This letter is written in response to the article about Professor William Bradshaw’s research into proving that homosexual tendencies are a biological condition. A direct quote from the professor reads, “Biology absolutely has a role in causing homosexuality.” I was severely disappointed that a BYU professor would attempt to try and prove by science something that is contrary to the teachings of our living prophets. The following is a quote from Dallin H. Oaks about this very topic:
“It is wrong to use the words gay, lesbian and homosexual as words to denote a condition, because this implies that a person is consigned by birth to a circumstance in which he or she has no choice in respect to the critically important matter of sexual behavior…All of us have some feelings we did not choose, but the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that we still have the power to resist and reform our feelings (as needed) and to assure that they do not lead us to entertain inappropriate thoughts or to engage in sinful behavior… Our freedom can be limited by various conditions of mortality, but God’s gift of agency cannot be limited by outside forces, because it is the basis for our accountability to him.”
Saying that homosexual tendencies are a biological condition is like giving someone a ticket to sin. It excuses the person from personal accountability and for the sinful choices they make. This is in direct defiance with the laws of God and any attempt to prove otherwise is mocking the gift of agency that God has given to everyone and undermine the teachings of the living prophets.
Not only do the prophets disagree but Drs. Byne and Parsons of Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry have said the following:
“What evidence exists thus far of innate biological traits underlying homosexuality is flawed…Confirmation of genetic research purporting to show that homosexuality is heritable makes clear neither what is inherited nor how it influences sexual orientation…It is imperative that clinicians and behavioral scientists begin to appreciate the complexities of sexual orientation and resist the urge to search for the simplistic explanations, either psychosocial or biologic.”
I hope that scientists such as Professor Bradshaw would take their advice and stop the ridiculous obsession with trying to excuse homosexuality.
There are means to overcome these tendencies given through the gospel of Jesus Christ and this professor also misunderstands the atonement of Jesus Christ. From last weeks The Daily Universe article: “Bradshaw said that although he is absolutely committed to the atonement of Jesus Christ, he feels this attitude is detrimental to those who suffer with homosexuality for the remainder of their lives.” There is no way you can be committed to the atonement and say that it is detrimental to homosexuals. He contradicts his own statement. The atonement is there so that we may overcome the weaknesses that all of us have. From Dallin H. Oaks: “The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who gives us the light and the strength to overcome the obstacles of mortality and to use our God-given agency to CHOOSE the behavior that will lead us to our divine destiny” (emphasis added). I am not attempting to condemn homosexuals because each of us struggle with our own weaknesses and trials and neither I nor anyone else can say that we struggle any less than them with our own weaknesses but I am warning against the poor use of science to prove matters such as this. I hope that these studies by this and other professors are no longer biased for the reason of protecting those who struggle with homosexuality. Hopefully further attempts to prove the biological connection to a matter of choice and agency stop.
Greg Dahlstrom
Sweet, Idaho
