Summary: Although God wrote his commandments on stone, throughout the history of God’s people, there has always been controversy concerning what God wants us to do and the tendency to question the beliefs of whatever church people belong to is just as common today. One such disagreement that is of particular concern to many has to do with the issue of one’s sexuality. This article examines both sides of this issue to discover what God has to say about it.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1).
Throughout the history of God’s people, there has always been controversy concerning what God wants us to do. In the days of Adam, he was commanded to offer sacrifices, and while Able sacrificed an animal, Cain thought it was acceptable to offer “the fruit of the ground” (Genesis 4:3). As Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness, he faced many complaints concerning what God wanted them to do.
Although God wrote his commandments on stone, throughout the history of Israel, they often interpreted them according to their own desires. For example, even though the very first commandment said there should be no other God but Jehovah, yet the Israelites continued to worship the gods of their neighbors. In the days of Isaiah, he condemned his people for their wickedness but since they were offering the sacrifices required in the law of Moses, they thought that God was pleased with them,. Although Lehi had condemned the people of Jerusalem for their sins, his son Laman still believed the Jews were a righteous people (1 Nephi 17:22).
In the days of Jesus, the religious leaders considered themselves to be very diligent in following the law of Moses, and yet Jesus often had to point out their hypocrisy. After his death, the apostles clearly taught the gospel everywhere they went, and yet many of the Jewish converts continued to believe that salvation came from strictly following the law of Moses, while the Gentiles thought they could do whatever they wanted since they believed they were saved only by the grace of God. In the Book of Mormon, we read how even the disciples of Christ contended with one another over points of doctrine.
Joseph Smith faced similar problems as he struggled to help the saints understand what God expected of them, but when he preached a doctrine that some couldn’t accept, they were quick to say he was a fallen prophet. On one particular night, there were members of the church who dragged Joseph out of his house, where they attempted to pour a vial of poison down his throat, and failing at that, they tarred and feathered him all because they didn’t want to believe what he had taught them.
This tendency to question the beliefs of whatever church people belong to is still very common. Today there are over 20,000 different Christian denominations, and the reason why is because each one understands the word of God differently than all others. Even in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are disagreements among some of its members over various teachings.
One such disagreement that is of particular concern to many has to do with the issue of one’s sexuality. There is a growing number of saints who feel it is perfectly natural and righteous that men can fall in love with men or that women can fall in love with women. And if there is nothing wrong with that, then it logically follows that there is nothing wrong for them to be married to each other.
This attitude has become so prevalent in society at large that some state and local governments have passed laws given such people the same rights as heterosexuals, and as this concept of marriage has become more popularly accepted, such people openly and proudly proclaim living this kind of lifestyle and they refer to themselves as being Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, and Questioning, meaning they’re unsure what their sexuality is. They refer to themselves as being LGBTQ for short. But this idea has not stopped there. As time goes on, more and more new forms of sexuality are springing up, and to include them into their acronym, they now simply refer to themselves as LBGTQ+.
The problem this creates is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally states that marriage is only to be between a man and a woman, and that there are only two genders that correspond to our natural biological bodies. They further teach that sexual intimacy is only permitted within the bonds of a legally approved marriage between a man and a woman. The problem this creates is when those who identify as being LGBTQ+ believe in all the doctrines of Christ’s restored church except for this one.
Because they have such strong feelings concerning the issue of their sexuality, many in this community have trouble understanding why they are not permitted to marry someone of the same gender, and there are several reasons why they disagree with the church’s position.
One is they feel they’re being denied the basic human right to intimacy that everyone else is entitled to. In other words, if others are allowed to marry those whom they love, and are allowed to express that love in a sexual manner, then they feel it’s discriminatory, unfair, and unjust to deny them that same right simply because of who they’re in love with.
They point out that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about loving others, and the scriptures don’t put any limitations on who we can and can’t love. Therefore, they say that if two men, or two women truly love each other there is nothing in the scriptures that says they can’t be married to one another.
They further make note that when they go to church and see married couples happily sitting next to each other, it saddens them to know that the church they believe in is denying them the same privilege. And when the church preaches about the family but denies them the opportunity to marry the person they love, they feel they’re being ostracized, marginalized, and don’t feel they’re really a part of the church.
They remind us that the gospel of Jesus Christ is also known as the plan of happiness, and then lament that while everyone else is allowed to have the joy that comes from being married, they must go through life having their heart’s desire denied them. As such, instead of living a life of happiness they must go through life feeling frustrated and sad.
They say the scriptures teach that God is no respecter of people, and since he loves all his children equally then it must be true that he loves those who are LGBTQ+ as much as he does anyone else. Since God wants what’s best for all his children then he would not tell one person they can marry those they love while denying others the same opportunity. They feel that such a policy is contrary to God’s word.
Another doctrine of the church is that God has given each of us our agency to freely decide for ourselves what we want to do. If that is true, then God has given us the right to choose for ourselves who we want to marry. Since God doesn’t tell heterosexual couples who they should or shouldn’t marry, then it seems inconsistent to say that God would prevent LGBTQ+ people from choosing who they want to marry.
They further say that God has given us a physical body and because of the atonement of Christ, we will possess that same body throughout eternity. Therefore, because of our agency, it’s against the gospel for someone to dictate what we can and cannot do with our own body.
However, a more fundamental argument is that LGBTQ+ people are born with the feelings they have, which means God created them the way they are. Therefore, if someone feels a strong attraction to someone of the same gender, that is their God’s given inclination, and therefore God expects us to follow the way he’s created us, otherwise God wouldn’t have created us with those feelings.
On the surface, all these reasons sound logical, reasonable, and even scriptural, but there are other important parts of the gospel that have been left out of these arguments. As a result, their reasoning only paints one part of the picture and therefore gives an incomplete or misleading understanding of what the gospel teaches.
The scriptures talk about the natural man, who is described as being “carnal, sensual, and devilish” (Moses 5:13). Because of the fall of Adam, all of us are born with the tendency to be selfish, proud, impatient, jealous, and angry, and the scriptures tell us that “the natural man is an enemy to God” (Mosiah 3:19). Obviously, God didn’t make us that way so we could continue being his enemy.
Instead, we’re told we are to put off the natural man and yield ourselves to the enticings of the Holy Ghost (Mosiah 3:19). We all have natural weaknesses of the flesh, but that doesn’t mean God wants us to give into them. The gospel teaches we’re to control our passion, desires and appetites and bring them into subjection to the will of God.
The question then becomes, what is the will of God?
The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves, but what does that mean? The scriptures define the word love as “forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:23-24), but this is the kind of love we should give to everyone, not just one particular person.
Furthermore, the word “love” can be used in many different ways. For example, the kind of love we show to a stranger is not the same kind of love we show to a close friend, which is not the same kind of love we have for our children, which is a different kind of love we have for our spouse, which is different from showing love in a sexually intimate way And there is a different kind of love we have for things such as food, clothing, movies, etc.
In other languages, there are different words to describe each of these various forms of love, but unfortunately, in English we only have one word. Therefore, we have to define exactly what kind of love we’re talking about when using that word.
The scriptures tell us that God loves the sinner as much as he loves the righteous, but that doesn’t mean God approves of sin. God loves us like a father loves his children, but when a child does something wrong, the father punishes them, not because he no longer loves them, but precisely because of his love for them (Hebrews 12:6).
God has clearly set forth what he considers to be acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable, and when we do things he disapproves of, there are going to be negative consequences. The scriptures are replete with stories that illustrate this principle, and nearly all the prophets God has sent to his people were meant to warn them what would happen if they didn’t repent of their sins. And the reason why he sends prophets to warn us of the impending negative consequences is precisely because he loves us. Therefore, to say that because God loves us it means he approves of our behavior, is a perversion of what the gospel teaches.
The question then becomes, what is sin? Is it a sin for a man to love another man or a woman to love another woman? It all depends on what we mean by the word “love.” If we mean we’re to show “forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” then doing that is not a sin. But if the word “love” means having sexual intimacy, then that is a sin unless it’s done in accordance with God’s laws.
The idea that our body belongs to us and we can do with it what we want is not scriptural. King Benjamin told his people “Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you” (verse 25). It was God who gave us our bodies and “it belongeth to him who created you.”
Furthermore, the scriptures tell us that we’re not to use our body “as instruments of unrighteousness” but rather we’re to use our body according to the way God has decreed (Romans 6:13). God has not only given us our bodies but he has defined what we should and shouldn’t do with them and when we use them in ways that he disapproves of, then we are committing sin, and wages of sin is spiritual death (Romans 6:23).
One of the great blessings of coming to earth is to gain a physical body, but God watches to see how well we take care of it. Those who abuse their physical bodies in this life will be denied certain blessings in the resurrection, and Alma clearly taught this principle to his son Corianton when he explained the law of restitution.
Since God permits sexual intimacy only among those who are legally married, the question is, Does God approve of gay marriage?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been consistently clear that sexual intimacy is acceptable to God when done within a divinely approved marriage, and the Lord has said that marriage is to be only between a man and a woman. However, those who belong to the LGBTQ+ community of believers disagree with that view simply because it doesn’t accommodate their lifestyle. Therefore, they feel God should expand his definition of marriage so they may enjoy its benefits as well.
Yet, the entire gospel of Jesus Christ is based on the principle of faith. When God first asked Adam to offer sacrifices to him, he didn’t explain why. Adam did what God asked, not because he agreed with it or understood it but because of his faith in God. If God said it, he was going to do it, period.
And that same principle applies to us. God doesn’t expect us to keep his commandment only if we understand the reason for them or agree with them. He expects us to keep his commandments because of our faith in him, and that is one of the most basic and foundational principles of the gospel. Without that kind of faith, our belief in Jesus is in vain.
It takes faith to pay tithing. It takes faith to live the word of wisdom. It takes faith to believe that Christ can take away our sins, and it takes faith to live the law of chastity as God has defined it. God doesn’t require us to understand the reasons for his commandments. “In word and deed he doth require [our] will to his, like son to sire,[and] be made to bend, and I, as son, learn conduct from the Holy One” (hymn #187 “God Loved Us so he Sent His Son” ).
The choice we are given the freedom to make is if we will bend our will to God and learn to conduct ourselves according to his ways, not ours. And God watches to see if we will do “all things whatsoever the Lord their God will command them (Abraham 3:25).
Those who do this will hear him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21). The test of mortality is to prove that we will be faithful in all things the Lord asks of us, especially in those things we don’t agree with. When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, it didn’t make sense to him and it wasn’t something he wanted to do, but he did it anyway, simply because God asked him to. That’s what it means to have faith in Christ.
But is it fair to deny some people the right to do things that others are allowed to enjoy? It was Jesus who said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
One of the foundational principles of Christ’s gospel is that of sacrifice, and everything we do in life requires sacrifice. For example, if we choose to smoke, we are sacrificing our health. If we want to lose weight, we have to sacrifice eating food that will increase our weight. If we want to enjoy the things of the world, then we are choosing to sacrifice the blessings of the Spirit. The choice we’re given to make is to decide what it is we are willing to give up in order to gain something we feel is of greater value to us. So the real question is, what’s most important to us and what are we willing to sacrifice in order to have it?
However, the real debate isn’t about whether we should or shouldn’t follow the commandments of God, but is about correctly understanding what it is God wants us to do. Does God really only approve of marriage between a man and a woman, or does God also sanction gay marriage? Is it really a sin to have sex outside of marriage or are there exceptions to that rule? Are there only two genders (male and female) or is our gender a matter of our own personal choice or emotional makeup?
All sides of this controversy quote various verses of scripture to support their side of the debate, but as Joseph Smith learned at an early age, “the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible” (JS History 1:12).
Because of this confusion among those who professed to know the Bible, Joseph Smith asked “What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?” (verse 10), and that question still applies to each of us individually.
The reason why there are over 20,000 different Christian denominations in the world today is because everyone thinks that their personal interpretation of God’s word is the only correct one. Therefore, what is needed is someone who can say with divine authority, as did the ancient prophets, this is what the Word of God means.
One of the beliefs that distinguishes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from all the other churches is that they are being led by divinely called prophets and apostles, just as what was done in the ancient Christian church. As Christians we believe the Bible to be the word of God precisely, because it was written by divinely inspired prophets, and a prophet is someone who conveys the message God has commanded them to tell us,
As members of Christ’s restored church, we likewise believe this about our living prophets, and several times a year we are given the opportunity to sustain the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. When we do that, we are affirming that we truly believe the doctrines they teach are not just their educated personal opinions of what they believe the Bible says, but are, in reality, telling us what God himself wants us to know. In other words, they’re speaking as God’s ambassadors and not speaking for themselves.
Therefore, when a member of this church disagrees with what a prophet says, when they’re speaking in their capacity as a prophet, and especially when speaking about doctrine, then that is the same as disagreeing with God. If someone doesn’t believe that, then they don’t truly believe those leading the church are really prophets. It is illogical and contradictory for someone to say they sustain and support someone as a prophet and a revealer of truth, and at the same time say they disagree with their position on a particular doctrinal issue.
For example, if a prophet says that God defines marriage as being only between a man and a woman, then to disagree with that statement is either to tell God he is wrong, or to believe that the person giving us that message is not really speaking for God and is therefore not a prophet.
But a person is not a prophet just when he’s saying what people want to hear. In fact, the scriptures clearly show that the reason why people disagree with what a prophet tells them is precisely because they don’t like what he has to say, but a person is not a prophet because his message is popular.
The gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t teach that God will change his ways so we can feel comfortable doing what we want, but rather it’s all about learning to submit our will to his. There are many members in Christ’s restored church who belong to the LGBTQ+ community who hope that someday the Lord will give the prophets a revelation saying that he now approves of gay marriages, but the scriptures tell us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and that he doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). God’s definition of marriage, sexual purity, and gender is doctrine, not an opinion, suggestion, or even just good advice.
God can change a procedure of how he wants us to do something, but he cannot change doctrine because by definition, doctrine is something that is eternal and therefore unchangeable. Doctrine is like a solid rock we can stand on because it doesn’t move. It’s a sure and firm foundation we can always depend on.
But if we believe something is true today, but tomorrow we no longer believe it’s true, then what we believe cannot be true. Therefore, if we believe that God clearly said in the past that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, and later he says that marriage can now be between two men or two women, then neither one of those statements can be true. because truth doesn’t change. For even one of those statements to be true, whatever God told us yesterday, would have to be the same as what he tells us today.
Someone may argue that God denied blacks the opportunity to hold the priesthood, but then changed his mind, however, denying someone the priesthood is not an eternal truth. It was a temporary policy based on the circumstance of the day. God has denied certain people specific blessings from the very beginning of time but it has never been an eternal law that blacks are prohibited from holding the priesthood. In fact, church leaders have often said that the time will come when men of African descent will be given the priesthood. Furthermore, holding the priesthood is not a right, but a privilege that is conferred on someone by revelation, and that privilege can and has been revoked for certain people. That is the way it has always been.
What is critical to understand is that God doesn’t change his laws in order to accommodate what we think they should be. The gospel of Jesus Christ is all about helping us learn how to become one with God rather than seeking to have God become one with us. It’s about us coming to know the mind of the Lord that he may instruct us (1 Corinthians 2:16) rather than us instructing the Lord on how we want him to think. As Jacob, the son of Lehi taught his people, “Wherefore, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works” (Jacob 3:10).
When we understand this principle, then there will be no more confusion or questions about what it is God wants us to do.
Related articles can be found at The Nature of Man