On the front page of The Daily Universe I read the article titled “Professor gives scientific evidence of homosexuality.” Initially, I was shocked to read at the beginning of the article that a Professor Bradshaw “presented scientific evidence and testimony discounting popular Latter-day Saint belief that homosexuality is an acquired tendency and lifestyle.” However, after reading the article, I found possible misrepresentations of Professor Bradshaw’s remarks as presented in the article, concerning both the “LDS community” and the abhorrence of sin.
First, we must realize that the popular LDS belief should not be confused with the standards of the church. It is true that the church opposes homosexual behavior; however, does God not allow His children to live through life-long challenges? One who is predisposed to gambling or drinking has not sinned until he or she acts upon it or entertains the thought of doing so. Likewise, the person with a predisposition to homosexual behavior has not sinned until he or she accepts it as his or her permanent trait.
I know someone quite well who has overcome homosexual tendencies, and while it is possible that temptation may return on a later date, it would only be because he has allowed his telestial body (natural man) to overcome his celestial spirit and temporarily halt his progression. The church does not deny that one may have a life struggle with such a predisposition, but it does assert that God does not approve of his children giving in to such a temptation just the same as any abuse of procreative power.
Also, despite Professor Bradshaw’s effective statistical analysis and normative statements about the “LDS community,” we should not be so quick to judge the church as a whole. In my first statistics class at BYU, I learned that statistics can be made to prove just about anything. We ought to be careful in taking Professor Bradshaw’s statistics for granted. How were these studies conducted? And if so many members of the church are predisposed to homosexuality, is it fair to assume that, in general, the “LDS Community” disapproves of them? We cannot neglect to remember that we are instructed to be a Christ-like people, loving of all our brothers and sisters on this earth. If I correctly discerned the point of Professor Bradshaw’s remarks, this is exactly what he must have meant to remind us; love one another as Jesus loves us.
Let us not be so quick to judge; we all suffer from tendencies toward different sins, and while we must fight the sin of homosexuality, we must forgive those who sin and embrace them. Only a hypocrite would do otherwise.
Christopher Sharp
Yorba Linda, Calif.
