RJJ’s question:

Okay so, I have a bit of a spiel before I get to my question, here goes. I am a gay man, and I’d say I’m out and proud, and very happy with my lifestyle, I have friends who follow the Mormon teachings and they are genuinely accepting of my lifestyle and loving, dear friends on top of that acceptance. I don’t believe in any religion myself but I’m respectful of others beliefs, and I’d like to think I’m extremely at peace with my friends and their faith and beliefs (I come from the UK and have a very varied pool of friends with extremely varied belief systems). From what I can gather in research and from my friends is that the Church of LDS is against not homosexuality itself, but homosexual acts, as the sin is in the behaviour, not the predisposition to act sinfully, and that one of the reasons the Church is against homosexuality is that homosexual acts take place outside of marriage. This leads me into my question, if the law of the land were to change to allow same-sex marriage would that then, in your opinion. possibly lead the Church to a new stance on the issue of homosexuality? I ask this here because this seems like a level headed forum of ideas and you give more casual advice and guidance than the official Church of LDS, and also because I have a great respect for Mormons in general, I’ve never met an unkind or impolite Mormon (and manners are rated very highly by me) and as a whole the organised religion of the Church of LDS doesn’t seem to want to condemn anyone, I may be wrong but as far as I can see it’s more about praising goodness and faith then condemning sinners to hell, and I can get on board with that ideal. Thank you for any light you can shed on this issue, hope all is well.

RJJ, thanks for your question. First of all, thank you for your kind words; I’m glad to hear that your experiences with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been positive. We also appreciate the respectful tone of your question, and I hope that something I say might be helpful.

You are correct in the sense that the Church has taken a position that focuses on behavior and not on inclination (after all, we all have inclination to sin in one way or another). You have likely heard or read stories from members of the Church who have same-sex attraction and are able to be, as we say, “members in good standing” if they live the law of chastity (no sexual relationships outside of marriage).

And you ask a reasonable question.. If I’m understanding it correctly (and please let me know if I’m misunderstanding your question), you are wondering what will happen if and as the law of the land shifts around the definition of marriage. Will the Church would ever change its position to accommodate same-sex relationships within a legal marriage?

You have asked for my opinion, and I will give it here. I do not believe that the Church will change its position on the law of chastity to accommodate same-sex relationships, even as the law of the land is changing. Why do I think this? I am one who likes to watch patterns in what our prophets are teaching, and something that they are very consistent about is making our stand about marriage unmistakably clear. They also recognize that the laws may change, but they have repeatedly stated that God’s laws will not.

I could share many quotes that show this pattern. I think the following quote can suffice to illustrate what kind of teaching I’m referring to. This is from Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Before his call, he was a Supreme Court Justice in Utah. He understands both our doctrines as well as the legal elements of questions like the one you have posed.

Our understanding of God’s plan and His doctrine gives us an eternal perspective that does not allow us to condone such behaviors or to find justification in the laws that permit them. And, unlike other organizations that can change their policies and even their doctrines, our policies are determined by the truths God has identified as unchangeable…. [L]aws legalizing so-called “same-sex marriage” do not change God’s law of marriage or His commandments and our standards concerning it.

The doctrine of marriage between a man and woman is central to our belief system. The law of chastity — that commandment, the standard related to sexual relationships — is inextricably tied to that doctrine of marriage as we believe it has been defined by God.

No, we do not seek to condemn, but we do seek to share what we believe because we do believe that the commandments of God are for all of His children. We invite people to learn about the eternal nature of our existence as children of heavenly parents, the plan of salvation (which includes the doctrine of marriage and the purpose of life), about the Savior and His commandments and covenants  (and why they exist), and about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

But then we seek to respect the right of people to choose what they will believe and do in their own lives. Thank you again for your respectful engagement here. I do hope this has been of some help, but please do feel free to follow up if you have more questions.

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The statement concluded with a reminder to maintain civil discourse on this divisive issue, which is a message we have heard numerous times, both specifically about the gay marriage issue and also in general.

You can read more about the Church’s position on gay marriage in the following articles:

The Divine Institution of Marriage

Same-sex Marriage and Proposition 8 (includes a list of links to videos and articles that explain more of the Church’s position, and also includes a link to the coalition that worked to organize people to pass Proposition 8 (the coalition is not affiliated with the Church))

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The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Music and the Spoken Word program was voted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.  Enjoy some clips from the program on the Radio Hall of Fame website.

You can listen to the program on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time.

The post Noteworthy (US) News: Prop 8 Overturned; Mormon Tabernacle Choir “Music and the Spoken Word” Inducted into Radio Hall of Fame appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

The statement that was read as part of the announcement of the Church’s choice on this matter included the following explanations regarding this decision:

In drafting these ordinances, the city has granted common-sense rights that should be available to everyone, while safeguarding the crucial rights of religious organizations, for example, in their hiring of people whose lives are in harmony with their tenets, or when providing housing for their university students and others that preserve religious requirements.

The Church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage.

The Church has taken a firm stand on upholding the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman and is devoted to also protecting religious rights, as Elder Dallin H. Oaks recently explained. But this effort to work together with city leaders in Salt Lake a illustrates, as Michael Otterson (managing director for Church Public Affairs) explained, that we “belong to a church that believes in human dignity, in treating others with respect even when we disagree – in fact, especially when we disagree” (emphasis in original).

For more information on the Church’s position regarding same-sex marriage, see this statement, issued during the time when Proposition 8 was on the ballot in California, USA. You can also see some videos and other information that the Church provided during that time here.

The post Noteworthy News: LDS Church Backs Nondiscrimination Ordinance appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

LDS Church Apostle, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, addresses recent graduates on the topic of religious freedoms and liberty (full text). He says, “Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms.” Summary of the talk can be found here.

Elder Oaks answers questions about his talk below.

See here for more information about the Church’s stand on selected public issues, such as the following:
Political Neutrality
Child Abuse
Abortion
Same-Gender Attraction
Embryonic Stem-cell Research
Euthanasia and Prolonging Life
Capital Punishment

The post Links We Like: Apostle speaks about threats to religious liberties; Church’s views on public issues appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

However, there are also those who recognize that Mormons, just like any other group or individual, have the right to speak out and get involved on issues that are important to them. You can read some statements of those who have offered there support here.

We here at The Mormon Women Website* wanted to express appreciation to those who have offered their support. We encourage people to remember that clearly it is not just Mormons who have felt strongly about and gotten involved in defending traditional marriage.

We also fully support what our leaders have recently said about the need for civility and respect on both sides of this issue. While we realize that there are those who have exhibited hateful or unkind behavior toward gays, any such behavior is not representative of what we believe (or what we are taught) is appropriate.

We do understand that some will view the Church’s position on Prop 8 as hateful behavior in and of itself. We hope that in time, people can come to see, as they study more about our beliefs and read more from our leaders and their teachings, that hate has never been the motivation for those of us who have supported efforts to protect traditional marriage.

If you would like to understand more of why the Church felt so strongly about this issue, you can find links to resources here. You can view videos on a website the Church created for Proposition 8 here.

*We remind you that while we strive to keep our content consistent with the doctrine and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this site is not officially affiliated with the Church. For more information about the Church, visit mormon.org. You can also find more official commentary, press releases, and other information at the Church’s Newsroom site.

The post “Measured Voices Provide Reason, Support Amidst Proposition 8 Reaction” to Mormons appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Read one woman’s experience taking a stand for the issue: “I Hope You Know We’re Not Haters”.

The post One Mormon Women’s Experience Holding Signs for Prop 8 in California appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

The post More links on the Church’s teachings about homosexuality, marriage appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

First, we wanted to say, as a group of women who care deeply both about our faith and also about those who are directly affected either by the California decision or by the Church’s stand on this topic, that our beliefs about gay marriage do not stem from a place of hatred, bigotry, or insensitivity to those whose lives this issue personally touches. Many of us know and care about those who are in homosexual relationships. We understand some of the struggles that these people face, and the desires they have to have their relationships legally recognized and accepted by society.

But these feelings of sympathy and a desire to be sensitive to the emotional and often-divisive nature of this issue cannot change the position we believe to be true. And this is because of the overall beliefs we have about the purposes of life and the eternal potential we have as children of God. We understand the desire to pursue dreams and hopes and goals for this life. We understand the desire to solidify relationships that are significant to a person. But God’s purposes go beyond this life. It is this eternal perspective that influences our view on this issue. The plan of God centers around the institution of marriage, defined by God as a relationship between a man and a woman — a relationship that can continue beyond the grave.

As Boyd K. Packer has said, “In the center, we…know that the ultimate end of all activity in the Church is that a man and his wife and their children can be happy at home. When influences come that challenge or disturb the possibility that… home will exist in the next world, provided you have the ordinances, we find great dangers in them.”

In a sense, from our perspective, it wouldn’t fully be loving and caring behavior for us to uphold anything that threatens the potential blessing of an eternal family, for anyone. We realize we cannot force this blessing on anyone, and we recognize that not all share in these beliefs, but perhaps one can understand why we take the position we do, believing what we do about our eternal potential and what is necessary to obtain the blessings God has for us if we are faithful to His plan. Society may redefine marriage, but God will not, and so we cannot, no matter how much we care about those whom we know struggle with our position on this issue.

President Hinckley said this:

“We love them as sons and daughters of God. …
“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.”

You can read more about our beliefs on this topic (and some people’s experiences with homosexuality) by linking to the following:

Compassion for Those Who Struggle
Loved One Struggles with Same-sex Attraction…and another article with a similar title
Marriage is Essential to His Eternal Plan
An interview with Dallin H. Oaks and Lance B. Wickman
The Proclamation to the World on the Family

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The post Our Thoughts on Gender Roles appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.