The other day my five minute browse on Facebook produced an interesting find...some Mormon Mom's "liking" a status where someone discussed how they were beginning a homosexual relationship. Because of the truths regarding marriage and family that I understand I was disturbed. However, I became even more disturbed when I found that they were not just "liking" it, but making comments that not only condoned but encouraged this relationship. To be frank, I was completely appalled and utterly disappointed. We should most certainly interact with love and tolerance with people of all faiths and be respectful regardless of someone's race, color, creed or sexuality, but I think that our tolerance is becoming a vice. In other words I think that we have pushed tolerance far beyond what its intent is and are now embracing practices and behaviors that are contrary to the nature of God and the nature of happiness. We are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God, we are actually, (through our actions),becoming more comfortable with the sin and abandoning God (Brad Wilcox, July 2011 BYU devotional, "His grace is sufficient").
Please understand, I certainly know that I am not without faults. In fact, I know I have many of them. My intent is not to pass judgment, but rather to invite people to stand up for principles of truth. This post isn't meant to tear anyone down and I certainly hope it doesn't come off as self-righteous, but as a father of 5 (going on 6) children in a community where the majority professes "Mormonism" as their faith of choice, I am concerned when parents of children my kids associate with are condoning and encouraging homosexual behavior (please note that I am saying behavior and not tendencies - we cannot help our temptations, but we can help our behaviors). I understand the need for tolerance, but let's not allow tolerance to trump truth.
Let me explain what I mean by that. No matter what anyone says, there will likely be people who will choose to pursue a homosexual lifestyle. In fact, despite what anyone says, there will be people who will choose to pursue many other deviant sexual lifestyles. Nobody can stop that from happening, and God allows it because our free will is essential to His Eternal Plan. The fact that they choose this lifestyle and think that they find fulfillment in it does not change th fact that living an active homosexual lifestyle is immoral and wrong. In other words, just because people choose these lifestyles and actions and believe that their lifestyles and actions are "fulfilling" and "make them happy" does not change the fact that there are absolute eternal truths that they are ignoring that could bring a greater peace, happiness and fulfillment to their lives that they had not previously imagined possible.
Some of these absolute truths are as follows:
"...marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children." Notice that this is an absolute definition. Between man and a woman. Not between man and man or woman and woman. Marriage and family are central to God's plan. Not the world's definition of marriage or family which may include any number of different options to choose from; but God's definition-which is specific, sacred and proven.
"God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife." Again an absolute - there isn't allowance for ANY sexual intercourse outside the bonds of marriage (which is intended to be between a man and a woman). This means that God requires complete abstinence before marriage, and complete fidelity afterwards. In addition, another eternal truth states that, "the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed." Sexual relations in marriage are good and holy and intended to bring closeness to a couple as a means for expressing their love for one another. In addition, these relations are a holy sacrament in which we are blessed to be able to use a part of God's power to create life. Sex is not merely an act in which we gratify physical desires. It is a holy and sacred rite in which we express love to our spouse in the ultimate act of oneness and participate in the creation of life. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:
"...May I suggest that human intimacy, that sacred, physical union ordained of God for a married couple, deals with a symbol that demands special sanctity. Such an act of love between a man and a woman is--or certainly was ordained to be--a symbol of total union: union of their hearts, their hopes, their lives, their love, their family, their future, their everything. It is a symbol that we try to suggest in the temple with a word like seal...."
"...But such a total, virtually unbreakable union, such an unyielding commitment between a man and a woman, can only come with the proximity and permanence afforded in a marriage covenant, with the union of all that they possess--their very hearts and minds, all their days and all their dreams. They work together, they cry together, they enjoy Brahms and Beethoven and breakfast together, they sacrifice and save and live together for all the abundance that such a totally intimate life provides such a couple. And the external symbol of that union, the physical manifestation of what is a far deeper spiritual and metaphysical bonding, is the physical blending that is part of--indeed, a most beautiful and gratifying expression of--that larger, more complete union of eternal purpose and promise." (http://familylifeeducation.org/gilliland/procgroup/Souls.htm)
I borrow another point from this same address by Elder Holland: "But wait," you argue, "It's MY body, it's MY life and I should be able to choose how I use that body and live that life. How can you tell me what to do with MY body and MY life?" Let me stop you right there...IT ISN'T YOUR LIFE and IT ISN'T YOUR BODY. As the apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s." The body and life that you have are not yours. They are His! His meaning the Lord Jesus Christ. His meaning the Holy One who has you engraved on the palms of His hands, He who will never forget you (Isaiah 49:6). He purchased your freedom, your life and the body that you have and thus has every right to ask you to live in a certain way and use that body only in the ways that He prescribes!
Another eternal truth: "Parents (again meaning husband and wife) have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations." Some of the most important commandments that are given to us to teach our children relate to human sexuality. It is essential that our children understand the sacredness of the topic and the very specific rules relating to our use of the powers of procreation.
And finally:"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."(Quotes taken from: "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation ). I have experienced these joys in family life and have seen how they are greater and grander when I am striving to live in the way the Savior asks me to and when I am teaching my children those things that the Savior taught.
So while I understand the need for tolerance, peace and understanding, such tolerance CANNOT come at the expense of us not standing firm on principles and doctrines of truth. As Elder Richard G. Scott says in the February 2014 Ensign magazine, "Men and women are needed who will act nobly and courageously for what the Lord has defined as right--not for what is politically correct or socially acceptable. We need individuals who have the spiritual, righteous influence that will motivate others to live honorably. We need statesmen with integrity, businessmen who are honest and morally clean, attorneys who defend justice and the legal system, and government officials who preserve principle because it is right. Above all, we need mothers and fathers who will preserve the sanctity and safety of the home and the integrity of the family in which faith in God and obedience to His commandments are taught as the foundation of a productive life."
We would not encourage our friends or our children to steal, or to kill, or to be intolerant. Why do we sometimes encourage them in the breaking of some of God's most sacred commandments which relate to chastity and virtue? Because that is what "makes them happy?" It is not! As the prophet Alma once said, "Wickedness never was happiness." (see Alma 41:10 in The Book of Mormon). Rather than encourage them to engage in sinful behavior, invite them to find true, lasting peace and happiness as they come unto Christ and obey His words. Treat each individual with respect, compassion and love, but do not allow your "tolerance" to overshadow and overtake TRUTH!
Elder Dallin H. Oaks puts it well, "the existence of God and the existence of absolute truth are fundamental to life on this earth, whether they are believed or not. We also know that evil exists and that some things are simply, seriously, and everlastingly wrong...'
"...It is well to worry about our moral foundation. We live in a world where more and more persons of influence are teaching and acting out a belief that there is no absolute right and wrong, that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made choices that can prevail over the commandments of God..."
"...The philosophy of moral relativism, which holds that each person is free to choose for himself what is right and wrong, is becoming the unofficial creed for many in America and other western nations. At the extreme level, evil acts that used to be localized and covered up like a boil are now legalized and paraded like a banner. Persuaded by this philosophy, many of the rising generation—youth and young adults—are caught up in self-serving pleasures, pagan painting and piercing of body parts, foul language, revealing attire, pornography, dishonesty, and degrading sexual indulgence..."
"...In this circumstance, all of us—and especially you of the rising generation—have a duty to stand up and speak to affirm that God exists and that there are absolute truths His commandments establish." http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/-truth-and-tolerance-elder-dallin-h-oaks
Although it is becoming increasingly unpopular to say it, the fact remains that any sexual relationships outside of a marriage between a man and a woman are immoral and wrong. I would invite those who feel otherwise to reconsider and make it a matter of study and prayer. I believe that you will find that the way to lasting happiness is the way that Jesus showed us. That way includes keeping the commandments of God. "I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41 in The Book of Mormon).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks puts it well, "the existence of God and the existence of absolute truth are fundamental to life on this earth, whether they are believed or not. We also know that evil exists and that some things are simply, seriously, and everlastingly wrong...'
"...It is well to worry about our moral foundation. We live in a world where more and more persons of influence are teaching and acting out a belief that there is no absolute right and wrong, that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made choices that can prevail over the commandments of God..."
"...The philosophy of moral relativism, which holds that each person is free to choose for himself what is right and wrong, is becoming the unofficial creed for many in America and other western nations. At the extreme level, evil acts that used to be localized and covered up like a boil are now legalized and paraded like a banner. Persuaded by this philosophy, many of the rising generation—youth and young adults—are caught up in self-serving pleasures, pagan painting and piercing of body parts, foul language, revealing attire, pornography, dishonesty, and degrading sexual indulgence..."
"...In this circumstance, all of us—and especially you of the rising generation—have a duty to stand up and speak to affirm that God exists and that there are absolute truths His commandments establish." http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/-truth-and-tolerance-elder-dallin-h-oaks
Although it is becoming increasingly unpopular to say it, the fact remains that any sexual relationships outside of a marriage between a man and a woman are immoral and wrong. I would invite those who feel otherwise to reconsider and make it a matter of study and prayer. I believe that you will find that the way to lasting happiness is the way that Jesus showed us. That way includes keeping the commandments of God. "I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41 in The Book of Mormon).
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