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| Saturday, Apr 8, 2006, at 08:27 AM Homosexuality In Mormonism Posted By Infymus HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Mormonism does not tolerate gays and lesbians. Any Mormon member that confesses homosexuality is automatically forced to appear in front of Church Courts. These Courts then decide whether the homosexual transgressions merit either excommunication or dis-fellowshipping. Mormons who have practiced homosexual intercourse with the same sex are automatically excommunicated.
The leaders of the Mormon Church teach that a man is a God-Embryo and therefore cannot be born gay. Mormon leaders teach that homosexuals choose their lifestyles. They teach that this choice came about from sinful parents, masturbation, or willful disobedience of the commandments of God. All blame for the sin of homosexuality is placed on the person causing depression, hopelessness and often - suicide. Mormon Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley stated on Larry King Live (December 2004), "We know they have a problem [homosexuals]. We want to help them solve that problem. ...[sic]... The fact is, they have a problem." During the 1970's the practice of electro-shock therapy was used at the LDS Church owned Brigham Young University. There, homosexuals were electrocuted in an attempt to stop homosexual tendencies. There are no homosexual Mormons who are in "good standing" with the LDS Church. Homosexuals that are excommunicated are no longer able to participate in any Mormon Church function, including praying, teaching or holding any office. The Mormon priesthood is taken away and all "blessings", rights and Temple privileges are taken away. Excommunicated members are further ostracized in Mormon Sacrament Meetings where they are forbidden to take the Sacramental offerings - or even speak vocally. |
| Friday, Feb 25, 2005, at 08:33 AM Every Mormon I Know Thinks Gays Made The Choice Posted By Knownot HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| They all laugh at even the possibility that there's more to it than simply choosing one's sexual orientation. They often explain that "the media" or some sort of influential group convinced them they are gay.
I must say that this idea seems so stupid and ignorant to me - that for thousands of years, perfectly heterosexual people on every inch of the populated earth have suddenly decided they are gay... that they're suddenly and sexually attracted to members of the same sex. It's totally nonsense! I usually like to respond to these types with something like this: If you're position is that everyone simply "chooses" to be gay or straight, you are saying that **you** yourself are a potential homosexual. Somewhere out there, another homosexual is charming and good looking enough that they could REVERSE your sexual attraction?? All it would take is some erotic homosexual stimulation, and you would suddenly find yourself becoming homosexually aroused???? That's very interesting. I myself know for a fact that there is NO guy out there who could "flip my switch" - no matter how handsome he was. LOL! Uhhh, nope... It just doesn't work that way, because I just wasn't "made" that way. You, on the other hand, you had better watch yourself and pay close attention to where your eyes are wandering. LOL! Somewhere out there, a REALLY handsome and charming guy is just waiting to take your heterosexual identity and convince you to throw it in the trash! You'd better be careful! Stay strong, or you might just make the "wrong" choice and "become" gay. I do not claim to know where homosexuality originates or even exactly what it is or how it works. I don't think many other people do either. However, I do know with much certainty that I could not simply "choose" to become gay. I assume that most other humans are also fitted with a non-reversible sexual orientation. Of course there could be exceptions, but I don't imagine they are the majority. |
| Wednesday, Mar 9, 2005, at 07:33 AM AMA Cheif Defends Ban On Gay Group Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
From The Journal News:
WHITE PLAINS — The president of the American Medical Association this week defended a decision by New York Medical College to ban a gay students group from campus, calling it a decision by a private institution to uphold its standards and likening it to Brigham Young University's decisions to ban Coca-Cola from campus and to suspend four athletes accused of raping a 17-year-old girl.It is well known that Mormons are homophobic. It could easily be proven that John Nelson's decision to defend the ban is completely centered in his religious views. His prophet on a live TV show stated that gays have problems. His doctrine clearly illustrates that gays cannot hold the priesthood, cannot enter the temple and will not enter the "Celestial Kingdom" unless they stop being gay. Click Here For Original Thread... |
| Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005, at 07:28 AM Gay Marriage Ruling Doesn't Impact Utah Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
This will make the Mormons sigh a breath of relief. From Mormon Owned Deseret News:
SAN FRANCISCO A judge ruled Monday that California's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional - a legal milestone that, if upheld on appeal, would open the way for the nation's most populous state to follow Massachusetts in allowing same-sex couples to wed.Click Here For Original Link Or Thread. |
| Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005, at 09:37 AM Mormons On A Mission Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most powerful forces working to defeat gay equality. And openly gay and lesbian Mormons are the most powerful force working to change their church.
Excerpted from The Advocate, April 12, 2005 Struggling with his gay sexual orientation several years ago, Aaron Cloward sought help from the leaders of his local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He didn't get any. "The last [Mormon] bishop I talked to said, `You are rejecting Christ. You are on the pathway to hell,'" says Cloward. "The way that makes you feel-" He considered suicide. "I walked home and got my boxes of Benadryl," remembers Cloward, now a 28-year-old surgical technician who lives in Salt Lake City. "Fortunately I had the presence of mind to call my mom. She came over and held me as I cried myself to sleep. It made me take a step back and look at the church with a critical eye." Cloward, who served on a church mission to Southern California, quickly left behind the church and its antigay doctrine, which says that its followers can go forward in the religion only if they do not act on their same-sex attraction. He started a support group in Salt Lake City called Gay LDS Young Adults in the hope of helping other gay and lesbian Mormons find comfort and acceptance as they struggle with the church's teachings and long-held traditions. Click Here For Original Link Or Thread. |
| Wednesday, May 11, 2005, at 07:48 AM Mormon Church's Attempts To Cure Homosexuality Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| In the early 1970s at BYU that they used shock aversion therapy to try and shock homosexuals out of their orientation. I understand that they used naked pictures of women and men. They'd shock the guys when the sensors on them indicated a positive sexual response to men. They eventually abandoned the program, of course.
Let's face it, those "inspired" leaders are at a complete loss as to how to deal with homosexuality. They have organizations such as Evergreen which claim to cure homosexuality, but through the years the self denial crashes and many, if not most men return to their natural homosexual orientation. The Church considers homosexuality a choice inspired of evil. |
| Monday, Jun 6, 2005, at 07:22 AM The Spiritual Side Of Pride Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Jere Keys grew up in the archetypical Mormon family: Sundays at church, family time together on Monday evenings, baptism and the priesthood progression, Boy Scouts, youth groups, daily prayer.
Along the way, he says, he was taught in church that gays were "promiscuous, godless and evil." He remembers a seminary teacher telling the class, "Homosexual people don't love each other. They're only interested in selfish pleasure." Keys was a senior in high school when he came to accept that he was gay. His belief in God dissolved, and he believed he would never be accepted as a good Mormon because he didn't want to marry a woman - he longed for a man. "Gay was wrong," says Keys, now 28. "I wasn't angry at God, but at the church, for making me feel ashamed of myself." Now, after years of hating the LDS Church and denying religion, Keys says he has found "spiritual peace" and hopes folks - gay and straight - realize that faith is important to all people. Click Here For Original Link Or Thread. |
| Monday, Nov 28, 2005, at 09:36 AM The Double Sin Of Homosexuality Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Mormons have taught that any sex outside of marriage is a sin against the doctrines of God. In addition, however, homosexuality has also been called a 'sin against nature' or just 'unnatural.' In other words it is a 'double sin' - against God and against nature. I searched through some of LDS.org looking for a quote to reference and didn't find one. I know Mormon authorities have referred to homosexuality as unnatural but no link for this post. The unmarried heterosexual couple who slips and 'goes all the way' one night have sinned against God according to Mormonism. That is pretty clear. But they can repent, have a ceremony performed, and resume the same activity that got them into trouble with no on-going sin declared on them. Not so for the homosexual couple. There is no way these two can be together within the boundaries of Mormonism without continuing to sin. Repentance will probably require that they completely stop associating with one another not just stopping any sexual activity. Their is no hope fora future within the LDS structure for the gay couple.
Another quote from Paul Monette and 'Becoming A Man': "It wasn't sex I couldn't keep up with, being gay and invisible - it was self." It is true that Mormonism requires a "Stepford Wife" sort of behavior from all it's members. Straight members, however, are allowed a very central quality of who they are - their sexuality. Yes, they might find they need to curb some or perhaps even a good deal of their natural proclivities, but they are still allowed the core of who they are and what they want. For gay Mormons, however, this simply is not the case. They are required to completely subvert, alter, and change or hide what is at their core to conform to the Mormon ideal. Mormonism condemns gay members to a completely superficial life - there is no relief, no escape from a vigil of self suppression. |
| Monday, Jan 24, 2005, at 09:35 AM Homosexuality And Mormonism Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Mormonism claims that it loves homosexuals and treats them with respect. However, this is not the case and no member of
the church who is a practicing homosexual can hold any office, any title, speak in church, hold meetings, teach classes,
partake of the Sacrament nor hold any callings.
Recently, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints spoke on December 26, 2004 with Larry King Live and stated the following: HINCKLEY: Well, we're not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way.Here are references to Mormon Church teachings against homosexuals. Reasons the church gives its members to fear and hate homosexuals: Homosexuals "seldom are happy people" "Homosexuals and lesbians seldom are happy people. Theirs is a relationship that is unnatural, one not bound by fidelity, trust, or loyalty, and one totally lacking in the meaningful family relationships that marriage offers. Homosexuality often espouses emotional problems because of the constant insecurity inherent in a relationship neither sanctioned by nor protected by the law." "Because there is no legal bond, homosexuality too often encourages, or at least permits, promiscuity." "To say that "no one gets hurt" is presumptive. Homosexuals are hurt by the unacceptability of the relationship, not only by society, but also by themselves. This is evidenced by their almost universal desire that their children (if they have any) not follow the same pattern." "Someone does get hurt. There is harm in homosexuality. Many homosexuals seek to introduce others into their practice, often those in their tender, impressionable years. Many studies have indicated that such early homosexual experience may interfere with normal sexual adjustment in subsequent marriage." "Nor is homosexuality compatible with peace of mind, tranquility of soul, or with the Spirit of our Father in heaven that all of us want, need, and enjoy when we live in accordance with his laws." "Just as the Word of Wisdom is the Lord's way with or without medical proof of its value to our health, so likewise the moral law taught by the Church does not require any medical proof of its value to our spiritual and physical health. It is sufficient that the Lord has told us to marry, to have children, and to do this according to the righteous ways of the law of God. In this lies physical health, emotional stability, and true happiness." - LDS Church Ensign, July 1974, Page 14 Homosexuality is Pleasing to the Devil Apostle James E. Faust, "Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil," Spring Conference 1995 "The Church's stand on homosexual relations provides another arena where we offend the devil. I expect that the statement of the First Presidency and the Twelve against homosexual marriages will continue to be assaulted. Satan is only interested in our misery, which he promotes by trying to persuade men and women to act contrary to God's plan. One way he does this is by encouraging the inappropriate use of sacred creative powers. A bona fide marriage is one between a man and a woman solemnized by the proper legal or ecclesiastical authority. Only sexual relations between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage are acceptable before the Lord." "There is some widely accepted theory extant that homosexuality is inherited. How can this be? No scientific evidence demonstrates absolutely that this is so. Besides, if it were so, it would frustrate the whole plan of mortal happiness. Our designation as men or women began before this world was. In contrast to the socially accepted doctrine that homosexuality is inborn, a number of respectable authorities contend that homosexuality is not acquired by birth. The false belief of inborn homosexual orientation denies to repentant souls the opportunity to change and will ultimately lead to discouragement, disappointment, and despair." "Alternatives to the legal and loving marriage between a man and a woman are helping to unravel the fabric of human society. I am sure this is pleasing to the devil. The fabric I refer to is the family. These so-called alternative life-styles must not be accepted as right, because they frustrate God's commandment for a life-giving union of male and female within a legal marriage as stated in Genesis. If practiced by all adults, these life-styles would mean the end of the human family." Homosexuality Makes Men "servants of Satan forever" "Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sins of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad good, and black white." "The unholy transgression of homosexuality is either rapidly growing or tolerance is giving it wider publicity. If one has such desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to his condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. And the Church will excommunicate as readily any unrepentant addict." "Good men, wise men, God-fearing men everywhere still denounce the practice as being unworthy of sons of God; and Christ's church denounces it and condemns it so long as men have bodies which can be defiled." "This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel's wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome." "This is a most unpleasant subject to dwell upon, but I am pressed to speak of it boldly so that no youth in the Church will ever have any question in his mind as to the illicit and diabolical nature of this perverse program. Again, Lucifer deceives and prompts logic and rationalization which will destroy men and make them servants of Satan forever." "The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted. It is true that one's background may make the decision and accomplishment easier or more difficult, but if one is mentally alert, he can still control his future. That is the gospel message--personal responsibility." "And now, my dear young people, I have spoken frankly and boldly against the sins of the day. Even though I dislike such a subject, I believe it necessary to warn the youth against the onslaught of the arch tempter who, with his army of emissaries and all the tools at his command, would destroy all the youth of Zion, largely through deception, misrepresentation, and lies." - The Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, "President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," LDS New Era, Nov. 1980, Page 39 Death penalty for Homosexuals? "I do not find in the Bible the modern terms "petting" nor "homosexuality," yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term "homosexuality," but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed." - Apostle (later the prophet) Spencer W. Kimball, "Love Versus Lust", BYU Speech January 5, 1965. Violence Against Homosexuals is Okay, the Idea that People are Born Gay is of the Devil "There are some circumstances in which young men may be tempted to handle one another, to have contact with one another physically in unusual ways. Latter-day Saint young men are not to do this. It is remarkably dangerous. Such practices, however tempting, are perversion." "While I was in a mission on one occasion, a missionary said he had something to confess. I was very worried because he just could not get himself to tell me what he had done." "After patient encouragement he finally blurted out, "I hit my companion."" ""Oh, is that all," I said in great relief." ""But I floored him," he said." "After learning a little more, my response was "Well, thanks. Somebody had to do it, and it wouldn't be well for a General Authority to solve the problem that way"" "I am not recommending that course to you, but I am not omitting it." "There is a falsehood that some are born with an attraction to their own kind, with nothing they can do about it. They are just "that way" and can only yield to those desires. That is a malicious and destructive lie. While it is a convincing idea to some, it is of the devil. No one is locked into that kind of life. From our premortal life we were directed into a physical body. There is no mismatching of bodies and spirits. Boys are to become men --masculine, manly men --ultimately to become husbands and fathers. No one is predestined to a perverted use of these powers." - Apostle Boyd K. Packer, church-wide pamphlett "For Young Men Only" also General Conference Priesthood Session, October 2, 1976, |
| Monday, Jan 9, 2006, at 08:26 AM Homosexuals Are "Servants Of Satan Forever" Says LDS Church Posted By Deconstructor HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Homosexuality is Pleasing to the Devil Apostle James E. Faust, "Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil," Spring Conference 1995 "The Church’s stand on homosexual relations provides another arena where we offend the devil. I expect that the statement of the First Presidency and the Twelve against homosexual marriages will continue to be assaulted. Satan is only interested in our misery, which he promotes by trying to persuade men and women to act contrary to God’s plan. One way he does this is by encouraging the inappropriate use of sacred creative powers. A bona fide marriage is one between a man and a woman solemnized by the proper legal or ecclesiastical authority. Only sexual relations between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage are acceptable before the Lord." "There is some widely accepted theory extant that homosexuality is inherited. How can this be? No scientific evidence demonstrates absolutely that this is so. Besides, if it were so, it would frustrate the whole plan of mortal happiness. Our designation as men or women began before this world was. In contrast to the socially accepted doctrine that homosexuality is inborn, a number of respectable authorities contend that homosexuality is not acquired by birth. The false belief of inborn homosexual orientation denies to repentant souls the opportunity to change and will ultimately lead to discouragement, disappointment, and despair." "Alternatives to the legal and loving marriage between a man and a woman are helping to unravel the fabric of human society. I am sure this is pleasing to the devil. The fabric I refer to is the family. These so-called alternative life-styles must not be accepted as right, because they frustrate God’s commandment for a life-giving union of male and female within a legal marriage as stated in Genesis. If practiced by all adults, these life-styles would mean the end of the human family." Homosexuality Makes Men "servants of Satan forever" "Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sins of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad good, and black white." "The unholy transgression of homosexuality is either rapidly growing or tolerance is giving it wider publicity. If one has such desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to his condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. And the Church will excommunicate as readily any unrepentant addict." "Good men, wise men, God-fearing men everywhere still denounce the practice as being unworthy of sons of God; and Christ’s church denounces it and condemns it so long as men have bodies which can be defiled." "This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel’s wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome." "This is a most unpleasant subject to dwell upon, but I am pressed to speak of it boldly so that no youth in the Church will ever have any question in his mind as to the illicit and diabolical nature of this perverse program. Again, Lucifer deceives and prompts logic and rationalization which will destroy men and make them servants of Satan forever." "The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted. It is true that one’s background may make the decision and accomplishment easier or more difficult, but if one is mentally alert, he can still control his future. That is the gospel message--personal responsibility." "And now, my dear young people, I have spoken frankly and boldly against the sins of the day. Even though I dislike such a subject, I believe it necessary to warn the youth against the onslaught of the arch tempter who, with his army of emissaries and all the tools at his command, would destroy all the youth of Zion, largely through deception, misrepresentation, and lies." - The Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, "President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," LDS New Era, Nov. 1980, Page 39 Death penalty for Homosexuals? "I do not find in the Bible the modern terms "petting" nor "homosexuality," yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term "homosexuality," but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed." - Apostle (later the prophet) Spencer W. Kimball, "Love Versus Lust", BYU Speech January 5, 1965. Violence Against Homosexuals is Okay, the Idea that People are Born Gay is of the Devil "There are some circumstances in which young men may be tempted to handle one another, to have contact with one another physically in unusual ways. Latter-day Saint young men are not to do this. It is remarkably dangerous. Such practices, however tempting, are perversion." "While I was in a mission on one occasion, a missionary said he had something to confess. I was very worried because he just could not get himself to tell me what he had done." "After patient encouragement he finally blurted out, "I hit my companion."" ""Oh, is that all," I said in great relief." ""But I floored him," he said." "After learning a little more, my response was "Well, thanks. Somebody had to do it, and it wouldn't be well for a General Authority to solve the problem that way"" "I am not recommending that course to you, but I am not omitting it." "There is a falsehood that some are born with an attraction to their own kind, with nothing they can do about it. They are just "that way" and can only yield to those desires. That is a malicious and destructive lie. While it is a convincing idea to some, it is of the devil. No one is locked into that kind of life. From our premortal life we were directed into a physical body. There is no mismatching of bodies and spirits. Boys are to become men --masculine, manly men --ultimately to become husbands and fathers. No one is predestined to a perverted use of these powers." - Apostle Boyd K. Packer, church-wide pamphlett "For Young Men Only" also General Conference Priesthood Session, October 2, 1976, http://www.lds-mormon.com/only.shtml |
| Tuesday, May 30, 2006, at 07:29 AM LDS Church Says Homosexuals Are "Seldom Happy People" Posted By Deconstructor HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Why the LDS Church thinks Homosexuals "seldom are happy people"
"Homosexuals and lesbians seldom are happy people. Theirs is a relationship that is unnatural, one not bound by fidelity, trust, or loyalty, and one totally lacking in the meaningful family relationships that marriage offers. Homosexuality often espouses emotional problems because of the constant insecurity inherent in a relationship neither sanctioned by nor protected by the law." "Because there is no legal bond, homosexuality too often encourages, or at least permits, promiscuity." "To say that "no one gets hurt" is presumptive. Homosexuals are hurt by the unacceptability of the relationship, not only by society, but also by themselves. This is evidenced by their almost universal desire that their children (if they have any) not follow the same pattern." "Someone does get hurt. There is harm in homosexuality. Many homosexuals seek to introduce others into their practice, often those in their tender, impressionable years. Many studies have indicated that such early homosexual experience may interfere with normal sexual adjustment in subsequent marriage." "Nor is homosexuality compatible with peace of mind, tranquility of soul, or with the Spirit of our Father in heaven that all of us want, need, and enjoy when we live in accordance with his laws." "Just as the Word of Wisdom is the Lord’s way with or without medical proof of its value to our health, so likewise the moral law taught by the Church does not require any medical proof of its value to our spiritual and physical health. It is sufficient that the Lord has told us to marry, to have children, and to do this according to the righteous ways of the law of God. In this lies physical health, emotional stability, and true happiness." - LDS Church Ensign, July 1974, Page 14 |
| Tuesday, May 30, 2006, at 07:45 AM LDS Church Warns Against Satan's Evil Threat To God's Marriage System Posted By Deconstructor HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| We've all heard current and recent Mormon leaders blaming the decline of civilization on Homosexuality. Here's just a sampling of Mormon leaders making this claim:
"This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel’s wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome." - Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, "President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," LDS New Era, Nov. 1980, Page 39 "Alternatives to the legal and loving marriage between a man and a woman are helping to unravel the fabric of human society. I am sure this is pleasing to the devil. The fabric I refer to is the family. These so-called alternative life-styles must not be accepted as right, because they frustrate God’s commandment for a life-giving union of male and female within a legal marriage as stated in Genesis. If practiced by all adults, these life-styles would mean the end of the human family." - Apostle James E. Faust, "Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil," Liahona, Nov. 1995, Page 3. But this is the very SAME argument that Mormon Prophets have used against good-old heterosexual monogamy! See here other inspired teachings from the Mormon Church: "It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest lived nations of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome...was a monogamic nation and the numerous evils attending that system early laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her." - Apostle George Q. Cannon, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, p. 202 "Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout Christendom, and which had been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious." - Prophet Brigham Young Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, p. 128 "... the one-wife system not only degenerates the human family, both physically and intellectually, but it is entirely incompatible with philosophical notions of immortality; it is a lure to temptation, and has always proved a curse to a people." - Prophet John Taylor, Millennial Star, Vol. 15, p. 227 "Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire....Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this order of monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers.... Why do we believe in and practice polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have always practised it. 'And is that religion popular in heaven?' it is the only popular religion there,..." - Prophet Brigham Young, The Deseret News, August 6, 1862 "This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans,..." - Apostle Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, page 195 "We breathe the free air, we have the best looking men and handsomest women, and if they (Non-Mormons) envy us our position, well they may, for they are a poor, narrow-minded, pinch-backed race of men, who chain themselves down to the law of monogamy, and live all their days under the dominion of one wife. They ought to be ashamed of such conduct, and the still fouler channel which flows from their practices; and it is not to be wondered at that they should envy those who so much better understand the social relations." - Apostle George A Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, page 291 "Some quietly listen to those who speak against the plurality of wives, and against almost every principle that God has revealed. Such persons have half-a-dozen devils with them all the time. You might as well deny 'Mormonism,' and turn away from it, as to oppose the plurality of wives. Let the Presidency of this Church, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the authorities unite and say with one voice that they will oppose the doctrine, and the whole of them will be damned." - Apostle Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 203 "Just ask yourselves, historians, when was monogamy introduced on to the face of the earth? When those buccaneers, who settled on the peninsula where Rome now stands, could not steal women enough to have two or three apiece, they passed a law that a man should have but one woman. And this started monogamy and the downfall of the plurality system. In the days of Jesus, Rome, having dominion over Jerusalem, they carried out the doctrine more or less. This was the rise, start and foundation of the doctrine of monogamy; and never till then was there a law passed, that we have any knowledge of, that a man should have but one wife." - Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses Vol. 12, page 262 "I have noticed that a man who has but one wife, and is inclined to that doctrine, soon begins to wither and dry up, while a man who goes into plurality [of wives] looks fresh, young, and sprightly." - Apostle Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses Vol 5, page 22 "I think no more of taking another wife than I do of buying a cow." - Apostle Heber C. Kimball, The Twenty Seventh Wife, Irving Wallace, p. 101. As you can see, the LDS Church has a terrible track record on knowing what is right for marriage. Does the LDS Church have any moral authority to speak on the virtues of marriage? |
| Tuesday, May 30, 2006, at 07:47 AM Mormons Use Divine Slavery Argument To Bash Homosexuals Posted By Deconstructor HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| A True Believing Mormon wrote in the Deseret News, Friday, July 4, 2003:
"Sodomy is still disgusting. The Supreme Court's decision regarding homosexuals is another "Day of Infamy." All Christians who accept the Bible as God's word should consider: How far back did it start? Genesis 13:13: "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." What was the sin? Two angels visited Lot, and the men of Sodom called, "Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we might know them." The term "know" was used to refer to sexual relations per Genesis 19:5. Later Paul wrote, condemning, "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the women, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly." Roman 1:27. Man may make decisions to allow sodomy, but God has spoken against this disgusting and evil act. Keith Olson Taylorsville Funny how the Bible was used in the very same way to justify slavery. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "the first mention we have of slavery is found in the Holy Bible,... And so far from that prediction being averse to the mind of God, it remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude." - Joseph Smith, History of the Church, by Joseph Smith, Vol. 2, pages 436-438 The Prophet Brigham Young said: "Ham will continue to be servant of servants, as the Lord decreed, until the curse is removed. Will the present [Civil War] struggle free the slave? NO; but they are now wasting away the black race by thousands.... Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? You Cannot." - Brigham Young, Millennial Star, Vol. 25, page 787; also published in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, page 250 See: http://www.realmormonhistory.com/god&skin.htm All of those Mormons out there using Bible passages to justify hate for homosexuality should be in favor of slavery too. Bible God Establishes Slavery and Slave Branding LEVITICUS 25:44-46 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. EXODUS 21: 2-6 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. Exodus 21:20-21 "And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money." God Commands Slaves to Completely Obey and Fear their Masters, Even if their Master is Cruel and Unjust “Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward" (1 Peter 2:18). "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ" (Ephesians 6:5) “Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things” (Titus 2:9-10). Now if we were people stuck in the ancient superstitions and traditions of our forefathers, we'd be thumping the Bible and defending slavery. We'd be quoting the Bible and saying that slavery is a divine institution. After all, God commanded slavery in the Bible. And to be sure, Jesus and the New Testament commanded slaves to be totally obedient to their masters. Fortunately, we as a society have wised up enough to reject this Bible instruction and have progressed beyond slavery. Using the Bible to justify hate against homosexuals is just as much a mistake as using the Bible to justify slavery. |
| Thursday, Jun 8, 2006, at 07:52 AM Gay Marriage And LDS Members In Denial Posted By David Peters HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Today, I had a very heated (though surprisingly, unangry) discussion over homosexuality. It was apt. The recent failure of the gay marriage ban signaled something rather cheerful for me (as a heterosexual who found it rather silly). I was quite pleased that the honouralbe Sen. Reid from Nevada opposed it. I watched his speech. He opposed the bill in direct contrast to what was read in Sacrament. Although he disapproved of homosexual marriage, he stood up to the ban and to the church in some respect.
I voiced approval of the outcome and that homosexuality marriage should be legal. I’m living in Provo mind you. The single unified criticism I heard from my two friends was that homosexuality would lead to an inevitable decline in the family and threatened my roommate’s family because it affect the moral climate they’d live in. Some of the complaints I addressed as mere slippery slope argumentations (x leads to y without any correlation). I was transported back three years. My freshman year at BYU, we had the debate over homosexuality in American Heritage. The TA made his opinion know – and how! He went on and on about issues like monogamy, homosexual adoptions, and other popular critiques of homosexual marriage. I hated that class for such a spiteful, one-sided tirade. Now, transport back three years later. These roommates would not ban Jehovah’s Witness from knocking on their door, or prohibit Jews from attending temple, or prohibit Atheists from testifying in court trials. All these people might say something to damage the faith of my roommate’s children. They have conflicting values that are not compatible with his. In fact, a conflicting religion could damage the faith of his future brood far worse than homosexuals tying the knot. Their eternal soul is at stake every time they greet that JW at the door or listen to their atheist friends at school. Yet, he does not protest. This puzzles me: if homosexual marriage really threatens his children, why not go after the religions that are incompatible –and therefore- teach that Mormonism is incorrect. After all, Joseph cannot be and be not a prophet. It is logically impossible! So, why not address this threat? Is it merely a hole in the logic of an individual whose opinions are formulated by geriatric, middle-class conservatives (well, Bednar is hardly geriatric)? How can one form of personal liberty be so destructive while he is willing to be friends with the very people who could rob his yet-to-be-born children of their testimonies? It just worsens when I think of the debates I had with my mother. She is more open to the matter but only defends the same cause as my roommate through pragmatic means. She says that homosexuality will drive up the cost of health care as benefits extend to homosexual partners (who I assume must have many STDs in her mind). I, of course, found it inadequate. How many minority groups in the U.S. have higher rates of drug use or STDs, etc.? Do we punish the whole group for the actions of the few? Who do we treat or not treat in a doctor’s office (my mom is a nurse and I reminded her of the Hippocratic Oath)? Anyways, I wanted to just lay those ideas out there in the midst of gay marriage ban failing and the LDS church’s political meanderings. |
| Friday, Jun 16, 2006, at 09:48 AM A Classic LDS.org Response To "Errors In The News" Re: "Those Who Refer To Themselves As" Homosexuals Posted By Koriwhore HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| http://www.lds.org/newsroom/mistakes/...
Notice how these weasel PR guys very carefully choose their words to avoid actually refering to homosexuals as homosexuals, they always have to preface it with, "those who refer to themselves as" or "Those who struggle with same-gender attraction" or "those who profess homosexual tendencies", which are all subtle ways of saying, "We don't believe that God makes mistakes, and therefor there's no such thing as a homosexual." Categorizing homosexuality as a sin that needs to be overcome instead of a biological, natural tendency, is an insult to homosexuals. The last sentence is ironic. "Marriage is also defined by God as the union of a man and woman, and we are not at liberty to change that definition." Notice how they carefully word that to say "a man and woman" instead of "one man and one woman"? They might as well say "a man and women." Just where does God define marriage as "a union between a man and woman"? D&C 132? Which says it's perfectly fine for a man to marry more than one woman? The BOM, which says that polygamy is an abomination before God? Familysearch.org, Where even the LDS church can't deny that JS "married" other men's wives and orphaned teenage daughters, but in reality just exploited them for sexual favors and tossed them aside? OD1, where God apparently redefined the definition of marriage and his requirement for Mormons to practice polygamy so that Utah could join the union and the Mormon church could cover its assets? |
| Monday, Mar 5, 2007, at 07:35 AM Your Temple Blessings Have Been Restored - How Mormonism Cures A Homosexual After Death Posted By Anonymous HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| My mom recently wrote to tell us all of the wonderful news that my grandfather, a person excommunicated twice for homosexuality, has been rebaptised and the Powers That Be in SLC have seen fit to posthumously restore his temple blessings.
My grandfather suffered his whole life on account of his homosexuality. It was only his later years that came to terms with it and accepted it fully. After my grandfather's second excommunication, he was told that he could never again regain membership in the Lord's True Cult. Unfortunately, I did not know my grandfather well. He died when I was 14 years old from AIDS, sadly. Knowing my grandfather from his writings (he was a voluminous journal keeper, but I have every reason to believe that following my grandmother's death, his non-faith promoting journals were destroyed), he would not be pleased by this development. He had moved on from Mormonism, finding a church home at the Metropolitan Community Church in Salt Lake City. I have the fondest memories of my grandfather. Needless to say, it was hugely embarassing for my ultra-TBM mother and ultra-TBM father when he came out publicly. He loved his children and his grandchildren. I could always count on birthday and other letters from my grandfather. I am still amazed that my mom let my sister and I stay overnight at his apartment following my grandparents' legal separation. His letters to us were always censored first by my mother to make sure that he was not trying to get us to agree to his lifestyle. His was one miserable life in many ways. However, this recent news from home has been jarring to me. I had my name removed from the Lord's One True Cult, but this news means that should I predecease my parents, there is nothing that I could do to prevent their doing temple on my behalf. Very, very annoying. |
| Monday, May 21, 2007, at 07:55 AM Mormon Church Says Homosexuality Makes Men "Servants Of Satan Forever" Posted By Deconstructor HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| How long will it take before future Mormon Church leaders deny the church ever taught this BS?
How much more hate will the "only true church" continue to preach against homosexuals? Homosexuality is Pleasing to the Devil Apostle James E. Faust, "Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil," Spring Conference 1995 "The Church’s stand on homosexual relations provides another arena where we offend the devil. I expect that the statement of the First Presidency and the Twelve against homosexual marriages will continue to be assaulted. Satan is only interested in our misery, which he promotes by trying to persuade men and women to act contrary to God’s plan. One way he does this is by encouraging the inappropriate use of sacred creative powers. A bona fide marriage is one between a man and a woman solemnized by the proper legal or ecclesiastical authority. Only sexual relations between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage are acceptable before the Lord." "There is some widely accepted theory extant that homosexuality is inherited. How can this be? No scientific evidence demonstrates absolutely that this is so. Besides, if it were so, it would frustrate the whole plan of mortal happiness. Our designation as men or women began before this world was. In contrast to the socially accepted doctrine that homosexuality is inborn, a number of respectable authorities contend that homosexuality is not acquired by birth. The false belief of inborn homosexual orientation denies to repentant souls the opportunity to change and will ultimately lead to discouragement, disappointment, and despair." "Alternatives to the legal and loving marriage between a man and a woman are helping to unravel the fabric of human society. I am sure this is pleasing to the devil. The fabric I refer to is the family. These so-called alternative life-styles must not be accepted as right, because they frustrate God’s commandment for a life-giving union of male and female within a legal marriage as stated in Genesis. If practiced by all adults, these life-styles would mean the end of the human family." Homosexuality Makes Men "servants of Satan forever" "Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sins of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad good, and black white." "The unholy transgression of homosexuality is either rapidly growing or tolerance is giving it wider publicity. If one has such desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to his condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. And the Church will excommunicate as readily any unrepentant addict." "Good men, wise men, God-fearing men everywhere still denounce the practice as being unworthy of sons of God; and Christ’s church denounces it and condemns it so long as men have bodies which can be defiled." "This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel’s wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome." "This is a most unpleasant subject to dwell upon, but I am pressed to speak of it boldly so that no youth in the Church will ever have any question in his mind as to the illicit and diabolical nature of this perverse program. Again, Lucifer deceives and prompts logic and rationalization which will destroy men and make them servants of Satan forever." "The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted. It is true that one’s background may make the decision and accomplishment easier or more difficult, but if one is mentally alert, he can still control his future. That is the gospel message--personal responsibility." "And now, my dear young people, I have spoken frankly and boldly against the sins of the day. Even though I dislike such a subject, I believe it necessary to warn the youth against the onslaught of the arch tempter who, with his army of emissaries and all the tools at his command, would destroy all the youth of Zion, largely through deception, misrepresentation, and lies." - The Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, "President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," LDS New Era, Nov. 1980, Page 39 Death penalty for Homosexuals? "I do not find in the Bible the modern terms "petting" nor "homosexuality," yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term "homosexuality," but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed." - Apostle (later the prophet) Spencer W. Kimball, "Love Versus Lust", BYU Devotional January 5, 1965. |
| Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007, at 07:03 AM "Their Lives Are Paved With Sorrow" - Horrific Church News Article About Gay Mormons Posted By Lucyfer HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| The latest HORROR in the ongoing Mormon war against gay males is an almost unbelievable article in the Church News dated July 21, 2007 in which several gay TBM men tell their personal stories of self-loathing, torture and suffering at the hands of a belief system that despises them and yet will not let them go.
These stories are gut wrenching. I literally winced in pain with tears in my eyes just reading them. For once, I actually believed these were real stories instead of the made-up sweety-sweet tales I usually read in this rag. Here is a brief summary: All of the men quoted served honorable missions and all related instances of immense personal pain about their sinfulness whilst doing so. So much for the mission years being the happiest in your life – gah!!! All of the men interviewed had married young Mormon women immediately upon returning from their mission – most at the urging of some Mission Prez, Bishop or Stake Prez. In some instances, the men had confessed their “sin” of same sex- attraction to some idiot Mormon leader who insisted that marriage to and subsequent sex with a female would solve everything (how ignorant can people be?) Some of the men had confessed their evil same-sex attraction to their spouse during their marriage (even before in one case) - others had not. All had borne children within the marriage. All related torturous tales of desperation, suicidal depression, and the inevitable compulsion to act on the overwhelming attraction to other males. Some left their families for periods of time and then returned – others simply suffered in silence while their self-hatred continued to eat them alive. All of these poor men continued to state unequivocally that they maintain their “testimonies” that the COJCOLDS is true – that they are the ones who are broken or wrong – the Church is perfect. I do not understand how it serves the Church to have good men like this live in complete and utter agony. Living a lie like this damages the men, their wives, the children born into these relationships – EVERYONE! There is no happiness or joy here – only pain and suffering. No one is served by this practice – it is appalling in the extreme. The cruelty of the Mormon Church is stunning at times. Oddly enough, there were some points made in this article which surprised me. One of the so-called “experts” cited actually clarified the following issues:
While TSCC offers no explanation for WHY a supposedly loving God would cause people to suffer in this manner, they are quick to state that homosexuality is a sin against God and that it will be punished. The intolerance and judgementalism of this belief system never ceases to amaze and disgust me. The article closes with this statement: “Although life’s road might be lonely for those of same-sex attraction, happiness can be found in the Church by faithfully following its teachings.” Funny that the stories of the very men they quoted in this article completely contradicted this statement in every single instance. |
| Thursday, Feb 26, 2009, at 01:21 PM Gay Mormon Stories Website Posted By TLC HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| I created the website GayMormonStories.com several years ago as a place where those of us who are gay and ex-mormon or gay and mormon could share our stories and read each others' stories without having to worry about digging through negativity or mo-cult feedback. It's a very simple website with some amazing stories on it. I own it, I designed it, I maintain it and am soley responsible for its content.
My domain host changed ownership about a year ago and in the process there were preferences in my account that got deleted and as a result for at least the past year all of the communications and submissions from GayMormonStories.com have been going into an unmarked and therefore unread mailbox. Because of that it would have appeared to a lot of people who wrote into me that I was ignoring their messages or story submissions. I apologize for that. It was a glitch in the system and I never saw a thing in my regular inbox. I thought people had stopped referring to the website or had simply lost interest and that's why the submissions and messages had stopped coming in. I couldn't have been more wrong. I figured out a few days ago that there was a problem and have fixed it. In the process I discovered that there were several hundred messages that had gone unread and unanswered; a pretty sad state of affairs considering the mormon involvement in the Prop 8 debacle in California and the desire on the part of many to share their feelings and stories with me and my website visitors about all of that. My purpose here is to let you know that the website is current, the email problem fixed and things are back to normal. If you have submitted comments or stories to me in the past and didn't hear back from me, please resubmit them. I do want to hear from you and I do care. You should also know that I automatically delete, without reading them, any communications to me that are anything short of soaringly supportive and caring. There are lots of places to bare/bear/behr your testimony as to the unkindness of your beliefs but GayMormonStories isn't one of them. p.s. I need to stress that this thread is not a resurrection of the Prop 8 conversation and should it go there I definitely won't be a participant. I've spoken my peace and have moved onto other forms of activism. Thanks! http://www.gaymormonstories.com |
| Thursday, Mar 26, 2009, at 08:46 AM Another One Bites The Dust Posted By TLC HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Another gay mormon has taken his life. Out of respect for the family I'm not going to get into details. My son in law knew him and the information is firsthand. He came out to his mormon family and was subsequently ostracized. He tried to hold on but the pain was too much. A memorial service for him is being held today; the obituary was a sad resume` written by his family to make it look like he was some kind of a stellar mormon. He was not.
Even in death those who are unfortunate enough to be born both gay and mormon aren't given the respect they deserve and the rest they've finally earned. Even in death mormons are incapable of extending the the tiniest crumbles of human decency. Last night I cried as I sat at a small cafe` table listening to a mother whose young son tried to end his life because of his despair over being gay. The family was deeply mired in mormonism at the time and the irreconcilable conflict in this boy's delicate heart became too much for him to handle. His first attempt didn't cut deep enough so he found something more effective and would have been successful had it not been for those who found him and rushed him to the hospital. If you've ever been tempted to think that the story in the movie Latter Days was an exaggeration I must tell you, it's truly only the tip of the iceberg. Mormons have become skilled at covering up the real reason for all of these young gay boy's deaths. In life they are mortified to have us as one of the family. In death they can do no better and lie to make it appear as if an unfortunate slip on the ice were to blame for the butchered wrists or the brains blown against the wall behind the bed. I will soon be announcing a blog that will become what my website Gay Mormon Stories has been in the past. The blog will be a more dynamic way for gay mormons and their families and friends to share their stories. Its focus will be singular; gay mormon stories told firsthand by those who have lived them. I am no longer willing to sit quietly by. My anger has been rekindled and I am going to start holding mormonism responsible for its brutality against gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered. There is no excuse anymore for the wanton destruction of people's lives. This is a cult that does immense harm and I don't care how many billions of dollars they have or how powerful they think they are, this is the end of the ride. This is where the train stops. If you would like to add your voice to mine and those of many others then feel free to join us. This is not a joke or a moment of ire. Those of you who know me know that I have long been a strong critic of mormonism's treatments of my tribe and that when I put my mind to something the mountain will get moved. We have given mormonism too much power over this matter. We, by our tacit consent have made it OK for mormonism to continue destroying the lives of our young gay brothers and sisters. We are responsible because we have not spoken up strongly enough or loudly enough and insisted on an end to mormonism's cruelty. These kids are killing themselves because mormonism teaches them from an early age that they're pieces of shit for being gay. Some of us are strong and some of us aren't. Those of us who aren't so strong need those of us who are strong to step up and speak for them and work tirelessly on their behalf. We need your voice, we need your strength. Many years ago in the Hollywood ward I played the organ for a funeral being held by a Tongan family whose young son had been accidentally shot by a friend's gun while cruising around in a car late at night. The family outpouring was unlike anything I'd ever seen - Islanders from all over town and from the islands poured into that chapel for both the funeral and the wake. So many were they that the chapel and overflow could not hold them all. There was a quiet serenity and reverence as the family pulled in close to one another in their grief and their love. A year later I played the organ yet again for another funeral that was being held in the Hollywood ward for a young gay mormon guy in his twenties who had died of AIDS. There was not one family member there - his casket unadorned by flowers except for a few roses tossed there by some of his friends in Hollywood. I remember asking the bishop where his family was and this wonderful old man looked at me with sad eyes and said there there would be no family in attendance. They were in Salt Lake, a 12 hour drive or an hour and a half flight away. But they weren't going to be there. This was it: a funeral organized by a few friends who knew that their buddy had been mormon and so turned to the ward in Hollywood for the funeral when his family made it clear they wanted nothing more to do with him in death than they had in life. At the height of the AIDS deaths in the late eighties I made weekly visits to Century City Hospital in Los Angeles where I sat and visited with those who were dying. Often I took my daughter Auri with me and she delighted those whose lives were fast growing dark. I sat on the edge of a bed one day holding the hand of a guy who said he'd been raised mormon. His body was covered with the distinctive marks of Kaposi's Sarcoma. He pointed to the lesions and said to me and my daughter, "I've earned every one of these and I've had a great ride. I'm not dying unhappy. I've had a lot of fun." When I went to see him the next week he was gone. He died alone in a hospital bed in Los Angeles, his family nowhere to be found. Mormons have become a cruel people with their condemnation of those of us who are gay. If it were just the condemnation that would be one thing; we walk away and don't have to hear it anymore. But they have taken their condemnation and turned it into a sword that continues so slice away at the sacredness of life even when life is over. It really is time for all of this to stop. I hope you'll join me in raising your voices and calling on mormons to stop hurting the young gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered in their midst. Please, don't think that I can do this alone. I can't. I need you to step up with me and raise your voice and tell your story and work with me to bring about change. |
| Tuesday, Aug 4, 2009, at 01:27 PM Here Is A Loving Piece Of Hate Posted By brailsmt HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| None other than Mormon hero Orson Scott Card penned this beauty.
http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-hy... Some great passages: The Lord asks no more of its members who are tempted toward homosexuality than it does of its unmarried adolescents, its widows and widowers, its divorced members, and its members who never marry.He is wrong. None of those groups he mentions are forbidden from *ever* having sex with the one they love. The church asks that gay men and women don't even fucking kiss on their "public easement", much less share more intimate moments in more intimate place which are enjoyed by those of us "fortunate" to not be "genetically predisposed" to homosexuality. The hypocrites of homosexuality are, of course, already preparing to answer these statements by accusing me of homophobia, gay-bashing, bigotry, intolerance; but nothing that I have said here -- and nothing that has been said by any of the prophets or any of the Church leaders who have dealt with this issue -- can be construed as advocating, encouraging, or even allowing harsh personal treatment of individuals who are unable to resist the temptation to have sexual relations with persons of the same sex. On the contrary, the teachings of the Lord are clear in regard to the way we must deal with sinners. Christ treated them with compassion -- as long as they confessed that their sin was a sin. Only when they attempted to pretend that their sin was righteousness did he harshly name them for what they were: fools, hypocrites, sinners. Hypocrites because they were unwilling to change their behavior and instead attempted to change the law to fit it; fools because they thought that deceiving an easilydeceivable society would achieve the impossible goal of also deceiving God.This is where I begin to lose my stomach. The mere term "hypocrites of homosexuality" is loaded with bigotry. Much less calling genetics irrelevant to our decisions as he states in the article. I mean, I know we should not be surprised anymore by the church's stance on issues, but it never ceases to amaze me how hateful they are, while trying to appear loving and compassionate. (HINT: Saying you are loving and compassionate doesn't make it so, and attempting to preempt criticism, doesn't invalidate the criticism.) I guess the only logical conclusion is that Orson Scott Card is an asshole pawn in the church's failing stance on social issues. I'll not be reading any more OSC novels. |
| Monday, Aug 17, 2009, at 08:02 AM BYU Electro-Shock Therapy: I Confirmed Tonight That Not Only Gay Males Were Targeted Posted By SL Cabbie HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| As members, weren't we all told we had the right to personal revelation? In fact aren't we Required to have it.
I think the quote was that each person is expected to receive revelation. Joseph said so as well.
But as in Josephs day, personal revelation gets messy. Next thing you know, JS has a revelation that only he can receive it. As members, we were counseled that it could only be from God if it aligned with the leadership. Yet we have seen leadership stumble time and time again from the EQP to the Prophet. When JS decided to sell the copyright to the BoM in Canada, the venture failed (probably due to the horrendous grammar and spelling) and he said that some revelations are of God, some are of Man, and some are of the Devil. What this translated to is that only if it matches the leadership of the day, then it is of God. It also leads to much personal confusion; What if I am wrong? Did Satan deceive me? Did I not hear when God spoke? Am I right or wrong? (cue pulling of hair). I think that in the church, the concept of personal revelation has been watered down to mere sustaining of the Priesthood. Agreeing with them means you are receiving revelation confirming their words. Any different feeling is from the devil. Those who support the church no matter the cost believe that God is inspiring them to follow and sacrifice. So back to Nick, and even Grant Palmer, Fawn Brodie, the Internet and human intelligence- what if the work against the church is actually inspiration from God? Surely the church can be proven false on every front from contradictory and patently false scripture to practices that harm people, and as such, God should be inspiring people to thwart it. |
| Friday, Oct 2, 2009, at 08:07 AM Mormon Owned Deseret News Rejects Ad For Memorial Service For LGBT Suicide Victims Posted By Rebekah HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| An ad for a memorial service for LDS LGBT suicide victims was rejected by the Deseret News because the LDS Church determined it could not run after the ad had originally been accepted and had been paid for.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_13464697?IAD... The memorial service which is being sponsored by The Foundation For Reconciliation (http://www.ldsApology.org) features a wide variety of Mormons, from a former mission president who is still very active in the church, to Mormons who have left the church. The common thread is a desire to raise awareness about how the LGBT community has been impacted by teachings and practices of the LDS Church. Will Swenson, known for his roles in Sons of Provo and Singles Ward, now starring in "Hair" on Broadway has narrated a short video for the Memorial Service. A teaser for this video can be seen here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fH3k3... The video is also available on the ldsapology.org website right at the top of the page if you like one stop shopping. It seems like the Church is no longer making any attempt to look nice. Elder Hafen's talk, the signs on the Main Street Plaza, it just goes on and on. I wonder if they are just planning to let their real feelings hang out transparent to everyone. That would probably be good. People would not be in the least confused about whether the church is at all compassionate to gays or not. Too bad for gay LDS people who love their faith. It is so painful for them to be rejected like this. It makes me really sad. |
| Thursday, Oct 22, 2009, at 08:00 AM Pulling Off The Mormon Mask: The LDS Church Is As Bigoted Against Gays As It Has Been Against Blacks Posted By Steve Benson HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| D. Michael Quinn--an esteemed historian on Mormon matters who happens to be gay--has laid out in brutal detail the Mormon Church's official policies and practices of bigotry toward gays.
When Mormonism's Apostle apologists like Dallin H. Oaks attempt to equate Mormon Church opposition to gay marriage with resistance to civil rights for African-Americans, it would do well for those within the sound of his preposterous propaganda peddling to remember that the Mormon Church has a horrid, undeniable history of hateful discrimination against both African-Americans and gays, as Quinn details in excerpts provided below: --The Utah Mormon Church Is as Equally Bigoted Against Gays Has It Has Been Against African-Americans-- "Just as [Mormon] President Gordon B. Hinckley has said that same-sex marriage has no legitimate claim as a 'civil right' in Utah or anywhere else, previous First Presidencies also stated that African-Americans had no legitimate right to unrestricted access to marriage, nor to unrestricted blood transfusions, nor to rent a room in the LDS church's hotel, nor to reside in Utah's white neighborhoods, nor to live near the Los Angeles Temple, nor to be in a hospital bed next to a white patient. Just as the First Presidency previously condemned interracial marriages as abnormal, it has recently condemned same-sex marriages as abnormal. "The LDS church's opposition to gay rights is consistent with its historical opposition to African-American rights. "Even when a General Authority publicly apologized in September 2000 for 'the actions and statements of individuals who have been insensitive to the pain suffered by the victims of racism,' he claimed that the LDS leadership had an admirable history of race relations. Elder Alexander B. Morrison said: 'How grateful I am that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has from its beginnings stood strongly against racism in any of its malignant manifestations.' "This was a by now familiar smoke-screen for the previous behavior of Mormon prophets, seers, and revelators. LDS headquarters has never apologized for the legalization of Negro slavery by Brigham Young in pioneer Utah, nor for the official LDS encouragement to lynch Negro males, nor for the racial segregation policies of the First Presidency until 1963, nor for Ezra Taft Benson's 1967 endorsement of a book which implied that decapitating black males was a 'White Alternative.'" --The Utah Mormon Church's Blatant Hypocrisy on Black Civil Rights vs. Gay Civil Rights-- "LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley has dismissed Mormonism's earlier race-based policies as 'those little tricks of history' which are irrelevant now. However, his twenty-five years of promoting political campaigns against the possibility of gay rights is one more example of the LDS hierarchy's discrimination against minorities who are not its 'kind of people.'" --The Utah Mormon Church's Opposition to Passage of Hate Crime Legislation Designed to Protect Gays-- " . . . [A]lthough the Utah press [has] reported hundreds of 'hate' attacks annually against gays and lesbians, the First Presidency in 1992 orchestrated the defeat of proposals to include 'sexual orientation' as a protected category in Utah's law against hate crimes." --The Two-Faced Utah Mormon Church's Official Endorsement of Violence Against Gays-- "While President Hinckley . . . condemned hatred and violence against 'those who profess homosexual tendencies,'' the First Presidency from 1976 onward has also repeatedly published Apostle Boyd K. Packer's talk praising a Mormon missionary for beating up his homosexual companion. "This official church pamphlet, titled 'To Young Men Only,' encourages teenage boys to assault any males "who entice young men to join them in these immoral acts." Yet President Hinckley (who was a senior apostle in 1976) expresses bewilderment regarding the literally thousands of violent attacks against gay males in Utah during the decades since the First Presidency began publishing Apostle Packer's talk. "This endorsement of gay bashing continues to be printed in pamphlet form and is currently distributed by LDS headquarters. From 1976 to the present, local LDS leaders have been encouraged to give this pamphlet to young males in their teens and twenties, those most likely to commit hate crimes against gays and lesbians. "LDS headquarters has never promoted a similar distribution of statements opposing violence toward homosexuals. Recent public statements by LDS leaders against gay bashing have the appearance of a smoke-screen to conceal the ongoing private endorsement of gay bashing in Apostle Packer's pamphlet. In fact, because it has officially promoted this endorsement of violence against homosexuals for twenty-five years, I [Quinn] believe the First Presidency has been morally responsible whenever LDS young men have attacked or killed homosexuals from 1976 to the present. This includes the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming in 1998. "Moreover, by repeatedly issuing this pamphlet and other homophobic statements since the beginning of the anti-ERA campaign in 1975, the Mormon church has encouraged a climate of revulsion which fills most LDS families. "Therefore, I [Quinn] believe the First Presidency has also been morally responsible whenever Mormon parents have rejected their children for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Even when the LDS church's 'Ensign' magazine published a statement in 1997 advising parents not 'to disown' their homosexual children, the General Authority merely noted that such tactics 'do not help.' Public-relations statements of such timidity have little hope of undoing the spiritual damage to families caused by decades of stridently homophobic indoctrination by LDS headquarters." --The Utah Mormon Church-Owned "Deseret News'" Open Agenda of Opposition to Gay Rights, As Well As to Hate Crime Legislation for Protection of Gays-- ". . . [I]n its official editorial against allowing Utah's high schools to have clubs for gay and lesbian students, the 'Deseret News' commented in 1996: 'It is still appalling that more than half the identified hate crimes in Utah are aimed at homosexuals.' "Again, this has the appearance of a smoke-screen to conceal the anti-gay agenda of LDS headquarters. Four years earlier, the same newspaper had successfully persuaded Utah's legislature not to include gays and lesbians in the state law against hate crimes. Moreover, the 1996 editorial then adopted the very attitude which propels these hate crimes it professed to regret: 'homosexual activities and practices are an abomination, not just some "alternative lifestyle" no better or worse than others.' Echoing the role of LDS headquarters in preventing Utah from giving homosexuals legal protection from hate crimes, the 'Deseret News' in June 2000 regretted that Utah Senator Orrin G. Hatch was 'unable to stop hate-crime legislation' in Congress." --Lifetime, Record-Kept Stigmatization by the Utah LDS Church of Mormons (Including Mormon Teenagers) Who the LDS Church Has Judged to Have Engaged in Homosexual Behavior-- "There is yet another example of the LDS Church's official homophobia, which subverts its public platitudes about loving those who regard themselves as gay or lesbian. Since 1998, church headquarters has instructed all local LDS leaders to put notations on the membership record of every Mormon who receives church discipline for homosexual behavior. Applicable even to teenagers, this ecclesiastical stigma will follow young men and women into every LDS congregation for the rest of their lives." --The Utah Mormon Church's Hiring Discrimination Practices Against Gays-- " . . . Mormon leadership [has] successfully opposed adding sexual orientation to Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination ordinance. This is understandable in light of reports that LDS headquarters actively discriminates against gays and lesbians in employment. With no claim of due process, this discrimination extends to completely secular jobs and requires no proof of 'inappropriate' sexual behavior. "For example, when the Joseph Smith Memorial Building opened in 1993 as added office-space for the LDS bureaucracy at headquarters, this multi-story building had two fine-dining restaurants for the general public. The human resources director instructed the manager of these Church-owned restaurants not to hire as waiters any males who 'seem gay.' "Similar to visual profiling for racial discrimination, LDS headquarters apparently denies employment on the basis of stereotypical views about masculine appearance and homosexual characteristics, or stereotypical views about feminine appearance and lesbian characteristics. "As indicated in the above example, this has nothing to do with 'morality' or the actual sexual behavior of persons who are subjected to this discrimination. In fact, completely heterosexual persons may also be misidentified as lesbian or gay on the basis of speech or appearance, and then suffer employment discrimination in Utah. This contributes to the climate of fear, which is why anti-discrimination laws are necessary." --The Nation's Highest Court Has Struck Down the Utah Mormon Church's Efforts at Nationalizing Its Anti-Gay Discrimination-- ". . . [T]he U.S. Supreme Court . . . invalidated [in Romer v. Evans, 1996] . . . the LDS church's behind-the-scenes victory against civil rights for gays and lesbians in Colorado, [declaring that] "a state cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws." . . . "This Colorado case had nothing to do with marriage. LDS leaders and their allies were attempting to invalidate those laws which protected gays and lesbians from hate crimes, as well as from civil discrimination in housing and employment. Gays and lesbians are the glaring exception to President Hinckley's public-relations statement to the LDS General Conference in 1995: 'We must be willing to defend the rights of others who may become the victims of bigotry.' With regard to homosexuals, this is a slogan which LDS headquarters tries to subvert in every possible way." --The Utah Mormon Church Is Currently As Wrong on Its Anti-Gay Position and Practice As It Has Been Historically Wrong on Its Anti-Black Position and Practice-- " . . . [First Presidency counselor J. Reuben] Clark told the General Conference of April 1940 that the First Presidency 'is not infallible in our judgment, and we err.' He also instructed LDS educators in 1954 that 'even the President of the Church has not always spoken under the direction of the Holy Ghost. I believe this applies to the statements and actions of several 'living prophets' and First Presidencies in restricting the civil rights of African-Americans and other minorities. According to LDS doctrine, the statements and actions of the Church's president can be wrong, even sinful, and historically the LDS First Presidency has often been profoundly wrong with regard to the civil rights of American minorities. "In fact, when an end came to the various tyrannies of the majority against racial groups in America, LDS policies changed as well. What various 'living prophets' had defined as God's doctrine turned out to be a Mormon social policy which reflected the majority's world view. I submit that the same applies to the LDS Church's campaign against any law which benefits or protects gays and lesbians. --The Ugly Sincerity of Official Mormon Prejudice Against Gays and Blacks Does Not Excuse Its Equally Ugly Practices Against Either-- "LDS leaders have repeatedly opposed civil rights for blacks and gays while denying that such action is 'anti-Negro' or 'racist,' 'anti-gay' or 'homophobic.' . . . First Presidency counselor J. Reuben Clark, for one, defended wholesale restrictions against the civil rights of African-Americans. Nevertheless, at the same time, he regarded himself as compassionate toward Blacks. " . . . I have tried to acknowledge [here] the sincere beliefs and fears of those who oppose same-sex marriage. However, an 'Appeal to Sincerity' is legitimate only when attempting to understand the personal motivation for various behaviors. Sincerity cannot logically be invoked to assess the legitimacy or ethical value of those behaviors. "The past and present are filled with actions which most of us condemn, despite the fact that their perpetrators claimed they acted out of their sincere beliefs in a religion, or race, or social class, or country. If we regard slavery as wrong, the sincerity of slave-owners is irrelevant to the issue, even when the slave-owners were our revered national leaders, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. If denial of rights and protections for African-Americans was wrong, the sincerity of the oppressors is irrelevant to the issue, even if we otherwise admire the oppressors as religious leaders. Likewise, the sincerity of the heterosexual majority's anxieties and fears is not an ethical justification for denying rights and protections to the homosexual minority." --The Negative Effects on Gays from Rampant Mormon Church-Created and -Fanned Homophobia in Utah-- "The climate of homophobic antagonism in Mormon-dominated Utah creates constant anxiety for many gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons. It is historically similar to being a Christian in pagan Rome, a Protestant Huguenot in Catholic-dominated France, a Quaker in Puritan Massachusetts, a black in Klan-dominated Mississippi, a Jew in Nazi Germany, a Catholic in Protestant-dominated Belfast, a Muslim in Hindu-dominated Kashmir, or a Hindu in Muslim-dominated Islamabad. Its familiarity makes this pattern even more tragic in cultures which claim divine approval for exerting social oppression against their minorities. "Just as Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons once claimed righteousness and God's blessing in denying basic rights to African-Americans and Asian-Americans, they are now claiming righteousness and God's blessing for denying basic rights to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons. It takes a peculiar kind of blindness to currently affirm that the majority's historical discrimination against despised racial minorities was ethically and civilly wrong, yet argue that it is now ethically and civilly right to discriminate against the despised minority of homosexuals and transgender persons." --The Non-Christian Utah Mormon Church Could Learn from Christian Support of Gay Rights-- "[From] [t]he 'New Dictionary of Christian Ethics' . . . : "'It is particularly disturbing to find churches which intensify the homosexual's sense of loneliness and isolation by their judgmental attitudes.' . . . [T]his ethical dictionary was emphatic about the denial of civil rights to homosexuals: 'Whenever men and women are victimized because of their sexual orientation, whether formally in the law courts or less formally . . . the Christian duty is clearly to stand alongside the oppressed minority in their struggle for justice.'" Concludes Quinn: "As a gay male and Christian, I hope this kind of religious ethic will eventually triumph for America's minority of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons." (D. Michael Quinn, "Prelude to the National “Defense of Marriage” Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities," 0riginally published in "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought," 33:3, pp. 1-52) |
| Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009, at 07:25 AM The LDS Church Again Lies About Its History: Its Opposition To Housing/employment Equality For Gays Posted By Steve Benson HOMOSEXUALITY IN MORMONISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Mormon Church self-backpatting over its supposed support of equal protection under the law for gays in housing and employment is unquestionably undeserved, no matter what its PR hacks are hired to say in scripted press releases.
The freshest, most odiferous case in point: Michael Otterson, managing director of the Mormon Church's public relations department, forthrightly fibbed out of both sides of his mouth when, according to the LDS-owned "Desert News," he claimed that the LDS Church's recent "statement of support [of two proposed ordinances protecting gay and lesbian residents from housing and employment discrimination] is consistent with the Church's prior position on such matters . . . ." ("Mormon Church Backs Protection of Gay Rights in Salt Lake City," by Scott Taylor, in "Desert News," 10 November 2009, at: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/70... Once again and with a straight face (no pun intended), the LDS Church serves up a hot, steaming plate of its world-famous Mormon meadow muffins. But since when has the LDS Church shirked from falsifying its own history in the name of advancing its poisonous political agenda? As former Mormon and respected historian D. Michael Quinn demonstrates, the LDS Church has a clear and reprehensible track record when it comes to fighting against protection of gays in housing and the workplace. Quinn writes: "Gays and lesbians are the glaring exception to President [Gordon B.] Hinckley's public-relations statement to the LDS general conference in 1995: 'We must be willing to defend the rights of others who may become the victims of bigotry.' "With regard to homosexuals, this is a slogan which LDS headquarters tries to subvert in every possible way." Let us count those ways: --The Utah Mormon Church's Discrimination Against Hiring Waiters in Its Restaurants Who "Seem" Gay-- "When the Joseph Smith Memorial Building opened in 1993 as added office-space for the LDS bureaucracy at headquarters, this multi-story building had two fine-dining restaurants for the general public. "The human resources director instructed the manager of these church-owned restaurants not to hire as waiters any males who 'seem gay.' . . . "Similar to visual profiling for racial discrimination, LDS headquarters apparently denies employment on the basis of stereotypical views about masculine appearance and homosexual characteristics, or stereotypical views about feminine appearance and lesbian characteristics. ". . . [T]his has nothing to do with 'morality' or the actual sexual behavior of persons who are subjected to this discrimination. In fact, completely heterosexual persons may also be misidentified as lesbian or gay on the basis of speech or appearance, and then suffer employment discrimination in Utah. "This contributes to the climate of fear, which is why anti-discrimination laws are necessary." -Source: "My [Quinn's] telephone interview on 4 September 2000 with a person who has asked to remain anonymous, but who had direct knowledge of the hiring practices in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building's new Roof Restaurant and Garden Restaurant in 1993." --The Utah Mormon Church's Successful Opposition to a Salt Lake City Anti-Discrimination Ordinance That Would Have Included Protection of Gay Sexual Orientation-- " . . . [A]fter President Hinckley's [allegedly pro-gay rights] statement, Mormon leadership successfully opposed adding sexual orientation to Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination ordinance." -Sources: --"Editorial, 'S.L. Should Protect All Equally,' in 'Deseret News,' 8 December 1997, A-10 (despite the title, this spoke out against Salt Lake City Council's proposal to protect gays and lesbians from civil discrimination); --"Editorial, 'Don't Repeal Gay Ordinance,' in 'Salt Lake Tribune,' 11 January 1998, AA-1; --"'LDS Leader Urges Attendance at Meeting,' in 'Salt Lake Tribune,' 13 January 1998, B-6 (requesting local Mormons to express their opposition to including gays and lesbians in the city's anti-discrimination ordinance); --"'Anti-Gay Bias Ordinance Has A Short Life,' in 'Deseret News,' 14 January 1998; --"John Harrington, 'Morality Plays: Repealing Salt Lake City's Gay-Protection Ordinance Is an Outcome of Mormon Politics,' in 'Salt Lake City Weekly,' 15 January 1998, 6-7; --"Editorial, 'Bringing Sense Back to City Hall,' in 'Deseret News,' 17 January 1998, A-8 (congratulating the Salt Lake City council for removing sexual orientation from the city's anti-discrimination law." --The Utah Mormon Church's Active Opposition to Equal Rights for Gays in Housing and Employment Under Gordon B. Hinckley's Political Campaign Direction-- "After he began directing the LDS Church's anti-ERA campaign nationally in 1977 . . ., Gordon B. Hinckley was also on the executive committee of Seattle radio station KIRO when it supported anti-gay Initiative 13, which would have revoked Seattle's city ordinance protecting gays and lesbians from civil discrimination in housing and employment. "The co-sponsor of this ballot initiative was a Mormon policeman, who said he and his John Birch Society partner-policeman had launched the anti-gay petition for it because a 'homosexual applied for a job as a King County police officer.' (See 'The Cops Who Lead the Fight Against the Gays,' in 'Seattle Post-Intelligencer,' 6 August 1978.) "'The Blade'(Washington, D.C.), October 1978, also commented: 'KIRO, the Mormon-owned station, continues to broadcast anti-Gay ads, and the local station manager has editorialized against Gays, even calling for Gays to be placed in "concentration camps," according to a source in the Seattle mayor's office.' . . . "For Hinckley's role as KIRO director and member of its executive committee, see also Sheri Dew, 'Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley' (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), p. 304." --Summary: The Utah Mormon Church's History of Active, Immunized Job Discrimination Against Gays-- "[There are] reports that LDS headquarters actively discriminates against gays and lesbians in employment. With no claim of due process, this discrimination extends to completely secular jobs and requires no proof of 'inappropriate' sexual behavior." (D. Michael Quinn, "Prelude to the National 'Defense of Marriage' Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities," originally published in "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought," 33:3, pp. 1-52; reposted with permission at: http://www.affirmation.org/learning/p...) How can you tell when the Mormon Church's Prophets, Seers and Public Relations Regulators are lying for the Lord? Yup, you got it: When their latter-day lips are moving. |