Mormon church wants more compassion for gays

Fox News ^ | December 6, 2012

[greyfoxx39]

Mormon leaders unveiled a new website Thursday encouraging church members to be compassionate in discussions about homosexuality.

Church officials insist they haven't changed the Mormon teaching that marriage is only between a man and a woman and that same-sex relationships are sinful.

However, the website includes an appeal to gay and lesbian Mormons to stay in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

-SNIP-

"We must not judge anyone for the feelings they experience," church authorities wrote, saying homosexuality "should not be viewed as a disease or illness."

The website does not use the words "gay" or "lesbian," the terms preferred by the gay community.

-SNIP-

Many gay Mormons say they have been rejected by their families and have left the church.

[greyfoxx39]

Definition of DISSONANCE

a: lack of agreement; especially: inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's actions and one's beliefs —
 compare cognitive dissonance
b: an instance of such inconsistency or disagreement

Merriam Webster definition

One has to wonder at the motive for this change. Was there a revelation to the prophet commanding it?

[greyfoxx39]

Ping

[xzins]

In an earlier generation, if one man could have multiple wives, then some men had to have been left wondering whether Mormonism was a good deal for them.

[JustTheTruth]

The fact that a person feels same-sex attraction is not the sin. Acting on the feelings is.

[FrankR]

COMPASSION - a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Misfortune? I thought they had “gay pride”.

Suffering? Dancing naked in gay parades?

Obviously, vocabulary is not a hot topic in the Morman church.

[conserv8]

8 ¶ I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified [themselves] against their border.

9 Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified [themselves] against the people of the LORD of hosts.

11 The LORD [will be] terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and [men] shall worship him, every one from his place, [even] all the isles of the heathen.

12 ¶ Ye Ethiopians also, ye [shall be] slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.

14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

15 This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am], and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand.

[Mrs. Don-o]

It seems to be not a change. The teaching is evidently still the same, the emphasis is on not alienating members from church, but relating to them in a compassionate manner. Nothing wrong with that.

[fishtank]

True Christianity preaches the cross of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Galatians 6:14

But may it never be that I would boast,

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

through which the world has been crucified to me,

and I to the world.

Philippians 2:8

Being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

[Texan Tory]

This effort at outreach is not directed at the sorts of people who flaunt their homosexuality in gay pride parades. Some people with same-sex attraction go about their lives very quietly, trying to follow God’s will, yet are distracted by feelings that they wish they did not have. I have known a few people like this, and yes, I am very sympathetic to their plight. People who have problems with same-sex attraction, yet are willing are willing to resist these temptations for the sake of God’s will, are very much deserving of support from fellow members and leaders of the church. I would hope that it’s not just Mormons who are attempting compassionate outreach in these situations. Among other churches that also actually take a stand, and declare homosexuality to be a sin (Baptists for example), I expect that they similarly try to be supportive of members of the congregation who are struggling, yet sincerely trying to keep God’s commandments forbidding homosexual practices.

[greyfoxx39]

From the source link:

This website is a collection of conversations; conversations with Church leaders, conversations with Church members who are attracted to people of the same sex, and conversations with the loved ones of gay spouses, children, or grandchildren who are dealing with the effects of same-sex attraction in their own lives. These conversations are not always easy to have. They deal with love and acceptance, sin and morality, aspirations and despair. Those who speak from the heart on this website do not necessarily represent in every word or detail the policies or positions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but all of them speak with authenticity because they reflect what has happened in their own lives and the experiences of those they love. The Church leaders featured here reflect the sentiments and teachings of the highest Church authorities — the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

This official website does not offer a comprehensive explanation of everything related to same-sex attraction, but it does reflect the feelings of Church leaders as to how we should treat each other as part of the human family. The site offers a place where the people whose lives are impacted by attraction to the same sex can find inspiration to work through difficult challenges while remaining faithful to Church teachings.

The Church’s approach to this issue stands apart from society in many ways. And that’s alright. Reasonable people can and do differ. From a public relations perspective it would be easier for the Church to simply accept homosexual behavior. That we cannot do, for God’s law is not ours to change. There is no change in the Church’s position of what is morally right. But what is changing — and what needs to change — is to help Church members respond sensitively and thoughtfully when they encounter same-sex attraction in their own families, among other Church members, or elsewhere.

-SNIP-

“We believe that with an eternal perspective, a person’s attraction to the same sex can be addressed and borne as a mortal test. It should not be viewed as a permanent condition. An eternal perspective beyond the immediacy of this life’s challenges offers hope. Though some people, including those resisting same-sex attraction, may not have the opportunity to marry a person of the opposite sex in this life, a just God will provide them with ample opportunity to do so in the next. We can all live life in the full context of who we are, which is much broader than sexual attraction.

*********************************************

So...the issue of homosexuality will be lumped in with the mormon practice of baptism for the dead....gays can become hetrosexual after death, the way that all Jews, Christians, and other faiths can become mormons after death and THEN be married by proxy so that they can move on and become gods of their own planets...all the dead soul has to do is to "accept" the covenants entered into by proxy in mormon temples on one's behalf!!

[Cicero]

This statement just doesn’t compute.

One should, indeed, be compassionate toward GLBT people. But that does not mean that one should ignore or overlook sinful behavior. And it does not mean that being gay is not still a “disorder,” as the Catholic Church calls it.

To have homosexual inclinations is no one’s fault. But to act on them certainly is.

And those who are the worst hurt by glossing over these facts are the homosexuals themselves, who are thus encouraged to persist in their sins and to spread them to others.

Real Christians act on principle, and in obedience to the laws of God, not on false tolerance and encouragement of evil in others.

“Hate the sin but not the sinner.” That certainly is not what this LDS statement seems to do, regretably.

[Boogieman]

“The fact that a person feels same-sex attraction is not the sin.”

No, lust is a sin as well. If you have thought it, Christ said, you’re as guilty as if you did the deed. That’s why we are commanded to struggle against the lusts of the flesh and not pretend that they are A-Okay.

[metmom]

My sister has a number of friends who are gay and she says there’s not a one of them that didn’t have a domineering mother and an emotionally distant father.

I have plenty of compassion for gays. Anyone who is so tormented by their life that they would go in that direction needs it.

However, there is NO WAY under the sun that I will EVER concede that it is normal or that it should be deserving of the protected class status that it has been endowed with.

When gays first started with their arguments, they said that what they did in the privacy of their bedrooms was nobody else’s business and then hypocritically turned around and made it everybody else’s business by announcing it at every opportunity, by demanding minority status and even going as far as demanding being able to get married.

If it’s nobody else’s business what they do in the privacy of their own bedroom, KEEP IT THERE.

If you’re not going to keep it there but rather flaunt it in my face, then you’re going to hear my opinion about it.

I don’t need to know about it and don’t want to know about it.

[metmom]

The fact that a person feels same-sex attraction is not the sin. Acting on the feelings is.

Exactly. Temptation is not sin. It's temptation.

Jesus was tempted and yet He never sinned.

[metmom]

No, lust is a sin as well. If you have thought it, Christ said, you’re as guilty as if you did the deed.

I would disagree on that part. I don't think we can always help what enters our minds, but we certainly are responsible for what we do with it. Entertain it, and yeah, it becomes sin.

But I would have to say that just having the thought pop in there as it can sometimes, it not a sin. Reject or dismiss it and that is a spiritual victory.

[Boogieman]

“But I would have to say that just having the thought pop in there as it can sometimes, it not a sin. Reject or dismiss it and that is a spiritual victory.”

Yes, that’s true, and that’s not the attitude I’m arguing against. I’m arguing against the attitude that one can embrace the lust, and say it is your preference, and think that, just because you aren’t engaging in homosexual sex acts, that you aren’t sinning. If you were struggling to reject those thoughts, then they wouldn’t be your preference, since obviously you would prefer not to have them.

[Elsie]

"We must not judge anyone for the feelings they experience," church authorities wrote, saying homosexuality "should not be viewed as a disease or illness."

O...
K...

---

Genesis 13:13

Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Genesis 18:20-21
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Genesis 19:4-7
4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.
5. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7. and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.

 

Psalms 12:8      The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.

      More?

Isaiah 3:9   The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.

2 Peter 2:13b  Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

 

 

Ezekiel 16:49-50
49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

---

---

2 Peter 2

 1.  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
 2.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
 3.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
 4.  For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,  putting them into gloomy dungeons  to be held for judgment;
 5.  if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
 6.  if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
 7.  and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
 8.  (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
 9.  if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
 10.  This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature  and despise authority.   Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
 11.  yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
 12.  But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
 13.  They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

---

---

But there IS hope!!!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

 9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
     Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

 

---

If you could NOT change, you would be in most pitiful shape...

[Elsie]

One has to wonder at the motive for this change. Was there a revelation to the prophet commanding it?

Office of First President & Living Prophet®:

December 1st, 2012

The message for this month is -

Fellow MORMON Christians!!

I've been getting strange messages from GOD in my sleep. Things about GAYS, and Joseph Smith's re-translation of the KJV of the bible, and our vast landholdings in Florida and Hawaii.

 

Troubling thoughts that awake me in a sweat.

 

I'll try to keep all of you faithfull fully informed as the meassge becvomes clearer.

 

Until then; CTR and wear your garment!

 

Tommy

Office of First President & Living Prophet®:

December 1st, 2012

The message for this month is -

Fellow MORMON Christians!!

I've been getting strange messages from GOD in my sleep. Things about GAYS, and Joseph Smith's re-translation of the KJV of the bible, and our vast landholdings in Florida and Hawaii.

 

Troubling thoughts that awake me in a sweat.

 

I'll try to keep all of you faithfull fully informed as the meassge becvomes clearer.

 

Until then; CTR and wear your garment!

 

Tommy

[Elsie]

One has to wonder at the motive for this change.

{thought bubble} If them fags had voted for Mitt instead of Barak; we would have won! {/thought bubble}

--MormonDude(Hey! It's just politics!!)

[Elsie]

The teaching is evidently still the same, the emphasis is on not alienating members from church, but relating to them in a compassionate manner.

"Go and SIN no more" is compassionate; wouldn't you think?