Mormonistic

 

“In the beginning” was the assertion. The exclusionary stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against members of the LGBTQ+ community stands on the precedent of the law of chastity as established by God as claimed by both Dallin H Oaks and Russell M Nelson . A stance that I have been unable to substantiate nor reconcile through the very scriptures which begins with that exact phrase — In the beginning. In the beginning of what? I cannot say. What matters though, is the end. In the end, there are far too many lives and families that are harmed by this stance. In the end, living a lifetime of stigmatized solitude is a burden that no person should be expected to bear. In the end, there are far too many lives on the line for the church to be wrong about this. In the end, ultimately, it comes to Christ . During Christ's ministry, He never spoke about homosexuality or anything relevant to LGBTQ+. He did not call it out, He did not label it as a sin, He did not con...

Venturing into the New Testament, we approach the words and teachings of the very Christ on which all Christian faiths are founded. Recall that the Mosaic law found in the Old Testament was fulfilled in Christ, but it serves as critical context to understanding the messages of the apostles in the New Testament. Meaning and usage of terms in the Old Testament has bearing on the messages intended by the apostles in the New Testament. There are four references within the New Testament that appear to address homosexuality. The last reference, found in Jude 1:7, has already been discussed in part 5 of this series, The Sin of Sodom . The other three references originate from the apostle Paul. Even though Paul was not one of the original twelve apostles, he had a significant influence over the early Christian church and modern Christian faiths today as half of the books in the New Testament are attributed to Paul. Paul was the son of a Pharisee who became a Pharisee himself. Not only was Paul...

Interpersonal relationships come in a wide variety of forms. The Bible is no exception in featuring a variety of relationships that would be familiar (namely, with a spouse, family, God, neighbor, stranger, etc.), as well as the kinds of relationships that would hopefully not be familiar (for instance, with a slave or a prisoner of war). We will take a closer look at an example of close a relationship between people of the same gender in the Old Testament. The purpose of this segment's examination is not to claim whether or not these individuals were homosexual or bisexual. There is no definitive indication one way or another on any of these individuals' sexuality nor the sexual activity within the relationship. In searching through the scriptures, I came across this relationship that appears to be more than just a mere friendship and had developed an emotionally intimate bond. This is not to say that having an emotionally close relationship indicates the presence of a sexual r...

Apparently, of all the issues of this human existence, who a consenting adult chooses to lay with is of God’s greatest concerns and potential offenses. According to the current teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as many conservative Christian faiths, anything outside of a legal monogamous heterosexual relationship is a major transgression and warrants harsh consequences in this life and God’s condemnation in the next. One of the most commonly used references to support a biblical stance against members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially against anything to do with homosexuality, is found in Leviticus. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Leviticus 18:22) If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Leviticus 20:13) Without context and on the surface these verses appear to speak against homosex...

The “sin of Sodom” has become synonymous with homoerotic sexual behavior in modern usage and was derived from an interpretation of the events described in Genesis 18. Even so, does the dominant modern-day usage of the terminology derived from Sodom (e.g. sodomy, sodomite, etc) align with how it was used in the Bible? What was the actual “sin of Sodom” as defined by the authors of the Old Testament and how was it used during that time? Taking a look a the story of Lot and his family, prior to the arrival of the angelic visitors, Sodom was already condemned for destruction. There are not many details in Genesis as to what the sin of Sodom was specifically, just that it was “because their sin is very grievous” (Genesis 18:20). Upon the arrival of the angelic visitors to Sodom, Lot invites them to his home. Later, the men of the city of Sodom surrounded Lot’s home and demanded that the visitors be turned over to the mob so that they may “know them” (Genesis 19:5) which was a euphemism that...

Perhaps we could just skip the Old Testament since Jesus fulfilled the law, but when it comes to LGBTQ+ much has been drawn from the Old Testament to justify persecution and hatred all in the name of God. By understanding relevant elements in the Old Testament we can better understand the foundations of the New Testament. Abomination is a term that is frequently used in conjunction with anti-LGBTQ+ biases, particularly by those who use the Bible to support their stance on the topic. The way that abomination is used today is not the same as it used in the Old Testament. Today’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric frequently labels anything homosexual as an abomination. But what actually makes something an abomination to God in the Old Testament and what specifically is being talked about? In the original Hebrew, abomination is translated from the word "to'ebah" or "tow'ebah" (תֹּועֵבָה) which is a term commonly associated with cult worship can mean "that which is cerem...

  With regards to anything specific to LGBTQ+ in both the Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price are silent . Much like the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants (D&C) and Pearl of Great Price are devoid of references that provide any further insight into a scriptural stance on LGBTQ+. Lust, abomination, fornication, concubines, and polygamy are all topics that are addressed in some form or another in D&C, none of which specifically address LGBTQ+ issues. Even with Joseph’s evolving theology between the authorship of the Book of Mormon and the later writings in the D&C and Pearl of Great Price, homosexuality and LGBTQ+ issues are still not mentioned. The D&C is intrinsically linked to church history with the time period of the authorship of the majority of D&C (i.e. Sections 1 - 137) occurring between 1823 and 1847. From a broader historical context in the U.S., even though the term ‘homosexual’ isn’t coined until after the time period of t...

  With regards to anything specific to LGBTQ+, the Book of Mormon is silent . That's it. There is no mention of anything that can be tied specifically LBGTQ+, or even homosexual acts in a broader sense. There are plenty of topics of a sexual nature addressed in the Book of Mormon including: Lusts of the flesh — 1 Nephi 22:23 Abominations — 2 Nephi 27:1, Mosiah 11:2 & 20, Jacob 2:24*, Alma 39:5 Fornication — Jacob 3:12, 3 Nephi 12:32, Helaman 8:26 Lasciviousness — Jacob 3:12, Alma 45:12, Alma 16:18, Alma 45:12, Alma 47:36 Chastity — Jacob 2:28, Moroni 9:9 Harlots — Alma 39, Mosiah 11 Whoredoms — Mosiah 11, Alma 1:32 Polygamy — Jacob 2:24, Mosiah 11:2, Ether 10:5 Concubines — Mosiah 11, Ether 10:5, Jacob 2:24-28 Some might argue that homosexuality falls under some of the topics that are addressed by the Book of Mormon, possibly abominations , lusts of the flesh , fornication , and lasciviousness . Each of these definitions fails to address homosexuality specifically or describe h...

A truth was claimed, and the line was redrawn in the same place as it had been so many times before. “The laws that apply most significantly to the issues relating to those identifying as LGBTQ+ are God’s law of marriage and its companion law of chastity.” According to Dallin H Oaks , the church’s stance and treatment of LGBTQ+ is justified by divine legality. Oaks continued further by quoting from an address of Russel M Nelson where he stated, “The truth is, however, that in the beginning— in the beginning —marriage was ordained by God! And to this day it is defined by Him as being between a man and a woman. God has not changed His definition of marriage. God has also not changed His law of chastity.” A reference to “in the beginning” lays a claim on the foundation of creation itself for the first three words of scripture are exactly that, “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). The only mention regarding anything of a sexual nature is found in Genesis 1:28 where “God blessed them, and Go...

 

  The church is not wealthy? What exactly is "not wealthy"?

  We've had so many aMaZiNg ReVeLaTiOnS with Russell in power. I wonder what an all-powerful, all-knowing divine being has to share with us this General Conference?  Hopefully, I'm not inadvertently offending the Savior just because it was ok with previous prophets.

 

 

  I was in debt the moment I was born into this church. For more than four decades since I took that first breath, I continued to fall further and further into debt. In debt to my parents. In debt to God. In debt to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Expected to give everything that I have and am, even laying down my life if necessary, for the church. At least, that is what I was taught. “…knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are…” Mosiah 2:34 An eternal debt that could never be repaid. No matter how much you do, you are never out of debt. There are many types of debt. By far, the most commonly understood debt is of the financial kind, but there are others. In systems where there is an exchange of value in one form or another there is the potential of creating a debt; for example, technical debt in software development or emotional debt in relationships. With regards to the church, it has not been in fi...