Israel, Israel, God is Calling!

This year I have been thinking . . . a lot . . . and there’s one particular subject that has spun round in my head as I’ve tried to find my own conclusion to the issue.

The issue is Gay Marriage.

Now, here goes Andrea on her soap box. If you don’t want to hear it, stop reading NOW.

It has been intriguing to me that the LDS church has taken such a vocal stance on the efforts to legalize gay marriage. The leaders have also reiterated the doctrine and proclaimed homosexuality as an act to be a sin, and as a temptation, to be a trial that must be endured.

In spite of this very firm stance, I have had so many card carrying friends and members of the church contend and disagree with this position. A few weeks ago at a desert night with friends in my ward, I heard two close friends of mine say they simply didn’t see why you would deny another person the same joy in the commitment of relationship. “After all,” they asked, “what’s the big deal?”

In the same conversation another friend (and husband to one of the women) jumped in, citing the legal implications for the church if such a thing became the norm – the tax exemptions lost, the adoption issues, the problems that arise when civil rights laws become gay rights laws.

And as I sat and listened to this argument, I realized, there must be more to understanding the will of God than merely the trouble of losing a tax status.

Last summer I read on another faithful LDS woman’s blog that she believed that there would some day be a revelation that would vindicate the gay community and invite them into our most sacred ordinances of the temple. I heard that sentiment echoed through many friends and acquaintances – “it’s just a matter of time and political pressure.”

I spoke with friends who are gay (yes, I have some) – both in and out of the church. Some felt anger at the rejection of the church of what they deem to be a rightful need and key element to their own happiness. I heard others proclaim that their cross was made bearable with their faith in an eternal happiness promised by living according to God’s teachings.

I wondered – just what were the measurable, quantitative statistics of a homosexual lifestyle – what were the implications for children raised in such homes? What were the implications for our society?

I wondered what God thought of the whole mess. I wondered: is God a god of fury and damnation? Or is he a more gentle, build your self-esteem and always make you feel good, in spite of your (my) failings. This subject leads to another essay entirely, but in reference to Gays and marriage, is God a god relative to an individual opinion, or even personal revelation; or is he constant, and who is to say what His position is?

If you read that paragraph alone, as a member of the church you can see the clear doctrinal answer, but the answer seems less clear when you put it in the context of this hot topic.

And so I set out to find my answer. I wanted an answer – a sure testimony of the issue, so I knew I was standing in the right, in what ever my position was. I very much have viewed this issue like slavery in the pre-civil war south. While history gives us clarity to the errors of our ways, at the time those who stood against the populous were deemed villains who undermined the entire society.

I didn’t want to be on the wrong side of this issue.

So, as I said, I started with reading. Reading the scriptures – that talk about the darkness and wickedness of the last days. But that didn’t help. Along with the wickedness there is an equal amount of righteousness and lightness like never before. Our dispensation is different than all other dispensations, this we know. Not only are there differences in the world in which we live, but in the very opportunities to understand the gospel. Indeed, the Lord is extending the saint’s understanding.

I read the Proclamation on the Family, and accompanying essays written by both leaders and scholars in the church about this latest Revelation. I read statistics about the lifestyle, and about the supposed implications for the societies that embrace it.

Still, I didn’t find this to satisfy the question. I feel like putting homosexuality on a pedestal of all encompassing evil with the power to knock out all that is good in our human kind is far reaching.

I listened to talks given by the brethren. I re-read President Packer’s address given October Conference 2010. At the time it did not shock me, as it did so many. It seemed perfectly in keeping with the teachings of the church. I read another article written by a church scholar that supported President Packer’s assertions with other talks given by President Packer.

And so it seemed I was chasing myself in circles. I knew the stance of the church, but I wasn’t finding the ultimate reasons of why the church took it’s stance.

And I knew the stance of the world, and even the stance of a surprising many in the gospel, but still, they failed to fully explain the why of their opposition.

And then I came across a talk given by Elder Holland just this past Fall. And true to all of Elder Holland’s talks, it made me think:

Oh yeah, I knew that all along. Duh! Why didn’t I see it that way in the first place?

In his talk, Israel, Israel, God is Calling, Elder Holland talks about how one way our dispensation is different than all others is that Israel (the covenant people of the dispensation, aka, us) is not being asked to gather together in a physical location of Zion. But that does not mean that we don’t have the responsibility to be a Zion people – a light, unto the world.

Ding ding ding! Bells going off in my head.

Because here is what it boils down to:

On December 5th, 1987 I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. In that moment, I promised God I would take His name, and do as He asked, no matter the political, economic, or social pressure.

Later, through other sacred experiences, I was given my own testimony of the gospel, specifically, this gospel, this dispensation, and this organization of the LDS church, including its prophets and apostles. With that testimony, I knew I was given accountability. Now that covenant I made at 8 years old holds significant implications to my eternal prospects.

As I listened to Elder Holland I realized that I was asking the Lord the wrong questions. It was not my place to doubt the Lord’s servants, when the Lord had already answered the question of their validity to me so many years ago.

I have not been asked to understand all the why’s of this day. But I have been asked to square my shoulders with the Lord’s anointed, and stand in unity and defense with them.

And so, my conclusion to this year long quest has not been to simply bow my head in thoughtless submission, or vocalize discontent and congratulate myself on being a “free thinker.” – Instead, it has been a bit of a chastisement – to remember my covenants, to remember the truths God has already given to me, and to stand with my leaders, and defend that which is right, good, and holy.

Watch Elder Holland’s talk at this link.

And here’s another really great one that I read several months ago.
An Inconvenient Messiah