LETTER: Church stance hard for some to follow
To the editor:
As a young Mormon boy I often sang with gusto “follow the prophet he knows the way, follow the prophet don’t go astray.” Now, as a 25-year-old Latter-day Saint at USU, I find myself singing this same song with appenato instead. Since 2008 I have found myself increasingly at odds with my Church’s position on homosexuality. The recent General Conference talk by Boyd K. Packer “Cleansing the Inner Vessel” further solidified my inner conflict. I feel, as do other Mormons I know, like I am moving in one direction, and my Church is moving in another.
Like all faithful Mormons I want to believe what the leaders of the Church say. I like the idea that there is a living prophet who speaks for God, and can direct me for good. It is a transcendent idea to believe that God loves us enough to be involved intimately in our daily lives through the Church. And, I owe much to the Church in way of great experiences and wonderful friends growing up. However, lately I have struggled with my commitment to Mormonism. The LDS Church’s involvement with Proposition 8, along with its historical insensitivity toward gays, has made me question what it means to be a Latter-day Saint. Although I will always consider myself a DNA Mormon, I am not proud of the way my Church is responding to social change in America.
I believe in times like these, as Mormons, we need to take a step outside the box and reconsider our history. Since the Church’s founding in 1830 its mission has been to bring people together in Christ. Under Joseph Smith’s charismatic leadership, early Mormons unified themselves around the idea of building Zion, a place where God could dwell among his people and they would be of one heart and one mind. Nevertheless, throughout our Church’s history, our understanding of Zion and who can be a part of it has evolved. We need only look back 40 years to find a Mormonism that did not allow people with African ancestry be part of Zion. Take a look back a little further and you will find a Mormonism that understood Zion to be communities of polygamous saints.
Today, Mormons understand Zion to be the body of Church members all over the world. It has taken time but we now accept people of all races into fellowship and no longer practice polygamy. I don’t know many Mormons who would want to go back to the way things used to be. As a people we have come a long way in the right direction and we do much good in the world. However, as I see it, there is still one group of people on the fringes of Zion. They are our homosexual brothers and sisters and they have been outside for too long. I don’t know everything there is to know about the complex issues surrounding same-gender attraction, but I do know that historically, as a Church, when we have accepted change we have been enlightened in the process.
When I read the words from the Book of Mormon, “He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile,” I am persuaded to believe that God’s love is big enough to include everyone, including homosexuals.
Brad Hansen