The can of worms has been opened

7 Oct 2010
As I sat and listened to Boyd K Packer give his talk at General Conference, two things came to mind.
The first was that I admired him for having the guts to stand up for and put the truth out there for all to hear. The second was that I knew there was going to be a major backlash from this. President Packer spoke from a place of love, but also as a voice of warning. Throughout the scriptures we read of the way people responded to the prophets calling them to repentance. A sinner never likes to be told he is a sinner. Today, there are those who insist that the church change its doctrine to be in line with the morals of the day. But God does not work that way. God loves all of His children regardless of their sins. But, He does not love the sins; and it is He who has determined what is sin and what is not. We, should also love one another, regardless of our sins. We are mortal beings however, and are not perfect. Some among us set themselves up as being better or more important than others...and make judgments against individuals because they go against God's laws. I have friends who are gay. I love them dearly. But, I cannot condone the lifestyle they choose to live. I have friends who are heterosexual and choose to have sexual relationships outside of marriage. I love them too. But, I cannot condone the lifestyle they choose to live. What people choose to do is between them and God. I don't judge the individual. All of us are in need of love. And, we all deserve to be loved. Even if we are not able to understand how or why someone feels the way they do, God requires us to love them.
The Church has the right to teach, and preach the principles of the Gospel. It also has the responsibility to do so. And doing so is not 'hate speech'. If people are incited to "hate" because of the talk that was given, then the truth is, they already "hated" and are just using this as an excuse, so they can blame something outside of themselves. The "hate speech" is coming from the gay/lesbian/transgender community. The "hate" and attacks from them are vicious and are intended to incite violence against the church. You can hear it in their voices as they rave about the supposed injustice. You can feel it when reading the hateful messages they write.
I do not follow anyone or anything blindly. I am not a sheep. I read, ponder, pray and gain my own testimony of what I am taught. And this I know to be true. God's laws are the same yesterday, today and forever. What was immoral in ancient times, is immoral today. And, it will still be considered immoral 1000 years from now. We can debate till we are blue in the face. We can pass laws to make an action legal. But it won't make it right.
My heart hurts for anyone who reaches a point in their life where they feel the only thing they can do is commit suicide. I have stood on the brink of that precipice myself. I know emotional pain that makes one feel hopeless and alone. But, making the decision to carry out the act or not, is the personal responsibility of the individual. God alone knows the circumstances and involvements of individuals that the victim felt the need to escape from. And, I'm sure that if there are bullies who tormented the victim to the point of desperation, God will get them in the end. They may get away with it for now, but eventually, they will pay.