Mormon Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes referred to as Mormons, does not consider homosexuality a sin. Rather, it is the practice of homosexuality that is considered sinful, and this is an important difference.

The Mormons take no stand on what causes homosexuality because that is an issue for science, not religion. Religion focuses on the moral issues of life, not the scientific ones. A Mormon who has homosexual temptations can be a member in full standing because being or feeling tempted is not a sin. Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan, but was not at fault because He chose not to act on those temptations. In the same way, a Mormon with homosexual feelings will not be held back in any way from church membership or opportunities unless he acts on them.

This is not a “punishment” for people with same-sex attraction. Everyone who has ever lived has struggled with some type of temptation. We are all called on to reign in our temptations and to gain self-mastery over the body and mind. It is part of the growth process we were sent here to experience. Mormons teach that the greater the trial, the greater the blessings will be for overcoming them.

The “Mormon Church” doesn’t advocate any particular type of treatment or even suggest whether treatment is an appropriate course to follow for agay Mormon. This is for the individual to decide through study and prayer. They also do not recommend marriage as a “cure.” (An individual Mormon might do so, but this is his or her own opinion, and not a church teaching.) As Gordon B. Hinckley said when he was the Mormon prophet, this would not be fair to the spouse. However, he said that if a gay Mormon can be appropriately attracted to someone of the opposite gender and can control the other tendencies, marriage is acceptable. If not, the person must remain celibate throughout his life.

While this might seem unfair or impossible to some, Mormonism teaches that we must not engage in intimate relationships outside of marriage. This means that there are many gay Mormon people who are celibate, often their entire lives. It must be remembered that to a Mormon, life on earth is only a very small portion of an eternal life that began before birth and continues after death into eternity. In the eternal scheme of things, this life is short and the sacrifices we are willing to make here are more than rewarded in the next life.

Mormons believe that marriage and family are eternal. Marriages created here on earth can continue forever if the family is willing to do the hard work to create an eternally successful family. Those who do not have the opportunity to marry in this life will have the opportunity to do so in the next life. Mormons believe that whatever the cause of homosexual feelings, they are only temporal, meaning they will not exist in the next life. This is the reason they do not support gay marriage. There is no possibility of a gay couple finding themselves still attracted to each other in the eternities and God will not allow the marriage to continue. This is unfair to the couple, but also to any children they have. Their eternal family cannot continue as it did on earth, breaking ties that might be important to those children. An eternal family is worth waiting for, since most people are very unhappy when they aren’t with those they love. A gay Mormon with a testimony accepts the challenges he experiences and many remain in the church, keeping the commandments, and living very satisfying lives. One does not have to be married to have a good life.

Passing laws cannot alter truth. We can’t, for instance, legislate science and pass laws outlawing gravity as discriminating, since birds can fly and we can’t. We can’t legislate how much water a given plant needs. In the same way, although we might pass laws changing what marriage is, this will not in any way alter the truth or the eternal consequences of ignoring eternal truths. God created marriage and only God can define it. We’ve all seen, in our lives, people who have discovered they’ve made a serious mistake and cried out “Why didn’t someone try to stop me?” People who want to preserve the definition of marriage have both a spiritual mandate to preserve God’s laws and a compassionate mandate to help people not make heartbreaking mistakes.

Mormon leaders have counseled members to separate the gay Mormon from the sin. They are taught to treat people with homosexual tendencies with love and respect, regardless of whether or not the person acts on his temptations. However, loving the person does not require approving of the actions. Few would argue that we need to accept—or even legalize—everything everyone wants to do. Society must have standards and allowing people to do anything they want to do, regardless of the consequences to themselves or others is to have no standards. No one lives in isolation. The choices we make, particularly in terms of family, always affect others.

The Mormon position on same-gender attraction then is to love the individual without condoning the inappropriate choices and to help people understand that their primary identity should not be their sexual orientation, but their role as a beloved child of God. It is this identity that should determine our actions. As the current Mormon prophet, Thomas S. Monson, says, decisions determine destiny.

Mormon leaders recently signed an interfaith document reaffirming a commitment to traditional marriage. The document was signed by leaders from the following faiths: Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish, Lutheran, Mormon, Orthodox, Pentecostal and Sikh.

The statement reminds readers that marriage is not just a religious principle, but a principle that is critical to all of society, since it is the natural foundation for families and is the best way to provide a stable upbringing for children.

“As religious leaders across different faith communities, we join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We honor the unique love between husbands and wives; the indispensible place of fathers and mothers; and the corresponding rights and dignity of all children.” (more…)

At the World Congress of Families V in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Aug. 12, 2009, Russell M. Nelson spoke to the delegates about the importance of the traditional family. Elder Nelson is an apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of

 Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes informally referred to as Mormons. He said,

“Dear friends, future happiness and even the future of nations is linked to children. Families with children need to be re-enthroned as the fundamental unit of society. We simply must value children more than we do! Without a new generation to replace the old, there is no wealth; without families, there is no future.” (more…)