Mormons and Gay Marriage

Mormons and Gay Marriage

Posted on 4:40 PM by Unknown | 12 comments

I believe in marriage between a man and a woman. I do not support gay marriage. No, that does not mean that I am hateful or prejudiced in any way toward individuals with same-sex attraction. I love them like anyone else. But there seems to be a lot of talk about Mormons hating gays or being discriminatory toward them in some way. I understand there are a lot of beliefs out there, but the truth is that the Mormon church is against gay marriage, not gay people. I don't mean to cause contention or arguments by this post, but rather to reach an understanding of Mormon beliefs as they pertain to homosexuality.

Facing personal, sinful tendencies in life.

A key doctrine taught in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints concerns our purpose in life, and is called the Plan of Salvation. This plan is God's plan for us to come to earth into families, gain bodies, experience learning and growth, and then to one day return to live with Him again. Linda S. Reeves, a well-known leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, further explained, "One reason we are here on earth is to learn to manage the passions and feelings of our mortal bodies." I would like to refer to these feelings we need to manage as "sinful tendencies".

Sinful tendencies include the cravings for alcohol, or tobacco, or the impulses to lie, cheat, steal, or kill. These sinful tendencies are a natural part of being mortal—everyone on this earth deals with them. Having these feelings is not sinful, but how we choose to respond to them can be. God has given us "agency", the power and privilege to decide for ourselves how we will respond when facing temptation (Doctrine and Covenants 58:28). When we give in to a sinful tendency, we are choosing sin, and we remove ourselves from God. But when we resist and choose obedience to God's commandments, we are blessed with peace, happiness, and added strength to withstand future temptations. Therefore, the tendency is not what matters, but rather how we act on it.

I don't mean to be simplistic with this example, but let's compare to gluttony. I have a sinful tendency to eat way too much. Sometimes I think to myself, “Just one more cupcake… that would only be like what, eight of them tonight? And I only had two cookies during lunch… these are just really yummy…” I confess, I struggle everyday; desserts are so good! But I certainly don’t feel close to God when I am lying on the floor in agony, completely sick to my stomach. Obviously, my friends who experience same-gender attraction are facing a very different issue, but regardless of circumstances, we are children of a loving, unbiased God who expects us to keep his commandments. He sees our potential to rise above our imperfections and resist our personal, sinful tendencies.  

Devotion to God and obedience to His laws.

The current issue of gay marriage is a heated and controversial topic in the world, but not in God's eyes. His standard is set.

My ancestor, Dorcus McBride (interesting name, I know), lived during a time of great discrimination and persecution against her faith. She witnessed the brutal mutilation of her father by corn knife in October of 1838 while living in Missouri. He was murdered solely on account of his being a Mormon. Despite this horrific memory, Dorcus never deserted her beliefs. She continued in the face of great hatred, and eventually made the 1300 mile trek to Utah with other pioneers.

When I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I made the promise to obey God’s commandments. Even when following Him is unpopular by the world’s standard, I cannot break my promise. I cannot support gay marriage. It's against God's law. I know such a defiant stance will bring persecution. But, like my ancestor, I will not desert my beliefs.

Elder Russell M. Nelson, one of the Twelve Apostles in the Church, said recently:

“Even if ‘everyone is doing it,’ wrong is never right. Evil, error, and darkness will never be truth, even if popular… Keeping divine commandments brings blessings, every time! Breaking divine commandments brings a loss of blessings, every time!”

We do not support gay marriage not because we hate or discriminate against gays, but because we believe God only approves of marriage between a man and a woman. We oppose gay marriage because we want to keep God's commandments.

Love and respect towards all of God's children.

Jesus said to his disciples, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-39). God wants us to love each other. 

Nobody is perfect. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are certainly not perfect. I have heard mean-spirited, discriminatory comments made by members of my faith. I have also heard unsavory remarks spoken by people of other denominations. In an ideal world, we would all treat one another with kindness, an ideal that members of the Church strive for.

Human nature would have us shun those who act or look differently than ourselves. But human nature is not God's nature. He loves all of His children and has created each of us to be unique. Our opinions, experiences, tendencies, and difficulties in life make us who we are. Despite our differences, I know that we are all, as children of God, more alike than we are different.

So there it is. I don't support gay marriage, and never will because of my belief in God’s unchanging laws on marriage. But God has also commanded that we love one another. Let us put aside our differences and focus on what we have in common!