Divine Revelation: The only pathway to change in the church

Presently, the official church policy concerning homosexuality is based off of debated scriptures in the Old and New Testaments and off of the words of the prophets that are based off of these scriptures. The current Church policy towards its homosexual members tells them to live a celibate life and if they are lucky enough to find an opposite sex partner that they are attracted to then marry them.

The Church teaches that there are two kinds of revelation, personal revelation and divine revelation that comes to the Prophet of the Church who is the only one able to receive revelation for the entire world, particularly the members. Throughout the history of the LDS Church, there have been a few times when policies of the temporal church have changed.

While I feel that I may have received revelation that is directing me to seek after and find a husband with whom I will adopt at least three kids, I have been told that this revelation stems from either my own mind or from Satan trying to tempt me to leave the Church. They state that the Spirit of truth will never tell me anything different from what the Church states.

This is very odd because the reason we have the Book of Mormon is because Nephi listened to the spirit, which told him to slay Laban. This command broke the law of the Church that stated “Thou Shall Not Kill” Without this crucial act of Nephi we would not have the Book of Mormon as it is today. There are often exceptions to the rules as outlined by the Lord in which the spirit of personal revelation trumps any Church authority.

There are also times when divine revelation has changed the Church policy and enacted a new aspect of the eternal gospel or taken one away. The most famous of these pertain to plural marriage and equality among the priesthood holders. Plural marriage was put into practice by divine command and in 1890, the Prophet Wilford Woodruff received divine revelation that the practice was to cease on the earth. Since then, the Church has changed its stance on polygamy and excommunicates any members found practicing it, however it is still believed to be an eternal doctrine that will be in practice for a few members in the life to come.

Another example of this divine revelation came in 1978 when the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball received the revelation that reverted the Church’s practice of reserving the priesthood only to white males and instead extended it to all worthy males. This change took place in an era of social upheaval much like today’s era of the gay rights movement.

The only way that the Church will change its policy concerning homosexuals is through divine revelation. This revelation is what I pray for every night so that not only I, but many others who are struggling and who all too often commit suicide can realize that they have a real purpose in being Gay and Mormon.

Stuart Matis, a Returned Missionary who took his life on the steps of his meetinghouse in California on 2000 because of the Church's involvement in Proposition 22. http://www.affirmation.org/suicides/stuart_matis.shtml