Elder Hafen: Homosexuality is not genetic, inability to change is a Satanic idea

Excerpts of Elder Bruce C. Hafen Speaks on Same-Sex Attraction, an address by Elder Bruce C. Hafen at the Evergreen International annual conference.

You are literally God's spirit child. Having same-gender attraction is NOT in your DNA, but being a child of God clearly IS in your spiritual DNA—only one generation removed from Him whom we call Father in Heaven.

So much individual variation exists with so many possible explanations that there is simply no scientific consensus about what causes homosexual tendencies. As the American Psychological Association has stated, "[N]o findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any factor or set of factors… [N]ature and nurture both play complex roles." [xvi] So, even though natural personality traits do influence one's inclinations, the idea that there is a "gay gene" has little scientific support. ...

A second misconception the activists promote is that therapy cannot treat, let alone change, same-gender attraction. This false assumption is linked to the first one: if you're born gay, there is no need to change; and since you have a permanent condition, you can't change anyway. ...

But as President Packer said, "The angels of the devil convince some that they are born to a life from which they cannot change and are compelled to live in sin. The most wicked of lies is that they cannot change and repent and that they will not be forgiven." [xxii] If you believe that no change is possible, you have only two options, neither of which is acceptable to a believing Latter-day Saint—you must either give in or give up. ...

The new culture of divorce began with no-fault divorce in California in the late 1960's. That concept essentially gave any married individual the right to just walk away from a marriage as a matter of personal freedom, regardless of fault or consequences. Both no-fault divorce and same-gender marriage allow personal adult rights to trump the best interests of society and children. The radical personal freedom theory on which the Massachusetts same-gender marriage case is based is actually the logical extension of the same individualistic legal concept that created no-fault divorce. Think about it. When the law upholds an individual's right to END a marriage, regardless of social consequences (as happened with no-fault divorce), that same legal principle can be used to justify the individual's right to START a marriage, regardless of social consequences (as happens with same-gender marriage).

Read the the entire article here.