I'm not the most diverse person in the world...but still..
My question is...exactly HOW can a person be a complete person/partner (or even have one) if they're gay AND mormon.
To be a complete person, you should have the choice to partner w/whoever you wish...if your partner does not fit into the mormon doctrine of being "same-sex attracted" but not acting on it (other religions too)..
So how can any gay person be mormon, if they're to be condemned to a life of personal solitude.
"The church has changed its official stance regarding homosexuality. According to the text, attraction to a person of the same gender is not a sin, but acting on it is. Furthermore, the stance reads, people don't choose to be gay, but they choose how to respond to it. If a church member is gay but doesn't act on it, then she or he still can have full fellowship.
So you can be gay and Mormon, as long as you don't act on the former."
You've hit the nail on the head. Being gay and being Mormon are two things that are diametrically opposed and at opposite ends of the spectrum. If you try to make them mesh you get mush, painful sludgy mush. Even Jesus said you can't serve two masters, which is painfully obvious to anyone with a brain.
The Mormon church has softened its language for P.R. reasons, but underneath the message is the same old poison and the only antidote is to take your own life back, dust off your brain and use it.
I'm glad that many mormons are becoming more accepting. I'm glad that reparitive therapy seems to have run its course...
But telling people that theyll just have to wait "until the next life" when they will presumably be "made straight" to have a love life is just dumb.
Edit to add: Gay people aren't "responding" to homosexuality any more than straight people "respond" to heterosexuality... they are simply living their life.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2014 12:27PM by nonsequiter.
The LDS cult has wondered into a corner, then proceeded to take out two color paints, one for each side and now find themselves unable to move.
Paint 1, used on the exterior wall: We love gays, we always have. We support union and gays can serve anywhere, they are treated as equal. We don't know why people are gay, but whatever because we just love them.
Paint 2, used on the inside walls and in chapels everywhere: Gender identity was formed in the pre-earth life. People can repent from being gay, being gay is a sin contrary to the nature of god, why would god make a person gay? gay marriage is an affront to God himself and we oppose it.
So now LDS cult find themselves paralyzed, hoping that with time they paint will dry and they can walk away and pretend they were ever in this predicament.
I think two LDS guys should be "same-sex-married" but tell their bishop that they do not engage in any hanky-panky. They are same-sex-attracted, but are believing Mormons who keep their actions within the guidelines.
Say they just got same-sex married for the fianancial etc. reasons.
"Honest, bishop, we sleep in different beds. We like each other a lot, but we both love the gospel too much to deviate from the Lord's guidelines."
If the Church accepts celibate gays, why not a celibate, married, gay couple??
Of course what they REALLY did in the privacy of their own home is nobody's business but theirs.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2014 04:20PM by baura.
Not sure how any gay person could stay in TSCC. But I guess it's because that's your culture, the one that is the only one you know. How sad it would be to be enculturated into something that denies your nature, denies something that you cannot change. Personally I'm not gay, but have a gay son. I love him as much as his siblings. I haven't yet discussed his relationship with TSCC but assume it's waning or non-existent at this point. He certainly doesn't attend his meetings!
I see a real problem for the church and the gay members of the Mormon church in the phrase "not acting on those feelings". Drawing the line on what is and what is not "acting on those feelings" seems rather difficult if not impossible. There are actions such as hand holding, loving gazes into each others eyes, and whispering sweet terms of endearment that might be considered "acting on those feelings" but do they entail being disciplined or excommunicated? If those kinds of actions are not acceptable within Mormonism than the church is still just saying that it doesn't accept anyone being gay.
Another problem would be having roommates. If two gay men are roommates but swear on the Book of Mormon that they are not "acting on those feelings" are they doing anything wrong (sinning)? If they live for forty years together, and love each other, but are not having sex, are they "acting on those feelings"? I would say they are acting on their feelings of love and attraction, which have their roots in being gay. But I wonder if the church would not wish to see them denied the right to live on a daily basis as partners. Not having sex together is only one part of being gay and the Mormon church doesn't seem to understand that "not acting gay" is pretty much impossible if you ARE gay.
My family tells me how accepting they are but then they raise their hand to the square to sustain their bigoted leaders who spew their ugly hate at the gays and make every effort to rob us of equality.
You can't have it both ways. My family is bigoted. You can't claim your supreme leader is inspired of God and then disagree with him.
No matter how much love and acceptance they profess, if they were forced to choose between me and the church--Tommy, Boyd, and Dallin would win.
When I left the church it was out of duty and honor. When I became aware that I was gay I had the strong testimony of the gospel. I knew what was right, but then I became conflicted because I knew that being gay was who I am, and that part of me was unchangeable and I did not want to change. I left the church because I did not feel compatible anymore and it was the right and honorable thing to do. I did not want to leave. My whole person knew it was what I had to do, the so called voice told me. That voice was the same that had always been with me. So if evil has always been with me then I was evil from baptism. What really pissed me off was that no one from the church came to my rescue. I was able to leave with ease. Once I left, that firm foundation I once felt I had fell apart like a sugar cube hitting water. Over time I started to see how ugly the church was and what it does to families who don't strictly adhere to its government. If the church is family then why won't they accept me for who I am.
*if they were forced to choose between me and the church--Tommy, Boyd, and Dallin would win.*
That's the real pain of leaving Mormonism. If it were not for my family, I would have recovered much easier. But no. Most of them are still in and fanatically so.