New Pamphlet Changes Mormon Position on Homosexuality
The church's relationship with Evergreeen, a repairative therapy program that claims it can cure homosexuality, has long been debated. Even if no official relationship exists, the Book of Mormon and other scriptures in use by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are quoted on the Evergreen website., and high ranking Mormon leaders are known to attend Evergreen seminars. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, two LDS apostles, Dallin Oaks and Lance Wickam were interviewed about their positions on same sex marriage. The transcript which can be found on www.lds.org, represents no official doctrinal position and is merely just the opinion of Oaks and Wickam.
The interview and the Mormon church's new position on homosexuality that it cannot be changed and that it is not a choice although far from being made official, is still a step forward. In the past the Mormon church taught that homosexuality was a sin and that it could be changed. Mormon leaders would often push gay men into marriages with women in the hopes of it curing the individual.
It is unlikely that the official position of the Mormon church on homosexuality will change. Gay and Lesbian relationships will continue to be taboo for Mormons, but merely suffering from what the church calls same-sex attaction will not itself be a sin. It is somewhat ironic that this release of this new pamphlet coincided with an article running in Meridian Magazine about action needed to prevent a threat to marriage in the state of Oregon. The idea among the Mormon leadership that homosexuality can be cured has not totally been eliminated, and even so it may take time for the word to filter down to Branch Presidents, Bishops and Stake Presidents about the new position. Being referred to Evergreen for same-sex attraction is a practice that will likely still continue.
Sources:
Published by S. Landis
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10 Comments
Post a CommentFrom my reading, I don't see any change in what the church says about same sex attraction or homosexuality. They are merely stating that you shouldn't feel like a sinner for feeling the way you do and that the church will support you. The advice seems similar to any other moral problem that might come up in someone's life. I am not homosexual and I'll never understand what that is like. And in all honesty, I don't care whether or not someone is. But if someone struggles with it and wants to be a member of the church, I think it is only fair to provide hope and resources to them.
That's actually a good source, and it doesn't seem particulary "slippery or insipid" to me. It's very straightforward, official doctrine of the Church. I would recommend it also, and those who read it are free to decide for themselves what they think of it.
And by the way for those who want to read the slippery, insipid pamphlet, it's on Lds.org and is called "God Loveth his Children."
Dianna, while I agree with you in part, I do not consider the Ensign to be a good idea of what Mormons believe. It can give you an idea (if you can stomach the writing) of what the opinions of the authority is, sites such as LDS.org and the Standard Works are a good place to get a grasp on the theology.
However, none of what the Mormon leaders has done is "research." It's merely as another press-statement put it, well-considered opinion, like Brigham Young's well-considered opinion of Quaker Moon men.
Many of the articles in the Ensign are written by the apostles of the Church. Where better to learn about what Mormons really believe than going to the source? Sunstone and Dialogue and other such sources are second-hand and not necessarily accurate reflections of Mormon ideas and theology.
But is this official Mormon Doctrine, inspired by God? Or are the authors just talking as human beings and giving their Well Considered Opinions?
I'd highly recommend staying away from the Ensign unless you enjoy boring, insipid and flat writing. More interesting Magazines on Mormon theological issues are Sunstone and Dialogue.
There has been a lot of research on the nature of homosexuality lately, and it has been acknowledged that in some cases the desires of same-sex attraction are very entrenched. While the church's position has not changed, the policies to its leaders and members on how to support our members and others who have this challenge in their lives has been enhanced. There is a wonderful article that can be found at www.lds.org in the Sept Ensign magazine that talks more about our feelings on this topic. I highly recommend it. It's by Jeffrey R. Holland.
Interesting concepts. Thank You fer sharin'. ;-}}>
Marriage, dude! That's settlin` down! I ain't ever gettin` married! Not me! The Kid! I'm a`jus` gonna date-date-date-date-date-date-date-date- ...