- how the church approaches gay issues. out of my college group of friends, all of the guys i knew have came out over time as gay. i have seen church leaders and members, on a large and small scale level, treat this issue with tenderness and compassion; however, i have heard some members imply that being gay is a fad and 'the rise' in the number of gay people has come from that fad. it seems to me that discussion on a national level has made it ok to talk about, and i suspect there has always been a strain of self-silencing gay lds members. one of those friends who has come out as being gay is the most upstanding, worthy priesthood holder i know, and he has worked to have more of a relationship with his heavenly father and savior than most people i know.
i respect the church's right to make statements on moral issues. however, the US constitution is clear that discrimination based on gender, of which sexuality is an integral part, is clearly unconstitutional and inappropriate. i believe very firmly in the separation of church and state. i don't believe the U.S. is a mormon or even a christian nation, despite their claims to founding or even being the reason for why the country was founded. (i think what really happened is that more people were looking for economic freedom than religious freedom... not to mention the founding fathers were deists, not christian.) it makes me feel very concerned as an lds member, historian, and critical thinker that any U.S. congregation would fail to see this in the constitution it holds dear, even the constitution that grants them religious freedom, and sometimes i think they are the ones who are trampling on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment