letter-to-my-gay-friend-proposition-8-mormon

A letter to my gay friend about The Mormons and Proposition 8

This is a very explosive topic, and I'm not trying to be confrontational here. I have a lot of gay friends, and risk them getting upset at me by posting this.

I know that this topic is important to both sides, but it seems the Mormon point-of-view is always muted by the loud protests. What many seem to overlook is that marriage to Mormons is a sacred institution. Marriage in society has its roots in religion. Marriage has always been between a man and a woman since Adam and Eve. This video that you posted pours gas on the fire of hate towards Mormons making it seem like Mormons are violent and haters of gays. That is false. In fact, there was a lot of violence towards Mormons and vandalism of Church property during the weeks leading up to Prop. 8 in California.

The truth is Mormons do not hate gays just because we do not believe it is God's way. We also do not believe that a man and woman should live together before marriage. This is what I teach my children, not out of hate towards others, but because I believe this to be what God has commanded. It's just what we believe. We believe in marriage, which by definition is between man and woman. I think it is ironic when I hear that we (Mormons) need more tolerance. However, if I believe marriage should only be between man and woman, there is no tolerance for that from the gay community. Tolerance seems to be convenient only if it goes along with the gay agenda. Mormons are not to blame for this belief. It is what most people in our society believe. How everyone lives their life is up to them. Mormons believe that we have our free agency. However, why should my belief in marriage, which is sacred to me, be less valuable that the gay's belief that they should have the right to marriage? This video tries to make it seem like it's about certain rights that gays should have. What rights don't gays have? The piece of paper that says you're married? It makes reference that same-sex marriage is somehow the same as the civil rights movement. That's a bit of a stretch. Furthermore making it look like the Mormons are behind the opposition - overlooking Catholics and millions of others. You can call same-sex marriage "marriage", but I stand by the fact that marriage in the definition of the word is man and women, husband and wife, united historically in a religious ceremony. What the gays want us as society to do is call something "marriage" when it is not. It's a civil union when a same-sex couple is joined legally. And furthermore, gay activists want society to support this "same-sex marriage", blurring what marriage really is, the beginning of a family unit where husband and wife have children. Again, don't blame the Mormons that man and man can't have kids. God created us that way. I believe it is important for children to have both a father and mother. It is part of God's plan. You can mock this belief, but I will not stand by and have my faith attacked with lies and deceit showing us as hate-mongers when all we want to do is protect what we believe to be sacred and ordained of God. You're still my friend, and just like all my other gay friends, I don't hate you. However, I really believe that God has spoken on this. It's not a popular view and most do not speak out even if they feel the way I do. You really can't expect the Mormon Church to change its view on marriage because you would ultimately be asking for God to change His view on marriage, just because it's what you want. Wanting it does not change God's law.

find-mormon-faith-other-religion-if-born-elsewhere

A question was posed to this person of Mormon Faith:

... Do you ever have trouble intellectually reconciling the fact that the geographical circumstance of your birth has dictated your theological belief system? i.e. if you had been born into a muslim or jewish family, you would subscribe to those belief systems, but because you were born into a Mormon family, you're signed up for that club. Don't you think that the Absolute Truth of the Universe transcends the random circumstances of the birth of organisms on this speck of dust floating about in space?

His short answer:

Joseph Smith once called the Book of Mormon the “keystone of our religion.” That is to say, everything rises and falls with its veracity. If it is what it purports to be, then Joseph Smith was, indeed, a prophet of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored New Testament church on earth today, complete with living apostles and Christ’s holy priesthood. Conversely, if it’s a fraud, then I needed to get as far away from the church as humanly possible.

I had a fairly solid intellectual appreciation for the Book of Mormon. The arguments for its authenticity carry more weight than its critics would have you believe, but at the same time, an intellectual assessment is insufficient. It’s not enough to appreciate a book. To have lifelong faith to carry you through all the crap that life dishes out, you have to encounter God.

And the Book of Mormon itself promises that God will make Himself known to you as you read and ponder its pages.

I can muster up as many good arguments as the next guy, but they don’t do any good. If you want to know how I can be so confident that what I believe is right, the only way I can answer is that, particularly through the Book of Mormon, I have felt the power of God that has given me an assurance that goes beyond words. It does not defy reason, but it is not swayed by the winds of fashion. I recognize that similar sentiments have been voiced by lunatics and worse, and I make no pretension to perfection or even a preponderance of goodness. All I can do is suggest that the only one who can tell you what God wants you to do is God Himself.

I respectfully suggest you ask Him.

Read the entire blog here:

http://www.stallioncornell.com/2009/10/answering-matts-question.html

Link to the talk that started the discussion

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-28,00.html