Homosexuality may be the single hardest inclination to avoid, but let us remember that it is unnatural in the eyes of God. A man may not engage in homosexual activities and still feel the spirit of God. If Homosexuality was to be accepted on the earth a man would be able to birth children with another Man, it is not so and can never be so.

With that said please understand that I feel greatly for those who have been given this lot in life; their’s is a most troubling and depressing path. As one who has been stricken by the debilitating effects of addiction let me offer these words: You will never be “cured,” such a thing does not exist you can only come to accept who you are and move forward from that position. Unless a man or woman understands this, they will be met with dissappointment and discouragement their entire lives.

People throughout all generations have been plagued by various sins, but that never has, nor ever will grant them the right to commit suicide. One who attempts such an act has within themselves given up on fighting. Let us assume (as we cannot know) this to be the case for David Hardy’s son. No matter how hard David Hardy tries to help his son, he cannot. His son is the one stricken with a debilitating addiction and unless he himsef can accept it, he will never have the strength to fight for his life.

If you attempt suicide you are entertaining the idea that you are not loved by God and you are hopelessly engaged in sin with no light at the end of the tunnel. There is always a way out through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but again the mportant thing to remember is that there is no “cure.” Christ does not take away your desires, He lightens the burden on your shoulders. You can never approach sin by saying that you need the desires taken away, it may never be so with strong addictions.

In the end, Daivid’s entire argument comes down to one asking himself, “Is homosexuality ordained of God or not?” If it is not, then his son needs to fight for doing the right thing his entire life and he (David) has no power over his son’s future. Many good parents have to take a step back and watch as their children live for themselves, this is no different. Even the most valiant and exceptional followers of Jesus Christ struggle with addiction and fall victim to its terrible grasps. No matter what has befallen a child of God he is still God’s child and will always be treated as such.

There is a time of reckoning and no man can say how a homosexual (such as David’s son) will be judged, but David cannot will his son into a rationalized state of immunity. David’s son will be judged, and if he is as David says, “Indeed, my son is the most unselfish and Christ-like person I know.” He will be judged well.

I would however have to say that personally I reject that notion. The only choice an individual has is whether to be a practicing homosexual or remain celebate. Whilst the church embraces those who have homosexual tendencies, the members in general do not. They may appear to be friendly on a Sunday whilst at church, but would not in general socialise with them outside of church.

There are many LDS men who suffer mental problems because of the fear that they will be discovered and to be discovered would entail or could entail the loss of membership, friends and sometimes family.

Before a convert is baptised he/she has to have an interview and Q4 asks if U have ever had a homosexual relationship. To answer yes or indicate that are homosexual would mean that you would need to have an indepth interview with the Mission President.

You may have noticed that I have consistently used the term homosexual and not the generally accepted terminology “Gay”. That is because the church refuses to accept that term. They use the terms SSA [Same sex attraction] or SGS [same gender attraction]

There are those who are General Authorities that are homophobic whist pretending not to be. One even likened them to dogs who have sex for pleasure and not procreation.

I also am not familiar with that list of organizations, but if you’re trying to convince me of anything by appealing to the APA and the NEA, then you’re making your task harder than it needs to be. The NEA talks a nice talk, but their actions seem specifically designed to make our kids dumb and turn the US into a third-world dictatorship.

As for peer-review, again, I don’t see how appealing to that helps add credibility to your argument. If you’ve been following the ClimateGate scandal lately, then you know we’ve seen the virtual destruction of any credibility the peer-review process ever had. Everything that has ever come from the peer-review process has now been called into question. Evidently large groups of scientists and doctors can be corrupted.

MQ_2 – “Let them practice in monogamous relationships. Make up a new temple ceremony for eternal gay marriage. Start having gay and lesbian singles wards.” But why stop there? Why not allow members to practice polygamy again? Why not create a new temple ceremony where any number of men and women can be married to each other? Why not have wards for adulterers? If the only qualification for creating new ordinances and wards is that it be for consenting adults who have hurt feelings, why not?

Your point of view only makes sense if you take as given that the LDS Church is false, and that there is no direct communication between President Monson and God. If someone assumes that’s the case, then why would anyone care how the LDS Church treats gay people? That would be like me caring what the stance of Scientology is on homosexuality. If someone believes the LDS Church is true and President Monson does directly communicate with God, then why would they try to get the Church to change its doctrine?

I don’t think that’s what David is trying to do with his letter. I don’t think he’s saying the doctrine is wrong, but rather that the Church’s handling of the issue leaves something to be desired. I think that’s fine for him to share his experience and suggestions (although privately, rather than publicly), and I would guess the leaders of the church would take seriously his input and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re working on figuring out better ways to handle the issue of homosexuality amongst church members without betraying the doctrines of the church. But establishing gay wards or having gay temple ceremonies would be a major doctrinal change, perhaps equivalent to saying that adultery is no longer a sin.

In the case of the priesthood and blacks, there was no doctrine to change. There was a policy that started over 100 years ago (nobody seems to know exactly when or how), and it took until 1978 for it to be changed. It did not change due to external or internal pressure. If that were true, then why didn’t the church change the policy in the 60′s, when the pressure was stronger than it was in 1978? And why did President David O. McKay express interest in changing the policy decades earlier, when many other Christian denominations had similar policies in place and there was no external pressure? Again, if you take as your premise that the LDS Church is false, then there seems to be no explanation other than external pressure. But if you accept that the LDS Church may be true, then a host of other possible explanations present themselves.

I have just one thing to say about your response and observations.. and that is “WOW!!!”
Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

I will give you my answer: Stop treating them like second class members. Let them practice in monogomous relationships. Make up a new temple ceremony for eternal gay marriage. Start having gay and lesbian singles wards. Thats the simple answer. Kinda like letting those less valiant spirit children hold the priesthood. Instead of waiting for society to force the mormon church to do the right thing they could lead the way on just one civil rights issue. Monson could pretend to be a prophet and actually recieve some revelation for the first time since 1978 and the church could lead the way in the ethical treatment of homosexuals.

I believe that David Eccles Hardy summed up the churches answer to this solution when he said:

“…perhaps my son is simply a casualty of war – acceptable “collateral damage” in an eternal plan and struggle in which by the luck of the draw he has no relevance or place.”

They will do nothing until membership begins to drop over this issue and then the revelation will come. Until then Gay and lesbians will continue to be acceptable collateral damage.

The following organizations oppose portrayals of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and adults as mentally ill due to their sexual orientation and supports the dissemination of accurate information about sexual orientation and mental health and appropriate interventions in order to counteract bias that is based in ignorance or unfounded beliefs about sexual orientation.

American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of School Administrators
American Counseling Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Psychological Association
American School Counselor Association
American School Health Association
Interfaith Alliance Foundation
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of SocialWorkers
National Education Association
School SocialWork Association of America