Wednesday, Jun 5, 2013, at 07:04 AM
Homosexuality, The BSA, The LDS, And The BS Statement, "Sexual Orientation Has Not Previously Been-and Is Not Now-a Disqualifying Factor For Boys Who Want To Join Latter-Day Saint Scout Troops."
Original Author(s):
Mithryn
Filed Under:
BOY SCOUTS
An address to the believing member:
April 19, 2013, the Boy Scouts of America announced a proposal to no longer deny membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation, but maintain its ban on openly gay adult leaders. The LDS church released a statement in support of the proposal stating that "Sexual orientation has not previously been-and is not now-a disqualifying factor". This is bold faced revision of history.
Why this should matter to a current member of the church:
Because they are asking you to forget their crimes of bigotry and switch your brain to "they never discriminated" even when is good evidence that they did it readily available. This illustrates how the church manipulates history in order to paint itself differently as the morals of the world change.
It is no question that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a longtime supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, teaches that homosexual activity is immoral.
The LDS Church is the largest single sponsor of Scouting units with over 30,000 units nationwide, which comprise about 13% of BSA's youth members http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Scou...
In 2000, an attorney representing the LDS church stated that "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ... would withdraw from Scouting if it were compelled to accept openly homosexual Scout leaders". Now they still have not permitted homosexual leaders, just boy scouts. But where do scout leaders come from? oh yeah, they serve as boy scouts.
Tim Curran was an idea scout, leader of his patrol. When he tried to become a scoutmaster he was banned and sued the Boy Scouts over it. This idea that a boy is just fine until the day he gains his eagle, and then suddenly he is no longer fit to serve is unjustified. (more about Tim's case http://www.timcurran.com/scouting/ )
The BSA made the change to the regulations about homosexual scouts after conducting a survey the council sent to its members, four out of five Scout leaders and parents said they're opposed to lifting the ban on gays. About 4,700 adults responded to the survey, which the council shared with the Boy Scouts. Nearly half of the respondents said they would quit the Boy Scouts if the ban on gays is lifted.
Harold Brown, once spokesman for the church said: that no amount of press coverage or activism is going to influence God to change the rules about homosexuality. Brown said: "Being black is not a sin...Being immoral is."
What's interesting is the parallel. Once, being black was considered being a sin. General Authorities taught that the black man (and boy) was black because he had been less faithful prior to this earth life.
July 18, 1974, the Salt Lake Tribune reported: "A 12-year-old boy scout has been denied a senior patrol leadership in his troop because he is black", Don L. Cope, black ombudsman for the state, said Wednesday." See http://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake...
Now the church states that "It is unknown when or why such a policy was put in place [Blacks not being worthy]." But that is just a demonstrably a cover for statements from leaders at that time such as:
"I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the Negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people eat. He isn't just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn't that he just desires to go to the same theater as the white people. From this, and other interviews I have read, it appears that the Negro seeks absorption with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have. Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, "First we pity, then endure, then embrace" -Mark E. Peterson
You see, it is the practice of the church to state they have never done a thing that it is easy to find they not only did, but to some extent still do. This kind of history rewrite is called "whitewashing" and according to current church manuals, it is dishonest
Active members know the five steps of repentance, they know that the church should feel remorse and try to make restitution to those it wronged. Further they know that if one takes to cover one's sins it is "Amen to the priesthood of that man". Perhaps to an organization, after all corporations are people
The LDS church claims that they have nothing against people who are gay as long as they live lives of celibacy, at the same time they also use fast offering funds to send gay boys to reformation camps supported by BYU commercials and the prophet in conference
The flagrant abuse of the LDS church in standing against homosexuals in the BSA is so obvious that even, Penn and Teller, magicians, discuss the involvement of the Mormon Church in the BSA and even quote Thomas Monson (warning: language) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndoP1Y...
The LDS faith is trying to put one over on its members with the above statement. It is as deceptive as the statements over blacks and the priesthood in the recent (2013) changes to the scriptures. It is as deceptive as their videos on the Prophet Joseph Smith, only showing him and Emma together.
It is a modern-day rewrite of history happening right now; where soon you, the active member, can find yourself opposing homosexuality, and on the wrong side of the church, because the church is sweeping members with beliefs like yours, beliefs taught by the church, away with broad generalized statements and revisions without telling the general membership what is really going on.
This IS that history that you may have said in times past, "I don't care about history, I have a testimony". That attitude could quickly end you up confused and wondering what happened. After all, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.