When it comes to homosexuality, the Church has been accused of having a double standard. The Church very clearly denounces homosexual behavior and defines marriage to be "between a man and a woman" (The Family). And yet the Church has also reached out to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) individuals, especially recently with the website mormonsandgays.org. It saddens me when I hear about members of the Church who have come out as LGBT and were immediately shunned or ridiculed by members of their own ward; people who should have been their friends. It saddens me because I know that's not how the Savior would treat that person, and it's not how the General Authorities of the Church have taught that they should be treated.
The Question:
How does the Church teach that LGBT individuals should be treated?
The Short Answer:
While we cannot excuse immoral behavior, all of God's children, including LGBT individuals, should be treated with love, kindness, and respect.
The Long Answer:
Homosexuality is contrary to God's law, and we must not excuse it, no matter how acceptable it may appear to our society. However, we must be careful to separate the behavior from the individual. All too often I hear about individuals who were driven away from their friends and families who in their self-righteous fervor seemed to have forgotten that they once loved them. Too often I hear preachers spread a gospel of hatred and intolerance towards certain groups of people. And too often I hear LGBT individuals use such instances to fuel their anti-religious rhetoric. In the middle of this battle over God's law of morality and chastity, we frequently seem to forget about His second great commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39).
Those who insist that God has commanded us to hate and condemn those who are LGBT often cite the Old Testament story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is so well known that the two cities were guilty of gross sins of immorality that the term "sodomy" has been coined to define such sins. However, the prophet Jeremiah reminds us that sexual sin was not the only sin they were guilty of. Before Jerusalem was invaded by the Babylonians around 600 B.C. Jeremiah and other prophets came preaching repentance to its people that they might be spared. During his preaching, Jeremiah compared the sins of Jerusalem to those of Sodom. While he admits that Jerusalem was not guilty of the "abominations" of Sodom, he claims that they were "corrupted more than they in all thy ways." His reason? "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy" (see Ezekiel 16:47-50). Jerusalem, while not guilty of sodomy, was proud, idle, and selfish, and they failed to help those who were in need. When we consider that those who are most in need of spiritual nourishment are frequently the ones who are turned away and made to feel unwelcome among those who claim to follow the Master, it should shock us to realize that we may be guilty of the very sin that according to a prophet of God was one of the reasons Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. How dreadfully ironic. How then do we avoid falling into this trap?
The answer, as always, is to follow the perfect example of the Savior. Jesus ate with publicans and sinners, associated with Samaritans, taught us to love our enemies and to pray for them, and told us to forgive all their trespasses. Do we really think that He would then command us to shun, revile, and hate anyone, regardless of what sin they have committed? It's true that in Old Testament times homosexuality was punishable by death (Leviticus 20:13) but so was adultery, and the Lord forgave the adulteress who was penitent (John 8:10-11). Would he not do the same for one who was homosexual? Sincere repentance would certainly be required, but Jesus hinted that if Sodom and Gomorrah were around when he was on the earth, perhaps they would have repented. I wonder how many in the LGBT camp would return if they were sought out, shown the same love and kindness that Jesus showed to everybody (even publicans and sinners) and given the chance to repent in the first place? We'll never know until we have a dramatic shift in attitude.
"Hate the sin, love the sinner." It may sound cliche, but it's true. Again, we must not condone those things that we know to be wrong. But we must remember that while we can (and must) judge whether certain behaviors are wrong, we leave the judgement of people to God, and God alone (see Matthew 7:1-5). It is not our place to decide who is beyond the saving power of the Atonement. And so we must treat all of God's children--whether they be straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual--with love and respect. That is what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches (see also this article in the Church's FAQ section).
Gay Members of the Church
One final note. There are, have been, and I suspect always will be members of the Church who identify as LGBT. In a previous article I pointed out that when someone says they are gay, that doesn't necessarily mean they engage in homosexual behavior. It may simply mean that they are attracted to those of the same gender. That by itself however is not a sin. It is not a sin to be tempted, for if it were then even the Savior, who was "tempted in all things," would be a sinner (Hebrews 4:15). However strong those feelings may be, those who resist them and keep the commandments in spite of them are worthy of all the same blessings as every other faithful member of the Church. This point is beautifully illustrated by Elder Holland's story of a young man who struggled with such feelings, and yet was worthy and able to serve a full-time mission (you can read the full story here). Elder Holland told this young man that his sexual feelings are not his only characteristic and that he is first and foremost a son of God. Because of this, we may perhaps encourage members of the Church who struggle with these feelings to not refer to themselves as "gay," or other terms whose primary purpose is to identify sexual feelings. However, it is just as important to not judge rashly when we hear someone use the term to describe themselves. Only by listening lovingly and patiently--like Elder Holland did--can we hope to understand what they mean.
I have had friends who are LGBT, both members and non-members of the Church. To them and to all others I wish to close by saying that I love you and that God loves you, no matter what others who may pretend to understand the Church's doctrine may claim. "We do not reject you, only immoral behavior. We cannot reject you, for you are the sons and daughters of God. We will not reject you, because we love you" (Elder Packer, emphasis in original).
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