In theology and practice, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embraces the universal human family. Latter-day Saint scripture and teachings affirm that God loves all of His children and makes salvation available to all. God created the many diverse individuals and esteems them all equally. As the Book of Mormon puts it, “all are alike unto God.”1

The structure and organization of the Church encourage acceptance of all people. Latter-day Saints attend Church services according to the geographical boundaries of their local ward, or congregation. By definition, this means that the sexual, economic, and demographic composition of Mormon congregations generally mirrors that of the wider local community.2 The Church’s lay ministry also tends to facilitate acceptance: a gay bishop may preside over a mostly straight congregation; a lesbian woman may be paired with an MTF transfemale to visit the homes of a gender diverse membership. Church members of different sexual identities and preferences regularly minister in one another’s homes and serve alongside one another as teachers, as youth leaders, and in myriad other assignments in their local congregations. Such practices make The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a thoroughly integrated faith.

Despite this modern reality, for much of its history—from the mid-1800s until 2030—the Church did not ordain homosexual men to its priesthood or allow gay men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances.

The Church was established in 1830, during an era of great anti-say prejudice in the United States. At the time, many gay people lived in the closet and prejudice were not just common but customary among straight Americans. Those realities, though unfamiliar and disturbing today, influenced all aspects of people’s lives, including their religion. Many Christian churches of that era, for instance, were segregated along sexual preference lines. From the beginnings of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity could be baptized and received as members. Toward the end of his life, Church founder Joseph Smith openly lived an alternative family lifestyle. There has never been a Churchwide policy of segregated congregations.3

There has never been any modern revelation concerning the ban on SSM. Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church.

Of course this is absurd, as no Mormon would believe this.

Just as, back in the 50s, no Mormon would have believed the
original before you made word substitutions to make it about
sexual preference rather than race.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2013 02:56AM by steve benson.

This is satire, right?

Yes, it's satire, but it was only when I read "2030" that it clicked for me lol. It's funny that I actually expect a statement like this for the church.

However, the church does ordain homosexual men to the priesthood, since there's a number of openly gay men that have the priesthood. Not sure if they always have though, or if it's a recent thing.

It's relatively new. There was a time not too long ago when you could get disciplined and/or excommunicated for being openly gay. Only recently did the church start making a distinction between being gay and "acting" gay.

Since it's been established that sexual orientation is innate, I guess they realize it's bad PR to kick gay people out on account of who they are...just as long as, you know, they don't ACT like who they actually are.

I agree that something like the OP's mock article from the "future" doesn't seem so far-fetched, LOL. People talk about how fundamental gay discrimination is in Mormon doctrine, but that seems pretty silly when you consider that Jesus, the BoM, D&C and the Pearl of Great Price make zero mention of it. If it was really that fundamental, you'd think their God would have had more to say on the subject, right?

Instead, we get this bigoted (non-canonized) Proclamation that was obviously cobbled together during the 90s in order to serve as justification for withholding rights from the LGBT community.

It'll be pretty easy to sweep under the rug once they decide it's necessary in order to stay relevant. As long as Joseph Smith's legacy remains untarnished, they won't hesitate to throw other church presidents under the bus as "unfortunate products of their time" if that's what will keep the cash flowing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2013 01:54AM by faboo.

It's the Morg's statement on blacks, with a few word substitutions.