LDS Topics and SSA

[Anonymous]

I’m saying right up front this bugs me, but I didn’t discover it until this morning as the result of a Facebook post. The poster, active LDS, was stating his opposition to the “choices Gays make” and linked to the topics section that talks about SSA https://www.lds.org/topics/same-gender-attraction?lang=eng” class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.lds.org/topics/same-gender-attraction?lang=eng. I didn’t get what he was saying at first because I thought the church’s stance was that SSA itself is not a choice. But NOWHERE in that article does it say that (the article does link to mormonsandgays.org where it does say so).

It really infuriated me because this guy, although supposedly preaching against hate, was using this article to justify his belief that homosexuality is a choice. Grr.

OK, I vented, I’m OK for awhile. Correlation people, if you’re looking, please make it clear in the LDS topics section that SAME SEX ATTRACTION IS NOT A CHOICE.

[Anonymous]

Adding my GRRRR to yours. I swear as an organization we are so splintered in our messages the ship will sink on that alone.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

I didn’t get what he was saying at first because I thought the church’s stance was that SSA itself is not a choice.

That is the Church’s stance.

I would LOVE a much clearer statement, but the following means the feelings and attractions are not a choice:

Quote:

While maintaining that feelings and inclinations toward the same sex are not inherently sinful

The problem, as you state, is that many people can’t understand what that means and continue to belief same-sex attraction is a choice. It needs to be stated explicitly and unmistakably.

On a bright side, the article uses “gay” and “lesbian” – which is not a small change from years ago.

[Anonymous]

Obviously I agree, Ray. Honestly, with the fairly clear statement on the Mormons and gays site I thought it was pretty clear what the official church stance is. At the top of that page is statement we’re aware of:

Quote:

The experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is. Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God’s children, including our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.

That’s why I was so fully shocked that the same more clear statement is not a prominent part of the LDS Topics article. I see no reason why it’s not. It is just as easy to find the LDS Topics article as it is to find the Mormons and gays site, but it is abundantly clear the topics page is an official statement of the church IMO.

As an additional note, I was just as upset yesterday that this guy was able to use the topics page as justification for his belief, a belief that remains all too common within the church. I hope that a GA repeats the statement above in GC as Elder Ballard recently did in his talk. FWIW, no one has refuted this guy on Facebook or posted the above statement. I would, but I don’t have an account.

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