I know very little about the Mormon faith and after reading this, I think I know why. Wouldn't it be hard to learn about a religion when its leaders seem to be denying reality. I mean, making a statement, "There are no homosexual members of the church…" Can you believe that out of 14+ million members there are no LGBT members? Let's see what David has to say about his revelation.
A Mormon leader has claimed he does not discriminate against gay and lesbian people – as the church has no homosexual members. David A Bednar, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), made the comments during a visit to Chile. He was asked: “How can homosexual members of the church live and remain in steadfast in the gospel?” – independent.co.uk
He replied: “First I want to change the question – there are no homosexual members of the church. We are not defined by sexual attraction," he continued. "We are not defined by sexual behaviour. We are sons and daughters of god and all of us have different challenges in the flesh."
He added that people may experience these feelings, but that it was up to them how them how they responded to them. He said: "Some people have physical limitations, they may be born with a body that is not fully functional." Mr Bednar likened this to having “an inclination to be attracted to someone of the same sex”.
"Simply being attracted to someone of the same gender is not a sin," he added. He said there were "many members of the church who may have some manifestation of that attraction" and that those people can serve in the church and receive a blessing of the temple. But he said that when they acted "on the inclination or the attraction, that’s when it becomes a sin”.
Mr Bednar said the church did not "accept or tolerate" marriage between anyone other than a man and woman. “Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the family is central to the father’s plan for the eternal happiness and destiny of his children," he said. "That plan is halted in anything but a marriage between a man and a woman.” He added: “So please do not let the voices of the world confuse you or lead you in another direction”.
Mr Bednar’s comments come after the Mormon Church changed its policy in November to denounce same-sex marriage. The new rule means children from same-sex marriages would be barred from the church and would not be baptized until they were 18 and moved out of their parents’ home. – independent.co.uk
If you are a little confused, come sit next to me so we can be dumbfounded together.
Are we the pretty ones with no morals? Are we piled in with the people that have birth defects?
If you can make Bednar's statement make sense and applicable to the real world we all live in, please do so below.
if you would like to see the conference (Questions and answers with Elder David A. Bednar, of the Quorum of the Twelve, 23 February 2016) in full and better quality, here it is. The question above appears at minute 41.
of course he isn’t denying
of course he isn't denying the existence of people with same-sex attraction within the church, but presenting it this way is more likely to get people fired up.
Adam and Donald Trump both know that bigoted and divisive messages get more attention than ones that promote understanding and mutual respect
Meanwhile he will be found in
Meanwhile he will be found in the back room taking it up the hole!
This homophobic racist filth
This homophobic racist filth has been spearheading an international crusade against the civil rights of homosexuals for the last 3 decades. It really comes as no surprise they now want to belittle them out of existence. The ponzi scheme built on a foundation of lies is slowly but surely sinking out of relevance and back into the bed of toxic waste it slithered out of.
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so," – Bringem Young (Journal of Discourses, vol. 10, p. 110)
Elder Bednar is not denying
Elder Bednar is not denying there are those who struggle with same-sex attraction. His comment is a refusal to label people by it. In context his comments are obviously a rejection of the notion we are subject to our sexuality. He, instead, promotes the idea we have power over our physical selves. You misunderstood his meaning.
The biggest struggle I had as
The biggest struggle I had as a member was to hold together all of the fragmented and conflicting statements of leaders throughout church history and to continue to suspend critical analysis in the face of overwhelming evidence that the church's claims simply aren't true. There is no "firm foundation" supporting any of the church's beliefs, claims, policies, or rhetoric, so I don't think that word-smithing performed by the quorum of the twelve attorneys should have any bearing on the real world.
Rex, I believe your
Rex, I believe your interpretation is a generous one. A generosity I will not extend to this man however. When he says there are no homosexuals in his church, he is plainly denying our existence in reality and in history.
To him we are not a people with a historical and cultural past that reaches every human civilization in recorded history. He also denies that we are primates and much like other primates, and nearly 2000 other species, a portion of humanity demonstrates homosexuality. He also ignores the multitude of evolutionary and biological perspectives explaining why homosexuality isn't naturally selected against.
To him we are merely confused heterosexuals. This man is self-righteous, smug, believes in a zombie Jesus who visited the indigenous people of the Americas, after his death, despite no recording of such an encounter in any American Indian folklore across the entire continent. He believes in a ghost, holy or not, it's still a damn ghost. And he believes in an invisible man father to it all. Do we need to get into the particular qwerks of Mormonism? Like every family getting a planet upon death. Or their timely end of polygamy, described as a result of a new revelation, that just so happened to coincide with the US government's threat to pull tax exempt status and start prosecuting the men of these polyandrous households.
No, I'm sorry. Bednar's words are just those of another science denying, history distorting, religious extremist, who hates gay people. It's not more complicated, more noble, nor more nuanced than that.
Whoa there, Stalin. Don’t let
Whoa there, Stalin. Don't let your religious prejudice show too much, or people might mistake you for a time-traveling Russian cosmonaut.
However you feel about Elder
However you feel about Elder Bednar's position, it is very clear in context that he is not denying the existence of same-sex attraction and you just derailed the conversation completely with your rant.
What I read from your article
What I read from your article is that Brother Bednar is saying that we should not be identified, or labeled by this one behavior. We are not black, we are not white, we are not gay, we are not straight. We are all children of God and each of us is striving to overcome our weaknesses, those traits that make us less than godly. Thus, we do have members who struggle with same sex attractions and behaviors. That does not necessarily label them as gay members. They are members with a homosexual weakness that they are struggling to overcome. If those members are actively gay in their behavior and are interviewed by Priesthood leaders, and subsequently do not enter into a program of repentance, then they are excommunicated from the church so that they can deal with their behavior without the burden of breaking covenants. Excommunication is actually a merciful action to release them from their membership covenants and allow them to deal with their ongoing sin without the burden of covenant violations.
Thus, to summarize, all members have struggles, some of which involve same sex attraction and behavior. They are not homosexual members, but members with a homosexual challenge. That is the distinction that I gain from Br. Bednar's words.
So people with genetic
So people with genetic diseases or chronic conditions are in the same boat here with homosexuals, just struggling to overcome the disease. Only, being ill or having a physical deformity or say, being black, isn't something you can change and therefore not a sin – although up to a few decades ago, being black was a hell-worthy offense – unlike being gay, which they say is just a choice. Right… Organized religions are just awful – you can go ahead and hate and discriminate against whoever you want and then say it's okay because of whatever god you worship…. it's part of your religion. What a terrible excuse for being awful to your fellow human-beings.