Speaking Truth to Political Correctness

My intent in the first installment of my thoughts on the “gay marriage” issue, entitled “Judging the California Supremes”, was to strip away as much of the emotionally charged blathering about the court’s decision as possible and focus on the facts of the case. At the end of that post, I promised another installment laying out my personal opinions on the entire issue and its meaning for our society. I herewith fulfill that promise.

One of the evident dysfunctions in this debate is the undisciplined malice with which pejorative labels are hurled between both sides of the issue. Opponents of gay marriage sometimes use hateful terms like “fags”, “homos” and other maledictions that will not see print here. Proponents of gay marriage are fond of hurling the “homophobes” and “bashers” labels. I cannot see any benefit whatsoever to anyone from such discourse and I wish it would stop (though I know it won’t). I will never personally engage in it.

For the record, I am opposed to the concept of “gay marriage”. The fact that I have a difference of opinion with its proponents does not mean I hate them, fear them, or wish them harm of any kind. All it means is that I respectfully disagree with them. I resent any accusation to the contrary.

One very important thing I think proponents of “gay marriage” should acknowledge is that any change in the legal definition of marriage would NOT be a change just for them; it would be a change for everyone in our society. There will never be two definitions of marriage, only one. That one definition will affect all of us, including me, so I think I am as entitled to my opinion as they are to theirs.

From a purely legal point of view, I believe there are documentable flaws in the majority opinion of the court that could certainly be reasonably challenged. Three of the seven justices did so, and their arguments are not without merit. Nevertheless, having previously stipulated that I am no lawyer, I will defer to those who are qualified to express those arguments competently.

I believe very strongly in personal and family privacy. I want neither the government nor the Church in my bedroom as long as I am not violating their laws. I afford the same consideration to all other people.

Having said that…

I have a firm and deep faith in a God who has provided guidance on these complex and sensitive issues through scripture, and through living men whom I believe to be His prophets in our day.

Old Testament teachings concerning homosexual behavior include Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13. The latter verse might leave a modern lawyer some wiggle room to defend a client, but the prescribed penalty for conviction is clear and severe. New Testament teachings include a specific prescription by the Savior in Mark 10:7 establishing marriage as being heterosexual in nature.

The Church’s official comments on same-gender attraction may be summarized as follows:

Advocates on either side of the issue often result to name calling and labeling. Having a different opinion is no crime, and should not result in venomous slander. Reasonably disagreeing with proponents of “gay marriage” does not mean the Church is narrow-minded, bigoted, or irrational.

The issue as more than social; it is also a test of basic religious freedom to take a stand based on Church doctrine and principles, and to teach accordingly.

Having homosexual inclinations or feelings is not sinful; acting on them is. This principle applies to ALL Church members and to ALL types of thoughts/desires/behaviors that are contrary to God’s revealed commandments.

The Church views the word “homosexual” as an adjective, not a noun. The Church believes it is erroneous and harmful to see one’s sexual orientation as the sole measure of one’s identity. We are all far more than our sexual orientation; it alone is NOT the defining fact of our existence. There are many other characteristics that constitute who we are. The one characteristic the Church suggests every person adopt is that we are all children of a loving God, all born to this earth for a purpose, and all born with a divine destiny. This characteristic is universal, and probably the most important of all the characteristics that constitute a human identity.

The Church’s standard concerning sexual behavior is the same for all members, without exception of any kind. In 1991, the First Presidency of the Church formally stated, “The Lord’s law of moral conduct is abstinence outside of lawful marriage and fidelity within marriage. Sexual relations are proper only between husband and wife, appropriately expressed within the bonds of marriage. Any other sexual conduct, including fornication, adultery, and homosexual and lesbian behavior is sinful. Those who persist in such practices or influence others to do so are subject to Church discipline.”

The Church teaches that homosexual feelings are controllable just as many other feelings leading to sin are controllable. The Church recognizes that individuals may be especially susceptible to one kind of feeling or another, but that feelings and behavior can be controlled.

The notion that simply because someone has an inclination to do something they must inevitably do it is one of the great sophistries of our age.

The Church does not believe anyone is born with the absolute inability to eventually succeed in controlling their own eternal destiny, though for some that will be accomplished after mortality. The Church does not take an official position on the “nature vs. nurture” question.

The Church teaches that marriage should never be viewed as a form of “therapy” for individuals who are attempting to control homosexual feelings. Such individuals cannot enter a marriage in good faith.

The Church teaches that same-gender attraction did not exist before mortality and shall not exist thereafter.

The Church defines the “fullness of joy” offered to all of God’s children after mortality, and defined as the very purpose of our existence, as an eternal family unit, including a husband, a wife, and posterity. From the eternal perspective, the sterile, barren nature of homosexual unions is a recipe for an eternal loss of potential joy.

The tragic circumstance of not being able to marry is not unique to those with homosexual feelings. There are many who shall never marry in mortality due to no fault of their own, and who will have that opportunity in the next life.

Church members who do not act on their same-gender attraction feelings are in no way limited relative to heterosexual members when it comes to participation in the Church. Referring to such members, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “We love them as sons and daughters of God. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church.”

The Church views marriage as a matter of neither politics nor social policy, but as a divinely defined institution. It is a core doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no such thing in the Lord’s eyes as something called “same-gender marriage”. Homosexual behavior is, and will always be, an abominable sin before the Lord. Calling it something else by virtue of some political definition does not change that reality.

Proponents of “gay marriage” falsely argue that the concept will have no effect on the traditional institution of heterosexual marriage. If you change the definition of an institution, you change its basic nature FOR EVERYONE, not just the proponents of the change. The coexistence of two types of marriages is a definitional impossibility. The burden of proof that changing the institution in such a radical way will not undo the wisdom and stability of millennia of human experience lies on the proponents of the change, not on the practitioners of the traditional institution.

The Church supports an amendment to the Constitution of the United States declaring that marriage is and can only be between a man and a woman.

In summary, the Church’s position on same-gender attraction and “gay marriage” is:

“God loves all of His children. He has provided a plan for His children to enjoy the choicest blessings that He has to offer in eternity. Those choicest blessings are associated with marriage between a man and a woman by appropriate priesthood authority to bring together a family unit for creation and happiness in this life and in the life to come.

We urge persons with same-gender attractions to control those and to refrain from acting upon them, which is a sin, just as we urge persons with heterosexual attractions to refrain from acting upon them until they have the opportunity for a marriage recognized by God as well as by the law of the land. That is the way to happiness and eternal life. God has given us no commandment that He will not give us the strength and power to observe. That is the Plan of Salvation for His children, and it is our duty to proclaim that plan, to teach its truth, and to praise God for the mission of His Son Jesus Christ. It is Christ’s atonement that makes it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and His resurrection that gives us the assurance of immortality and the life to come. It is that life to come that orients our views in mortality and reinforces our determination to live the laws of God so that we can qualify for His blessings in immortality.”

I think the only thing I can add to that clear declaration of truth is, "Amen".