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Local News
Mason: Sexuality Not a Choice
“I commend you for your unshakable faith in the face of unwanted feelings you did not choose to have.”
That’s how Elder James O. Mason of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints greeted members of the group Evergreen International in a speech written for their 15th annual conference.
“I commend you for never forgetting that God loves you and that you are his sons and daughters. I commend you for not forgetting your magnificent divine potential and for using your God-given moral agency in resisting temptation and evil,” the text reads.
At first glance the comments could be interpreted as a new acceptance of homosexuality by the LDS Church, but Mason explains in the text that this is the way the church has always felt.
He quotes a letter to the editor in the Deseret Morning News:
“From what I have witnessed in conference the last few years, the brethren have rarely missed an opportunity to tell gay people exactly what the church thinks of them. I know that in some people’s distorted logic, this is ‘true’ kindness, but my gay friends don’t feel the warmth. It feels more like hatred to them.”
Mason counters these comments by explaining that he has attended every general conference held by the church for the last 20 years and has never detected anything but “kindness toward individuals with same-sex attraction.”
But he goes on to say that expressing homosexuality—gay sex and erotic thoughts about gay sex—is sinful and is subject to church discipline. He claims that although homosexuals did not choose to have feelings of attraction to the same sex, acting on those feelings is a grievous sin.
And he quotes Elder Dallin H. Oakes of the church’s governing “Quorum of the Twelve” as saying, “Our doctrines obviously condemn those who engage in so-called ‘gay bashing’—physical or verbal attacks on persons thought to be involved in homosexual or lesbian behavior.”
So is accepting homosexuality as “unwanted feelings you did not choose to have” a change for the LDS Church?
No, according to Mason. He does not claim to know what causes homosexuality or whether it is congenital or acquired after birth. He does state emphatically that as far as being a choice, “My experience with persons struggling with same-gender attraction tells me that this is not so or very rarely so.”
Mason said in his speech that homosexuality is a disorder, and likens it to diabetes or other medical disorders. Can diabetes be cured? No. Can it be controlled? Yes.
“Feelings of attraction toward someone of the same gender should be eliminated if possible or controlled. You did not choose to have these feelings but you can do something about them.
“Homosexual or lesbian erotic thoughts are consequences of uncontrolled feelings and they are wrong, just as heterosexual erotic thoughts are wrong. They must be stopped! Homosexual or lesbian behavior is a serious sin, as is heterosexual fornication or adultery. It must be stopped!”
Mason explains that through organizations like Evergreen International and with counseling and “proper repentance,” men and women with same-sex attraction can avoid sin and be worthy members of the LDS Church.
“The person resisting unwanted feelings is entitled to every blessing of church membership,” he said. “Repentance is needed for those dwelling on homosexual or improper heterosexual thoughts or participating in sinful behavior. When they are worthy, bishops may extend appropriate church callings to members with same-gender attraction.”
Mason concludes with his promise that people who “control” their feelings of same-sex attraction and are “faithful and keep baptism, priesthood and temple covenants” will have no blessing pertaining to exaltation withheld because of same gender attraction.
“In the day of resurrection you will have normal affections and be attracted to the opposite sex,” he writes.
Evergreen International was founded 16 years ago by a group of men trying to reconcile their religious beliefs with their homosexuality. The group offers conferences, literature, counseling and other methods for suppressing homosexual thoughts and actions. It is not an official organization of the LDS Church, but is affiliated with it. There is always one “General Authority Emeritus” on the board of Evergreen.
The quoted remarks are from a published copy of his remarks, though Mason spoke “extemporaneously” during the speech.
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