Today two historic things happened in the Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). I want to take a look at them individually and discuss both the pros and cons of these statements and changes. For most of my life, I lived by the rule that you don’t criticize what the leaders of the church do or say. I’ve seen a lot of good and bad done by the church I was born into, so I think it’s fair to look at both the good and bad of these new pieces of information.
First, we need background for those unfamiliar with the church. The authority the church is led by is called the priesthood. The belief is that this priesthood came directly from God to His prophets on earth. Mormons believe that there is a prophet on earth today, and twelve apostles just as in Christ’s time. These are the leaders who give direction and guidance for the church and the world.
Individual congregations around the world are also led by men who hold the priesthood (women can not hold the priesthood) and all of the ordinances performed in the church are done by the priesthood. Women have protested and attempted to ask the church leadership to pray about a change. Not make a change, just pray about it. The leaders excommunicated them instead.
Today, the leadership announced a change that will be great for women. Now women are allowed to witness baptisms. A witness watches and confirms that the person being baptized is completely immersed. Before today only men who hold the priesthood could be considered official witnesses (there are two witnesses in addition to the priesthood holder performing the baptism). I applaud the church for giving women more rights. I know many wonderful women who are feeling God’s love because of this change. That’s the good.
Now the bad. This change didn’t just include women but anyone who is a baptized member of the church. This means that women AND children can witness. In my opinion, this is demeaning. It’s like they’re saying, “God wants to give you something so you can be a witness. No, you can’t baptize. No you can’t hold the priesthood. You can do the same thing as an eight year old child though!” It’s disrespectful to the women who came before us and fought for this change and instead were humiliated and pushed away.
The second big announcement wasn’t a change in how things run but a pronouncement. The second in command (so to speak), Dallin Oaks, made a historically horrible statement about transgender people.
“The intended meaning of ‘gender’ in the family proclamation and as used in church statements and publications since that time is,” Oaks said, “biological sex at birth.’”
The problem is he’s wrong. Gender is not determined by anatomy and this is something we’ve known for many many years. “The idea that a person’s sex is determined by their anatomy at birth is not true, and we’ve known that it’s not true for decades,” said Dr. Joshua D. Safer, an endocrinologist and executive director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System in New York.
Utah has a problem with LGBTQ suicide and this is why. Mormon leadership is pushing them away and telling them they are wrong for the way they feel. I have nothing good to say about this statement by Dallin Oaks. What I can say is I do not stand with him.
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