The path for homosexuals in LDS theology

[Ma'ake]

I believe it was Mark E Peterson who taught that it was better to tie your hands to the bedpost while you slept rather than give in to temptation.....

Exactly. Thanks.

There was a school of thought that thinking about sexual things (inappropriately) was nothing short of The Adversary trying to separate you from the Lord, trying to derail your journey to get to heaven (for Catholics) or to the Celestial Kingdom (for Mormons). It naturally followed that when people had same sex attraction, it must have been a result of something that *they* did, either thinking naughty thoughts, or not being completely obedient, or whatever.

The last manifestation of this line of thinking was Boyd K. Packer's GC talk where he stated that the Lord would never create anyone who is gay... the part of the talk which was stripped out in the official version. (Remembering what I was taught - that BKP's point was stripped out of the official version would be proof-positive that Satan had infiltrated God's church.)

Measured over a longer period of time, it's notable the author of "A protected class of sin" is not trying to go back to the previous thinking. Her article is not entitled "Homosexuality and Gay marriage - Consequences of Mass Disobedience".

My larger point is this evolution in thinking is not from any proclamation or revelation, it's from common people putting 2+2 together and listening to the heartfelt stories from others, trying to reconcile what good people are struggling with - after having done all the right things - with what is taught and commonly understood.

It's from general authorities softening their views, after hearing about the unimaginable struggles of faithful members. "We may not know everything about this issue. There are things to be revealed - maybe after this life - that will help us understand this better. In the meantime, let's try to love everyone (not "tough love", kick-em-out -of-the-house-until-they-change "love") and try to persevere".

The pace of change is pretty amazing. I stick with my original thesis that in due time issues of homosexuality will seen very differently, like Old Testament laws, or the criticality of skin color, lineage, etc.