When there's so much darkness in the world, it can be hard to see the light. But if we actually look for it, we will find it.
First of all, my heart goes out to the victims in Paris, as well as any victim around the globe to senseless violence, tragedy, unfair circumstances, and of the hatred mankind can have for one another. There is real evil out there, and my prayers go to those who are directly affected by it.
And though this seems like a small thing in comparison, I would like to express my thoughts at last about the new policy the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has released regarding homosexuality and the children raised by same-sex parents. When I stumbled upon the first article my eyes encountered, I only read the headline, and my heart broke. I did not understand. Even upon reading it, my mind was too full of conflicting thoughts to find clarity.
My mistake was clicking on the comments to find an assortment of negativity, from all sides. First were those who were offering hateful and bitter messages about the Mormon church. Then there were members of the Church who were obviously confused and hurt by this announcement. There were comments about having faith and trusting the Prophet. Finally, there were members, who, while well-meaning in their desires to defend their faith, responded in ways that seemed too harsh to inspire softened hearts and understanding. I was witnessing verbal war on news sites and Facebook.
I took a step back from it all and sent up a sincere prayer, that Heavenly Father help me understand why the Church had decided that children raised by homosexual parents would not be allowed to be baptized until they had turned eighteen and had also denounced their parents' relationships. After all, Christ had told the Apostles in the New Testament to prevent not the children, to let them come unto Him. I wished to know how this could be the new policy.
And then understanding did come.
First of all, the policy was leaked, meaning it had been thrown to the media before it was meant to, and while others claim that the Church has been backpedaling, I believe they are doing what they would have done in the first place had they been given the opportunity. They are approaching the subject with sensitivity, and they are answering questions, clarifying what has been misunderstood.
This policy is meant to protect the children from making a decision they might not be ready to make. The Church has been very clear with its stance on homosexuality; acting upon it is contrary to the will and designs of our Heavenly Father. Still, especially now that gay marriage is legal in the United States, those who have found their partner have every right to choose to have a family. Or perhaps one member of the relationship had a child with the opposite sex at one point in time, and has since taken that child into their primary custody. Regardless, they are parents, and the child will love them as such. It would be so difficult, taxing and painful, to feel like the child had to choose between their religion and their family. So, to prevent that back-and-forth pull on someone who is still so young and is already going through so much in the process of growing up, Heavenly Father has inspired our Prophet with this policy that the child won't have to make their decision until they are of legal age.
The child will still be very welcome to attend meetings, to be a part of youth programs. They can still be a part of a ward family, but will be asked to wait until eighteen to make their membership official.
As for the denouncement, they will not be required to discard their parents. They can still be a huge part in their family's lives, loving them and spending time with them. They will only be required to acknowledge that their parents' relationship does not coincide with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If they can find peace with that, a balance between believing the Gospel and yet still having a wonderful relationship with their parents, they can be baptized in the Church. This is not meant to be a punishment. This is not meant to be negative.
My heart still goes out to those who were wounded by this policy. My heart is with any who are angry, who do not understand still, whose faith was shaken or broken. And my heart goes out to those members who have responded negatively to those who "lack faith" rather than reaching out to them in guidance and reassurance.
I'm very alarmed with brothers and sisters of the Church do not have compassion. We are meant to teach of love, of Christ waiting for us with open arms, always calling to us to come unto Him, to leave our sins behind, to give Him our pains. We are meant to be a unified people who serve, who love, who walk the path as Christ would if He were here. While there is a time and place for voices of thunder, I do not think it is to those who are shaky, who feel pain, who are upset. We should inspire those with questions to continue to ask questions to their leaders, to their loved ones, and above all else to Heavenly Father in prayer. And we should respect the opinions of those around us that are contrary to our own. After all, as the 11th Article of Faith states: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."
I have asked myself why homosexuality is a sin long ago, and I have found peace with the answer I've received. Sin is anything that would keep one out of the presence of God, of the possibility of eternal life. Eternal and immortal are two different concepts; immortal life, which is possible for all mankind because of Christ's Atonement and resurrection. We will all be resurrected. Eternal life is for those who, also through the Atonement, have lived a worthy existence and can be like Heavenly Father. Those who obtain eternal life can then create their own worlds and populate them. That being said, a same sex couple could not populate such worlds. But that does not condemn them to Hell. I believe Hell, the way many think of it as the place Satan dwells, is outer darkness, and that's reserved for those who have a perfect knowledge of God and His will (perfect knowledge meaning without a doubt, extending far beyond faith) and yet reject Him.
While those who are not worthy of exaltation, of being like Heavenly Father, do not receive such blessings, blessed they still can be. There are three kingdoms of glory. They are called kingdoms of glory for a reason; our joys there are inexpressible. The Celestial Kingdom, the one of eternal life and exaltation, is the highest honor, the most joyous, but the ones following, Terrestrial and Telestial, have their great shares of blessings. As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, our focus is on the Celestial Kingdom. Our goal is eternal life. We cannot teach anything less than that; for we are preaching God's Law, and His Law is centered around bringing our families home to Him and to progression that exaltation brings. He has given us the knowledge to bring us to Him. He will not adjust his Laws to a lower kingdom. We must live the best we can, aiming for the highest kingdom of glory.
With that in mind, I am grateful for Heavenly Father's judgment. It is He that will be our final judge, it is Christ who will be our advocate. He will look into our hearts and decide where we will be, what we will become based on the choices we made and why.
For those in the Church who look down on anyone who has same sex attraction, who act on it, I would like to say one more thing. I believe that a person can be born with such attraction. I never consciously made a choice to be attracted to men, and yet here I am. There are people who truly believe that they are not behaving contrary to God's law, who do not believe as we do. And there are people who have grown up in the Church and have eventually acted out on their feelings. Do not judge them, do not cut them off or turn your back on them. Imagine feeling one way, not being tempted to act a way but legitimately feeling a certain way in your heart and knowing that everyone around you believes that behaving with that feeling is wrong. Imagine seeing your future before you, where you feel alone and hurt because you can't act on your feelings but you also can't force yourself to turn them off. Have you ever been faced with that? I haven't. Therefore I will not be their judge. I will love them, I will protect them from injustice, and I will not turn away.
I will live a life I know to be correct, or at least try my best. I will hold onto my beliefs, and I will respect those who do not share them. I will have compassion.
It's my prayer that I can live this life with peace between me and every brother and sister I encounter. It is also my prayer that I am able to have wisdom, humility, and the desire to serve those around me no matter who they are. I want to leave this world doing more good than harm, bandaging more wounds than creating them. I want to leave this world having lived such a life, there isn't a doubt in anyone's mind that I believed in something whole and wonderful, that my beliefs made me a better person.
I testify of the truth of Gospel, and above all else, I testify that there is a Heavenly Father who loves His children so powerfully, He created a beautiful plan and allowed His Only Begotten Son to be sacrificed that we may have a way home. I also testify that there is power in love. The love of God, the love from God, and the love between the children on Earth. Love is medicine. Let's use it.
