This is a fairly hard issue for me. Not as in "I struggle with the same thing," but I struggle with reconciling God's eternal plan of marriage (which I believe in) along with homosexuality and my support of people being real with themselves.
Overall, I like the messages coming from this club. What I really like about it is the openness and honesty. I appreciate the truthful stories and testimonies, and I also just appreciate the fact that we're talking about this. I fully believe a huge part of issues related to sexuality (including homosexual attraction, but also pornography viewing, adultery, self esteem issues, etc.) is due to the fact that we never talk about any of this. We can have openminded conversations about sex and all that surrounds it without being erotic or without disowning what the prophets' say.
However, this is just a small step in the right direction. Not only is this going to be hard to combat with arguments from non-members, but it's also going to be hard to combat with close-mindedness from members of the church. I don't have a good answer for those people that say, "so the only answer you have is that you'll spend your life alone as a gay LDS member?" Hmm. Although as I'm writing this, and watching additional movies (they have an entire line of them, FYI) perhaps that IS the point. It's like a heterosexual person that won't get married in this life. Or a person who has a disability that causes them impairment in life. Understand that I'm not calling homosexuality a disability, but if we are to understand that the purpose of the Plan of Salvation--one of them--is for a man and a woman to become a whole, then homosexuality is a trial, at the very least. A trial one has for a reason.
Another thing I really enjoy is that BYU isn't slapping solutions onto this. It's really an opportunity for individuals to share their own solutions, their own experiences, and to bring to light normalcy. For some reason, a lot of people seem to think if you're not Ensign-like, you're not a good member. That's just not true.
I'll start off by saying that I'm not a Mormon, but I really enjoyed the video.
It seems to me that...
If God wanted us to judge and condemn each other for our shortcomings (which we ALL have), what would we need Him for? We'd all be doing God's job for him. I don't think he appreciates that at all. He loves us all, not just the ones that came out "perfect." I also feel pretty confident that He wants us to all love each other and help each other through life instead of constantly pointing out people that aren't perfect. Isn't that what a loving God is all about?
I'm not gay, but I think that God loves them the same; especially since there are a lot of gay people that are more devoted Christians and Mormons than some of the straight ones.
Yes, compassion towards people struggling with same-gender attraction issues is good. In fact, being compassionate is part of living your religion (if you're LDS).
Saying "I'm Mormon and Gay" is sort of like saying "I'm Mormon and really judgmental" or "I'm Mormon and highly inclined to be unfaithful to my spouse."
It's not fair to you. Individual Mormons (and everyone else) have struggles with marital fidelity, homosexuality, and being self-righteous, but to define oneself according to one's personal trials isn't productive. The challenges we face are ours. They are personal, and, in a funny way, sacred, since, by standing up to them, we are sanctified. If they are things we wrestle with for our whole lives, so be it.
Judging people we think are judgmental ("You big mean homophobes!" OR "You're dirtier than the rest of us if you've got gay issues") isn't helpful to one's plight. Or productive. It's certainly not going to win any "homophobes" or "gay" people over.
Some people have issues with judging. Some people like people of the same gender. All people have been called to come unto Christ, repent and be baptized, and take the steps necessary to gain happiness and eternal life.
People struggling with being judgmental may require the whole of their mortal lives and longer to get over themselves and love like Christ loves.
People struggling with same-gender attraction may require the whole of their lives and longer when dealing with same-gender attraction.
Both will be sanctified through the Atonement, after ALL THEY CAN DO.
One thing someone said in the video was that they prayed and read their scriptures and it didn't "fix" them. This individual couldn't have been out of her 20's.
Christ hasn't promised us perfection if we have a little (20-year) flirtation with spirituality. He has asked for our whole lives, in exchange for eventual perfection and ultimate joy. If deeply rooted homosexuality is something that is part of the "thorn in the flesh" of your mortal existence, it's a high compliment regarding your potential for exercising faith and overcoming challenges.
There are people who deal with same-gender attraction their whole lives and still are faithful saints. It's not a matter of being second class, it's a matter of exercising faith in the Plan of Salvation, regardless of what challenges are presented.
If judgmental people are a thorn in your flesh, ditto.
We won't be tempted above that which we can bear. If our temptations are huge, it means that we can bear A LOT, through our faith in Christ.
If we consecrate ourselves to Christ, we can bear all things.
I think this is a very trying issue. As Mormons, we know what the Prophets have said, and about Sodom and how Satan can work on humanity. We also know our modern prophets have said to be kind to all, no matter what. About homosexuality, I have studied a lot about genetically modified foods (GMO's), glyphosate ("roundup"), and soy. Glyphosate is used on MOST of the GMO foods in our country. GMO's and glyphosate have recently been proven in a 2-yr long-term study to cause cancerous tumors. GMO's, roundup and soy have also been shown to have a possible link to gender "mess-ups" in certain animals, especially amphibians. I think this is something that needs to be studied. Until this is proven, it's very important for those with these feelings to obey the admonition to stay clean despite the feelings. The "crowd" telling you it's "OK" may be comforting, but it's not OK to act on those feelings. Just as it's not OK for a man attracted to his neighbor's wife to act on it!
4 comments:
This is a fairly hard issue for me. Not as in "I struggle with the same thing," but I struggle with reconciling God's eternal plan of marriage (which I believe in) along with homosexuality and my support of people being real with themselves.
Overall, I like the messages coming from this club. What I really like about it is the openness and honesty. I appreciate the truthful stories and testimonies, and I also just appreciate the fact that we're talking about this. I fully believe a huge part of issues related to sexuality (including homosexual attraction, but also pornography viewing, adultery, self esteem issues, etc.) is due to the fact that we never talk about any of this. We can have openminded conversations about sex and all that surrounds it without being erotic or without disowning what the prophets' say.
However, this is just a small step in the right direction. Not only is this going to be hard to combat with arguments from non-members, but it's also going to be hard to combat with close-mindedness from members of the church. I don't have a good answer for those people that say, "so the only answer you have is that you'll spend your life alone as a gay LDS member?" Hmm. Although as I'm writing this, and watching additional movies (they have an entire line of them, FYI) perhaps that IS the point. It's like a heterosexual person that won't get married in this life. Or a person who has a disability that causes them impairment in life. Understand that I'm not calling homosexuality a disability, but if we are to understand that the purpose of the Plan of Salvation--one of them--is for a man and a woman to become a whole, then homosexuality is a trial, at the very least. A trial one has for a reason.
Another thing I really enjoy is that BYU isn't slapping solutions onto this. It's really an opportunity for individuals to share their own solutions, their own experiences, and to bring to light normalcy. For some reason, a lot of people seem to think if you're not Ensign-like, you're not a good member. That's just not true.
I'll start off by saying that I'm not a Mormon, but I really enjoyed the video.
It seems to me that...
If God wanted us to judge and condemn each other for our shortcomings (which we ALL have), what would we need Him for? We'd all be doing God's job for him. I don't think he appreciates that at all. He loves us all, not just the ones that came out "perfect." I also feel pretty confident that He wants us to all love each other and help each other through life instead of constantly pointing out people that aren't perfect. Isn't that what a loving God is all about?
I'm not gay, but I think that God loves them the same; especially since there are a lot of gay people that are more devoted Christians and Mormons than some of the straight ones.
My Churchy thoughts:
Yes, compassion towards people struggling with same-gender attraction issues is good. In fact, being compassionate is part of living your religion (if you're LDS).
Saying "I'm Mormon and Gay" is sort of like saying "I'm Mormon and really judgmental" or "I'm Mormon and highly inclined to be unfaithful to my spouse."
It's not fair to you. Individual Mormons (and everyone else) have struggles with marital fidelity, homosexuality, and being self-righteous, but to define oneself according to one's personal trials isn't productive. The challenges we face are ours. They are personal, and, in a funny way, sacred, since, by standing up to them, we are sanctified. If they are things we wrestle with for our whole lives, so be it.
Judging people we think are judgmental ("You big mean homophobes!" OR "You're dirtier than the rest of us if you've got gay issues") isn't helpful to one's plight. Or productive. It's certainly not going to win any "homophobes" or "gay" people over.
Some people have issues with judging. Some people like people of the same gender. All people have been called to come unto Christ, repent and be baptized, and take the steps necessary to gain happiness and eternal life.
People struggling with being judgmental may require the whole of their mortal lives and longer to get over themselves and love like Christ loves.
People struggling with same-gender attraction may require the whole of their lives and longer when dealing with same-gender attraction.
Both will be sanctified through the Atonement, after ALL THEY CAN DO.
One thing someone said in the video was that they prayed and read their scriptures and it didn't "fix" them. This individual couldn't have been out of her 20's.
Christ hasn't promised us perfection if we have a little (20-year) flirtation with spirituality. He has asked for our whole lives, in exchange for eventual perfection and ultimate joy. If deeply rooted homosexuality is something that is part of the "thorn in the flesh" of your mortal existence, it's a high compliment regarding your potential for exercising faith and overcoming challenges.
There are people who deal with same-gender attraction their whole lives and still are faithful saints. It's not a matter of being second class, it's a matter of exercising faith in the Plan of Salvation, regardless of what challenges are presented.
If judgmental people are a thorn in your flesh, ditto.
We won't be tempted above that which we can bear. If our temptations are huge, it means that we can bear A LOT, through our faith in Christ.
If we consecrate ourselves to Christ, we can bear all things.
I think this is a very trying issue. As Mormons, we know what the Prophets have said, and about Sodom and how Satan can work on humanity. We also know our modern prophets have said to be kind to all, no matter what. About homosexuality, I have studied a lot about genetically modified foods (GMO's), glyphosate ("roundup"), and soy. Glyphosate is used on MOST of the GMO foods in our country. GMO's and glyphosate have recently been proven in a 2-yr long-term study to cause cancerous tumors. GMO's, roundup and soy have also been shown to have a possible link to gender "mess-ups" in certain animals, especially amphibians. I think this is something that needs to be studied. Until this is proven, it's very important for those with these feelings to obey the admonition to stay clean despite the feelings. The "crowd" telling you it's "OK" may be comforting, but it's not OK to act on those feelings. Just as it's not OK for a man attracted to his neighbor's wife to act on it!
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