Millennial Mormonism Today believes that gay rights are human rights. When we persecute and discriminate against an individual or group it is the equivalent of us harming ourselves. We are all connected in a divine way. We sense that and know that in our hearts.
Due to the church's aggressive campaign on Proposition 8 we are being viewed as enemies of gays and lesbians. Unfortunately this is evidence that most of us are still living in the Telestial Kingdom where hate, animosity, tribalism, fear and fragmentation dominate. But there is hope. There is a growing minority of members of the church that are uncomfortable with what happened. They want to live in peace with their neighbors. They recognize that gay couples and families mean them no harm and in other countries where gay marriage is legal there is no evidence that it has affected, harmed or "done violence to" the traditional marriage.
Many of our ancestors practiced an alternative marriage lifestyle. We believed it was our right to do this because of the religious freedoms that are associated with the Constitution. But we were looked at with scorn and hatred. Polygamy was called one of the twin pillars of barbarism next to slavery. Many of our people were hunted down and forced to relocate to other countries. And yet with this background there are few that see the mirror of history where now we are seen as antagonistic to those who want to pursue happiness and have equal rights.
The good part in all of this is that the church's actions are so well documented and politically and financially aggressive that it has stirred compassion in the hearts of a growing number of members of the church. While many people think that the direction of the church comes from the top down, in reality it is the collective hearts of the members (symbolic of divine intelligence) that influences the Apostles and Prophets. As Seers, they will be able to sense this compassion and love for their fellow human beings.
Many Nicodemus Mormons who are uber literalists will stand firm that homosexuality is a great and abominable sin. What they do not remember or realize is that Jesus never said a word about it. Is this by accident? Did he just forget to mention it if it was so crucial and important? The vast majority of references to homosexuality as a sin is in the Old Testament--particularly Leviticus. Uber literalists would also be wise to realize that failing to send woman out of the city or camp when they were menstruating was also considered impure and a sin. Yet we have let that tradition go quite a long time ago. Both of these examples from the Old Testament or Law of Moses are examples of a Telestial mindset. A Millennial mindset would be able to see the symbolism, allow it to nurture their lives but would avoid taking a fundamentalist or approach in thinking that they should be considered literal.
What many members of the church fail to know or understand is that before they can enter the Celestial Kingdom they must come to an understanding of the Telestial and Terrestrial (Millennial) Kingdoms. All kingdoms and degrees are symbolic of our spiritual journey. For most Nicodemus Mormons, they expect and talk as though they will jump from "this world" (Telestial) straight to the Celestial Kingdom. What they fail to recognize is that these kingdom designations primarily refer to the state of mind and heart of individuals living on this world.
The millennial state of mind is an acceptance and friendship with those who may be different than us. It is a necessary step toward oneness and harmony. Instead of fear, hatred, and fragmentation, there is a culture of love acceptance, tolerance and peace. Symbolically, weapons of war are changed into peaceful tools that bless the lives of others.
The prop. 8 political drama was very warlike. It was fear based where the reality is that there really wasn't anything to fear. It is reminiscent of previous struggles for civil rights where those who hated black Americans pronounced so much fear-based rhetoric. These elements differ sharply from the Savior's teachings of the golden rule and the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Homosexual Men were one of many classes or groups that were targeted by Nazis and put in concentration camps. When they were put into camps they were forced to wear a pink triangle that identified them as homosexual. Today, we as members of the church have an opportunity to turn away from fear, hatred and intolerance and show compassion for our brothers and sisters who have a different sexual orientation. Let us show support for human rights and allow others who may appear different than us to live side by side as neighbors and in peace. This will be a great test for us to see if we will continue to wander in a Telestial wilderness or if we will begin to embrace our millennial destiny. I hope you will join with me and remember the pink triangle. If we fail to do this then perhaps one day, we will be forced to wear a triangle with a Moroni statue on it. The law of the harvest can be a great blessing or a great curse.
Peace be with you my friends.
This issue is very hard to reconcile to me. We know that Christ taught us to "love one another." There is no doubt that we are to love LGBT people. There is also no doubt that the scriptures speak negatively of homosexuality. The Apostle Paul even writes about it in Romans 1:26-27.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that many gay people are born that way. Part of them being sent to this mortal life with those tendencies may be a combination of trials for them and testing our capacity to love them.
For me, I have always believed that gay people should have equal rights (hospital visitations, insurance, income tax returns, etc.) It all comes to us redefining "marriage" to mean "any two persons who decide to commit to one another." Or retaining the traditional meaning of a Man and a Woman joined together to form the fundamental unit of society.
So I am conflicted in a sense. I can't read the Proclamation on the Family and deny what it says.. and I can't deny the fact that we are commanded to love one another at the same time. Until the Lord sees fit to shed further light and knowledge on the subject of gay marriage.. I am obligated to follow the counsel of the Brethren.
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate your perspective and the conflict within you. You are definitely not alone. Many felt the same way with the issue of race in the church and the comments and counsel of the Brethren on that issue at that time. It is a challenging dilemma we face. Remember that the Proclamation has not been cannonized at this point and is not part of the standard works. But I do agree, I think we can all hope and pray for further light in this area and in the mean time we can be Good Samaritans and practice the Golden Rule to those whom we may be at odds with. That is the essence of a millennial society--people who love and respect one another even though they may have different beliefs. Jesus said that others would know that we were his disciples if we loved one another. Love is the defining factor. If others perceive that we hate them or are trying to hurt them then we put our discipleship in jeopardy. We become like the scribes and Pharisees. Letting go of the Telestial world will always be a dilemma. When the membership of the church change their hearts, further light and knowledge will be given and the Lord will reveal his secret to his servants the prophets.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reading the blog my friend.
Thank you for this post. I completely agree that the primary commandment at play here is to love one another; love being an ACTION and not lip service.
ReplyDeleteIt is my firm opinion that there is nothing to fear, nor will there ever be, when two people marry each other, whether they are a homosexual or heterosexual couple.
The actions of the church and its members against people in the LGBT has been very unChrist-like and goes against many of the church's own teachings - including the articles of faith, the gospel of Christ, and the ten commandments. Further, the Prophet's long standing admonition that the church members shall vote according to their own conscience (without influence from their religious leaders) and that the church takes no political stance and shall not be involved in the world's politics has obviously been revoked, ignored, was uninspired in the first place, or is a direct disobedience of God's word through his mouthpiece.
The issue of gay marriage, and the actions of it's 'players', are highly parallel to the outrage of 'color' in the priesthood, and inversely, of polygamous marriage. It can only be construed that the LDS church uses one set of tactics to their advantage (Prop 8), yet cries "Foul!" when the same tactics are used against them (polygamy).
So sayeth I.
This will be the right weblog for desires to discover this topic. You realize so much its practically challenging to argue along with you (not too I personally would want…HaHa). You actually put a whole new spin with a topic thats been discussing for many years. Fantastic stuff, just wonderful!
ReplyDeleteBrown Boy Travels
You make such a large number of extraordinary focuses here that I read your article two or three times. Your perspectives are as per my own generally. This is extraordinary substance for your perusers.
ReplyDeletelive porn webcam