 MORMON BISHOP SAM YOUNG FACING EXCOMMUNICATION FOR WANTING TO STOP SEXUALLY EXPLICIT INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN – https://www.newsweek.com/mormon-bishop-sam-young-excommunication-sexually-explicit-children-interviews-1096856
    3 Dallin H. Oaks as featured on PBS Mormons 2007 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxyiHLg59ks
    4 Criticism – https://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/02/criticism?lang=eng
    5 ‘The Lord’s Way’ by Dallin H. Oaks, Pub. 1991 – https://deseretbook.com/p/lords-way-dallin-h-oaks-2997?variant_id=108461-paperback
  • Opposition

    Opposition

    Letter from the Houston Texas South Stake to Sam Young regarding disciplinary action: 1

    Dear Sam,

    This letter is a formal notice that the stake presidency will convene a formal disciplinary council in your behalf, the result of which includes the possibility of excommunication, disfellowshipment, formal probation, or no action. The reason for this council is that you are reported to have acted repeatedly in clear, open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders. You have, among other things:

    Encouraged others to vote opposed to Church leaders.
    Organized more than one public “action” that expressed opposition to the Church or its leaders.

    We will convene the council at 6pm on Sunday, September 9 at the Lexington Building in the stake offices. If you are not able to attend at this date and time, please let me know as soon as practicable.

    You are invited to attend this disciplinary council to give your response to the above. Although we welcome your attendance, it is not required; you may also submit your response in writing. Whether you attend is of course your choice.

    Disciplinary councils are sacred, confidential, ecclesiastical proceedings. If you do choose to attend your attendance and participation are conditioned upon your agreement to respect the process and abide by the standards governing the proceeding, including the following conditions:

    Everyone who attends the council including you and me, will sign an acknowledgment that the council will be conducted privately and confidentially and will not be recorded in any form. Anyone unwilling to do so will not be allowed to be present at the council. If you decline, you will not be allowed to be present, and any statement on your behalf to the council will have to the submitted in writing.
    You may call witnesses, one at a time, whose testimony is relevant to the issues I have set out above. However, any such witnesses must be identified to me in writing by name, ward and stake, at least three days in advance. You must also provide to me, in advance and in writing, a description of the subject matter on which they will testify and the content of their testimony. In order to offer testimony, witnesses must be members of the Church in good standing. I will abide by these same rules in regards to any witnesses that I may call.
    Any proposed testimony from witnesses must relate to the specific issues described above.
    I anticipate that it will take about 15 minutes for the evidence in support of the above issues to be presented to the council. You will be afforded three times that, or 45 minutes, to give your response.

    As mentioned above, if you choose not to attend the council in person, you may submit a written response that will be read to the council. I will read your statement word-for-word, without any comment from me, for up to 45 minutes.

    I feel inclined to let you know that, if it is your ultimate desire and if you wish to avoid this process entirely you have the option to request that your name be removed from the records of the Church. If you should make such a request, the council will be cancelled, and I will work with you to supply all of the information that you need to bring about that result.

    Sam, I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves you. We are his children. His work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I know that His son Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan to help us return to Him and live with our family forever. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real. He is our Savior and Redeemer. No matter the course you decide to take in this life, and no matter the outcome of this disciplinary council, as His representative in the stake where you reside, I stand ready to help you and your family in any way that I can. I will be here to meet with you and to work with you to help stregnthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. My hope is that you will choose to change your course and to return to the covenant path.

    Sincerely,

    President Houston Texas South Stake

    An August 30, 2018 Newsweek article, ‘MORMON BISHOP SAM YOUNG FACING EXCOMMUNICATION FOR WANTING TO STOP SEXUALLY EXPLICIT INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN’: 2

    Sam Young, a former Mormon bishop who staged a 23-day hunger strike in protest of the church’s policy to conduct one-on-one interviews with children involving sexually explicit questions, has been warned he faces being excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    Young, founder of Protect LDS Children, has been a constant critic of the church’s practice of allowing Mormon leaders to interview children and youths alone.

    Young believes many of the questions posed in the interviews are inappropriate. It is common for the leaders, often bishops, to ask the children about their sexual experience such as masturbation or viewing pornography in what is known as a “worthiness interview.”

    In July, Young began a 23-day hunger strike in order to raise awareness of the issue and urge the church to scrap the interviews.

    Young has now received a letter from the church delivered by “two long-term friends” which warns he faces possible excommunication during an upcoming disciplinary council meeting.

    “The reason for this council is that you are reported to have acted repeatedly in clear, open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders,” the letter says. The letter accuses Young of encouraging others to vote in opposition to the church leaders and organizing more than one public “action” to oppose the church.

    “Fast 23 days. Stand up to protect children. Speak out against a dreadful policy. Work to help the healing of countless kids who were severely wounded behind closed doors. Document the horrors. Apologize,” Young wrote in a blog post after receiving the letter. “And what do you get? Excommunication! After all, we are the Mormons. At least we used to be.”

    Young is not required to attend the hearing on September 9 and may submit his response in writing. It is not known what action he is deciding to take.

    Before staging the hunger strike, Young led a march of hundreds to deliver a petition signed by more than 55,000 people demanding an end to the one-on-one interviews.

    In June, the church announced they have updated their guidelines on interviews with children as a result of Young’s national exposure.

    Under a section entitled “Protecting Against Misunderstandings,” the church said children should now ask a parent or another adult to be in an adjoining room, foyer, or hall during the interview. The child can now also ask that another adult be invited to be present during the interview. “Leaders should avoid all circumstances that could be misunderstood,” the guidelines say.

    A list of simplified questions that should be asked to determine the child’s worthiness were also made public, including “do you live the law of chastity?” and “have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?”

    “Leaders adapt the discussion to the understanding and questions of the youth,” the guidelines state. “They ensure that discussions about moral cleanliness do not encourage curiosity or experimentation.”

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    References

    References
    1 Excommunication Notice, Tocubit Is Invisible’s Cubit – https://invisiblescubit.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/excommunication-notice/
    2 MORMON BISHOP SAM YOUNG FACING EXCOMMUNICATION FOR WANTING TO STOP SEXUALLY EXPLICIT INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN – https://www.newsweek.com/mormon-bishop-sam-young-excommunication-sexually-explicit-children-interviews-1096856
  • 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