Utilizador:InProgress/Same-sex attraction

Is the church anti-gay?

There was a Georgia Tech gay rights manual that referred to the church as anti-gay. However, a judge ordered that the material be removed because there was no basis for the accusation. ("Judge rules Georgia Tech gay rights manual biased", Associated Press. May 1, 2000) President Hinckley told Larry King in an interview that the church was not anti-gay.

Is the church welcoming to gay people?

The Church welcomes all people who seek the truth and have a desire to know and serve God. President Hinckley has specifically extended this welcome to gay men and women. In 1999, he made the following statement:

"As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church." ^[1]

The Church has published several publications designed to reach out to members with same-sex attractions. The most recent, God Loveth His Children, assures that "No one is, or ever could be, excluded from the circle of God’s love or the extended arms of His Church, for we are all His beloved sons and daughters."^[2] Elder Oaks similarly stated: "Church leaders are sometimes asked whether there is any place in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for persons with homosexual or lesbian susceptibilities or feelings. Of course there is." ^[3]

Many are faithful members of the church. LDS Family Services estimates that there are four or five members in every unit of the Church who is attracted to the same sex.^[4] Their stories and testimonies have been published in the Ensign^[5], are printed in books sold at Deseret Book^[6], are covered by the media^[7][8] and are found on the Internet^[9]. Many have formed unofficial organizations, such as Evergreen, North Star, and Northern Lights. These organizations are composed of people with same-sex attractions who uphold the teachings of the church without reservation. Every year, a member of the quorum of seventies gives a special address at the annual Evergreen Conference.

Is the church affirming of gay people?

Like all of God's children, the church teaches that gay people are beloved sons and daughters of God. God Loveth His Children, a pamphlet produced by the church for Latter-day Saints with same-sex attractions, reads "You are a son or daughter of God, and our hearts reach out to you in warmth and affection. Notwithstanding your present same-gender attractions, you can be happy during this life, lead a morally clean life, perform meaningful service in the Church, enjoy full fellowship with your fellow Saints, and ultimately receive all the blessings of eternal life."^[10]

Every leader of the church who has spoken about homosexuality has affirmed their love for gay people. Here are some of the quotes from leaders of the church. Beginning with Spencer W. Kimball

President Hinckley has affirmed gay members as good people. In a 1995 interview, he said:

"Now we have gays in the church. Good people."^[11]

President Gordon B. Hinckley said "People inquire about our position on those who consider themselves so-called gays and lesbians. My response is that we love them as sons and daughters of God." ^[12]

In response to an accusation that the church rejects our gay brothers and sisters, President Packer responded "We do not reject you,... We cannot reject you, for you are the sons and daughters of God. We will not reject you, because we love you. ^[13]

Speaking of a gay man, Elder Holland said "I weep with admiration and respect at the faith and courage of such a man who is living with a challenge I have never faced. I love him and the thousands like him, male or female, who "fight the good fight" (1 Timothy 6:12). I commend his attitude to all who struggle with-or who are helping others who struggle with-same-gender attraction." ^[14]

"When members with homosexual problems come to you for help, they may feel guilty and in despair, having been unable to change their lives. You can instill hope in them. Help them to know that you and their Heavenly Father love them and that they can be healed from their afflictions through the atonement of the Savior." ^[15]

In the Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball said that he thought that men who were pursuing same-sex relationships were "basically good people who have become trapped in sin."^[16]

The Church helps both gay and straight people find peace

The mission of the church is to bring all people to Christ. We believe that this is one of the fundamental ways in which we can serve our fellow man. We believe we can come closer to Christ by taking upon us his name through the covenant of baptism, which includes a covenant to obey his commandments. Teaching and encouraging our fellow man to obey the teachings of Christ is an important part in bringing them to Christ. This is the greatest good we can do for our fellow man, and what will bring them the greatest joy.

The path that leads to eternal life is straight and narrow, but we want as many of our brothers and sisters to find that path as possible. Christ taught against fornication and adultery, and we believe that includes all sexual relationships besides that of a husband and a wife. We teach and encourage all to obey this commandment, as part of our duty to bring them to Christ. Elder Oaks explains the natural consequences if gay people do not follow the law of chastity: "Those commandments, if they are not adhered to, result in guilt. That guilt is painful to people. There are two solutions to that guilt. One is to disbelieve in God or hold a congress and pretend that you can change God's commandments. The other is to discontinue that kind of conduct to the best of your ability."^[17] While the church may not follow the world's approach, we believe that our approach of promoting the commandments of the Lord will help alleviate the guilt people feel by inspiring them to live are higher moral code.

There are people who feel that by promoting this higher moral code, we are rejecting those who do not follow it. Elder Packer responded to this concern as to how it applies specifically to gay people. He said:

"We understand why some feel we reject them. That is not true. We do not reject you, only immoral behavior. We cannot reject you, for you are the sons and daughters of God. We will not reject you, because we love you. You may even feel that we do not love you. That also is not true. Parents know, and one day you will know, that there are times when parents and we who lead the Church must extend tough love when failing to teach and to warn and to discipline is to destroy." ^[18]

There are many gay members of the church who find the teachings of the church to be encouraging. Elder Wickman explains that this is one of the reasons why the Church teaches about homosexuality: "One of the purposes of that discussion was to try to be hopeful and encouraging to those who do but nonetheless want to conform their lives to what they understand the Lord's teachings to be."^[19]

We have no other reason for teaching the law of chastity other than out of love for our fellow man. Joseph Smith once taught that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things cannot produce the faith necessary for salvation. Certainly, we would want both the gay and straight members of the church to be able to produce the faith necessary for salvation. Our eternal family would not be complete without our gay brothers and sisters.

The church helps family members of gay people learn to love and accept them as Christ does

One way that the church helps gay people is by supporting their families, and encouraging them to love and reach out to their family members regardless of how they chose to live their lives. In a 1992 statement to Church leaders, the Church counseled: "If a person with homosexual problems chooses not to change, family members may have difficulty maintaining feelings of love and acceptance toward the person. Encourage them to continue loving the person and hoping that he or she may repent." ^[20]

This was reiterated by Elder Oaks in 1997: "Surely if we are counseled as a body of Church membership to reach out with love and understanding to those ‘struggling with these issues,’ that obligation rests with particular intensity on parents who have children struggling with these issues... even children who are engaged in sinful behavior associated with these issues" ^[21]

Families with gay members are strengthened through living the principles of love and respect taught by Jesus Christ and reiterated in the Proclamation to the World on the Family. One woman with a lesbian sister submitted an Ensign article in which she describes how the church has helped her with her relationship with her sister (Leigh). "I know the best thing I can do to have a close relationship with my sister is to have a close relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son. Leigh recently commented that it has been through the way our family has loved her that she has felt what she understood to be God’s love." ^[22]

One of the best services that we can do for our gay brothers and sisters is to help them feel the love of God through our actions.

Causes of Homosexuality

Other

• Women of Worth Women of Worth
• Ensign articles
• Evergreen testimonies
• Ty Mansfield
• David Matheson

• Evergreen International is an organization for "people who want to diminish same-sex attractions and overcome homosexual behavior." It is the only organization that "sustains the doctrines and standards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without reservation or exception."
• North Star is an organization whose mission is to "provide a place of community for Latter-day Saints who experience homosexual attraction, as well as their family, friends, and ecclesiastical leaders." The group supports the church’s position on homosexuality and aims to provide spiritual and social support for individuals and families who support and desire to live in harmony with church teachings.
• Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons is a support group originally organized on June 11, 1977 to "work for the understanding and acceptance of gays and lesbians as full, equal and worthy persons within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and society, and to help them realize and affirm self-worth." However, the group has expanded its mission to include bisexuals, transgender persons, and intersex persons. The group opposes the church's position against homosexuality.
• Disciples2 is an organization to provide support for what it calls male and female "strugglers," "who have chosen or may someday choose to be in harmony with our Heavenly Father and His laws as set forth by modern-day prophets and apostles."
• Wildflowers is an organization for "women who have been or who are currently married to homosexual men." The group was organized by Mormons, but is open to all faiths.
• Family Fellowship is for family members of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Transgender members.
• GLYA (Gay LDS Young Adults) is a fraternal organization that provides "social activities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young adults ages 18-30 who share the similar cultural and religious background and/or heritage in Mormonism." It provides resources for religious organizations that accept homosexual behavior.
• LDS Reconciliation affirms the spirituality of Gays and Lesbians. It has organized protests against BYU and its policies.
• Gamofites is an organization of Latter-day Saint gay fathers. In its support for the sexuality of its members, Gamofites dissents from the Church's official doctrine on homosexuality.
• The Guardrail foundation seeks to "reach out to young men with questions about homosexuality and to provide them with alternatives that are compatible with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." It promotes therapy called Context Specific Therapy that helps with homosexual "problems."

Endnotes

1. [note] [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=35ce1a01e8d43210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

“The Best Thing I Can Do for Leigh,”] Ensign, Sep 2009, 62–65

1. [note] American Psychiatric Association 2000
2. [note] American Psychological Association Help Center Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality
3. [note] Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation
4. [note] Beckstead, A. Lee , "Mormon Clients’ Experiences of Conversion Therapy", The Counseling Psychologist 651–690
5. [note]  The Honor Code and Applications: Live a Chaste and Virtuous Life , Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University off-site .
6. [note]  Aversion Therapy glptq.com off-site
7. [note]  Evergreen International Resources for Individuals
8. [note] AP, The New York Times & Washington Post Style
9. [note]  Hegna K, Larsen CJ. Straightening out the queer? Same-sex experience and attraction among young people in Norway.
10. [note] Hinckley, Gordon B., (1987), Reverence and Morality off-site
11. [note]  1998 What Are People Asking about Us? Gordon B. Hinckley, Official Site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved on September 28, 2007.
12. [note] Hinckley, Gordon B. (Nov 1999). Why We Do Some of the Things We Do. Ensign.
13. [note]  (2004), First Presidency Statement on Same-Gender Marriage , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church off-site
14. [note]  (2004), A Conversation with Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints off-site
15. [note] Holland, Jeffrey R., (2007), Helping Those Who Struggle with Same-Gender Attraction off-site
16. [note] Jarvik, Elaine, (2006), LDS to push marriage amendment off-site
17. [note] Kimball, Spencer W., (1964), A Counselling Problem in the Church (transcript) off-site
18. [note] Kimball, Spencer W., (1964), BYU Speeches of the Year off-site
19. [note] Kimball, Spencer W., (1969), The Miracle of Forgiveness Bookcraft
20. [note] Spencer W. Kimball and Mark E. Petersen Hope for Transgressors 1970.
21. [note] Kimball, Spencer W., (1971), New Horizons for Homosexuals LDS Church off-site .
22. [note] Spencer W. Kimball, “President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality,” Ensign, Nov 1980, 94
23. [note]  (1970), Hope for Transgressors LDS Church off-site .
24. [note]  (1992), Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems: Suggestions for Ecclesiastical Leaders , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church off-site .
25. [note]  (1995), The Family: A Proclamation to the World , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church .
26. [note]  (1998), Church Handbook of Instructions , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church .
27. [note] God Loveth His Children, off-site
28. [note]  Sexual Purity, For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God, 26
29. [note] "First Presidency Statement on Same-Gender Marriage," 19 October 2004)
30. [note]  (2007), Gospel Library Gospel Topics , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church .
31. [note]  (2007), Gospel Library Gospel Topics , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church .
32. [note] Laumann, Edward O. , The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States {{{pages}}}
33. [note] The Divine Institution of Marriage
34. [note] Lattin, Don, (1997), Musings of the Main Mormon: Gordon B. Hinckley, "president, prophet, seer and revelator: of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sits at the top of one of the world's fastest-growing religions off-site
35. [note]  (2004), In Quiet Desperation: Understanding the Challenge of Same-gender Attraction Deseret Book off-site .
36. [note] McBride, Max Ford, (1976), Effect of Visual Stimuli in Electric Aversion Therapy (Dissertation presented to the Department of Psychology of Brigham Young University) , Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah:
37. [note] Predefinição:Cite news
38. [note] Moore, Carrie A., Gay LDS men detail challenges off-site
39. [note]  In Focus: Mormonism in Modern America off-site Every person on this planet has personal challenges. Some have challenges with same-sex attraction, some have problems with opposite-gender attraction that have to be controlled.
40. [note]  1995 Dallin H. Oaks Statement, Official Site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
41. [note] Wickman, Lance B., (2007), Same-Gender Attraction , Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church off-site
42. [note]  Packer Ye Are the Temple of God
43. [note] Packer, Boyd K., (1972), The Message: Why Stay Morally Clean LDS Church off-site .
44. [note] Packer, Boyd K., (1976), To Young Men Only: General Conference Priesthood Session, October 2, 1976 LDS Church off-site .
45. [note] Packer, Boyd K., (1978), To the One: Address given to the Twelve Stake Fireside, Brigham Young University, March 5, 1978 LDS Church off-site .
46. [note] Park, Jason, (1997), Resolving Homosexual Problems: A Guide for LDS Men Century Publishing off-site .
47. [note] D. Michael Quinn, "Prelude to the National 'Defense of Marriage' Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 33:3, p. 1-52 (2001)
48. [note] Scott, Richard G., The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace and Happiness off-site .
49. [note] STEPHANIE SIMON A New Therapy on Faith and Sexual Identity : Psychological Association Revises Treatment Guidelines to Allow Counselors to Help Clients Reject Their Same-Sex Attractions
50. [note] Throckmorton, Warren , "Initial empirical and clinical findings concerning the change process for ex-gays", Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 242–248
51. [note] Snow, Lorenzo, {{{title}}} .
52. [note]  Savin-Williams RC, Ream GL. Prevalence and stability of sexual orientation components during adolescence and young adulthood.
53. [note] p. 156, Seligman, Martin E.P., What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Self Improvement Knopf, 1993; ISBN 0-679-41024-4
54. [note] Predefinição:Cite news
55. [note] Predefinição:Cite news
56. [note] Predefinição:Cite news</ref>
57. [note] A Place in the Kingdom: Spiritual Insights from Latter-day Saints about Same-Sex Attraction.
58. [note] Wichstrøm L, Hegna K. Sexual orientation and suicide attempt: a longitudinal study of the general Norwegian adolescent population.
59. [note]  Yarhouse MA. Same-sex attraction, homosexual orientation, and gay identity: a three-tier distinction for counseling and pastoral care
60. [note] For example, see Becoming Whole Again and My Battle with Same-Sex Attraction
61. [note] Everyday Lives, Everyday Values Interview with Fred and Marilyn Matis and Ty Mansfield, authors of In Quiet Desperation: Understanding the Challenge of Same-Gender Attraction,
62. [note] Evergreen Testimonies
63. For example, see Becoming Whole Again, Compassion for Those Who Struggle and My Battle with Same-Sex Attraction
64. Evergreen Testimionies
65. Thirtysomething...: Publications
66. Everyday Lives, Everyday Values Interview with Fred and Marilyn Matis and Ty Mansfield, authors of In Quiet Desperation: Understanding the Challenge of Same-Gender Attraction and KSL interview by Carole Mikita with Fred and Marilyn Matis and Ty MansfieldPredefinição:Verify credibility
67. David Matheson
68. YouTube - Coqui Zen Entertainment Predefinição:Verify credibility
69. Evergreen International
70. Northstar
71. General Charter Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons off-site
73. We Are wildflowers wearewildflowers.com off-site
74. Family Fellowship
75. Website Disabled
76. Website Disabled
77. Gay Mormon at LDSReconciliation.org
78. The Guardrail Foundation