View On Homosexuals?

[Questions]

I am just wondering what LDS people think of Homosexuals. I admit I am gay, and interested in the LDS church. However, I am wondering if the LDS religion has a negative view on homosexuals . . .

I swear on my life, I do not choose to be this way, and I just want to see a church that would accept me as I am.

[ldsrebel]

We do not approve of the behavior.

I say this because there is no way we'd turn you away because of you.

I have an Uncle whom is Gay, nice man. Love him.

He could join (you too) but you couldn't participate in preisthood activitys.

[Guest Yediyd]

I am just wondering what LDS people think of Homosexuals. I admit I am gay, and interested in the LDS church. However, I am wondering if the LDS religion has a negative view on homosexuals . . .

I swear on my life, I do not choose to be this way, and I just want to see a church that would accept me as I am.

I loved coffee...the church accepted me! Homosexuality is a sin, but we are all sinners and nobody is better that anybody else. I would except you and love you and advise you to turn from same sex partners.

[pam]

Homosexuality

The Church’s stand on homosexual relations provides another arena where we offend the devil. I expect that the statement of the First Presidency and the Twelve against homosexual marriages will continue to be assaulted. Satan is only interested in our misery, which he promotes by trying to persuade men and women to act contrary to God’s plan. One way he does this is by encouraging the inappropriate use of sacred creative powers. A bona fide marriage is one between a man and a woman solemnized by the proper legal or ecclesiastical authority. Only sexual relations between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage are acceptable before the Lord.

There is some widely accepted theory extant that homosexuality is inherited. How can this be? No scientific evidence demonstrates absolutely that this is so. Besides, if it were so, it would frustrate the whole plan of mortal happiness. Our designation as men or women began before this world was. In contrast to the socially accepted doctrine that homosexuality is inborn, a number of respectable authorities contend that homosexuality is not acquired by birth. The false belief of inborn homosexual orientation denies to repentant souls the opportunity to change and will ultimately lead to discouragement, disappointment, and despair.

Alternatives to the legal and loving marriage between a man and a woman are helping to unravel the fabric of human society. I am sure this is pleasing to the devil. The fabric I refer to is the family. These so-called alternative life-styles must not be accepted as right, because they frustrate God’s commandment for a life-giving union of male and female within a legal marriage as stated in Genesis. If practiced by all adults, these life-styles would mean the end of the human family.

This is from President James E. Faust a member of the First Presidency.

[Saab900man]

I am just wondering what LDS people think of Homosexuals. I admit I am gay, and interested in the LDS church. However, I am wondering if the LDS religion has a negative view on homosexuals . . .

I swear on my life, I do not choose to be this way, and I just want to see a church that would accept me as I am.

This quote is from the President of the Church

"We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. We believe that marriage may be eternal through exercise of the power of the everlasting priesthood in the house of the Lord. "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. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. Most people have inclinations of one kind or another at various times. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church. If they violate the law of chastity and the moral standards of the Church, then they are subject to the discipline of the Church, just as others are. "We want to help these people, to strengthen them, to assist them with their problems and to help them with their difficulties. But we cannot stand idle if they indulge in immoral activity, if they try to uphold and defend and live in a so-called same-sex marriage situation. To permit such would be to make light of the very serious and sacred foundation of God-sanctioned marriage and its very purpose, the rearing of families" (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1998, 71).

[orrinjelo]

This topic came up in Institute yesterday. I was shocked when the teacher said, "We do NOT have tolerance for homosexuals." I was like, "What?!?!" But then it kinda made sense. We all have our drives, passions, and tendancies, right? Some struggle with anger and violence, some sexual feelings, some selfish desires. Acting on those drives does lead to sin, and we should not tolerate sin.

So yeah, we have no tolerance for homosexuality just as we have no tolerance for murderers, serial killers, whoremongers, etc. But we still love the people.

I can love a person as a friend if they are gay, just the way I would if they had killed someone or if they were a prostitute.

So, I guess the lesson I learned is, when the world says "You Mormons are not tolerant of such-and-such group," I can reply, "Yeah, so what? We still love the person. But God frowns upon their sins." It's really not my place to judge them, for I am on the same playing field as they and I have sins as well I need to work on.

[Guest Username-Removed]

Questions,

One of my friends (Its been about 8 years since I've seen him) told me he had those tendencies. He told me about it because he wanted some advice about how to tell his girlfriend. I guess he needed someone to just listen, because I didnt really have any advice to give him. But, even though I was surprised, and I would have never guessed, he was still a friend, and I knew he didnt think of me in that way. Had I not been friends with him for several years I too, like many others, probably would have been a bit paranoid. The guy ended up telling his girlfriend, and they got married a short time later. Pretty cool!

He talked to me about some church organization that helped him through his issues. I guess they hold events in SLC once or twice a year. I wish I could remember the name ... green something... anyways, he and his wife went for several years together and the last time I knew they were still very happy together. He and his new wife talked to me about this organization, and we found out that we had a mutual friend that I knew from my old BYU days that was also attending this organization. A year later, while I was visiting my old Resident Assistant at BYU, I met up with him and mentioned our mutual friend. He then told me how hard it was to live in Provo. He told me he wasn't active in his tendencies, but that he was always a bit scared and paranoid that someone might find out from the church. He was happy going to that "green" something organization and to my understanding, it still going today.

Both of those friends know that they have those issues, they know that thier physical body has those tendencies and have same sex attraction. But for them, they realize that its only thier physical body, not thier spirit that feels that way. So, for them the only way was to help curb the physical issues/tempations so that the spirtual growth in the eternal relationship of a marriage could happen.

Questions, I'm not going to sugar coat this. Its tough for a lot of priesthood men to accept it in the church. This is one of those subjects that gets some guys pretty rattled, especially men in the church. I've worked for so many companies all over the US that it really doesnt bother me - but had I not had friends that had that issue, I might be a bit rattled myself - especially being an active LDS member. I dont think anybody is going to openly welcome behavior such a someone smoking pot, a cigarette, or someone bringing in a bottle of whisky to church. So, I doubt the behavior, or anything like it, will be openly welcome in church. However, my feeling is that you, yourself, should be welcome with no problems.

I dont know why some men get all wierd when the subject is talked about. For me, Im perfectly comfortable being hetrosexual. And that doesnt preclude me from being friends with someone that is not hetrosexual.

The only advice I can give you is try and find out about that organzation I mentioned and see if its something you want to look into. They have pretty strict rules too.

I hope that helps.

[pam]

Questions,

One of my friends (Its been about 8 years since I've seen him) told me he had those tendencies. He told me about it because he wanted some advice about how to tell his girlfriend. I guess he needed someone to just listen, because I didnt really have any advice to give him. But, even though I was surprised, and I would have never guessed, he was still a friend, and I knew he didnt think of me in that way. Had I not been friends with him for several years I too, like many others, probably would have been a bit paranoid. The guy ended up telling his girlfriend, and they got married a short time later. Pretty cool!

He talked to me about some church organization that helped him through his issues. I guess they hold events in SLC once or twice a year. I wish I could remember the name ... green something... anyways, he and his wife went for several years together and the last time I knew they were still very happy together. He and his new wife talked to me about this organization, and we found out that we had a mutual friend that I knew from my old BYU days that was also attending this organization. A year later, while I was visiting my old Resident Assistant at BYU, I met up with him and mentioned our mutual friend. He then told me how hard it was to live in Provo. He told me he wasn't active in his tendencies, but that he was always a bit scared and paranoid that someone might find out from the church. He was happy going to that "green" something organization and to my understanding, it still going today.

Both of those friends know that they have those issues, they know that thier physical body has those tendencies and have same sex attraction. But for them, they realize that its only thier physical body, not thier spirit that feels that way. So, for them the only way was to help curb the physical issues/tempations so that the spirtual growth in the eternal relationship of a marriage could happen.

Questions, I'm not going to sugar coat this. Its tough for a lot of priesthood men to accept it in the church. This is one of those subjects that gets some guys pretty rattled, especially men in the church. I've worked for so many companies all over the US that it really doesnt bother me - but had I not had friends that had that issue, I might be a bit rattled myself - especially being an active LDS member. I dont think anybody is going to openly welcome behavior such a someone smoking pot, a cigarette, or someone bringing in a bottle of whisky to church. So, I doubt the behavior, or anything like it, will be openly welcome in church. However, my feeling is that you, yourself, should be welcome with no problems.

I dont know why some men get all wierd when the subject is talked about. For me, Im perfectly comfortable being hetrosexual. And that doesnt preclude me from being friends with someone that is not hetrosexual.

The only advice I can give you is try and find out about that organzation I mentioned and see if its something you want to look into. They have pretty strict rules too.

I hope that helps.

It's called Evergreen

[Guest Username-Removed]

Thats it, thats the one!

Thanks Pam.

[Guest the_big_picture]

I personaly dont think homosexuality is wrong, but I also know that you can change that. You can stop being gay, it might seem impossible but you can.

But the queston is, Do you want it to be over?

[orrinjelo]

I personaly dont think homosexuality is wrong, but I also know that you can change that. You can stop being gay, it might seem impossible but you can.

But the queston is, Do you want it to be over?

In many cases, I heard, one can't change it, and can't stop these feelings. It's possible to suppress and to control. It's like other temptations we have--some will be with us life long and it will continue to bother us, but we need to seek the strength to control ourselves.

[a-train]

Dude,

My mom and her brother are gay. They are both Mormon. I love them and have pretty much the same relationship that the average Joe has with his mom and his uncle. Here is some history:

My mom and her brother were abused from pre-school age by their step-dad who was a transvestite. By the time they were in high-school, the abuse was limited to verbal, but my mom can still remember being abhored by seeing her step-dad at a park playing tennis in drag with a straight dude who had no idea. I'm sure it's funny to her now, but it scared the crap out of her back then.

LDS missionaries knocked their door when my mom was in her early teens and the whole family was baptized, but the abuse and transvestite activites resumed under the radar. It was all a family secret that stayed on the DL.

My mom and her brother married in the Church and had regular Mormon lives feeling glad to escape their childhood. However, both struggled with feelings of inferiority, depression, and just a lot of mental baggage from adolescence. My mom especially; she was in and out of therapy during her twenties.

Then, my dad (also a convert to the Church) was murdered. My mom fell to pieces. She stayed true to the Church and her children (I have two younger sisters) until I was about 17. After about 10 years of trying to re-marry she decided something was wrong with her. She couldn't find a guy that she liked or that liked her. She was on the verge of suicide.

She went on a deep soul-search that lead her desperately to drink in the bars here in our town. There are a lot of gay bars here. She found new gay friends and after a while she decided the 'What is wrong with me?' was she might be gay. She experimented and then made the cross over. She came out within a month or so.

She left the Church, she became bitter toward it. Not due to homosexuality, but because she felt like she had given a lot of her life to it with little reward. She booted the kids (two still in high-school, they lived with friends until graduation) and moved in with her first girl-friend. That relationship ended very badly about five years later. My mom felt used and violated and left very bitterly.

She floated from crush to crush with little promising relationship and was in further dispair than ever. She toured the country looking to relocate in search of a companion and ended up in a bar 200 miles from home. She met a woman and stayed the night with her. The next day she announced she was moving in with the woman. She is still there, that was about two years ago. They are both on antidepressants.

I leave my uncle's story out, but it is about the same, only his wife is still alive and he cheated on her. As a result of that, he was excommunicated from the Church. Excommunication is a losing of the covenants that members have entered into. He had once covenanted to live the law of chastity and having broken it through adultery, the covenant was annuled (if you will), or in other words he was excommunicated.

Now he is still very active. He and his partner attend Church regularly and feel very welcomed (they go to a congregation out of state, I haven't been there).

Now the big questions.

Is homosexuality against the rules? Any sexual activity or relationship outside of heterosexual marriage is outlawed by the LORD in the LDS Church. If my uncle had done all he had done with a woman, his position would be no different. He would have been excommunicated just the same.

Unmarried members who have been to the Temple who have fornicated with anyone regardless of gender are also excommunicated.

The law of chastity is simple: Sexual activity is ONLY permissible between legally and lawfully wed heterosexual couples.

It matters not if you are attracted to the same or opposite sex, sexual relations outside of marriage are forbidden.

So what if you were born gay and can't feel any attraction to the opposite sex? What then?

If you can't marry heterosexually then celebacy is the only other option. Harsh, I know.

Do Mormons hate on gays?

Some may, I guess we'll let them call themselves Mormon if they'll repent, but if they don't they aren't going to have a happy judgement day. 'If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?' 1 John 4:20

I personally acknowledge that same-sex attraction can come upon a person against their will; no different than a great deal of mental and physical characteristics. While I understand that gender is a trait given to men and women pre-mortally in the spirit body, I do not imagine that no person would ever be asked to pass through confusing and troubling emotional, mental, or physical afflictions and temptations dealing with sexual attraction or even designation.

My heart goes out to all those that endure the social and philosophical struggles of homosexuality in this heterosexual existance and I do not intend to belittle their situation.

Does God hate fags? Are gays going to hell?

This is not as easy to answer as Fred Phelps wishes. I can first say unequivically that God deeply loves 'gays' and Fred Phelps is totally wrong about that (there is a shocker). Only those who knowingly rebel against God will endure the judgement of the wicked. While I understand that many who call themselves homosexual have heard that it is wrong, if they have mental, emotional, or otherwise conditions that limit their accountability they may fall under the Atonement. A person confused and afflicted by sexual molestation may be completely unaccountable. Having said that, let us not sing an unaccountablity lullaby to our conscience. If you need that song, you are accountable.

But it's not fair! Why would God give me this attraction and say 'Don't do it!'?

We all endure temptation. That is the purpose of life. We are here to see if we will do all things whatsoever the LORD commands even when everything seems to say that is wrong, or when it is not the path of least resistance. It is because of this dynamic that Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We tend to focus on the easy and light, but we shouldn't forget that it is a yoke of burden.

One man suffers hyper-sexual attraction to the same sex, another the opposite, another is violent, another is a klepto, another is an addict to substance, another is narcistic, another is a self-mutilating masochist, another suffers physical disability, another poverty. No man is immune, we are all afflicted and tempted and our test is to see if we will bare one another's burdens and keep the commandments.

I personally believe that a great many 'gays' will be healed and numbered with the sheep at the right hand of the LORD and a good bit of those Bible-Thumping gay bashers will be cheesin' with the goats on the left.

GOD BLESS and sorry for the book.

-a-train

[Gwen]

ok, so i'll admit i've not read every word here. my opinion anyway, sexual sin is sexual sin. there is no sin in sexual desire, only that in participating in sacred acts without proper covenants/commitments. i get very annoyed when i hear ppl comparing homosexuality to murder or such. it is not comparable. it is comparable to fornication, adultry, cohabitation, and any other sexual sin. fornicators are accepted and encouraged to come to chruch. as should those with homosexual feelings. i've not had homosexual feelings so i will not say you can control the feelings, i know how uncontrolable my heterosexual feelings seem. but you can control if you act on them, we must all face that challenge.

[Guest Yediyd]

never heard of evergreen...sounds like greenpeace! Is it endourced by LDS? What is it? anybody have any links?

[Guest Username-Removed]

well, that should just about cover it.

never heard of evergreen...sounds like greenpeace! Is it endourced by LDS? What is it? anybody have any links?

My friend said that his bishop recommended it. I dont know anything more about it. I guess I could do a search on the internet ... hang on

[pam]

never heard of evergreen...sounds like greenpeace! Is it endourced by LDS? What is it? anybody have any links?

http://www.evergreeninternational.org/

[Guest Username-Removed]

I did a yahoo search for "LDS Evergreen" - check it out yourself ..

By the way, where is Brother Dorsey and Vanilla when you want them to liven up the conversation! They probably wont come near this thread! HA!

[Guest Yediyd]

Dude,

My mom and her brother are gay. They are both Mormon. I love them and have pretty much the same relationship that the average Joe has with his mom and his uncle. Here is some history:

My mom and her brother were abused from pre-school age by their step-dad who was a transvestite. By the time they were in high-school, the abuse was limited to verbal, but my mom can still remember being abhored by seeing her step-dad at a park playing tennis in drag with a straight dude who had no idea. I'm sure it's funny to her now, but it scared the crap out of her back then.

LDS missionaries knocked their door when my mom was in her early teens and the whole family was baptized, but the abuse and transvestite activites resumed under the radar. It was all a family secret that stayed on the DL.

My mom and her brother married in the Church and had regular Mormon lives feeling glad to escape their childhood. However, both struggled with feelings of inferiority, depression, and just a lot of mental baggage from adolescence. My mom especially; she was in and out of therapy during her twenties.

Then, my dad (also a convert to the Church) was murdered. My mom fell to pieces. She stayed true to the Church and her children (I have two younger sisters) until I was about 17. After about 10 years of trying to re-marry she decided something was wrong with her. She couldn't find a guy that she liked or that liked her. She was on the verge of suicide.

She went on a deep soul-search that lead her desperately to drink in the bars here in our town. There are a lot of gay bars here. She found new gay friends and after a while she decided the 'What is wrong with me?' was she might be gay. She experimented and then made the cross over. She came out within a month or so.

She left the Church, she became bitter toward it. Not due to homosexuality, but because she felt like she had given a lot of her life to it with little reward. She booted the kids (two still in high-school, they lived with friends until graduation) and moved in with her first girl-friend. That relationship ended very badly about five years later. My mom felt used and violated and left very bitterly.

She floated from crush to crush with little promising relationship and was in further dispair than ever. She toured the country looking to relocate in search of a companion and ended up in a bar 200 miles from home. She met a woman and stayed the night with her. The next day she announced she was moving in with the woman. She is still there, that was about two years ago. They are both on antidepressants.

I leave my uncle's story out, but it is about the same, only his wife is still alive and he cheated on her. As a result of that, he was excommunicated from the Church. Excommunication is a losing of the covenants that members have entered into. He had once covenanted to live the law of chastity and having broken it through adultery, the covenant was annuled (if you will), or in other words he was excommunicated.

Now he is still very active. He and his partner attend Church regularly and feel very welcomed (they go to a congregation out of state, I haven't been there).

Now the big questions.

Is homosexuality against the rules? Any sexual activity or relationship outside of heterosexual marriage is outlawed by the LORD in the LDS Church. If my uncle had done all he had done with a woman, his position would be no different. He would have been excommunicated just the same.

Unmarried members who have been to the Temple who have fornicated with anyone regardless of gender are also excommunicated.

The law of chastity is simple: Sexual activity is ONLY permissible between legally and lawfully wed heterosexual couples.

It matters not if you are attracted to the same or opposite sex, sexual relations outside of marriage are forbidden.

So what if you were born gay and can't feel any attraction to the opposite sex? What then?

If you can't marry heterosexually then celebacy is the only other option. Harsh, I know.

Do Mormons hate on gays?

Some may, I guess we'll let them call themselves Mormon if they'll repent, but if they don't they aren't going to have a happy judgement day. 'If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?' 1 John 4:20

I personally acknowledge that same-sex attraction can come upon a person against their will; no different than a great deal of mental and physical characteristics. While I understand that gender is a trait given to men and women pre-mortally in the spirit body, I do not imagine that no person would ever be asked to pass through confusing and troubling emotional, mental, or physical afflictions and temptations dealing with sexual attraction or even designation.

My heart goes out to all those that endure the social and philosophical struggles of homosexuality in this heterosexual existance and I do not intend to belittle their situation.

Does God hate fags? Are gays going to hell?

This is not as easy to answer as Fred Phelps wishes. I can first say unequivically that God deeply loves 'gays' and Fred Phelps is totally wrong about that (there is a shocker). Only those who knowingly rebel against God will endure the judgement of the wicked. While I understand that many who call themselves homosexual have heard that it is wrong, if they have mental, emotional, or otherwise conditions that limit their accountability they may fall under the Atonement. A person confused and afflicted by sexual molestation may be completely unaccountable. Having said that, let us not sing an unaccountablity lullaby to our conscience. If you need that song, you are accountable.

But it's not fair! Why would God give me this attraction and say 'Don't do it!'?

We all endure temptation. That is the purpose of life. We are here to see if we will do all things whatsoever the LORD commands even when everything seems to say that is wrong, or when it is not the path of least resistance. It is because of this dynamic that Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We tend to focus on the easy and light, but we shouldn't forget that it is a yoke of burden.

One man suffers hyper-sexual attraction to the same sex, another the opposite, another is violent, another is a klepto, another is an addict to substance, another is narcistic, another is a self-mutilating masochist, another suffers physical disability, another poverty. No man is immune, we are all afflicted and tempted and our test is to see if we will bare one another's burdens and keep the commandments.

I personally believe that a great many 'gays' will be healed and numbered with the sheep at the right hand of the LORD and a good bit of those Bible-Thumping gay bashers will be cheesin' with the goats on the left.

GOD BLESS and sorry for the book.

-a-train

I read the book and was moved by it...very well said, A-train.

[Guest the_big_picture]

but my mom can still remember being abhored by seeing her step-dad at a park playing tennis in drag with a straight dude who had no idea.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

That remind me of that guy on "the silence of the lambs".

[the_jason]

Here's what the brethren say.

http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp...;vgnextfmt=tab1

It's not a sin to be homosexual. It won't even keep you from holding the priesthood or attending the temple recommend, unless you commit homosexual acts.