I was pretty sure I was going to just leave this subject alone but alas, I think my two cents are worth sharing.
Because of my "spiritual time-out" this weekend I did not hear conference live. I love conference and so Sunday night I listened to what was available on YouTube. By Monday you could download MP3 versions of all of conference which is what I did and by Wednesday I had pretty much heard it all. There were great talks and wonderful sentiments and yes - even controversial ones but alas, what good conference wouldn't prick the ears of the listeners and make them say..... "Did he really just say that?"
YUP, he really did.
Here's one I just loved by President Monson given to the Women at the "Women's Broadcast"
"None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions.
There is really no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: “Judge not.”
LOVED IT - and the rest of the talk was equally amazing.
Another by the apostle PER G Malm;
"In our day-to-day actions, it is often the small and simple things that will have a long-lasting impact. What we say, how we act, and how we choose to react will influence not only ourselves but also those around us. We can build up, or we can tear down. A simple and positive example is a story told about my grandmother. She sent one of her young children to buy some eggs. The trusted child was probably joyfully walking home along the road, but most of the eggs were broken when the child arrived home. A friend of the family was there and admonished my grandmother to scold the child for behaving so badly. Instead, Grandmother calmly and wisely said, “No, that will not make the eggs whole again. We will simply use what we can and make some pancakes that we can enjoy together.”
And something I had learned very well in these last few months, thank-you President Uchtdorf;
"The search for the best things inevitably leads to the foundational principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ—the simple and beautiful truths revealed to us by a caring, eternal, and all-knowing Father in Heaven. These core doctrines and principles, though simple enough for a child to understand, provide the answers to the most complex questions of life.
There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions."
So as you can see from just a few examples that there were many wise and wonderful words of wisdom shared and yet, it seems, a lot of Internet chat is revolving around one talk that I first saw on Youtube, listened to on Monday and read today. Wow, deep and rigid for sure but in remembering that, though these men are apostles they are also men, this too is way out of proportion but I can surely see how hurtful it can be taken.
You know already how I feel about Prop 8. http://oilgirl.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-love.html and when it comes to an opinion of homosexuality I plead the fifth because above everything else I believe in people and in compassion and in love and the bottom line is, I have no idea of walking those shows but from those I know who do, I admire and respect the fact that their lives are theirs to own and whether God agrees or not is truly NONE OF MY BUSINESS!
What am I on about.
My personal witness to the chaos when personal judgements make demands and scream out, not just to be heard but to deny whatever truth for themselves they advocate, GAY OR NOT, is simply against what I think God would have us do. Extremes on either side do not heal but harm dialogue and make it difficult to truly exercise God's love.
I don't have answers and I don't pretend to know, but what I think is that exclusion is painful and no one questioning they sexuality needs more pain than they already have. Love, encourage and acceptance of choice or lack there of; depending on how you see it, is going to make this argument go away.
Here's what I know. My Mom was a florist and for the 15 years I worked with her I met many who were Gay and ALL of them were children of our Heavenly Father. They were loving and compassionate and please remember that this was during the AIDS epidemic, so it is safe to say that nearly all of the men I met thru Mom have since passed. My mother taught me an important lesson that transcends all prejudices... you know the one.... the one about walking in their shoes.
In my youth I was given the opportunity to be friends with two incredible human beings. Both were high achievers, priesthood holders and wonderful men. I watched them struggle through the years, the unanswered replies to why they weren't married and when I was about 30 I think I started to realize their sexual orientation. Each passing I could see their internal struggles, hitting 30 and moving to the family ward was so hard to watch and this is when things started to change for them. One chose to stay in the church, the other chose to leave. Two divergent paths and they both have happy and productive lives. I can't speak much to their struggles excepting what I observed and I admire the hell out of both of them. I have seen the struggles of their families as they grasped the realities of same sex attraction and I have admired these parents as they embraced both of these men. I can't imagine the intensity of pain that must be involved in this journey.
What I do know is what my Heavenly Father expectations of me. He would ask that I love both equally and see they greatness, which I do.
President Packer spoke to what is his truth and witness, clearly from the rewording that was done for the text version you can see a church that is trying hard to grasp a very delicate situation and like my Father in Heaven's expectation of inclusion of my good friends with same sex attraction, I too must respect Brother Packer's words. I cannot nor will I ever have or share an opinion that takes away my belief that God is a loving and compassionate God of whom HE alone has the wisdom to understand this very difficult situation.
So what am I on about.
Holy crap, how many great talks were there. Talks filled with love and hope and acceptance, charity, kindness and compassion and all the world seems to care about is one talk. For me, I will be that member who embraces ANYONE who walks through the door of the gospel I love so dearly. I applaud difference because it is in the sameness that reflections of Satan's plan of Salvation ring similar. Heaven knows that I have experience in being fringe in a culture that is afraid of difference.
Really, when you get down to it - Love is a binding truth and finding it; the key to a recipe of truly ENJOYING THE JOURNEY. How one defines that Love is between God and the individual. All GOD asks of me is to love with a charity that transcends hate or exclusion of any kind.
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