How long halt ye between two opinions on ‘Same-Sex Marriage’? A plea to my fellow LGBT Saints.
Every, single General Conference, it’s inevitable that I will hear grumblings from the LGBT-identifying Latter-day Saints, expressing their disdain for President Oaks, and other General Authorities, for their clear teachings regarding gender and marriage, as outlined in The Family: A Proclamation to the World. They bemoan and lament such doctrine as being “hurtful” and/or “bigoted.” Some even openly discuss that they cannot wait for the current elderly leadership of the Church to die off so that more progressive “revelations” on the LGBT issue can be received, to allow temple sealings for same-sex couples. I empathise with the hurt and struggle that these Saints face, as I’ve had my own personal struggle in seeking to reconcile my experience of homosexual attraction with the teachings of the Restored Gospel. These LGBT Saints are not seeking to reconcile themselves with God’s immutable laws, but rather they’re persisting in placing their faith in a vain hope.
My dear fellow Saints who experience homosexual attraction or gender dysphoria, I ask you: How long are some of us going to struggle with the two choices? If President Nelson and the current Apostles be the Lord’s authorised servants—prophets, seers, and revelators—then follow them and their teachings! But if not, then follow whatever god is fashioned after your own image. Others have the choice to follow the god of their choice, but I choose to follow the Living God through his prophets and apostles. We must no longer place our faith in a vain hope that the doctrine regarding marriage and gender will change, miraculously negating the Lord’s own teaching since the time of Moses.
The Lord’s teachings on this matter have been clear and consistent for millennia.
Through Moses, the Lord commanded in about 1440-1400 BC: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”, and “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13).
Through revelation, Paul taught in about 54 AD: “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
And, in our most recent October 2023 General Conference, President Dallin H Oaks refuted the idea that The Family Proclamation is a changeable statement of policy, and our dear Prophet, President Russell M Nelson lovingly taught: “The Lord has clearly taught that only men and women who are sealed as husband and wife in the temple, and who keep their covenants, will be together in the eternities.”
“If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
My fellow LGBT Saints: How long will some of us continue to deny these teachings and hope for them to change? (“But, what about the Priesthood Ban? Isn’t that a clear example of the Church changing doctrine?” you might ask. No, that erroneous assumption is thoroughly debunked in my earlier blog post.) These teachings are not some attempt to weaponise doctrine against a supposed helpless minority and exclude them from the blessings of the gospel! They are not reiterated to hurt and belittle people. No! They are lovingly taught to help God’s children to see their true identity and to show them how to take advantage of all the blessings that a loving Heavenly Father seeks to bestow upon his children, that we can receive a fullness of joy. These blessings are contingent upon surrendering our wills to Jesus Christ, partaking of his atoning grace, and keeping his commandments; including expressing sexual intimacy only within the marriage covenant between a man and woman, and ultimately having that marriage sealed by priesthood authority in the temple. There is no other way to partake in the Divine Nature and inherit all that the Father has.
(Please understand that I am not saying that one must enter into the marriage covenant and have children in order to have godly joy in this life. No, we can have godly joy as we seek to live as close to and faithfully to God’s ideal. For some of us, that means living in chaste singleness in mortality. No blessings, including joy, will be withheld from faithful covenant keepers.)
I plead out of love and concern for my fellow homosexually-attracted Latter-day Saints: Please, we must surrender all that we are—our pride, hopes, expectations, desires, appetites, and passions—at the feet of Jesus! We must to make his will our own. We must put aside these foolish notions and hopes that the Church is ever going to allow same-sex marriage and gender transitioning; this will not happen. Let us bridle all our passions according to the Lord’s will. I know, in this, there is everlasting joy. I know it isn’t easy. In fact, it can be an agonising process at times—at least I know it has been for me on my personal journey—but I have found that as I’ve sought to crucify my flesh and take up my cross to follow Jesus, I have found peace, joy, and fulfilment that unmatched by any shallow counterfeit that world can provide. This is my deepest, most sincere desire for all my fellow brothers and sisters.
