If I Don’t Dissent….I Consent

Well….I don’t consent.  No way am I going to dismiss the dreadful suicide rates documented by the CDC.  It’s a shame and a stain on my church.

The LGBT policies of the LDS church are, at best, purely temporary.  A modern apostle taught us this fact.  You can find his words detailed HERE.

These policies are not binding on the church until they are presented for a vote and sustained by the majority.  This is a restored principle of the restored church.  The prophet Joseph F. Smith testified before the U.S. Congress that this is the way the church functions.  His testimony is recorded HERE.

A Driving Force Behind Gay Suicides

I have a friend in Utah County who is an ardent advocate and protector of gay kids.  The Provo area can be particularly hard on LGBT as the density of the Mormon faith is so intense there.  He explained something I’d never heard before:

“Gay kids are taught that they have to endure this life in complete celibacy.  When they eventually die, they will be resurrected with the ‘normal and proper’ heterosexual feelings.  In the next world, they will be ‘fixed.’  But…in the meantime, they must endure the next 70 to 80 years with no expression of their gay inclinations.  No hand holding.  No hugging.  No dating.  No kissing.  No romance.  No romantic love.  No intimacy.  No marriage.  No hope for any of this.  The ideation then goes something like this.  ‘If I will be changed to a normal person after I die, why wait 80 years?  Why not end the suffering, the rejection, the hopelessness?  I’ve prayed to be changed.  It hasn’t worked.  But, I know how I can be changed.  I have to die.'”

It’s not the gay kids that need to change.  It’s the policies, teachings and attitudes of the institution that need to change.  They aren’t even real policies.  Only temporary!!!

Gay kids need sympathetic support.  Not suicidal support.  At April’s General Conference, I will exercise my right, privilege and responsibility to vote opposed.  If it saves one LBGT youth from suicide…the shunning & temple recommend loss that I endure, will all be well worth it.

Over 45 years ago, I witnessed the beating of a poor innocent mentally challenged kid.  Essentially, I consented to his beating by standing on the sidelines and uttering no protest.  I have deep, deep regrets, which are recoreded HERE.  I’m not going to make another dreadful blunder by standing on the sidelines as suicides soar.

To read a fuller analysis of Utah’s teen suicides and their link to the church’s LGBT policies, this is a great SITE.  The author put together the graph above from data provided by the CDC website.

322

Fortunately, I’m not alone.  There are now 322 of us living the law of common consent and voting opposed.

Join us.

You can start HERE.

Other Resources

• Common Consent Scriptures & Doctrine, click HERE.
• Common Consent Register—A Record of Those Who Disapprove, click, HERE.
• Email notifications that can be sent to Bishops and Stake Presidents, click HERE.
• Do We Love Jesus Enough?, click HERE.
• The Only True Hope for The Only True Church, click HERE.
• If I Don’t Dissent…I Consent, click HERE.