Religion Rant

I do this occasionally. I believe, at my age, I'm entitled. Besides, tonight is date night, and Darrin's too tired to do anything except watch a stupid baseball game (sorry baseball fans, but I get a little testy when I have to share my husband with a sport).

I have sent my angry comment to the Ensign. I was going to blog about my aggravation earlier, but Original Mohomie beat me to it. In a nutshell, Elder Holland said some good things in his article, some of which could open doors to understanding, or at least dialogue among the general church membership about SGA . The editors closed those doors when they chose to post a picture of Adam and Eve, captioned with a quote about marriage and family, and the garden analogy, which basically states that if we choose good things we won't be gay anymore (okay, I know that's not exactly what it says, but bear with me, I'm a little upset).

This is what I said in my comment:
1. Most of the church membership will look at the title, "Helping Those Who Struggle with Same-Gender Attraction (I have issues with the title, as well--I would prefer, "Loving and Accepting Those who Experience Same-Gender Attraction")," and say to themselves, "I don't know anyone like that. This doesn't apply to me." And then they won't read the article.
2. They will, however, look at the captions. The first caption (Adam's family) sends the message that gay people should just get married and have families. No mention is made of Holland's further comment that marriage is not an "all-purpose solution." The second caption solidifies the notion that one must simply seek God and SGA will be cured (exact words: "gain control over our inclinations."). While making our lives a place where the Spirit can freely dwell certainly helps, some of us have felt SGA feelings even while sitting in the temple--not because we're unworthy or because we haven't tried to be spiritual, but simply because we're human and those things happen. And really, the title of the article centers on how church members can be of help to those with SGA--not on what people with SGA should do.
3. End result, the skimmer who doesn't take the time to read the article (I'm guessing 90% of readers), looks at the captions, and decides that those unknown gay people need to get married and be spiritual and then they can decide not to be gay--which is the destructive lie that many people in the church put forth whenever they're confronted with the possibility that "gay" might actually exist. Thank you, Ensign person, for circumventing a possible chance to teach truth. We'll all just keep hiding in our closets, thanks to you. It keeps people from burning metaphorical crosses in our front yards.

Okay, I'm done. Don't be surprised if you never see my comment published, but I hope someone besides me (and OM) is bothered by the problem, and that the Ensign hears from everyone who takes issue with this. However, if I'm the only one who ends up shooting my mouth off, I suppose that's okay, too. No one ever listens, really, but it makes me feel better.

P.S. Darrin decided to use the article as this home teaching message this month. He said most of his families were a little shocked and didn't say much, but he didn't care. He felt they needed to hear the message of the article. Just one more reason I love my husband!