Mormons and Gays dot com

By Brig Bagley

12 February 2014

If you didn't already know, since the pressure of legalizing gay marriage in the US has become a daily issue, the LDS Church has put together a website explaining the church's position and interactions with those who "struggle with same-sex attraction".  The site says nothing new to what active members have been taught, except the fact that gay and lesbian people should be treated with love and respect just like any other. LGBT members that adhere to church principles and do not engage in homosexual activities have the same opportunities and blessings as other members.

Except they don't. 

The pinnacle of Mormon life is marriage in a temple and eternal families with children and the promise of "eternal increase", or being able to create children in Heaven after death for eternity. The Church no longer prescribes heterosexual marriage as a "panacea" to same-sex attraction, but states that it has worked for some, and been disastrous for others. The individual must choose what would be best for them. 

But how does a gay Mormon know what is best? If he/she chooses to marry heterosexually, there runs the risk of never being happy with their spouse, usually resulting in divorce and a broken (or at least unstable) family. If he/she decides to remain single, never engaging in ANY sexual activity (because it's immoral outside a heterosexual marriage, even masturbation), the person becomes stuck in the Mormon cycle of preparing for marriage and family that will never happen (except for the hope of a family after they die). If marriage is not an option, the only other option (aside from suicide, which unfortunately, many resort to) is to remain celibate for life. 

On mormonsandgays.org, there are a number of stories of members who have struggled with "SSA" and found happiness and hope in the gospel that they can be just as happy as the straight members of the church, as long as they are "steadfast and endure to the end". 

Although many are convinced that this is the righteous path they must follow, what is not fairly depicted on the site are those who doubt the institution as a whole for not having an explanation, nor a reasonable solution for those that do not fit in the typical Plan of Salvation. If active gay Mormons are truly happy living a celibate or heterosexual life, they are a rare exception to the vast majority of LGBT people that have escaped the LDS lifestyle.  

No matter how accepting the LDS church is of LGBT people, as long as they restrict the family possibilities of same-sex couples in order to be in full fellowship, they will be an unhealthy institution for them to be a part of.  

In all fairness, the site itself is a positive step for the LDS church.  It is, however, an easy way out to avoid bad press and puts on the image of acceptance. It is inevitable that same-sex marriages will be acceptable and lawful throughout the country and even the world within a few short years. As long as the LDS church clutches to its tradition, it will again experience drops in activity. Just like the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement will impose social pressure for change in the Church. It will either have to make that change as it did with blacks and the priesthood, or suffer some sort of collapse.