Unlimited Chances
By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty (www.bannerofliberty.com)
October 9, 2000
Boyd K. Packer, acting President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the eleven million member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke Sunday at the 170th World General Conference of the Church "to the youth of the Church who face challenges to us unknown to us in our youth." The youth today, he observed, "are inquirers, seekers after the truth" and he promised to "speak plainly." The topic he spoke plainly about was, oddly enough, the same general topic that, according to an Associated Press article, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network Conference talked about over the week-end also.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) planned to "lobby school districts across the country to stop sponsoring Boy Scout troops" unless the organization reverses its ban on homosexuals. On the other hand, Elder Packer, is a leader in the LDS Church which sponsors half of all scout troops in America. Almost every congregation in the LDS Church has a Boy Scout troop
M.K. Cullen, GLSEN's public policy director said the group's goal is to "end the special access" the Boy Scouts get to schools. It was only a few years ago that GLSEN was fighting to be allowed IN the public schools at all, since their avowed purpose is to "distribute teacher training materials and LGBT-inclusive curricular resources to elementary and secondary schools across the country" to "change the attitudes of those who have influence over daily scholastic life -- from public policy leaders in Washington D.C. to state superintendents of public instruction to local school board members." In a nutshell, GLSEN's goal is to convince your children that homosexual behavior is OK and anyone, their parents for example, who believe otherwise are homophobs at best and possibly guilty of a hate crime at worst.
GLSEN is extremely well-funded, boasting of 50 companies as sponsors of its national Convention over the week-end, in which the national President of the National Education Association, Robert F. Chase, gave the keynote address. As part of its goal to "influence" public policy leaders in Washington D.C., it is distributing a booklet entitled "At Issue: The Presidency" for use in public schools. It declares in the Introduction of its six lesson curriculum that "The next president will be instrumental in deciding whether to nominate a candidate who interprets the Constitution to limit or expand the rights" of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trangender people. It presents a totally one-sided view of the subject without any information on the reasons why homosexuality is not an "equal" life-style. This is the same group that distributed the video "It's Elementary," to schools all over the country to encourage open discussion among young elementary school children about homosexuality being "just another life-style."
In Dr. Paul Cameron's paper entitled "Medical Consequences of What Homosexuals Do," he points to studies which tell us that most homosexuals in America have died, generally from disease, by age 41. Homosexuals with AIDS are usually dead age 39. While only 9% of homosexuals studied reach age 65 today, 80% of married men reach age 65. Nowhere in the current push to teach homosexuality as an "equal" and "normal" lifestyle is there any mention of the obvious fact that Society has a reason to be "legitimately concerned with health risks" of homosexual practices, as Dr. Cameron puts it.
The Boy Scouts, which teaches the importance of being "physically fit" and "morally straight" would, of course, deny its very purpose for existence if it embraced such a physically damaging and morally deficient behavior for its leaders. Sadly, opposition groups such as GLSEN have managed to gain the support of much of the national media in its efforts to destroy the Boy Scouts of America.
Boyd K. Packer, in his direct talk with the youth of the LDS Church, had a little different message about the subject:
"Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal and eternal identity and purpose. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and t he family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children. You should be attracted to one another, and marry. Then, and only then, may you worthily respond to the strong, and good and constant desire to express that love to which children will bless your life.
"By commandment of God, our Father, that must happen only between husband and wife, man and woman, committed to one another in the covenant of marriage. To do otherwise is forbidden, and will bring sorrow. It is about controlling these natural desires that the strictest commandments are given in revelations. Young men and women, keep yourself worthy. Stay away from those environments -the music, the films, the videos, the clubs and associations that draw you into immoral conduct.
"And now, I must speak of another danger. Almost unknown in our youth, but now everywhere about you, normal desires and attractions emerge in the teen-age years. There is a temptation to experiment, to tamper with the sacred powers of procreation. These desires can be intensified, even perverted by pornography, improper music or the encouragement of unworthy association. What would have only been a more or less normal passing phase in establishing gender identity can become implanted and leave you confused, even disturbed.
"If you consent, the adversary can take control of your thoughts and lead you carefully toward a habit, to an addiction, convincing you that immoral, unnatural behavior is a fixed part of your nature. With some few there is a temptation that seems nearly over-powering for man to be attracted to man or woman to woman. The Scriptures plainly condemn those who "dishonor their own bodies between themselves…men with men working that which is unseemly…or women who change the natural use into that which is against nature." (Romans 1:24)
"The gates of freedom, and the good or bad beyond swing open or closed to the password - choice. You are free to choose the path that may lead to despair, to disease, even to death. If you choose that course, the fountains of life may dry up. You will not experience the combination of love and struggle and pain and pleasure, the disappointment and sacrifice of that love, blended together in parenthood, that exalts a man or a woman and leads to that fullness of joy spoken of in the Scriptures.
"DO NOT experiment! Do not let anyone of either gender touch your body to awaken passions that can flame beyond control. It begins as an innocent curiosity. Satan influences your thoughts. Then it becomes a pattern, a habit and an addiction to the sorrow and disappointment of those who love you.
"Pressure is put on legislatures to legalize unnatural conduct. They can never make right that which is forbidden in the laws of God! Sometimes we are asked why we do not recognize this conduct as a diverse and acceptable lifestyle. This we cannot do. We did not make the laws. They were made in heaven before the foundation of the world. We are servants only. Just as with the prophets in ancient times, we have been consecrated priests and teachers of this people with the responsibility to magnify our office and the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, and answering for the sins of this people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence.
"We understand why some feel that we reject them, but that is not true. We do not reject YOU, only immoral behavior. We CANNOT reject you, for you are the sons and daughters of God. We WILL NOT reject you, because we love you. You may feel that we do not love you. That also is not true. Parents know that one day you will know that there are times when parents, and we who lead the Church, must extend tough love when failing to teach, to warn, to discipline is to destroy.
"We did not make the rules. They were revealed as commandments. We do not cause nor can we prevent the consequences if you disobey the moral laws. In spite of criticism or opposition we MUST teach and we must warn. When an unworthy desire presses into your mind, fight them! Resist them! Control them!
"The Apostle Paul taught 'There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.' That may be a struggle from which you will not be free in this life. If you do not act on temptations, you need feel no guilt. They may be extremely difficult to resist. But that is better than to yield and bring disappointment and unhappiness to you and those who love you.
"Some think God created them with overpowering, unnatural desires, that they are trapped and not responsible. That is not true. Even if they were to accept it as true, you must remember that He can cure and He can heal."
"Now, what of you who have already made mistakes, have lost yourselves to an immoral lifestyle? What hope do you have? Are you cast off forever? These are not unforgivable sins. However unworthy or unnatural or immoral these transgressions may be, they are not unforgivable. When completely forsaken and fully repented of, it can open the purifying gift of forgiveness and the burden of guilt can be erased. There is a way back. Long? Perhaps. Hard? Certainly. Possible? Of course. You need not, cannot find your way alone. You have a Redeemer. The Lord will lift your burden, if you choose to repent and turn from your sins and do them no more.
"That is what the Atonement of Christ was for."
GLSEN and other homosexual groups, such as LAMBDA, which tried unsuccessfully in the U.S. Supreme Court to force the Boy Scouts to abandon the meaning of its "morally straight" oath would, if they could, force Boyd K. Packer to stop saying things like that. They would have us believe that homosexual practices are "equal" to normal sex and those who think otherwise are full of "hate," and that homosexual urges, unlike heterosexual urges, cannot be mastered with self control. This battle is being fought school by school, town by town.
Last week the Board of Education in Honolulu voted on what the Honolulu Advistiser called "a decision on whether to award gay students special protection."
At issue was an attempt to re-write the public school "anti-harassment rules which would bar students from harassing others because of gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation among other things." While the issue of denying school children their first amendment rights by such a loose statement apparently never came up, what DID come up was the safety of the students if they were heterosexual and could not defend themselves from aggressive homosexuals in the school.
According to the paper, Gregg Johnston, a 16-year-old Pahoa High School student, pleaded: "Please don't open the doors for homosexual activists to come into our schools to promote their values and lifestyle." Johnston told the committee how upset he was when a gay counselor at his school started an affair with a student. "I know you think you're helping kids, but you are just going to end up ruining some kids' lives," he said.
And that, folks, it the crux of the debate. There is a line that must be drawn between allowing others to make poor choices, choices that will shorten their lives by 30 to 40 years and allowing those who adopt a dangerous, life-threatening life style to have access to our children and grandchildren in public schools while we are, at the same time, kicking out the one youth organization that teaches moral and physical fitness. Increasingly, as Gregg Johnston said, the issue revolves around whether GLSEN, GLAAD and other groups have a "right" to "ruin some kids' lives."
This is a Culture War issue that will be decided by the November 7 election. HUGE sums of money are being dumped into the pockets of groups like GLSEN to get Al Gore elected, who will nominate Supreme Court judges who would oust the Boy Scouts from our public schools and the time is short. Congressmen who supports the Boy Scouts' morally straight stance, such as James Rogan, Republican of California, are being targeted by wealthy homosexuals for defeat on November 7.
To take action on this issue, go to Save Our Scouts Petition, sign the petition and, if possible, help build the war chest that will be used to combat the effort to destroy the Scouts.
To comment: mmostert@originalsources.com
To Subscribe to the Reagan Monitor, the newsletter that gives you news FACTS you can USE to make your life, and the world, better go to:
Start Your Subscription