Church Supports Gay Rights Ordinance

Historical and remarkable is what Millennial Mormonism Today calls the church's public endorsement of a gay rights measure designed to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in employment and housing. The recent battle between the church and the LGBT community over marriage had produced so much animosity, I really wondered if there could be reconciliation. I did not think it would happen this soon.

Michael Otterson, managing director of the LDS Church's public affairs office, spoke during a public hearing Tuesday before the Salt Lake City Council regarding ordinances proposed to protect gay and lesbian residents from housing and employment discrimination. This unexpected public support for a city ordinance by the church created a small media bombshell that made it into national headlines.

I was overjoyed that the church took a consistent stand with it's August 2008 press release which states that they are not opposed to civil protections and rights for gays and lesbians when it does not interfere with religious liberties and the traditional definition of marriage. That stance seemed to fall on deaf ears when it came to the media, some members of the LGBT community and even some Mormons particularly those of the Nicodemus variety who will likely become offended by this action.

The church took a bold step in declaring support for the Salt Lake City ordinance rather than merely not opposing it. The support came as a result of meetings of leaders in the LGBT community and the church. Apparently they were able to find common ground.

This is extremely millennial and Millennial Mormonism Today welcomes it wholeheartedly.
I thought I would share some of the more interesting comments about this historic event as well as some of my thoughts about those comments. All of these comments were taken from the Deseret News website reporting on this event.

Here is an anti-LDS comment. Notice the twisted skepticism and contempt:
"This is only Salt Lake City one of the areas of Utah slipping from LDS control. I still don't trust this. The LDS does NOTHING until after they are absolutely forced to do so."

It is important to note that the church could have chosen not to make a big fuss about this and simply not opposed it. I'm not sure how the church could be forced to publicly support this. NOTHING is also a very absolutist statement. Apparently, for this angry and bitter individual, any good or positive step the church takes is because somebody is holding a gun to their head. I wish this person peace and blessings and that their life may be healed from the contempt and bitterness they feel.

Here is a comment of the more Nicodemus variety:
"The Mormon church has moved far from the ideology of its founders, and will do pretty much whatever popular opinion tells it to do. Just wait. In a couple of decades or so there will be gay and lesbian Mormon bishops."

This one sounds like a fundamentalist who values tradition over revelation. I hate to break it to them and others but there have been and are gay bishops! They simply choose to remain faithful in their temple marriage in spite of feelings of attraction to the same sex.

I liked this one quite a bit:
"I think if the LDS church is going to do what the popular opinion is at the time, women would be able to hold priesthood positions by now. We invited a gay friend to church several times, and he wanted to stay in relief society with us, nobody made a big deal out it. Everybody welcomed him just fine."

Nobody should make a big deal out of it. We invite ALL to come unto Christ. Some people act like gays and lesbians are not included in the "who is my neighbor" aspect of the parable of the Good Samaritan. For the Mormon community and LGBT community I think it would be an interesting contemporary twist and likening the scriptures to ourselves and our day if we substituted Samaritan and replaced it with a Mormon or someone who identifies themselves as gay or lesbian. We should all go and do thou likewise. It would get us much closer to a literal millennium or at least an internal one.

Here is a comment from a LGBT rights activist that I really liked:
"I am thrilled to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the LDS church on this issue. There are so many areas such as this where we agree! Let's work on those and leave the others to rest for a while, Let's make sure all God's children are respected and protected from discrimination and have the rights they need to manage their affairs. Sure We'll disagree on the boarderlands of our ideologies, but in the center, there is much we can cooperate on. Thanks to the LDS Church for speaking up for what is right, even when (as is obvious from comments here) it may not be popular or advisable or may be misconstrued as being solely for PR. This allows the LGBT community their first glimpse of the compassion of the LDS church as opposed to their view of it as a frightening institution that wants to strip their rights."

Here is a classic Nicodemus Mormon:
". . . I've been a member for over half a century. The leaders of the Church are righteous people, full of love for everyone. I applaud all those who stand up for religious freedom. No one should ever be forced to believe a certain way even if it becomes popular or politically correct. The Gays in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah became the leaders of those cities. They tried to force everyone to think and become like them. Ultimately they were destroyed by God himself because in their perversions they would defile themselves and the children of God and would not repent."

As you can see, at the beginning of this comment, there is some "putting the brethren on pedestals" here. I agree that there are some who want to suppress the free speech of people who are religious, especially if they disagree with them. They should have stopped there. But then you see this person go off the rails and take a purely literalistic position on the Sodom and Gomorrah story instead of seeing the symbolism behind it. The uber-literalist perspective promotes hatred, intolerance, and sometimes even violence. It may surprise this Nicodemus Mormon that I have known some gays and lesbians who are extremely Christ-like. On the other hand I have met some Mormons and other Christians who are more like the Pharisees than like Christ.

This next comment is actually two comments. The first is a previous comment made by a member of the church and the second comment is clearly from the GLBT community. I post it simply to show that we have some work to do in healing some wounds, correcting ignorance, and misunderstanding:
"No matter what the church says or do it will never be good enough for the LGBT's..."Yup... kinda like how nothin' the GLBT community does is ever good enough for LDS members."

This posted comment shows that we don't always recognize that when we make harsh judgements, we then receive harsh judgements. As the Savior said: Judge not, lest ye be judged. It's not fun when we receive what we dish out.

Here's some comments that are about as Nicodemus Mormon as you can get. Notice in the first how uncomfortable he is with the idea that there could be revelation involved in this process:
"A big step back for the church. I can not sit back and have this spoon fed to me as revelation. We should have stuck to our guns. These people need help not compassion!"
"I never thought the church would cower to political pressure. Another decline of the church in these latter days."
"A sad day in Utah. The Church should have stuck to their guns. It certainly shows a weakness that we are becoming 'in the world."

Enough said.

Many years ago, my grandfather's grandfather practiced an alternative lifestyle. He had three wives. He was persecuted for that. It was not popular and the majority of people in the country looked upon that lifestyle with disgust and ignorance. He, like many others were hunted and threatened with sanctions for the life they chose to live according to their religious principles. He and his family even had to leave the country to live this alternative marriage lifestyle according to his conscience.

Today, there are people who are not going to choose to live the same way we do. They have the right to define themselves the way they want. If they want to define themselves by their sexuality then they should be allowed to do that. If they want to say that sexual orientation is 100% purely genetic and biological then they should have the right to take that stand. One thing that used to bother me and many other members of the church is when other Christians try to define who I am and what I believe. Who is anyone to say that I am not a Christian? We of all people, know what it is like to be persecuted, threatened, abused with acts of violence and even killed. We should remember our history and stand with GLBTs in support of tolerance and mutual respect and kindness.

This does not mean we need to agree on every issue. I believe we can find common ground and understanding. Much of the common ground will be found in living a Christ-like life. Once we have a more Christ-like perspective then we will be less condemning and more loving and kind.

Finally, I share one last comment that I liked:
"This is a great day. As an active member of the LDS church with a strong testimony of the Savior and the church I'm thrilled. People deserve to be treated fairly."

Once again, I express gratitude for the church's public endorsement of this ordinance and look forward to further steps by the church to create more tolerance and understanding.

Peace and Blessings to each one of you my friends.

I'm Sorry But It Appears You've Been Damned

In the prophet Joseph Smith's final sermon on this Earth he said "I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief" (King Follet Discourse). This profound statement should come as great comfort to Millennial Mormons everywhere. Millennial Mormons are in a great position to avoid being damned because they believe that personal revelation is absolutely essential to spiritual growth and development. They are open to receiving truth wherever it may come from. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, they seek after these things wherever they may be.


On the other hand, Nicodemus Mormons are only content to have Apostles, Prophets, Stake Presidents and Bishops tell them what they should do, even as Moses did with the Children of Israel. As a result they receive a rebuke and a warning from the Lord: "For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward" (D&C 58:26). Nicodemus Mormons are more uncomfortable with personal revelation and listening to the still small voice. Instead, hearing the physical voice of the Lord's servants is more comforting. Though the Lord rebukes and warns us about being commanded and compelled in all things, He understands that this is a necessary step in our spiritual journey and it is certainly better than wandering in spiritual darkness (the world). Accepting living prophets or messengers is an essential step in our journey but it is not the end of the journey. As we begin to create a personal millennium within ourselves we recognize, like Joseph, that we too believe all that God ever revealed, all that He has now revealed and that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.



The one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history. "Not us" we say. We're different and special. We won't fall into the same trap as those who came before us. Well, let's look at history and see if we can see any patterns.



When Jesus came to teach His gospel he encountered a people who were largely unprepared to accept what he was teaching. You will recall that the Pharisees at that time were looking for a physical/carnal Messiah who would deliver them from Roman captivity. They clung to the dead prophets (whom many of their ancestors killed ironically) in the scriptures and the law as found in the Torah. Most did not believe that there would be any new prophets or revelation and so they rejected John the Baptist and subsequently many rejected Jesus in the process. You could say that the Pharisees said "A Torah! A Torah! We have got a Torah and there cannot be anymore Torah." In the end, they were so outraged at what He taught, they sought to kill Him. Tradition is so powerful. Jesus voluntarily gave up his life to complete the Atonement (At-ONE-ment) and show us the way.


For those who were ready, the floodgates of new revelation burst forth. The canon of scripture was once again open. Living Apostles and Prophets returned to the earth and miracles were common. As time went on, history repeated itself. The Apostles and Prophets were killed. The canon of scripture began to close somewhere around the 4th century. Miracles were less common. Thus, the Dark Ages were ushered in.


And then, a new day began to dawn. A young uneducated farm boy asked a question of God which ushered in the Restoration of the Gospel. Miracles became common again. Many of the sectarian Christians were not prepared for such an event. They believed that Apostles and Prophets were a thing of the past and that there would be no new revelations. The Bible was closed and had been that way for centuries. God had been gagged and would not say anymore than what was in the Bible--after all that's what the Book of Revelations says right??!! In the end, tradition was too powerful and they became outraged at what Joseph taught. They sought to kill him and succeeded. Even in his final moments, the prophet Joseph Smith pointed the way to Christ.


Nephi identifies their thinking well when he says "A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible" (see 2 Nephi 29: 3-4, 9). Nephi goes a step further when he speaks on behalf of God and states this in regard to those who reject new revelation: "For unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have" (2 Nephi 28:30).

History once again repeats itself.


Is it possible today that history could be repeating itself again with members of our own church? Could Nicodemus Mormons today be saying: "Living Prophet! Living Prophet! We have got a living prophet". Might they not recognize that living prophets and previous scriptures have their role in preparing the way to Christ? They are not ends in themselves. Ironically, Nicodemus Mormons find themselves in the unenviable position as the Pharisees did and many Christians do today. They no longer ask, seek or knock. They have enough! Will tradition once again override new revelation?

Even temple attending members of the church, if they look at the endowment in superficial and carnal levels, will fail to make progress in their spiritual journey. They will be like the children of Israel prior to the Babylonian captivity who trusted in the temple (carnally and superficially) and found their world come crashing down around them. Jeremiah warned them by saying this: "Trust not in lying words saying , The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these" (Jeremiah 7:4).
Let me be clear. Having the scriptures, a living prophet, and the temple are wonderful blessings. They are essential aspects of the gospel. As Jesus said, he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill (FULL-FILL) them. Living prophets, scriptures and even the temple can only take us so far. They all do the same thing--point the way to Christ. Until we are ready to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and live by personal revelation then we will continue to wander in the wilderness. As Joseph said, a man is damned for unbelief.

But Millennial Mormon! Don't we have the fullness of the gospel?! Yes, we absolutely do. What that means though is that we have everything we need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We have everything we need to begin to become like Him. Whether we choose to do that or not is up to us. If we are to become like him as the Bible and the Book of Mormon teach, then we must begin to live as He did which was by personal revelation from His Father in Heaven. (Many Christians today believe that it is blasphemy and robbery that we could ever become like Jesus Christ or our Heavenly Father. This is one of the reasons why they killed Joseph. It was a hard saying. Who could hear it?)

Millennial Mormons recognize the 9th article of Faith as extremely relevant each and every day. It says: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God" (Articles of Faith). Most Nicodemus Mormons won't really comprehend that this article of faith has any personal meaning for them right at this very moment. They would only see this article of faith as pertaining to the living prophets revealing doctrine for the church rather than personal revelation. As a result of their dependence on living prophets and listening to their physical voice, many Nicodemus Mormons are not always well practiced at listening to the still small voice and continue to wander in the wilderness or are damned until they learn these lessons from history.

Eventually, as we embrace the Savior, come to know Him, take up our cross, and actually follow Him, we will "believe all things" (Article of Faith 13) and the internal millennium will begin. When that day comes, the words of the Apostle John will be fulfilled in your ears: "Beloved, now are we the sons (or daughters) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).


Peace and blessing to all of you my friends. May God be with you.



EPILOGUE:
I just realized that some people may be misinterpreting how I am using the word damned. Most of you probably know what I mean but for all those literalists out there I had better clarify. I am using it the same way Joseph meant it. What I do not mean is that damned means that you will burn in a literal fire, in a literal hell for literally all eternity. What Joseph and I do mean is that damned means you are temporarily stuck in your eternal journey until you understand these principles that God is trying to teach you. Take your time and learn for yourself.