Gay Marriage
I’m writing this in hopes that it will help clear my mind and because I need to do something. I need to act, more than I have. I just spent some time sobbing on my bathroom floor as frustration and a mess of other emotions overwhelmed me. I just listened to Elder Oaks’ talk on where God wants me to stand on the topic of Gay Marriage. And I believe all that he said. I truly do. I have already thought through and lived with the bulk of his statements. I am a gay man, married to a woman, with children of my own. I have seen the blessings of being married to a woman and I will affirm the importance of it to anyone who asks with no proof other than what I have experienced in my own life. But it is still a challenge, sometimes a daily challenge to wade through the complexities of living as a man who is sexually attracted to men instead of women. At times I feel as if I am single handedly sparing with generations of social stigmas and beliefs about how I should act and what I shou
"I thought about the church and everything it had taught me throughout my life."
ReplyDeletesigh. It is the church that has contributed to a significant degree to these suicidal feelings in the first place. An imperfect analogy: the church has created a raging waterfall and church members? They're running around trying to dam it up with their fingers.Sigh. And honestly, a lot of these kids on this video still seem very close to being suicidal. Yep, that one girl talked about the church helping her and that is great. Still, fingers damming a waterfall. I understand that you may think that I don't understand because I'm not it. I say the contrary, when someone is in the middle of something, they can't see beyond it . I'm talking about folks so entrenched in Mormonism that they can't see what is so blatant to others - the fingers, dam situation.
thanks
I attended a discussion featuring The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles while they were through my home town on their "It Gets Better" tour. Topics discussed by the audience and the chorus members covered topics such as those addressed in this video. An audience member asked a question about how do we change opinions that lead to the suffering that LGBT individuals feel, to which a chorus member replied, "I think it's important to remember that a person's beliefs are core to their being. They are not something that you can force to change. Arguing with them will not help. But what you can do is to be an example of love and support." This is not an exact quote and unfortunately my memory is not infallible, but it is the message that I want to convey. The focus of this blog is understanding. Please limit your comments to such that encourage love and understanding in a constructive way.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the likes of Boyd K Packer and Dalin H Oaks continue to spew their venomous opinions, the stigmatization of our LGBT brothers and sisters will continue within the church. I viewed the mormonsandgays.org website as a huge step forward for the church, but this old-school vitriol just sets it back again. What is the church's REAL position on this? I can't help but feel that the attitudes of Oaks, Packer et al betray the official position, and that the mormonsandgays website is nothing more than lip service and platitudes.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes I agree that logic and facts do not affect core beliefs. And I know I can be intense- I am honestly just so stymied by the pain being inflicted on some LGBTQ Mormon folks that I haven't controlled myself very well! Will do so in the future.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous. I appreciate your response and look forward to more of your comments.
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