The media is making much of
President Packer's comments in conference about the human condition. Apparently, the line that is causing all the strife is, “Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Remember, God is our Heavenly Father.”
I would like to defend his statements in three ways. First, I urge those with differing views to consider the comments in their full context. Second, I urge those with differing views to recognize that in human history science does not reliably trump religion and vice-a-versa . Third, I urge all to follow and consider the logic following a premise that man cannot change.
Context
President Packer's statement quoted above was immediately followed by a citation to the writings of Paul indicating that God will not allow us to be tempted by something that we cannot overcome with the Lord's help. That is the key. It must be done with the Lord's help and President Packer is pleading with all children of God, whatever their sin may be, to let the Lord help.
Many who oppose the church's position on this matter have cited a
recent publication by the American Psychology Association stating that therapists should not try to help patients change their same sex attraction. Their basis for the recommendation is twofold: a lack of evidence that change is possible and that efforts to change may result in greater depression and/or suicidal tendencies in patients.
I submit that the reason for this is simple: the efforts of most therapists fail to involve seeking and obtaining the Lord's help. In explaining this, I need to ask the reader to accept the premise in the following scripture as authoritative--don't worry, I'll go the other way in a minute. In the Book of Mormon, Alma is counseling his son, Shiblon, before he leaves the earth. Alma testifies of the power of Jesus Christ to save, rescue, and redeem all men from any temptation or sin. He then explains, "And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that
there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved,
only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness" (Alma 38:9).
Consider all of the alcoholics, pornography, drug, and food addicts who have tried to rescue themselves from their behaviors and failed. Most of them became depressed, had suicidal thoughts, and many of them even succeeded in taking their own lives. Most individuals who have recovered from such powerful addictions were able to do so only after seeking the help of a Higher Power in working through the 12 Steps of Recovery (see www.aa.org or www.sa.org). They had to recognize and call on God. That does not mean it was easy, but it did make what was previously impossible, possible.
Dr. Donald L. Hilton is a neurosurgeon who has studied the effect of addiction on the physiology of the brain extensively. He has indicated that due to the increased understanding of the physiological mechanisms of addictions, some hope for a pharmacological solution to addiction at some point. However, said solution has eluded today's best medical minds. I submit to you that the reason for that is that it can only be done through Jesus Christ; there is no other way. President Packer is saying the same thing.
Science vs. Religion
Appealing to arguments that science should trump religious belief has been problematic for generations. On one hand, you have situations like Galileo who was persecuted by the Catholic church because of his statements that the sun, rather than the earth, was the center of the universe. Of course, we have learned today that although Galileo was not entirely correct, his scientific position was more correct than the religious position of the church.
On the other hand, science advocated the position for thousands of years that the earth was flat. While I am not aware of any religious group advocating the opposite during the time, this remains a good example that science, as any good scientist knows, is simply making educated guesses to explain what they can observe and test and that these guesses may or may not represent things as they really are.
In saying this, I impute good will to the scientists. I believe that those who seek to explain the world around us are really doing the best they can and that the vast majority have no ill will toward their fellow man. However, like the scientists who believed the world was flat and were wrong despite their good will and effort, scientists today who believe that a person who experiences same-sex attraction orientation is "pre-set" or otherwise unchangeable may be wrong despite their good will and effort. President Packer is saying that they are indeed wrong and he is as entitled to that opinion as the scientists are theirs.
Follow the Logic
Okay...above, I promised I would go the other way. Here goes...let us accept the assertion that a person's same-sex attraction cannot be changed. Where does this take us in the application of logic? It can lead off in a number of different directions, but they all end up in the same place: destruction of any concept of God.
If, in fact, a person's same-sex attraction is "pre-set" differently for some than for others, then God must have created them that way. If he created them that way, why did He give commandments that same-gender sexual activities are sinful? In doing so, He violated his own commandment and thereby ceases to be God.
Another scenario...if same-sex attraction cannot be changed, then no character trait can be truly changed. In this circumstance, undesirable character traits like dishonesty, pedophilia, kleptomania, alcoholism, etc. can only be masked, but never truly changed. If we humans cannot change, then we cannot get any better or worse than we are right now. If we cannot get better, then all of humanity's efforts to learn and progress are in vain and in the end, it does not matter anyway.
In this condition, it does not matter what/who we understand God to be because we cannot hope to do His will. All religions ask their adherents to make adjustments to their lives and change themselves to align with their beliefs. I suppose that it's possible that some deity exists who is still not understood by any of the world's religions and really did not mean for any of us to be able to change. However, if that is the case, it still does not change the end result: if we cannot change then there is no meaning or purpose to this life. If we are truly "stuck" with the hand we are dealt and cannot rise above apparent obstacles, then nothing really matters and this life is a waste.
Finally, if I am truly presenting logical arguments, I am obligated to point out the absurdity of the assertion that one cannot change a same-sex attraction. Human experience is full of examples of people who claim a certain thing is impossible getting interrupted by someone else doing that very thing. We also see examples of it every day. People overcome sexual addictions, pornography addictions, depression, alcoholism, and other "brain" disorders all the time. To say that same-sex attraction is impossible just because we have not seen a lot of it does not prove the point any more than the fact that I have never seen Washington DC means it does not exist. Rather, it represents a lack of effort, application of incorrect/ineffective principles, or both.
Conclusion
If God does not really care how His children choose to exercise their sexual powers (contrary to the belief of the vast majority of religions in the world) and/or if humans are unable to make the necessary changes to conform to such a standard, then this world has no value and it truly does not matter what we do.
However, if God would like His children to exercise their sexual powers only within a heterosexual marriage (which President Packer and I submit that he does), then anyone tempted to use their sexual powers in any other way can overcome those temptations and be healed fully by the Lord, Jesus Christ. Like many healing procedures, the process may not always be pleasant. In fact, the person being healed my not be prepared to tolerate the healing at a given point and some may even give up. None of this changes the fact that Jesus Christ offers the healing to any who will seek Him to obtain it.
