Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Homosexuality and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" in English language version.
[F]ar too many of our lesbian and gay youths kill themselves because of what you say about them.... those who believe your false promises and remain celibate in the hopes of eventual 'cure' are consigned to a misery.Transcript available here via Affirmation.
[Homosexuality] is curable and forgivable. ... Certainly it can be overcome .... [T]o those who say that this practice ... is incurable, I respond: 'How can you say the door cannot be opened until your knuckles are bloody ...? It can be done.' ... Some have ... convinced themselves that they ... have no desire toward the opposite sex. ... [L]et this individual repent of his perversion, force himself to return to normal pursuits and interests ... with the opposite sex, and this normal pattern [heterosexual dating] can become natural again.
We know such a disease [homosexuality] is curable.
A normal 12- or 13-year-old boy or girl exposed to pornographic literature could develop into a homosexual.Also linked here.
Homosexual behavior begins in various ways. Some young children are molested by strangers, acquaintances, or even relatives. ...However, not all who are molested become homosexual.
... [T]he crimes for which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed—we have coined a softer name for them than came from old; we now speak of homosexuality, which, it is tragic to say, is found among both sexes. ...Not without foundation is the contention of some that the homosexuals are today exercising great influence in shaping our art, literature, music, and drama.
Young created a Mormon theocracy in the Utah territory: his 'word was law in matters both religious and secular.' He established a separate legal system and oversaw the selection of representatives to the territorial legislature.
Young created a Mormon theocracy in the Utah territory: his 'word was law in matters both religious and secular.' He established a separate legal system and oversaw the selection of representatives to the territorial legislature.
What is the church's feeling about electric shock and other forms of behavior modification? ... Our experience so far has been that most people coming to us can be helped with it.
Most Church leaders seem to agree that professional counselors can play an important role in helping individuals experiencing problems with homosexuality. ... The church has supported efforts of the LDS Social Services and other consulting professionals to research the issues and to offer a reparative therapy approach which assumes that homosexual behavior can be changed.
If the father is rejecting or uninvolved, or if the mother becomes 'smothering' in an attempt to fill the void left by a weak father, the child can become ... a prime candidate for homosexual (homoerotic) thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Because man does have moral free agency it is inconsistent to believe that a person's homosexual orientation is inborn or locked in, and there is no real hope of change.
It is inconceivable that—as some involved in homosexual behavior claim—[the Lord] would permit his children to be born with desires and inclinations which would require behavior contrary to his plan.Also quoted in Newsweek here.
Homosexual orientation problems ... are often a reflection of poor interpersonal relationships with ... peers. ... Discuss dating and dating practices. Give female interaction assignments. ...[S]peaking to a girl may be considered a task, as may inviting her to a movie. However, to actually meet her, escort her to the movie, escort her home, and say goodnight is an experience cycle ... designed to meet a predetermined goal.
Encourage the member to be in appropriate situations with members of the opposite sex, even if he has to force himself. ... Encourage him (if single) to begin dating and gradually increase its frequency.
A normal 12- or 13-year-old boy or girl exposed to pornographic literature could develop into a homosexual.Also linked here.
The online survey was conducted in spring 2017. Email invitations were sent to 29,471 BYU students; 13,784 (48%) started the survey and 12,602 completed the survey, for a response rate of 43%. Demographic data revealed the survey participants to be very similar to the broader BYU population in terms of gender, ethnicity, year in school, and other measures. Key demographics include the following: ... Gender: 52% male, 48% female, and 0.2% transgender or other.
The church opposes homosexual behavior ... Homosexual behavior is contrary to [our] purpose and violates God's commandments. ... Neither the Lord nor His church can condone any behavior that violates His laws. Again, we condemn the immoral behavior, not the person.
[T]o be homosexual ... I am sure is an acquired addiction, just as drugs, alcohol and pornography are.Video also available at churchofjesuschrist.org
Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious ... sin of homosexuality.
[S]exual promiscuity, homosexuality, drug abuse, alcoholism, vandalism, pornography, and violence. These grave problems are symptoms of failure in the home ....
Once the carnal in man is no longer checked by the restraints of family life and by real religion, there comes an avalanche of appetites ... whether it is an increase in homosexuality, corruption, drugs, or abortion.
Parents need to know that lack of proper affection in the home can result in unnatural behavior in their children such as homosexuality ....
Homosexuality would not occur where there is a normal, loving father-and-son relationship.
Homosexuality results from an interaction of social, biological, and psychological factors. These factors may include ... sexual abuse ....
The Lord ... did not intend either of the sexes to adopt the other's traits ... men should look and act like men and that women should look and act like women. When these differences are ignored ... [it] can lead to ... homosexuality.
For example, though a person may suffer from homosexual inclinations that are caused by some combination of biology and environment ....
We may not know precisely why some people feel attracted to others of the same sex, but for some it is a complex reality and part of the human experience.
Identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual or experiencing same-sex attraction is not a sin and does not prohibit one from participating in the church, holding callings, or attending the temple.
Our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the church.
While shifts in sexuality can and do occur for some people, it is unethical to focus professional treatment on an assumption that a change in sexual orientation will or must occur. Again, the individual has the right to define the desired outcome.
Sexual activity should only occur between a man and a woman who are married. However, that should never be used as justification for unkindness
Today, [LDS] Family Services says it offers the following: 'We assist individuals and families as they respond to same-sex attraction. Our therapists do not provide what is commonly referred to as 'reparative therapy' or 'sexual orientation change efforts'.'
With substantial evidence of serious harms associated with exposure to [sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE)] particularly for minors, 21 states (and multiple cities and counties) have passed bipartisan laws or regulations prohibiting SOGICE. ... Furthermore, compared with LGBTQ youths with no exposure, those exposed to SOGICE showed 1.76 times greater odds of seriously considering suicide, 2.23 times greater odds of having attempted suicide, and 2.54 times greater odds of multiple suicide attempts in the previous year.
'The Falls' is the story of Chris Merrill and RJ Smith, two Mormon missionaries that fall in love on their mission.
What about 'Turn It Off?' In this show-stopper for Tony-nominated supporting actor Rory O'Malley as Elder McKinley, some missionaries share their approach to confusing thoughts or bad feelings. ... [W]hen you have gay thoughts for your best friend, well, 'Turn it off!' Non-believers hear hypocrisy and an absurdly simplistic solution to difficult issues: 'Turn it off/ Like a light switch/ Just go flick/ It's our nifty little Mormon trick.' ... It's not an official approach by any faith, as such, but numerous fundamentalist faiths acknowledge that some men are inherently gay. They want those men to simply tamp down these bad feelings and marry a woman anyway, because with prayer and the proper spouse and God's love you can be alright.
There are no homosexual members of the church. We are not defined by sexual attraction. We are not defined by sexual behavior. We are sons and daughters of god and all of us have different challenges in the flesh.
The church denounces any therapy that subjects an individual to abusive practices.
There are three levels to the heaven in which Mormons believe, and to make it to the highest level, one must be married. Perhaps the most sacred church ordinance is the temple marriage, a "sealing" between a man and a woman that is believed to be eternal, according to Richley Crapo, a Utah State University professor. There is no place for homosexuality in Mormon marriages, and no place for noncelibate homosexuals in the top level of Mormon heaven, unless that person has repented accordingly in the afterlife.
In the first study, BYU student Samuel Clayton, with the help of several faculty members, gave questionnaires anonymously to 420 students in randomly selected classes. ... Some of Clayton's findings include: 69 percent know someone who is same-sex oriented, 12 percent have a family member who is same-sex oriented, 24 percent would avoid befriending a same-sex-oriented student, 56 percent believe same-sex-oriented students should be allowed to attend BYU if they obey the honor code. Clayton said there was 'a significant gender gap ... Only 16 percent of women would avoid befriending a same-sex-oriented person, compared to 33 percent of men.
As part of a project for their English class, Sam Clayton, Dale Franklin and Melanie Dinger conducted the school-approved survey to 420 students in randomly selected classes on campus. ... [Clayton] feels the results show a substantial amount of intolerance and prejudice among students towards same-sex oriented people. Clayton, who says he is gay, points to the 42 percent of students who are ignorant of or opposed to the school's policy. He also said that while 91 percent of those surveyed said they were familiar with the church's stance, only a third actually were.
It is inconceivable that—as some involved in homosexual behavior claim—[the Lord] would permit his children to be born with desires and inclinations which would require behavior contrary to his plan.Also quoted in Newsweek here.
With substantial evidence of serious harms associated with exposure to [sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE)] particularly for minors, 21 states (and multiple cities and counties) have passed bipartisan laws or regulations prohibiting SOGICE. ... Furthermore, compared with LGBTQ youths with no exposure, those exposed to SOGICE showed 1.76 times greater odds of seriously considering suicide, 2.23 times greater odds of having attempted suicide, and 2.54 times greater odds of multiple suicide attempts in the previous year.
With substantial evidence of serious harms associated with exposure to [sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE)] particularly for minors, 21 states (and multiple cities and counties) have passed bipartisan laws or regulations prohibiting SOGICE. ... Furthermore, compared with LGBTQ youths with no exposure, those exposed to SOGICE showed 1.76 times greater odds of seriously considering suicide, 2.23 times greater odds of having attempted suicide, and 2.54 times greater odds of multiple suicide attempts in the previous year.
Brigham Young University says its security police staked out homosexual bars in Salt Lake City to investigate homosexual activity at the Latter-day Saint‐owned school, but stopped the practice once administrators learned of it. Paul Richards, director of public relations for the university, confirmed yesterday allegations by the American Civil Liberties Union that security officers ventured off campus and wrote letters to a homosexual‐oriented newspaper soliciting responses as part of a crackdown on homosexuals. ... 'Those things were done,' Mr. Richards said.
In the case of the gay person, they really have no hope. A single woman, a single man who is heterosexual ... always has the expectation that tomorrow they're going to meet someone and fall in love and that it can be sanctioned by the church. But a gay person ... doesn't have that hope. And to live life without hope on such a core issue, I think, is a very difficult thing.
Three-quarters of Jehovah's Witnesses (76%), about six-in-ten Muslims (61%) and roughly two-thirds of Mormons (68%) and members of evangelical churches (64%) say homosexuality ought to be discouraged.
In the first study, BYU student Samuel Clayton, with the help of several faculty members, gave questionnaires anonymously to 420 students in randomly selected classes. ... Some of Clayton's findings include: 69 percent know someone who is same-sex oriented, 12 percent have a family member who is same-sex oriented, 24 percent would avoid befriending a same-sex-oriented student, 56 percent believe same-sex-oriented students should be allowed to attend BYU if they obey the honor code. Clayton said there was 'a significant gender gap ... Only 16 percent of women would avoid befriending a same-sex-oriented person, compared to 33 percent of men.
As part of a project for their English class, Sam Clayton, Dale Franklin and Melanie Dinger conducted the school-approved survey to 420 students in randomly selected classes on campus. ... [Clayton] feels the results show a substantial amount of intolerance and prejudice among students towards same-sex oriented people. Clayton, who says he is gay, points to the 42 percent of students who are ignorant of or opposed to the school's policy. He also said that while 91 percent of those surveyed said they were familiar with the church's stance, only a third actually were.
Be careful not to label the person as 'homosexual' or 'gay'. Such labels can undermine the person's believe that change is possible ....
In the Mormon cosmos, as presently understood, there is simply no room for same-sex relationships. For Mormons, the afterlife consists of heterosexual pairs of divinized men and women. Often church leaders have counseled Mormons who experience same-sex attraction that their unwelcome feelings will disappear in the afterlife. ... [T]he very structure of heaven can only accommodate opposite-sex marriages.
The destinies of Mormons and gays were becoming intertwined in the national discourse, providing creative fodder for theatrical productions including the 2011 Tony Award winner 'The Book of Mormon' in which Elder McKinnley, echoing the teachings of Boyd K. Packer, would encourage other gay Mormons to 'Turn it off' like a light switch.
The study found that: Between 51 percent and 69 percent of mixed-orientation Mormon marriages end in divorce, well above the roughly 25 percent of LDS couples who split up.
Therapists with LDS Family Services do not offer any kind of 'sexual-orientation change efforts,' church spokesman Doug Andersen confirms. But they are willing to help members who 'desire to reconcile same-sex attraction with their religious belief.' The church 'maintains professional relationships with a variety of organizations to ensure the diverse needs of church members can be met in an individualized and ethical way ... and may refer those seeking counseling to professional therapists,' the spokesman says, 'but [it is] not in the business of recommending third-party for-profit organizations, retreats or workshops.' Neither does the Utah-based faith 'discourage individuals from trying to address issues arising from same-sex attraction.' The church's silence on groups such as Journey [Into Manhood], however, should not, Andersen says, be 'construed as a tacit endorsement or stamp of approval.' Without explicit condemnation from top LDS leaders, change programs have sprung up, tapping into a yearning for normalcy and acceptance.
[F]ar too many of our lesbian and gay youths kill themselves because of what you say about them.... those who believe your false promises and remain celibate in the hopes of eventual 'cure' are consigned to a misery.Transcript available here via Affirmation.
On the show-stopper 'Turn It Off,' sung by a closeted missionary struggling with his sexuality. 'I'm one of the few missionaries who actually was out to myself as a gay person on my mission and out to some of my mission companions—the ones who asked. [The Book of Mormon song] 'Turn It Off' is such an insightful view into the psychology of a homosexual missionary in particular, but also into all Mormons. In the church, you don't say you're gay, you say you have homosexual tendencies, because gay is this label they want you to hopefully outgrow, which I tried to do. It didn't work.
The film skewers the ridiculousness of teen girls wanting a GBF (Gay Best Friend) like an accessory or trend, but it also skewers ethnicity, religion, clique culture. I wanted the scenes where the closeted Mormon Topher seduces Tanner and Brent to be sexy and provocative; I've never thought it was fair that it's fine to have a romantic or sexual male-female kiss but when it comes to two boys kissing, it's so chaste and unsexual.
[A] current temple recommend [allows one] to participate in temple ordinances. In order to hold a current temple recommend, a person must attest to their ecclesiastical leaders that they maintain faith in the LDS Church, and live according to the standards (including no sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage and abstaining from coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs).
Most Church leaders seem to agree that professional counselors can play an important role in helping individuals experiencing problems with homosexuality. ... The church has supported efforts of the LDS Social Services and other consulting professionals to research the issues and to offer a reparative therapy approach which assumes that homosexual behavior can be changed.
As part of a project for their English class, Sam Clayton, Dale Franklin and Melanie Dinger conducted the school-approved survey to 420 students in randomly selected classes on campus. ... [Clayton] feels the results show a substantial amount of intolerance and prejudice among students towards same-sex oriented people. Clayton, who says he is gay, points to the 42 percent of students who are ignorant of or opposed to the school's policy. He also said that while 91 percent of those surveyed said they were familiar with the church's stance, only a third actually were.
The online survey was conducted in spring 2017. Email invitations were sent to 29,471 BYU students; 13,784 (48%) started the survey and 12,602 completed the survey, for a response rate of 43%. Demographic data revealed the survey participants to be very similar to the broader BYU population in terms of gender, ethnicity, year in school, and other measures. Key demographics include the following: ... Gender: 52% male, 48% female, and 0.2% transgender or other.
The destinies of Mormons and gays were becoming intertwined in the national discourse, providing creative fodder for theatrical productions including the 2011 Tony Award winner 'The Book of Mormon' in which Elder McKinnley, echoing the teachings of Boyd K. Packer, would encourage other gay Mormons to 'Turn it off' like a light switch.
Therapists with LDS Family Services do not offer any kind of 'sexual-orientation change efforts,' church spokesman Doug Andersen confirms. But they are willing to help members who 'desire to reconcile same-sex attraction with their religious belief.' The church 'maintains professional relationships with a variety of organizations to ensure the diverse needs of church members can be met in an individualized and ethical way ... and may refer those seeking counseling to professional therapists,' the spokesman says, 'but [it is] not in the business of recommending third-party for-profit organizations, retreats or workshops.' Neither does the Utah-based faith 'discourage individuals from trying to address issues arising from same-sex attraction.' The church's silence on groups such as Journey [Into Manhood], however, should not, Andersen says, be 'construed as a tacit endorsement or stamp of approval.' Without explicit condemnation from top LDS leaders, change programs have sprung up, tapping into a yearning for normalcy and acceptance.
While shifts in sexuality can and do occur for some people, it is unethical to focus professional treatment on an assumption that a change in sexual orientation will or must occur. Again, the individual has the right to define the desired outcome.
'The Falls: Covenant of Grace' wraps up the Portland-filmed trilogy about two young Mormon men in love.
[T]o be homosexual ... I am sure is an acquired addiction, just as drugs, alcohol and pornography are.Video also available at churchofjesuschrist.org
