Who I am, and Why I Stand Where I Do: Part IV

I am now at the final segment of  Who I am, and Why I Stand Where I Do. I am going to cover how homosexual activists are recruiting you, the danger of the homosexual lifestyle, and what it really means to love your gay friend or family member. I think this will be the hardest post to write. But here goes:

First, How are homosexual activists recruiting you? Some of you may think they are not recruiting you. Statistics prove otherwise. The most recent Gallup Poll, concludes:

This year's nine-percentage-point increase in support for same-sex marriage is the largest year-to-year shift yet measured over this time period. Two-thirds of Americans were opposed to legalized same-sex marriage in 1996, with 27% in favor. By 2004, support had risen to 42% and, despite some fluctuations from year to year, stayed at roughly that level through last year.

In 2011, 53% of those polled believed same-sex marriage should be valid. So why in 15 years have so many people changed their minds? It is because the homosexual activists are really good at converting the public to their cause. They convert adults through ridicule. And it works really well. Thomas S. Monson said, " What a powerful tool of the adversary is ridicule and mockery!"

The majority of the people do not view themselves as bigots or members of hate groups.  It hurts to be told you are a bigot or hateful. It is very persuasive. Recently I ran into an article titled, I'm Christian Unless You're Gay .This article is very persuasive. I would suggest reading it and seeing if you don't feel like you need to be more accepting when you have finished. The author, Dan Pearce, declares:


The greatest spiritual leaders in history have all preached love for others as the basis for all happiness, and never did they accompany such mandates with a list of unlovable actions or deeds. They never said, love everybody except for the gays. Love everybody except for the homeless. Love everybody except for the drug users. Love everybody except for the gang members, or those covered in ink, or the spouse abusers. They didn’t tell us it was okay to love everybody with the exception of the “trailer trash,” those living in poverty, or the illegal immigrants. They didn’t tell us it was okay to love everybody except for our ex-lovers, our lovers’ ex lovers, or our ex-lovers’ lovers. The mandate was pretty damn clear, wasn’t it?

I think this is pretty convincing. I want to think, "Yes, I love everybody. We are commanded to love everybody, and if I am truly Christian, I would love gays too." Unfortunately, what the author means, and what every person promoting the gay agenda means is there are no "unlovable actions or deeds." If you do not approve of the action then you cannot love the person.

Inwardly, we know this is not true. Every Christian who has felt the atoning power of Christ in their lives knows that the Savior did not approve of their actions, but His love for them is insurmountable and incomprehensible. And when one has repented of his sins, he knows that part of God's love was helping him change and turn away from something that was not good in his life.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints,has a great question and answer session on homosexuality.  It is a long article. Here is part:


PUBLIC AFFAIRS: So you are saying that homosexual feelings are controllable?

ELDER OAKS: Yes, homosexual feelings are controllable. Perhaps there is an inclination or susceptibility to such feelings that is a reality for some and not a reality for others. But out of such susceptibilities come feelings, and feelings are controllable. If we cater to the feelings, they increase the power of the temptation. If we yield to the temptation, we have committed sinful behavior. That pattern is the same for a person that covets someone else’s property and has a strong temptation to steal. It’s the same for a person that develops a taste for alcohol. It’s the same for a person that is born with a ‘short fuse,’ as we would say of a susceptibility to anger. If they let that susceptibility remain uncontrolled, it becomes a feeling of anger, and a feeling of anger can yield to behavior that is sinful and illegal.
We’re not talking about a unique challenge here. We’re talking about a common condition of mortality. We don’t understand exactly the ‘why,’ or the extent to which there are inclinations or susceptibilities and so on. But what we do know is that feelings can be controlled and behavior can be controlled. The line of sin is between the feelings and the behavior. The line of prudence is between the susceptibility and the feelings. We need to lay hold on the feelings and try to control them to keep us from getting into a circumstance that leads to sinful behavior.



Second, the danger of the homosexual lifestyle: Studies have shown that living a homosexual life is bad for your physical health and your mental health. On page 17, of this document, you can find lists of several risks for homosexuality and all of the studies supporting it. Here are just a few:

1. "Homosexual behavior significantly increases the likely hood of psychiatric, mental, and emotional disorders."
2. GLB youth grades 9-12, have twice the risk for, "an increased use of cocaine and other illegal drugs, use of tobacco,marijuana, and cocaine before age 13, sexual intercourse before age 13, and sexual intercourse with four or more partners.
3. "20-year-old gay men have a 50 percent chance of becoming HIV positive by age 55."
4. "Among homosexual men, ages 18 to 25: 79.2 percent have used marijuana; 75 percent have
   used psychotherapeutics for nonmedical reasons;65.2 percent have used stimulants such as
   dexedrine and benzedrine; 62.5 percent have used inhalants such as amyl or butyl nitrate; and
   50.2 percent have used hallucinogens such as LSD. Rates among lesbians: marijuana, 82 percent; psychotherapeutics, 58.8 percent; stimulants,52.9 percent; inhalants, 41.2 percent; and hallucinogens, 41.2 percent. Comparing current usage to national usage, homosexuals were found to use drugs with greater frequency: "Among adults aged 18-25, 16.5 percent of men and 9.1 percent of women have used marijuana in the past month, compared with 37.5 per-cent of gay men and 23.5 percent of lesbians." 

 Finally,  I will discuss: what it really means to love your gay friend or family member. Honestly, this is a tough one, and I am sure that I do not have it 100% correct. In the question and answer session from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, when asked about a 17 year old son coming to a parent and saying, "I have same sex attraction," the first thing Elder Oaks says is, "You’re my son. You will always be my son, and I’ll always be there to help you." Then he further states, "I think it’s important for you to understand that homosexuality, which you’ve spoken of, is not a noun that describes a condition. It’s an adjective that describes feelings or behavior" I think these two statements sum up perfectly what our Heavenly Father feels. I think we can base our behavior on these two statements as well. Should you cast a child,sibling, or friend off because he/she is engaging in homosexual behavior? No. Should you stand with your child, sibling, or friend and affirm that homosexuality is immutable and unchangeable and therefore completely acceptable? No.

By deciding along with between 47 and 53% of society in America today that homosexuality is unchangeable and completely acceptable you are hurting young people like myself that are confronted with it early in life. You are hurting the homosexual adults that want to repent and change. It doesn't help the drug user for everyone to say, "drug use is wonderful and just a part of who you are," and it doesn't help the gay person or the rest of society to say,  "homosexuality is one of those wonderful parts of human diversity." This is not true love. True love loves the sinner, but does not love the sin. This will hurt your friends feelings. But, if you are still there to talk and to listen and to be a friend,  not having the exact same beliefs as a gay friend, child, or sibling should not destroy the relationship. 


Who am I, and why do I stand where I do? I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. I am one of God's many children. I am a wife, and a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a friend.  I stand where I do because I have seem what affects homosexuality has on the soul and no matter how many times I am called a bigot or am considered to be spreading hate, I know that by saying, "homosexuality is a sin, and a choice," I am telling the truth. I can be a friend to a gay person. I can sit down and have lunch and a chat. But I will not say I love you by saying what you are doing is good.