Markk wrote:LoL...droppy, did you read the article in the "Gay" publication by a Gay priesthood leader."
A ward executive secretary is a clerk. He sets appointments, coordinates meetings, etc. He is not a "priesthood leader," and, gay or not, unless he is living the law of chastity, he, like all who refuse to live that law, is liable to find himself neither a ward executive Secretary or a Latter-day Saint.
The very fact that he would write an article such as this in a venue such as the Huffington Post is, of itself, a red flag for his own priesthood leaders. I think this statement here,
I was pleased to see use of the term "gay" more regularly, instead of the primitive and mythical label "same-sex attracted" we've used to describe LGBT individuals for decades. This gives me a bit of hope that we might someday emerge from our archaic and misguided understanding of what it really means to be an LGBT individual: a complete human in the eyes of our Savior, with desires, feelings, and a sexual orientation as complex as and equal to that of our straight fellows.
Should probably get this guy called in for a
serious discussion with his Bishop. Secondly, Elder Oaks, in a major talk on the subject, cautioned members to
not use terms such as "gay" that imply innate, immutable characteristics that are in some sense essential features of the spirit person.
The following is the naked, pustulent evil of the Great and Spacious Building in all its stygian glory:
That means that every LGBT Mormon who chooses can be part of our ward family as their authentic selves: whether they're living inside the confines of the policy as we understand it today, in a monogamous committed relationship with a spouse of their same gender, or dating someone new every night.
Our Savior's message was simple: "Love one another." There was no asterisk on that statement. There is no test to take to be included in His circle. And once we, as Mormons, grasp that more fully and include our LGBT brothers and sisters unconditionally, we can begin to consider ourselves one step closer to emulating the kind of love our Savior already has for all of us.
This is cacophonous sophistry, and utterly out of harmony with the core, central doctrines of the Church regarding human sexuality and its purpose. There is no doctrine or policy in the Church allowing same sex couples to live together in a sexual relationship. They could certainly live together, but would have to be wholly celibate in so doing. Men dating men, whether a few now and then or a new one each night, is not part of the Lords plan and purpose for his children.
In a place such as San Francisco, where nearly 20% of the population is homosexual, this might appear plausible, but in the broader culture, where homosexuals represent between 2% and 3% of the population, and given that there is no evidence that male homosexuals generally speaking ever have - or ever will - have any appreciable desire to ape the sexual norms and disciplines of Judeo-Christian marriage and family structure, Mr. Mayne is as deep in fantasy as Simon offering to pay Peter for a priesthood ordination.
Want the doctrine of the Church, folks? Good. Here it is: Homosexual sex, or the homosexual lifestyle and its associated practices, are
gross wickedness and are a serious transgression of the Lord's laws of human sexuality, little different in severity from premarital sexual relations, adultery, or other perversion/transgressions of the bounds and conditions governing sexual conduct as established by the Savior.
The entire Church of Jesus Christ went into apostasy after the early First Century, and, given what the revelations have to say regarding conditions in the latter days immediately preceding the Second Coming of the Savior, it would not surprise me in the least if entire bishoprics and large segments of entire wards and stakes went into general apostasy over fashionable cause celebs such as homosexual "rights" and were excommunicated en mass or removed themselves from membership of their own accord.
It would not surprise me in the slightest. I am prepared for this eventuality, and prepared to ride out the storm - no matter how high the winds or loud the thunder - until the very end.