No to Gay 'Marriage': Mormon (LDS) Apostle Says Same-sex Attraction Can be Changed

LDS President Boyd Packer re-emphasizes church's position on sexuality and marriage

President Packer re-affirmed the church's teaching, "We cannot change; we will not change.We quickly lose our way when we disobey the laws of God....There are those today who not only tolerate but advocate voting to change laws that would legalize immorality, as if a vote would somehow alter the designs of God's laws and nature."

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Boyd K. Packer, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons or LDS), told the church's 14 million members worldwide on Sunday that same-sex attraction can be overcome and marriage must remain between a man and a woman.

Addressing the 20,000 gathered at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City for the Semi-annual General Conference with millions tuning in by satellite, Packer talked about homosexuality and pornography, affirming that "you can break the habits and conquer the addictions."

He stated, "There are those today who not only tolerate but advocate voting to change laws that would legalize immorality, as if a vote would somehow alter the designs of God's laws and nature."

The apostle re-affirmed the church's teaching as outlined in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," written in 1995.

"We cannot change; we will not change," he declared. "We quickly lose our way when we disobey the laws of God. If we do not protect and foster the family, civilization and our liberties must needs perish."

While only one of a large number of presentations at the conference, Packer's discourse immediately grabbed headlines and strong reaction.

Within the Mormon world, Laura Compton of mormonsformarriage.com. that opposed Proposition 8 in California, stated, "So many Mormons have worked hard to increase understanding of what homosexuality is and what it means to be faithful.

Now we have this message coming from the pulpit in General Conference by the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. It seems like hitting a brick wall. Hopefully, this won't make people stop and say, 'It wasn't worth it.'

She continued, "When we are sitting next to the mom of a gay son or daughter whose best friend just came out, or by the bishop who knows 10 people in the ward affected by homosexuality, how will we reach out and help them?" she wonders. "How are we going to make them feel the love of Christ?"

Peggy Fletcher Stack, reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune, highlighted an apparent shift in the Mormon position in her article on Packer's message.

"In the past decade," Stack wrote, "the church has moved away from 1970s teachings that emphasized psychosocial causes of same-sex attraction, including parenting, toward a 'we don't know' approach, not denying the possibility of biological factors.

"Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle, said in an interview posted on the church's website, lds.org, that LDS leaders believe some attractions can be overcome, and all can be controlled. But the authorities no longer counsel gays to marry those of the opposite sex, as a remedy for their attractions, or support all therapies meant to alter attractions, Oaks said.

"Nor does the church promise that all same-sex feelings can be changed into heterosexuality with enough church behavior and prayer."

Mormons, however, have been involved in an Exodus-styled ministry to the gay community for many years. For example, in 1989 a group of men gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah to discuss establishing a ministry to men and women who sought to do more than just leave the homosexual lifestyle. Their goal was to provide referral information, resources and education for those who sought actual transformation of affections.

From their discussions, Evergreen International came into being. At a recent Evergreen conference, Bishop Keith B. McMullin, one of the presiding bishops in the LDS, stated, "There is no more highly charged topic on the public stage today than the one dealing with same-gender attraction.

"Advocacy groups, politicians, and voices from the fields of law, science and religion trumpet their respective views with great fervor. The media fans each spark of controversy into hotly contested debate. Amid this contest of opinions, several things become apparent.

"First, far less is known about the causes of same-gender attraction than is claimed to be known. Most of us are born with [or develop] thorns in the flesh, some more visible, some more serious than others. We all seem to have susceptibilities to one disorder or another, but whatever our susceptibilities, we have the will and power to control our thoughts and actions."

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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