I recently gave a talk on the Reverend Dr. George Johnson’s newest book, Silence Is Not the Answer, and I spoke of its “relevance to Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Roman Catholics, and morons.” Oops! I meant to say Mormons—what a bad Freudian slip. My audience laughed, but I was embarrassed and apologized profusely.
This week, I think maybe I was correct the first time.
The president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Russell Nelson, just reneged on a previous ruling that the children of same-sex couples could be baptized. The Mormons have always been opposed to the LGBTQUI community, and in California, they were the leading proponents of Proposition 8, which aimed to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples only.
Prop 8 passed but was later overturned by the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, that ruling changed no minds and homophobia is still alive and well.
I do admire some Mormon principles, such as sending all their young people around the world as missionaries. I would love to see the United States require every young adult between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five to serve our nation in some capacity so they can help resolve important issues and learn to appreciate their great country.
I think the Mormons do an excellent job of preparing for emergencies—ten years in advance. Too many people don’t prepare beyond the weekend.
I agree with the Mormon esteem for strong family bonds—up to a point. Their thinking is still in the Dark Ages when it comes to people’s sexual orientation. They think heterosexuality is the only choice while scientists have long known that sexual orientation is a continuum, not one-size-fits-all.
This is the point where certain Mormon beliefs become moronic. I’ve seen the damage they do when they disown and shun a person who isn’t heterosexual. Some ex-Mormon gay parishioners shared with me the pain they felt after being totally rejected by their Mormon families and communities. This is cruel and unusual punishment for people only wanting to be who they are.
I can guarantee this: a whole bunch of Mormons are faking heterosexuality.
This moronic antigay behavior displayed by many religious institutions is the main reason homophobia is still rampant. The so-called religious folks keep fueling the flames of hatred. Russell Nelson may as well have thrown gasoline on the LGBTQUI community. Now that’s moronic!
No wonder so many young people don’t want anything to do with organized religion. The institutional church is often divisive and refuses to accept responsibility for the hatred and rejection of LGBTQUI folks, instead hiding behind these moronic words: “Homosexuality is against God’s will.”
Fortunately, my Christ (Jesus) says that agape, or unconditional love, is the standard for Followers of his Way and that this love accepts everyone, no matter where they are on their life’s journey.
Any “religion” that believes otherwise is simply a good-old-boys hate club and a cult.
Sorry, Russell Nelson (a.k.a. king of the hate club) and all the rest of you homophobes—antigay beliefs are moronic.
Image courtesy of Cary Bass-Deschenes (CC BY-SA 2.0)