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The Church does not recommend marriage for everyone with same-sex attraction. They recommend being and open and honest before marriage, which correlates with scientific evidence for successful marriages. Even outside the church, people with same-sex attraction are marrying an opposites sex partner at rates higher then those who are committing to a same-sex partner.
The Church encourages all of its members to be open and honest with their spouse. (See Same-sex attraction/Honesty) In particular, they have discouraged members with same-sex attraction from using marriage as personal therapy or from lying in order to get married. However, they have said marriage can be appropriate in certain situations. Elder Oaks stated:
Some critics have argued that by creating a culture which allows people with same-sex attraction to enter a marriage with a member of the opposite sex, the Church sets up its members for failure and heart-ache.
Some critics have claimed that it is impossible for a man with same-sex attraction to develop a great attraction for a daughter of God (or a woman with same-sex attraction to develop a great attraction for a son of God) and therefore marriage is impossible and the Church should stop talking about it. This claim does not match up with the anecdotal evidences.
There a few things to consider. First, the term same-sex attraction includes all people who are attracted to the same sex. If they have same-sex attraction and an attraction to someone of the opposite sex, then that would entail some level of bisexuality. There are many people who find their same-sex attractions to be a struggle, but still have an attraction towards the opposite sex. There are also people who have previously never been attracted to the opposite-sex, but have been able to develop an attraction towards their spouse. Likewise, there are people who will never be attracted to someone of the opposite sex. Saying marriage is a possibility for some people with same-sex attraction does not mean all people have the capacity to get married in this life. There is a great variety of ways people experience their sexuality, but regardless of the attractions a person experiences, everyone can live the gospel, either through marriage or celibacy. To say marriage does not work for anyone with same-sex attraction denies the experience of many people.
Marriages where one spouse is attracted to the same sex are more prone to divorce and dissatisfaction. The Church does not recommend marriage in all cases. For example, the Church recommends being open and honest with a spouse before marriage. Research by Buxton found that if a man with same-sex attraction were to enter a marriage without disclosing their attractions, the marriage had a 85% chance of failure within three years after the sexual attractions were discovered.
Most often, the couple choose not to stay together after the disclosure. However, for those who did try to make their marriages work, they found relatively high success rates after being open and honest. The study concluded:
“The significant finding is that about half of those who tried to make their marriages work succeeded, an important figure for couples who are dismayed by the fifteen percent figure to keep in mind. This low figure is based on all marriages where the husband came out.”[2]
On the other hand, research by Kays found that open and honest communication lead to higher rates of stability and satisfaction in marriage. They found that some of the couples "report having a highly satisfying and stable relationship, similar to that of heterosexual marriages."[3]
According to the Straight Spouse Network, there are two million opposite-sex marriages in the United States where one of the spouses is attracted to the same sex. According to The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States, 3.5% of men married to women and 2.1% of women married to men reported same-sex attraction. Those are people who are actually married. Compare that with US Census Bureau's estimate that there are 646,464 same-sex couples in the United States. This includes both those who consider themselves married and those who do not. While marriage may not work for everyone with same-sex attraction, it seems that even in modern America, more people with same-sex attraction choose committed relationships with people of the opposite sex than with those of the same sex.
It is important to note that these figures include everyone who self-reported having same-sex attraction. It does not include those who did not self report same-sex attraction, nor did it distinguish those who are predominately attracted to the same sex from those who are only nominally attracted to the same sex. We do know from anecdotal evidence that there is a significant number of people who reported being exclusively attracted to the same sex before marriage but now report having an attraction to their spouse. We do not know the total number of people who fit in this category.
== Notes == None
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