Are you kidding, have you really read any of the research that has been done. Quite frankly there is no conclusive data to indicate whether it is nurture or nature, and that is similar to the position of the church.

So if they're gay, show love and compassion but if they smoke or drink, shun them, they are the devil.

Apparently sexual immorality is more forgiveable than wine with dinner.

To: buju

You are right about Jesus and his pure love.

A story I always think about as I am about to judge is the woman caught in the very act of adultery.

She is brought before Jesus and asked to judge her to be stoned to death. He is caught in a loop hole.

He can not condemn her because the death penalty was only up to the Romans. He could not grant clemency because of the Law of Moses. So he said he who is with out sin cast the first stone.

They could have killed her and blamed it on Jesus. But their hearts (conscience) were pricked.

The part that really means a lot to me comes next.

Jesus asks her of her accusers. She says none remain and he says neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. But he does not forgive her and she does not ask for forgiveness.

She is still guilty of adultery. She still must repent and change.

Christ can not forgive until we repent and change.

But we must remember that we cannot cast the first stone or we are worse then the Pharisees and Sadducees.

You are 100% right. My prayers go out to you for your struggles to remain active. My brother died in the 80's from AIDS and I know full well what his life was like.

I know he didn't choose to be attracted to men but I also know he didn't make the effort to resist that attraction that you have made.

He had a friend who succumbed but later chose not to. He married and had children despite his lack of sexual attraction to his wife you could tell he loved her as a companion. He struggled through his whole life but remained clean, temple worthy and was a good father and husband. He died a couple of years back.

I look at his life as one of the greatest examples of faith in Christ that I have ever seen. All of us have struggles but those suffering with SSA have one of the hardest of all. I am sure the Lord has tender mercies in store for those who try their best to live His Gospel despite these tendencies. They and you are an example to us all.

continued:

I realize I have a unique perspective on this subject because of my brother who I watched die. I knew his friends and his struggles and have spent a lifetime trying to put it into perspective. Many members don't have that perspective and they certainly don't have your perspective. I admire you to no end for your patience with their misunderstanding.

It is easy to be fearful of something you just can't understand. Given the right perspective most members would be more merciful and I think many are more merciful than given credit for. The fact a person struggling with SSA and trying to remain active has to also deal with members who struggle to understand them just aggravates an already hard situation.

I suspect only the very choice members of our Heavenly Father's family were trusted to come to this earth with this struggle. It is not God given but it is not chosen by the individual either.

I am convinced He who knows all will judge you and those like you in a more merciful way than any of us can comprehend. Please hang in there and be patient with your fellow church members. An LDS Bishop

If what you are saying is true (and I believe you are telling the truth) then hang in there, man, hang in there!

To: I�m not gay
To: To Anonymous

You asked so lets speed down the world wide web.

�After the International Lesbian and Gay Association was granted consultative member status within the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1994, the United States (including President Bill Clinton) publicly threatened to cancel its annual financial contributions of US$1 Million to the UN because ILGA had four pronouncedly pedophile activist member groups: NAMBLA, MARTIJN, US-based Project TRUTH, and German Verein f�r Sexuelle Gleichberechtigung (VSG, "Association for Sexual Equality"). As a result, the UN status of ILGA was suspended and ILGA expelled all four organizations. The German Bundesverband Homosexualit�t (BVH, "National Homosexuality Association") called for international protests on ILGA for expelling these groups, in spite of the fact that BVH never before had been observed as sympathizing with pedophile activism.�

Why did the ILGA have pedophile activist members in the first place?

Why did Bill Clinton have to threaten the UN to get the ILGA to expell pedophile activist members?

Why did doing so call for international protests?

Why should we or President Monson believe the ILGA or other Gay groups?

I was trying not to write anything else but the last few comments about gays being child molesters had to be excised.

Being gay does not automatically mean I am a child molester. It is sad that you think that. IT IS SHEER IGNORANCE that you think that. A few groups do not speak for the whole. If you think that gays are defined by a few media whored stories, then you are as narrow-minded as you seem.

I would never, ever hurt a child like that. Being a child of sexual abuse only causes me to shudder that you think that all gays are like that. Ignorance only breeds more ignorance. Please get to know gay people in real life before you go spouting off mis-information and lumping the whole in with a few bad. I do not agree with those gay groups even though I am gay and I take offense that you would be ignorant enough to lump me with them. Continued below...

The idea of the Affirmation was to talk with President Monson. Talk only allows for understanding. If you think that aversion therapy promoted by BYU for gay people is the right way, then why don't you try it out for yourself then tell us. This is not how you treat gay people. To sit and listen in Sunday School and Priesthood about how evil gay people are was sickening enough. At home it was just as bad if not worse. Ignorance is throughout the church. That is why I always said that the gospel was true but not the church. They have to be separated.

I did not choose to be gay. I can remember as young as elementary school when people were having their first girlfriend or boyfriend, knowing that I was attracted to boys. I never acted on it then, and then I realized that its not what the rules are, it is how we act toward one another. Failure to treat others in a Christlike manner is what you will be judged on, not if you spoke about Christlike behavior or if you attended church. See follow up ...

I am no different than any of you, the difference is that I choose to act in a Christlike manner rather than talk about it. Your actions is what counts. If you think that you will leave a legacy of words, forget it. The greatest legacies left are those of actions. The pioneers didn't do what they did through words, they did it through actions. We are no different. The prophets have said through out the years that we are pioneers in our own time. This requires actions.

I hope that each of us take some of the lessons that are talked about in the thread and implement them in our lives and actually do the actions of those lessons rather than just expound upon them in a multitude of words that mean nothing. I find that the more people talk about the gospel, the less faith they really have in the gospel because they have failed to understand what the gospel is really about and to act in life on it.

I don't think that Heavenly Father will worry about who I spend my life with but more how I lived my life through actions and deeds.

To Ryan,

Based on what you have written, I will do some judging and tell you that I think you get it. I think you understand what this whole religious, spiritual, enlightened, whatever it is supposed to be, is all about. I know these are just words, but words have some efficacy, and are actions in their own right. In my opinion, and for what it is worth, God did not make a mistake when he made you as you are. You don't need to hear that from me.

If ever we cross paths, I hope you find me as courteous and respectful as I anticipate you would be. I have learned a great deal of patience and love toward my fellowman by some hard experiences, but mostly be leaving the Church and escaping that hyper-judgmental cult-ure it fosters among its members.

God bless.

From what I've read from the comments so far (I haven't read all of them) A lot of you missed the point of what the group was trying to accomplish. The Group wasn't asking for the church to change it's doctrine of homosexuality, because the scriptures are very clear about the subject. All they are seeking is for the church to reevaluate how they council those who have same sex attractions.I have a homosexual member in my family and i can tell you that the group is right to appeal to the church because the counseling offered by the church could use some help. My brother has needed to seek outside help and counseling. So this group is right to ask the church for added support and counseling so they can one day return to full fellowship. I admire them for asking for more help as my brother had to ask for help. At least thats what i understood the group doing, maybe im wrong?