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A Petition to the General Authorities of the LDS Church Introduction The purpose of this petition was to provide a voice to church members and supporters who believe that the time is now for church leaders to take bold steps in addressing the spiritual inequities and injustice that gay and lesbians and their families face in the church. Mac Madsen originally wrote and sent the petition to the top 125 General Authorities in mid-December of 1999. Unfortunately, he received zero response. Thus, he has taken the petition to the next level, placing it on the Internet to allow people to add their voice to this plea. The petition was printed in the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2000. PETITION TO THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS FROM GAY AND LESBIAN MORMONS, THEIR PARENTS, OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS Because of the pain, indignity, humiliation and despair being endured by hundreds of thousands of gay and lesbian Mormons and their families, AND Because virtually all options extended to gay and lesbian members by church leaders are demeaning, inhumane and in some instances outright destructive, namely, 1) stay in the church and live a life of fear, anxiety and frustration as a "closeted" gay or lesbian member, 2) stay in the church as an "out" homosexual, remain celibate and be denied one of life's most basic needs-an intimate, loving, caring, sharing, committed relationship with another human being, 3) leave the church, 4) be excommunicated, or 5) commit suicide, AND Because the primary cause for the suffering and disillusionment of this large segment of our church community is the position taken by current church leaders regarding homosexuality and the policies that are directed toward gay and lesbian members of the church, WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, PETITION YOU, THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS TO RECONSIDER AND THEN CHANGE PRESENT CHURCH POLICIES AS THEY PERTAIN TO HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE STATUS OF GAY AND LESBIAN MEMBERS. Mormon Advocates for Further Light and Knowledge
OUR RATIONALE FOR THIS PETITION IS AS FOLLOWS: A. We believe the position taken by the church regarding the basic nature of homosexuality is flawed and in dramatic conflict with the consensus of scientific data. The church teaches that same-sex attraction is a negative, unwanted and apparently unnatural emotion which when acted upon results in sinful behavior regardless of the love, stability and commitment that is evident in a significant percentage of homosexual relationships. Church leaders suggest that any such "inclination" for homosexuality should be and can be "diminished" or "overcome." In describing homosexual persons in recent times, church leaders have used phrases such as "so-called homosexuals," "those who profess homosexuality," and "those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians." In a September 1999 Ensign article, A. Dean Byrd, Assistant Commissioner of LDS Family Services, used phrases like "struggles with same-sex attraction" and "has homosexual difficulties" when referring to gays and lesbians. The inference in both cases seems clear. Rather than accepting the reality that homosexuals are, in fact, independent and equal creations of God, it appears as though we are asked to believe that gays and lesbians may just be closeted or pretending heterosexuals suffering from "homosexual problems." Should we also conclude that "homosexuality" is essentially a misnomer; that as a complete and natural entity, homosexuals do not or should not exist? In the church publication, "Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems" distributed to Bishops and other church leaders in 1992 is the following statement: "When homosexual difficulties have been fully resolved, heterosexual feelings can emerge." Does this mean that a gay or lesbian person who used to have bad homosexual feelings is now a homosexual with good heterosexual feelings-or does it mean that such a person was always heterosexual and has just overcome his or her "homosexual difficulties?" Among those failed practices employed by the church in dealing with gay and lesbian members during the 1970s and 1980s which demonstrated a profound lack of understanding regarding homosexuality, two are particularly noteworthy: 1) the medieval practice of aversion therapy where the genitals of gays and lesbians received electric shock while they were viewing sexually explicit materials in an attempt to modify their sexual orientation; 2) counseling homosexual members to marry heterosexuals as a remedy for their "condition." It is our perception that church leaders remain in denial about the realities of homosexuality. If true, could this be because it's the safest place to go to protect the image of the church and retain the respect and praise of the world? Certainly, accepting these realities and dealing with them within the context of present church policy would be difficult, but we believe the time has come to do so. As we continue to seek out ultimate truths about the extremely complex issue of human sexuality, we believe we can build upon at least one basic premise: while the etiology of sexual orientation is likely multifactorial, empirical scientific evidence suggests that in the vast majority of cases, this phenomenon is a genetic/hormonal, natural, dimorphic biological trait that is neither chosen or changeable. This underscores the obvious and undeniable reality that homosexuality is about who you are, not what you do! This being true, as homosexual persons are, God has created them. Thus, to condemn them is to condemn their Maker. B. We believe that while there is ample scriptural support for establishing church doctrine relative to relationships between men and women, the scriptures offer little to help formulate policy on the question of homosexuality. The Sodomite story in Genesis, the Holiness Code for ritual purity in Leviticus, and a few misunderstood parts of Paul's letters when placed in proper cultural and historical perspective, provide no basis for the denunciation of gay and lesbian individuals. Jesus made no reference to homosexuality in the Four Gospels. We find no evidence that Joseph Smith received any revelation or established any policy directed toward gay and lesbian members. The Book of Mormon is void of any reference to homosexuality. The same is true of the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. C. We find no indication of any church policy targeting gays and lesbians for the first 125 years or so of church history. It appears as though official policy statements pertaining to homosexuality and homosexual behavior are found in church handbooks for the first time in the 1960s and 1970s. If a revelation for the body of the church was ever received by a church prophet relative to the Lord's will concerning homosexuality, when was it given? Who received it? Where is it first documented as such? D. We believe that dominant counseling and therapy practices implemented by the church for dealing with gay and lesbian members during the past thirty years have too often been flawed and ill-advised. In many cases these approaches have resulted in serious emotional and psychological damage to those gay and lesbian members seeking help. Such attempts may be successful in changing overt sexual behavior, but cannot alter the immutable homosexual trait, any more than teaching a naturally left-handed person to write right-handed would make that person naturally right-handed E. We do not believe that God has revealed all there is to know about some of life's great mysteries, including human sexual orientation. The ninth Article of Faith states that we believe God "will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." In the grand design and purposes of our Heavenly Father, who knows for sure why three to five percent of His children are homosexual? We know that God is no respecter of persons. Are not all alike unto God - bond and free, black and white, Jew and Gentile, male and female, heterosexual and homosexual? Will He not have a place set at the great feast of celestial redemption for all of His worthy sons and daughters regardless of their race, skin color and sexual orientation? F. Until a full and comprehensive knowledge of the plan of eternal progression is made known regarding the Lord's gay and lesbian children, we believe church leaders should extend to them unqualified acceptance and love and welcome them into full fellowship in the restored church. We believe the church should support legislation that would promote the civil rights of homosexuals through measures such as same-sex partnerships, which have been legalized in several Scandinavian countries and Holland. The church's moral code could then be applied equitably to couples in heterosexual marriages and legal same-sex partnerships. The church's tenacious resistance to accepting homosexuality as morally neutral appears to be based upon an assumption that to do so would deal a devastating blow to the viability of the family as the cornerstone of social life. Thoughtful analysis of this assumption calls it seriously into question. Gays and lesbians are characteristically loving and devoted members of families. If the family fails as an institution in our society generally, it will not be a result of our extending Christian tolerance to homosexuals or from recognizing that their life paths will necessarily be different from heterosexual persons in some respects. G. We believe church leaders should take action to repudiate and then remove from church approved reading materials any statements about homosexuality that are false, misleading or inflammatory. Remarks made by a church Apostle during the priesthood session of General Conference in October of 1976 are a prime example. In that talk, the speaker validated the behavior of a missionary who had "floored" his gay companion. "Well thanks," he said, "somebody had to do it, and it wouldn't be well for a General Authority to solve the problem that way." He added that he didn't recommend that course, but he would not omit it either. Gay and lesbian Mormons and their families have been alarmed about these comments for years, fearful that some people might interpret the remarks as an endorsement to use violence against homosexuals. Why was this talk excluded from the "Conference Reports" section of the November 1976, Ensign? Why does the 1999 reprint of this talk found in the pamphlet, "To Young Men Only," still contain these questionable comments? In the popular church book, "Miracle of Forgiveness," a grossly inaccurate inference is made that homosexuals are predisposed to bestiality. In chapter 6 it states, "perhaps as an extension of homosexual practices, men and women have sunk even to seeking sexual satisfaction with animals." We believe these statements and others coming from high-ranking church leaders who continue to equate homosexuality with incest, pedophilia, drug addiction, violent crime, etc., may be contributing to the widespread homophobia that still exists within the church. H. For 126 years Latter-day Saints were told by church leaders that descendants of Cain were "cursed insofar as receiving the priesthood," would "go down unto death" before receiving the priesthood, and "could never hold the priesthood until all the other descendants of Adam received the blessings of the priesthood and the keys thereof." The basic reason given for this church policy was the speculation that while in the pre-existence, blacks had been less valiant or had rejected the priesthood there. When this policy was rescinded in 1978, all of the basic pillars upon which it had been constructed appeared to collapse. One apostle was even quoted as saying to a reporter, "Forgive me. I was wrong wasn't I, and so were a lot of others." What a tragedy if in the future some of you will have to say the same regarding the policy on homosexuality. President Kimball and other church leaders in the 1970s did not originate the policy that restricted blacks from holding the priesthood. They inherited it - and eventually changed it. As current church leaders, you did not originate the present policy concerning gays and lesbians, you inherited it. We petition you to reconsider and then change the current church position relative to our homosexual brothers and sisters and thus welcome yet another disenfranchised segment of our church community into full membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To do so would be an expression of love and concern for the welfare of individuals consistent with the highest standards of Christianity.
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