PUBLIC AFFAIRS: On some gay web sites there are those who argue that homosexual behavior is not specifically prohibited in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament. If you have some legally sanctioned relationship with the bundle of legal rights traditionally belonging to marriage and governing authority has slapped a label on it, whether it is civil union or domestic partnership or whatever label it’s given, it is nonetheless tantamount to marriage. I think it’s important for you to understand that homosexuality, which you’ve spoken of, is not a noun that describes a condition. One hardly can get past the first page of Genesis without seeing that very clearly. ELDER OAKS: We are sometimes asked about whether marriage is a remedy for these feelings that we have been talking about. The line of prudence is between the susceptibility and the feelings. ELDER OAKS: I see irony in that if one views it without the belief that we affirm in divine revelation. I refer to a shift from defending the Lord’s way to defending the errant child’s lifestyle, both with him and with others. Dallin Harris Oaks was born in Provo on August 12, 1932. We urge persons with same-gender attractions to control those and to refrain from acting upon them, which is a sin, just as we urge persons with heterosexual attractions to refrain from acting upon them until they have the opportunity for a marriage recognized by God as well as by the law of the land. We don’t understand exactly the ‘why,’ or the extent to which there are inclinations or susceptibilities and so on. Download a photo or video by clicking or tapping on it. Is it sometimes easier to ‘close the window’ on an issue than deal with it? I’d look to Elder Oaks to elaborate on that. That is to say we continue to open our homes and our hearts and our arms to our children, but that need not be with approval of their lifestyle. Anyone who seeks to put that notion asunder is likewise running counter to what Jesus Himself said. Personal life. ELDER WICKMAN: One question that might be asked by somebody who is struggling with same-gender attraction is, “Is this something I’m stuck with forever? We feel for someone that has that anguish. Suddenly there’s a call to legalize it so they can feel better about themselves. When they were told to refrain from plural marriage, there were probably some who were unhappy, but I think the majority were greatly relieved and glad to get back into the mainstream of western civilization, which had been marriage between a man and a woman. But what we do know is that feelings can be controlled and behavior can be controlled. PUBLIC AFFAIRS: At what point does showing that love cross the line into inadvertently endorsing behavior? But if you don’t start with that assumption, you see a profound irony. This is not a situation where the Church has elected to take the matter into the legal arena or into the political arena. ‘I might be the only Republican at this place’: Why Garth Brooks is performing at Joe Biden’s inauguration. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church.”. The aversive therapies that have been used in connection with same-sex attraction have contained some serious abuses that have been recognized over time within the professions. It’s already there. ELDER WICKMAN: Let me just add to that, if I may. Those who persist in such practices or influence others to do so are subject to Church discipline.”. Such an amendment would be a very important expression of public policy, which would feed into or should feed into the decisions of judges across the length and breadth of the land. Even the Savior was tempted. These senior Church leaders responded to questions from two members of the Church’s Public Affairs staff. Posted by 2 years ago. PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Would you extend the same argument against same-gender marriage to civil unions or some kind of benefits short of marriage? When that claim is made, the burden of proving that this step will not undo the wisdom and stability of millennia of experience lies on those who would make the change. But why try to regulate the behavior of other people who have nothing to do with your faith, especially when some nations in Europe have legally sanctioned that kind of marriage? They’re great people. It is common in our society and it has also become politicized. Those who are vigorously advocating for something called same-gender marriage have essentially put that potato on the fork. He insists that he agrees that loving marriage relationships are important. The question as the Trump term comes to a close, Josh Groban is singing at the inaugural prayer service — and many fans are criticizing him. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. If a couple who are cohabiting, happy, and committed to one another want to have their relationship called a marriage, why do they want that? To me that means that a person with these inclinations, where they’re kept under control, or, if yielded to are appropriately repented of, is eligible to do anything in the Church that can be done by any member of the Church who is single. ELDER OAKS: God loves all of His children. I can imagine that in most circumstances the parents would say, ‘Please don’t do that. The former first lady of Brigham Young University, Mrs. Oaks was known nationwide for her support of fine arts and service in the church.An identical twin, she was born March 24, 1933, in Provo, to Charles Hyrum and True Call Dixon. ContentsBiographyAge, Birthday […] We look forward to keeping in contact with you. See them here, Utah Jazz’s second straight game against New Orleans Pelicans is more about fine tuning than adjustments, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can defeat the COVID-19 variant found in the UK, Republicans, was it worth it? ELDER OAKS: This is much bigger than just a question of whether or not society should be more tolerant of the homosexual lifestyle. To download all photos or videos related to this article, select the links at the bottom of each section. With hats pulled low and draped in trench coats, … In 1961, Oaks served as the stake mission president in the LDS Church's Chicago Illinois Stake. My first responsibility as a father is to make sure that he understands that, and then to say to him, “My son, if you choose to deliberately engage in this kind of behavior, you’re still my son. Finally, it may drag you down so far that you can’t come back. It is that life to come that orients our views in mortality and reinforces our determination to live the laws of God so that we can qualify for His blessings in immortality. What bearing does this have on eternal life? These leaders qualify for the vaccine in Utah because they are over the age of 70. Gratefully, the answer is that same-gender attraction did not exist in the pre-earth life and neither will it exist in the next life. I feel for somebody that has that anguish. Dallin H. Oaks was sustained and set apart as first counselor in the First Presidency and president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, January 14, 2018. Mrs. Oaks graduated with a bachelor's degree from BYU in 1965, 14 years after she first enrolled. He was born on August 12, 1932 at Provo, Utah, United States. I can also imagine some circumstances in which it might be possible to say, ‘Yes, come, but don’t expect to stay overnight. We welcome to that kind of service people who are struggling with any kind of temptation when the struggle is a good struggle and they are living so as to be appropriate teachers, or missionaries, or whatever the calling may be. He and his partner intend to have that relationship for the rest of their lives. PUBLIC AFFAIRS: The emphasis that has been placed in this conversation on traditional marriage between a man and a woman has been consistent throughout. Why did the Church feel that it had to step in that direction? People can adopt a characteristic as the defining example of their existence and often those characteristics are physical. Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 34 years, and was the quorum president from 2015 to 2018. The following interview was conducted in 2006 with Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church, and Elder Lance B. Wickman, a member of the Seventy. They later lived for 16 years in Illinois, where Elder Oaks maintained a private law practice and served as associate dean and acting dean of the University of Chicago Law School. Find fulfillment in the many other facets of your character and your personality and your nature that extend beyond that. Even though they are addressed at helping people we would like to see helped, we can’t endorse every kind of technique that’s been used. ELDER WICKMAN: There’s really no question that there is an anguish associated with the inability to marry in this life. Close. ELDER OAKS: I think it is an accurate statement to say that some people consider feelings of same-gender attraction to be the defining fact of their existence. President Hinckley has said that if people are faithful, they can essentially go forward as anyone else in the Church and have full fellowship. That’s what it means. Even as a young boy, leadership came naturally to him. Who am I to say that I am more handicapped, or suffering more, than someone else? Or they are red-headed, or they are the best basketball player that ever played for such-and-such a high school. It is a case by case determination. We provide the link to this third party's website solely as a convenience to you. They were married June 24, 1952, in the Salt Lake Temple and have six children: Sharmon O. At such point as you now, as an institution, begin to recognize a legally-sanctioned relationship, a committed relationship between two people of the same gender, you have now redefined the institution to being one of genderless marriage. It’s going to be decided as a matter of federal law one way or the other. PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Is heterosexual marriage ever an option for those with homosexual feelings? So there are lots of kinds of anguish people can have, even associated with just this matter of marriage. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping. 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