An Open Letter to the Church - Berkeley Andrus

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June 3rd, 2021 To my fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Over the past several years I, like many others, have been troubled by the relationship between the Church and the LGBTQ community. Millions of people around the world identify as LGBTQ, including members of our church, and many of these have been disenfranchised by our current and historical policies towards LGBTQ individuals. It breaks my heart that so many of God’s children have felt unsafe or unloved in our congregations and communities due to our teachings and practices. Even worse, there are Latter-day Saint families that have been torn apart because of unwillingness to accept and love LGBTQ children and siblings. I do not believe that a loving God is pleased with our current attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this letter is to share what I have learned through study, prayer, and experience in the hopes that it will resonate with some of my fellow members of the Church. Specifically, I hope to convince some that our current teachings and practices are harsh, ill-informed, and not justified by current revelation. I hope that we can all keep an open mind as we seek to better understand God’s will concerning His LGBTQ children. Let me begin by acknowledging that the Church today has made a lot of progress. For example, we no longer teach that homosexuality is a mental illness or actively experiment with conversion therapy. We no longer consider same-sex marriage as apostasy. Our handbook encourages members to address transgender individuals by their proper names and pronouns rather than those assigned at birth (General Handbook 38.6.23). Each of these steps has been motivated by love and, from what I have observed, have been welcomed by many LGBTQ members within the Church. Despite this progress, there are several ways in which we still discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, most of which are not based in doctrine: 1. Not only do we not perform same-sex marriages, we do not even recognize that same-sex marriage exists (General Handbook 38.6.16). 2. As a side effect of our position on same-sex marriage, we treat gay and lesbian sexual relationships as fornication regardless of a couple’s legal marital status. 3. At church-owned schools, gay, lesbian, and bisexual students are not allowed to date, hold hands, or participate in other romantic activities, despite this not being part of the Honor Code as it is currently written1 or a requirement for a temple recommend2. 1 This policy comes from a 2020 letter from the Church Educational System. 2 The temple recommend interview questions do not ask about same-sex romantic activities as long as these activites do not violate the Law of Chastity. 4. We restrict temple participation and mission service for transgender and nonbinary individuals and discourage them from physically or socially transitioning (General Handbook 38.6.23). 5. We do not acknowledge that being LGBTQ is natural. The Church handbook says “The Church does not take a position on the causes of people identifying themselves as transgender” (General Handbook 38.6.23) and “The Church does not take a position on the causes of same-sex attraction” (General Handbook 38.6.15). This ambiguous position allows the perpetuation of the myth that being LGBTQ is a choice. 6. We continue to campaign against laws that would ban conversion therapy3. Conversion therapy is a barbaric practice that has led to many suicides, including at Brigham Young University. 7. We have not apologized or formally admitted fault for past incorrect teachings and practices, including running an experimental conversion therapy program at Brigham Young University4 and teaching offensive and untrue lies about the LGBTQ community. Many members of the Church either support or are unaware of these and similar policies. Others don’t understand the detrimental effects these discriminatory policies can have on the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of LGBTQ individuals. Our collective attitude has created a culture that is unsafe for LGBTQ members, making us guilty of both de facto and de jure discrimination. My purpose in writing this letter is to persuade my fellow Latter-day Saints that 1) these harmful policies are not justified by current revelation on God’s will concerning His LGBTQ children, and 2) in the absence of a sure knowledge of God’s will, we should default to compassion and love rather than judgement and rigidity. The first place we should look to understand God’s will is canonized scripture. Of the four standard works, three of them (the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) say nothing explicit about LGBTQ individuals. The Gospels also say nothing on the matter. The only relevant references we have are in the Old Testament and in Paul's epistles. Here are the relevant passages: ● Genesis 9:20-27 In these verses Ham sees his father Noah naked, drunk, and asleep and covers him with a blanket. When Noah awakens he is angry and curses Ham’s son Canaan. Although these verses have been used as evidence homosexuality is wrong, the text itself does not support this conclusion. ● Genesis 19:1-11 In these verses, men living in Sodom demand that Lot let them “know” two men that have come to visit him, to which Lot replies “do not so wickedly.” There are many reasons Lot could have viewed the request as wicked: it was made by a group 3 The Church officially states that it opposes conversion therapy, but also recently opposed a law that would have banned the practice in the state of Utah. 4 You can read one student’s PhD dissertation on the program, in which gay BYU students were given electric shocks while being forced to view pornography in an unsuccessful attempt to change their sexual orientation. (sexual relations would not have been monogamous), the men of Sodom were strangers to his guests (sexual relations would have been extramarital), and the guests were angels on a divine mission (the request was blasphemous). In short, we don’t know that homosexuality was what Lot considered wicked in this story. ● Leviticus 18:22 says “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 has the same message but with different wording. Out of context, this does sound like a condemnation of gay relationships. However, both of these chapters are dedicated to practices associated with worship of the false god Molech. It may be that the author was concerned with sexual rituals honoring false idols, not homosexuality generally. ● Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and 1 Timothy 1:10 are all passages where Paul speaks out against homosexuality in the various communities to which he was writing. While I don’t think we should discount Paul’s word out of hand, it is difficult to know whether he was voicing opinions that he inherited from his culture or if he was truly speaking the revealed will of God. After all, it was Paul who taught us that women should not speak in church (1 Cor. 14:34) and that celibacy is holier than marriage (1 Cor. 7:1-2), and we have no reason to believe these teachings were divinely inspired. The New Testament verses listed above are evidence that Paul probably believed homosexuality was wrong, and this is a belief that has been popular in Christianity ever since. But personally, I can’t help but compare these to the number of times God calls on us to love our neighbors, accept and nurture the downtrodden, and share His love with all who will receive it. Yes, there are scriptures that seem to classify homosexuality as a sin. However, by that standard we could prohibit eating pork, restore menstruation rituals, and destroy all statues depicting animal life. Indeed, I see much more evidence in the scriptures that being wealthy is a sin than that homosexuality is, and the scriptures don’t say anything about being transgender or nonbinary. Even if we do infer from these verses that homosexuality is wrong, they do not tell us what to do about it. God has not instructed us to deny temple blessings or full church participation to LGBTQ individuals. We have chosen to be harsher than the scriptures prescribe. The next source we should look to in understanding God’s will is modern revelation. In this dispensation there have been many instructions from General Authorities that are relevant to LGBTQ individuals. Much of this instruction has been hurtful and untrue, and the things that were taught 50 years ago are inconsistent with our current teachings. As such, I do not consider anti-LGBTQ talks from General Authorities sufficient evidence of God’s will on the matter, but rather as one element of the situation for us to consider and pray about. There was a time in our not-too-distant past when our General Authorities told us that Black members of the Church would never receive the priesthood, that interracial marriage is wrong, and that the Catholic Church is the great and abominable church. Certainly most of their words are valuable and treasured, but in matters where their teachings are incongruous with our life experiences I believe it is prudent to take their words with a grain of salt. We would be wise to learn from our past mistakes and not discriminate against children of God based on words said over the pulpit, especially when those words are not presented as the revealed will of God. Even “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” does not condemn homosexuality or enforce gender identity based on anatomy at birth. This is a surprise to many Church members. If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to reread the document. It says that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.” It does not say that other forms of marriage are not part of God’s plan. In fact, the founder of our church was a polygamist, and many men in our church today are sealed to multiple women, including President Nelson. It seems strange that we use this passage to condemn homosexuality but not polygamy. The Proclamation also says that “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” It does not say that gender is an unchanging or binary characteristic of our identity. In fact, it cannot be the case that God wants all of His children to identify as the gender assigned to them at birth, as many of His children are born medically intersex5. Whether those people will be resurrected with different chromosomes or anatomy, we do not know, but in the meantime it is unreasonable to force a binary standard on our fellow children of God. Current interpretations that use The Proclamation to justify anti-LGBTQ attitudes are policy, not doctrine. Some members have claimed that our church cannot recognize same-sex marriage because it will not be practiced in the celestial kingdom. First, I would argue that we do not know if same-sex marriage will be practiced in the celestial kingdom6. Second, even if it is not practiced in the celestial kingdom, that is not grounds for prohibiting it in this life. To do so would be inconsistent with other church policies. For example, according to our current rules, a woman who is sealed to a deceased man is allowed to remarry and have that marriage recognized by the Church, despite our belief that polyandry is not part of the celestial order. How can we condemn same-sex marriage on the basis of (our assumptions about) the nature of heaven while simultaneously allowing widows to remarry? It is incongruous. A related assumption is that same-sex marriages cannot be eternal because they cannot create spirit children. Again, this is something we simply do not know. We do not know how God creates spiritual progeny. If He could grant the power of procreation to Abraham, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary, why could He not give it to all of His resurrected children? Our understanding of biology is not a limitation for Him. We have no grounds to assume that He who creates life from dust and ribs requires our sexual reproduction methods in the eternities. 5 According to the United Nations at least 1 in 2000 people are born with intersex traits, and some people develop intersex traits later in life. That means there are more intersex people on Earth than there are people living in the state of Utah. 6 Remember that Joseph Smith said “Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject" (TPJS, p. 324). There is simply so much about heaven that we do not know. Let me point out that these two assertions based on assumptions are incredibly similar to the arguments used to defend the priesthood ban for Black church members prior to 1978. Church members came up with false ideas about the mark of Cain, the Lamanitish curse, or premortal disobedience to justify the priesthood ban. These ideas were not honest attempts to discover truth; they were attempts to justify current policies. Members who taught these things assumed that the priesthood ban was God’s will and offered justifications for why it must be so, rather than questioning if the policy itself was divinely inspired. The result was offensive myths that pervaded the Church and still linger in some circles to this day. I believe the same is true about our current justifications for LGBTQ discrimination. They are not rooted in truth, they are reactionary attempts to make our policies make sense. Given that there has not been clear, explicit revelation on the topic of LGBTQ individuals, I believe that we should lead with mercy and compassion rather than with judgment. I believe that’s what the Savior would want us to do. After all, He often ministered to and met the needs of people His religious community had rejected. He has not told us that same-sex marriages are invalid or that expressing a gender other than the one assigned to us at birth is a sin. Because He has not given this instruction, I believe it is our opportunity and prerogative to recognize same-sex marriage and fully respect the gender identity of our peers, including their right to socially and physically transition. There are some things, such as the nature of temple sealings, that we should not change without an explicit revelation. But there are many things that we can change, and I believe that Christlike charity demands that we change them. Let me reemphasize that even if we believe these things are sinful, we do not need to punish them as harshly as we currently do. We are a church that values revelation. We are grateful that God has blessed us with prophets, seers, and revelators in these days. Our history has shown that revelation often comes when we show that we are ready for it—not when we are sitting idly waiting for our leaders to shepherd us along. From Joseph Smith’s first prayer in the Sacred Grove down to the present day, God has responded to our questions and our willing hearts. The end of polygamy and the end of the priesthood ban coincided with external social and legal pressure. Official church teachings about Heavenly Mother, Emma Smith’s role in the restoration, and women’s relationship to the priesthood have come after individual members took the initiative to ask questions. Recent changes to missionary work and temple procedures have been practical as well as spiritual. Asking questions and pointing out incongruities is not a sign of sin or a lack of faith. To the contrary, it has often led to glorious truths being revealed. For all we know, it is our hardheartedness that has prevented us from learning more about God’s will for His LGBTQ children before now. I dream of a day when God reveals—and our church acknowledges—that LGBTQ individuals are equal citizens in His kingdom and tells us exactly how His Plan of Salvation will meet their needs. It may be that my current ideas about what that revelation will look like are incomplete or incorrect. But one way or another, I believe that the Lord will bless us with answers as we ask. So I invite all of my fellow church members to start asking. Start talking. Start praying. Open your hearts to the idea that we may not know as much as we think we do about His will. This is how we will show the Lord that we are ready. The greatest commandments, as taught by the Savior, are to love God and love one another. In our baptisimal covenants we promise to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. We as a church are failing to do that. When our church was formed, we were a marginalized and an oppressed people. How sad it is then that we continue to perpetuate injustice against other marginalized and oppressed peoples. We have consistently signalled to LGBTQ individuals through our words and actions that they are not welcome in our congregations and communities. I believe that we will be held accountable by God for this great failure. It is well past time for us to question our biases and do all that God will allow us to do in welcoming and loving our LGBTQ peers. We cannot continue to persecute those who are already in pain while pretending to be defending our doctrine. The doctrine isn’t there, and if it were, it wouldn’t need defending. Sincerely, Berkeley Andrus