General Conference Comments

These are my thoughts from General Conference, I've decided to put them together in one post, sorted by speaker and in the order they were given. It's a bit of a mess with various and scattered thoughts, but hopefully organizing it by talk it will make it easier for you to comment on; agreeing, disagreeing, answering questions, questioning. (The quotes aren't perfect so please check other sources for the exact wording)

President Monson- I do think we need something here- whether or not it's perfect or true I believe man needs hope in order to survive this life.

Robert Hales- I was very intrigued by his comparison between economics and addiction and the concept that we need to live providently both economically and spiritually. When he spoke of us not needing the comforts and joys our neighbors have does that also include gay marriage? Is provident living finding happiness and joy within our financial and Gospel boundaries? He cautioned us to ask ourselves if we need and if we can afford worldly things before we buy, consume, or engage in them- what are the financial and spiritual costs. Is this what participating in a gay relationships is, just a question of worldly and temporal actions and a measurement of their costs? Can we afford not living the commandments as they are laid out for us? Can we afford a different type of love? "Do you want this now or do you want your dream trip later?" Is living a gay life now an antithesis to having Celestial glory later?

Margret Lifferth- I love hypocrisy!! I think the whole Church needs to listen to her talk and learn to have respect and love for ALL of Heavenly Father's children- especially those whose political views and lifestyle choices clash with our ideas of righteousness and truth.

D. Todd Christofferson- I thought of all the homosexuals in our church when he spoke of saints being worthy to suffer shame for Christ's name. Those who are honest with themselves and with their family and friends are living the way Heavenly Father made them and they are spreading Christ's love- they are the ones who are suffering shame for Christ's name and they are the ones deserving the blessings such adversity warrants.

Henry B. Eyring- This talk was filled with the principles I pray for to be true, the principles that bring justice and hope to this painful and discriminatory world. Christ took on ALL of our pain and He not only knows how we feel, but He knows how to succor us. Just as Joseph Smith was promised as he suffered in some of his deepest agony- our trials are for our good. The choices we make in our adversity prepare us for eternity- so if there really is an eternity our trials are blessings and our sufferings will be made up for. Christ has suffered this- whatever is right or wrong or more right we all have the opportunity to be like the Lord. He loves us all and He will rescue the faithful (although I'm not sure what being faithful really entails when it pertains to being gay and Mormon). We are here to help and share and give to others and the Lord will bless us with the strength to accomplish this.

M. Russell Ballard- Um… more hypocrisy. I understand that these men have to be hypocritical because what they believe, what they don't just come out and say, are the things that are not of Christ. How could they stand on the pulpit and condemn any of Heavenly Father's children when Christ teaches us to love and rebukes us from judging others? Our past is full of mistakes- are we learning the right lessons from them?

Kevin W. Pearson- Personal obedience is a choice (wow- everyone should have a right to decide who they want to marry and how they want to live!!- shocking!!) I do believe that disbelief leads to disobedience, but is there a different eternal consequence for those who sin because they no longer believe (or are tired of trying to believe) as opposed to those who know the truth of the Church, having no doubt about the commandments, and still choose to sin? Perhaps this doesn't even matter- the Lord knows what is in our heart and what our motives are and maybe we just have to make our choices and live with whatever the consequences are. If you don't know if the church is true you won't find out by leaving it any more than you can find out by living obediently waiting for confirmation. And if you don't believe it… Maybe the Lord expects us to make our decisions for ourselves- without having all the answers and without having an understanding of homosexuality and its relation to the commandments and scriptures that have been revealed to date. Can it be true that if we believe in the Church we need to follow these laws or suffer the consequence- that black and white? "Doubt is not from Christ-" at least we know Christ wants us to believe in him :P

Russell M. Nelson- We need to forgive others- this teaching should include forgiving those whose lifestyles offend ours! As we work to be one we need to focus on being one with our neighbors- I don't think persecution and judgment are the best ways to accomplish this oneness.

<Sunday Morning is still coming>

Dallin H. Oaks- Anger. LDS gays are sacrificing themselves, their families, their friends, and their church, what the hell pain have those supporting prop 8 faced? I was saddened as he spoke of the impressive corporative nature and ability saints have because I thought of all the goodness we could be doing in the world- all the love, help, and understanding we could bring to our own suffering members and to our drowning families and country, not to the political groups Oaks referenced. Wouldn't being the precious individuals he spoke of involve each of us personally choosing to live the Gospel and not imposing it on others? And how is being one (prop 8 allies) with every other judgmental Christian church not having Satan "shift us as wheat?" And I don't agree, as Oaks said, that we have a different destiny- the Lord wants ALL His children to receive eternal life and glory- He wants ALL of us back. I also wondered how we are supposed to live selfless lives when so much of Church doctrine teaches that our goal in life is to attain salvation. How is striving for individual exaltation selfless?

Gary E. Stevenson- His focus on Temple marriage left me questioning what piece of the salvation puzzle is missing. There must be something more, something beyond our knowledge and understanding, because there are so many Temple marriages that are not holy, loving, or happy and there are many other marriages that are loving and happy, in addition to a throng of straight, gay, and bisexual individuals that will never marry.

Jose A. Teixeira- Heavenly Father wants us and He'll make it possible for us to return- Christ sacrificed everything for us and Their love is beyond understanding, sure, and all encompassing. The Lord gives us power to choose because He trusts and respects our freedom, He loves us. It sucks and I hate it, but as I've already touched on, I think we have to feel and trust the Spirit. We have to make decisions based on our faith without knowing all the purposes and reasons (and I don't mean follow blindly, but pray and listen to the Holy Ghost). We have to act sometimes before we can know- maybe the Lord does expect all of us to follow the law of chastity regardless of our struggles and without understanding the injustice of it. We might have to choose and to take a stand based on our heart and our knowledge and our testimony of Christ and based on what we want, now and later, instead of waiting for the prophet to give a solution, a revelation, a denunciation. African American LDS had to suffer faithfully for over a century after the Restoration. "If we live by what we've received we'll be blessed." The Lord knows the suffering we all face, the suffering that you face that I can't begin to imagine, and I know He is filled with love and Mercy. We all have to make decisions and suffer the consequences, temporal, spiritual, earthly, and eternal consequences- but I can't imagine the Lord punishing any child for loving, regardless of who His child is giving that love to (not lust). I question my faith, wondering if life can be as difficult and inequitable as it seems with special blessing being given to those who are obedient, but I will refuse to be with a Heavenly Father who casts out a child because he or she has been in gay relationships or a gay marriage.

F. Michael Watson- The Book of Mormon brings us closer to the Lord than any other book- but this book really doesn't mention homosexuality so there are many ways to grow close to the Lord, although as far as we know it seems that there are greater blessing given to those who grow close to the Lord through following all His commandments.

L. Tom Perry- We should focus on saving the sheep in our fold- we need to save the gay members of this church who are on that cliff- one step away from death and afraid of the strangers who preach heartlessly from church pulpits and classrooms. Please tell me what I, an outsider hurting for those inside and screaming at the hypocrisy that shatters the spirit, can do to help! We do need to open our mouths and share our feelings and knowledge with the rest of the church members, whether or not they want to listen. First time is to tell of Christ's gift to ALL mankind, second is our testimony of the First Vision, and third is telling of the truth of the Book of Mormon. The pain that our gay members face, the equality that is needed, and the respect for other's agency are all parts of these three pieces- let's open our mouths. We need to be spiritual shepherds to the ones who are lost and alone and to the members who are blind and deaf to the cries of the injured.

President Monson- If we fully believe in this Church then do we sacrifice our own lives, making sure we are worthy for the Temple, to save others through Temple work?

I will strive to be faithful even though I'm unsure. I will try to live the Gospel even when I don't want to. I will work to be active in the Church although I don't agree with everything. I will share Christ's love because I know He lives and I know He died for all of us and suffered all our pains. I will continue to support gay rights.

"It may seem simple, all the little things you do, but the lives you touch matter so much and there is no one else like you and Father needs you to stand tall and faithful, to be all you can be. Oh, if you could see what he sees, you'd believe in what you're doing and you'd believe in who you are. So hold tight to the truth that you're a [child] of [His], believe in who you're becoming, believe in who you are." - Who You Are, Hilary Weeks