LDS church takes a strong stand

SALT LAKE CITY -- Despite heavy criticism and controversy, as well as an expensive lawsuit, one church refuses to back down from a controversial stand on homosexual marriage.

There can be no compromise when it comes to defending truth and right, according to President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hinckley is regarded as a modern prophet of God by more than 10 million members of the church worldwide.

Hinckley spoke to the 10 million members of the LDS Church worldwide via satellite as part of the 169th Semi-Annual General Conference just concluded this weekend. It was the last such conference ever to be held from the famous Tabernacle on Temple Square. A new Conference Center will be completed in time for the next such meeting in April 2000.

President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged his congregation to stand up for what is right.

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"We regard it as not only our right, but our duty to oppose those forces which we feel undermine the moral fiber of society. Much of our effort, a very great deal of it, is in association with others whose interests are similar. We have worked with Jewish groups, Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, and those of no particular religious affiliation, in coalitions formed to advocate positions on vital moral issues," Hinckley explained in his address.

"God-sanctioned marriage between a man and a woman has been the basis of civilization for thousands of years. There is no justification to redefine what marriage is," he added.

A large, noisy group of homosexual demonstrators gathered outside the gates of Temple Square in Salt Lake City this past weekend to protest the LDS Church's efforts to defeat the legalization of same-sex marriage in California.

Protesters shouted angry taunts at church members who passed by. One small counter protest group shouted back and was threatened with arrest by police for disturbing the peace. America Forever is a non-denominational group from California. They were organized specifically to fight the same-sex issue and claims over 500 families as members.

Under cover police quickly left the group alone when they produced a written permit from the city for their protest, and when police were asked why they were not also stopping the homosexual group from disturbing the peace. The officers involved would not identify themselves. They simply displayed their police badges from under their coats and walked away.

"This is one of the key issues. Homosexuality and propaganda to the children," said Sandra Rodrigues about her concerns.

"We are here because we want to stop the propaganda. We have asked many times to the gay community to allow tolerance. They don't want to. They want to teach the children when they're eight. Same-sex marriage they want to teach them under the guise of tolerance. We are here today to protest against the protesters," said Rodrigues.

Members of the LDS Church in California have been giving donations to a coalition of concerned members of many churches united in their effort to stop the attempt to legalize same-sex marriage in California.

In 1998, the LDS Church spent over $1 million dollars to lobby against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and Alaska. Now church members are making their own donations to stop the effort in California.

The LDS Church supports the Knight Initiative in California, which is scheduled to be on the ballot on March 7, 2000. If passed, the initiative will legally define marriage in that state as between one man and one woman.

"Our opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexuality, either individually or as a group. As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church. It is expected, however, that they follow the same God-given rules of sexual conduct that apply to everyone else, whether single or married," Hinckley explained.

Sandra Rodrigues of America Forever shows police her permit to protest a homosexual demonstration. Police had threatened to remove her and demanded that she be silent. When a bystander asked the police why the homosexuals were not being told to be quiet, they quickly left.

He applauded LDS members who have joined the coalition in California to "defend the sanctity of traditional marriage." The money funding the coalition has been provided through private donations, not directly from the LDS Church itself.

"You are contributing your time and talents in a cause that in some quarters may not be politically correct, but which, nevertheless, lies at the heart of the Lord's eternal plan for His children, just as those of many other churches are doing. This is a united effort," Hinckley stated.

The protesters outside the gates of Temple Square were asked to comment on why they were yelling at people passing by. Several claimed that their civil rights were being trampled by members of the LDS Church. A number of demonstrators then attacked this reporter verbally and began shouting "homophobe."

One man claimed to be a former member of the LDS Church who was excommunicated for his homosexual lifestyle. He defended the stand of the Church and spoke against the demonstrators. A shouting match developed which prevented getting further information from the man.

The LDS Church provides financial support to the group Evergreen, which helps homosexuals and lesbians change their behavior and their lifestyle.

Hinckley, and other LDS Church leaders, took the opportunity to counsel church members on issues of morality. He spoke directly to teenage boys when he told them to avoid certain behaviors.

"Stay away from pornography. It too will destroy you. It will cloud your minds with evil and destroy your capacity to appreciate the good and the beautiful," Hinckley warned.

"Avoid alcohol as you would a loathsome disease. Beer will do to you what hard liquor will do. Each contains alcohol in varying amounts," he cautioned.

"Shun immorality. It will blight your life if you indulge in it. It will destroy your self-respect. It will rob you of pleasant opportunities and make you unworthy of the companionship of lovely young women," the young men were told.

Thomas S. Monson, first councilor to Hinckley, told the audience to become like Christ. He suggested that the foundation for moral upbringing is in the home.

"It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed," Monson stated.

Elder Neil L. Andersen, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, compared Hinckley to Prophets of the Old Testament. He said there were skeptics who criticized the instructions given by the Prophet Joshua on how to bring down the walls of Jericho.

"When the walls came down, the skeptics were quiet," stated Elder Anderson. "In our world today, one thing has not changed since Joshua spoke: Those who choose to serve the Lord will always listen attentively and specifically to the Prophet."

Members were told to follow the example of Hinckley in their daily lives.

"Aren't you proud that the church teaches us the truth? We don't have to wonder about earrings for boys and men, tattoos, spiked hair, the four-letter words, and obscene gestures. We have Prophets who model the standards. They teach that the Ten Commandments are not outdated," explained Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, a member of the Quorum of Apostles.

"No matter how strong the winds of public opinion may blow, the Church is immovable. God has commanded that the 'sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife," he added.

Regardless of what the law or public opinion may say, certain behavior will always be wrong. "Those who espouse perverse principles and deviant behavior are living in sin. Laws, consensus, consenting adults that teach contrary to the gospel are wrong even if the majority accepts them. Sin is sin. That is God's truth," state Featherstone emphatically.

He was also critical of other forms of sin. He spoke out against drinking, smoking, the use of illegal drugs, and pornography.

"Those who produce it are godless and have no conscience. They know the consequences, but they don't care. Like those who peddle drugs, they will never be around to pick up the pieces when you're all broken up," said Featherstone.

He also cautioned that children learn from the example of their parents.

"Our youth may choose to violate a commandment later on in life perhaps ten times or a hundred times worse and justify it on the basis of the small commandment we broke," he warned.

Many people are not willing to stand up for what it right, or to even try to avoid making a decision. The world offers many temptations which are difficult to resist, according to Sharon G. Larsen, Second Councilor in the Young Women General Presidency.

"We want the freedom without consequences. And so, too often, we try to stand neutral, undecided and uncommitted. It is in this atmosphere that we become vulnerable to the influence of Satan," said Larsen.

Angry homosexual protesters shout at LDS Church members attending a conference at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

The gay and lesbian demonstrators outside the gates of Temple Square taunted and shouted at those attending the conference. No one was provoked to even yell back at them. They seemed to be remembering the advice of Apostle Henry B. Eyring from the Saturday portion of the conference.

"It is a lie that our anger justifies our impulse to hurt or ignore our antagonists. We are to forgive to be forgiven. To wait for to repent before we forgive and repent is to allow them to choose for us a delay which could cost us happiness here and after," stated Elder Eyring.

Another Apostle told the audience that controlling one's behavior begins with controlling our thoughts. He advised young and old alike to recognize when unworthy thoughts enter their minds and quickly move them out.

"As the years passed I found that, while not easy, I could control my thoughts if I made a place for them to go. You can replace thoughts of temptation, anger, disappointment, or fear with better thoughts -- with music," said Apostle Boyd K. Packer.

He suggested thinking or humming a favorite hymn each time bad thoughts come to mind. Since people cannot maintain two thoughts simultaneously, the hymn will replace the unwanted thoughts.

"When you learn to control your thoughts, you will be safe," he explained. "Young Latter-day Saints, shape up! Face up! Take hold of your lives! Take control of your mind, your thoughts! If you have friends who are not a good influence, make changes, even if you face loneliness and rejection," he counseled.

We have been given instructions and commandments to help us in our lives, but we are not forced to obey. Each person on earth has the right to choose, according to Elder L. Aldin Porter, a member of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

"A very important part of the plan is the right of personal choice," said Elder Porter. "We may choose as we desire but we may not avoid the consequences of our choices. Think on that. We are permitted to make our choices in this life, but we ought not then call the plan unfair because we must accept the results of our choices," he said.

"Right and wrong do exist. Our actions do have moral consequences. There is no right way to do a wrong thing," said Elder William R. Bradford of the Quorum of the Seventy.