The ultimate purpose of the adversary, who has great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time, is to disrupt, disturb, and
destroy the home and the family. Like a ship without a rudder, without a
compass, we drift from the family values which have anchored us in the
past. Now we are caught in a current so strong that unless we correct
our course, civilization as we know it will surely be wrecked to pieces.
Moral values are being neglected and prayer expelled from public schools
on the pretext that moral teaching belongs to religion. At the same
time, atheism, the secular religion, is admitted to class, and our
youngsters are proselyted to a conduct without morality.
World leaders and court judges agree that the family must endure if we
are to survive. At the same time, they use the words freedom and choice
as tools to pry apart the safeguards of the past and loosen up the laws
on marriage, abortion, and gender. In so doing, they promote the very
things which threaten the family. (Boyd K. Packer, The Father and the
Family, Ensign, May 1994)
--
We live in a day when there are many political, legal, and social
pressures for changes that confuse gender and homogenize the differences
between men and women. Our eternal perspective sets us against changes
that alter those separate duties and privileges of men and women that
are essential to accomplish the great plan of happiness. (Dallin H.
Oaks, The Great Plan of Happiness, General Conference address, 3 Oct
1993.)
--
There are those who would have us believe in the validity of what they
choose to call same-sex marriage. Our hearts reach out to those who
struggle with feelings of affinity for the same gender. We remember you
before the Lord, we sympathize with you, we regard you as our brothers
and our sisters. However, we cannot condone immoral practices on your
part any more than we can condone immoral practices on the part of
others
With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of
deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement
and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to
warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and
the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the
Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards,
doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets,
seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout
its history
We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse
spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will
one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the
disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities,
and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere
to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family
as the fundamental unit of society. (Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand Strong
against the Wiles of the World, Ensign, Nov. 1995)
--
Every Latter-day Saint knows that God has forbidden all sexual relations
outside the bonds of marriage. Most are also aware of the Saviors
teaching that it is sinful for a man to look upon and lust after a woman
(see Matt. 5:28; DC 42:23; DC 63:16).
Attraction between man and woman was instilled by the Creator to ensure
the perpetuation of mortal life and to draw husband and wife together in
the family setting he prescribed for the accomplishment of his purposes,
including the raising of children. In contrast, deviations from Gods
commandments in the use of procreative powers are grave sins. President
Joseph F. Smith taught: The Lord drew boundary lines to define
acceptable limits of tolerance. Danger rises when those divine limits
are disobeyed. Just as parents teach little children not to run and play
in the street, the Savior taught us that we need not tolerate evil.
Jesus went into the temple of God, and
and overthrew the tables of
the moneychangers. Though He loved the sinner, the Lord said that He
cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. His Apostle
Paul specified some of those sins in a letter to the Galatians. The list
included adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.
To Pauls list I might add the regrettable attitudes of bigotry,
hypocrisy, and prejudice. These were also decried in 1834 by early
Church leaders who foresaw the eventual rise of this church amid the
frowns of bigots and the calumny of hypocrites. The Prophet Joseph
Smith prayed that prejudices may give way before the truth. Hatred
stirs up strife and digs beneath the dignity of mature men and
