Today I read 1 Corinthians 10, a chapter I have been familiar with for over half my life if not more so. This is because it has one of my favorite and most comforting verses in all of the Gospel in it. This is verse 13. As all mankind does, I have a sin that has plagued me most of my life and is impossible to overcome on my own. Everyone has such a sin, we know this from Ether 12:27. For some it is overeating, for others it is a bad temper. Others are temped by alcohol or tobacco, still others cannot follow the Law of Chastity. Everyone has a weakness given to them by God to humble them so that they will seek Him out and He can help them progress.
I have long taken comfort in verse 13 of 1 Corinthians 10 because Paul teaches us that God will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear but will prepare us a way out of the temptation. This is so wonderful! This means that no matter how badly things get, you can handle it! It may not feel like it, and you may need to involve Heavenly Father in your fight against this sin, but ultimately, you can defeat it with His help and you are not a slave to your flesh. This is great news to all of us, because as I stated above, we all have sins that plague us and keep us from fulfilling our callings and covenants.
As society has become more and more afraid of offending people and conversely become more and more accepting of wrong behavior, I have thought long and hard on the nature of man and his/her predisposition to do that which is wrong. In particular I have watched and read much on the subject of homosexuality. I utterly reject the notion of a man being born inside a woman's body or a woman being born in a man's body by mistake. First of all, God does not make mistakes. But perhaps just as importantly, this is false doctrine put out there by Satan and his followers to carefully lull the unwary down to hell. We know from revealed doctrine that we have always been men or women, ever since we were spiritual children of our Heavenly Father. That means that if you were born into this world male, you have always been a man. If you were born a woman, you have always been female. It is that simple. There are no "mistakes".
But what I DO believe because of revealed truth, is that some people are born with the trial of homosexuality and find themselves, perhaps even at a very young age, attracted to the same sex instead of the opposite gender. I believe this very much so, just like I believe there are those who are born with the predisposition to be alcoholics. What is wrong though is acting on these impulses and not doing what is right and following the commandments of God. That is where society has erred. Society is so busy stating that there is nothing wrong with people who choose to live an "alternate" lifestyle and practically tripping over themselves to make them feel accepted that they are ignoring the simple fact that there is a right and a wrong way. There is God's way, and then there is Satan's way. It is that simple.
The Latter-day Saint stance on homosexuality is that all men and woman are children of God no matter what their circumstance or what they have done. We love all men and women and want to help them. However, those who actively practice a homosexual lifestyle are living contrary to the will of God just as much as an alcoholic is or a whoremonger. Sin is sin. God has spelled out very clearly His stance on sin thousands of years ago in the Old Testament. There are not "new" sins out there that are being discovered. Just variations of ones that have been around since the days of Cain. We love those who choose to live a homosexual lifestyle but believe that their actions are contrary to God's will and will never be accepted by God if they practice these sins. That does not mean that they are horrible people or bad people though. That means they are good people who are doing that which is wrong. Much as a 2 year old who has been told not to touch the stove because it will hurt chooses to do it anyway.
Despite being predisposed to a certain sin however, like Paul stated in verse 13 of this chapter, if we so choose, God will assist us in overcoming and it is possible to eventually stop having those desires altogether. We have to choose it though and God will not force us to live the lifestyle He desires us to live. He wishes we would choose His way, because He knows what it will take to be happy and what will bring us the most joy in this life. But as always the choice is ours. If we want to accept it, all we have to do is ask. Until tomorrow.
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