gays r us

The Standard of Liberty Voice
For God,Religion,Family,Freedom
A publication of The Standard of Liberty Foundation
www.standardofliberty.org
August 9, 2005, #3

Gays R Us

Steve recently attended the Sunstone Symposium hoping to sell some copies of our new book, My Darling from the Lions, which tells the true story of a young man overcoming homosexuality. He looked in on a few of the sessions addressing the issue of homosexuality and the Church. He learned that a faction of LDS people is pushing for the Church membership and leadership to accept and embrace this practice. Using a baseball diamond metaphor (which rather curiously has traditionally been used to describe heterosexual advances), these activists describe first base as getting us all to accept two things: one, that homosexual feelings are not chosen, and two, that they won’t go away. These two goals were emphatically repeated several times. Of course the home run, for which they patiently plan and scheme, is temple marriage for same sex couples. We are not making this up, nor do I think we are overreacting in pointing it out. Granted, Sunstone is a somewhat radical fringe group, but its ideologies on this topic seem to at least in part represent a significant cultural development occurring within the Church. Read on.

The presenters were very proud of Deseret Book’s new publication, In Quiet Desperation, Understanding the Challenge of Same-Gender Attraction. They also touted a booklet produced by them and sold at Deseret Book, A Guide for Latter-day Saint Families, Dealing with Homosexual Attraction, which incidentally is disguised to look like a standard Church issue publication. In addition, they had a new DVD, funded by Idaho State University and openly gay millionaire Bruce Bastian, Understanding Homosexuality, which they were showing parts of and giving out free to people who promised to give them to their bishops. They expressed the goal that every bishop and stake president in the Church receive a copy. All these materials are pro-gay, meaning they are being used as a means to get us all to first base and beyond.

As for Deseret Book’s participation in this development, we can only say we find it unaccountable. The book’s attempt to normalize and legitimize homosexual lust certainly does not jive with the tenets of its owner, the LDS Church. This is too bad, seeing as how this publishing company is considered by most Church members to be, well, safe, as in doctrinally sound and in keeping with LDS beliefs. So far, our communications with Des. Book officials, board members, and employees have been disappointing – they strongly defend their publication – and we are left to wonder, pray, and, sadly, to warn: don’t believe everything you read, even if it’s published by Deseret Book.

We submit that this gay-affirming propaganda, cleverly dressed in emotional bravado and victim mentality, is nothing less than anti-Christ. One of the most harmful things about the points being emphasized by LDS activists is that they deny any given person’s freedom and opportunity to reject unwanted homosexual temptations or to ultimately turn away from homosexuality. Obviously, these people are conveniently turning a blind eye to truth, including: one, attitudes toward sexuality are learned, and two, what is learned can be unlearned. In other words, people can be taught, lured or recruited into homosexuality, and ex-gays exist. Yes, even people who have lived the lifestyle for many years have successfully turned their lives around. A few days ago I was talking to a lady at a League of Utah Writers meeting who also attended those same sessions at the Sunstone Symposium. She expressed her disagreement with the presenters’ assertions, giving me accounts of people whom she had watched over the years as they had, one, been recruited into the homosexual lifestyle and, two, chosen to leave it behind.

Revealingly, the idea of repentance is conspicuously absent throughout these by-Mormons, for-Mormons, gay-affirming materials. And yet it is one of the first principles of the gospel. Indeed, the word repentance and its derivatives appears in The Book of Mormon an astounding 312 times, which averages to appearing every one-and-a-half pages, and 564 times in the standard works as a whole. Also fascinating is the fact that the one thing all of the famous Book of Mormon anti-Christs had in common was the assertion that (for one reason or another) there is no need for repentance.

If in our well-meant but misguided compassion we concede the points being pushed by LDS gays and gay advocates, we will be accomplices in the degradation of many and, even more significant, participants in the denial of Christ. Joseph F. Smith was indeed prophetic when he said there are at least three dangers that threaten the Church from within “which the authorities need to awaken to and warn the people against unceasingly: flattery of prominent men in the world, false educational ideas, and sexual impurity" (Improvement Era, Vol. 17, No. 5, p.476. March, 1914).

-Stephen & Janice Graham

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