Gospel Principles Regarding SSA

Here are quotations from the Scriptures, from the leaders of the Church, and from other knowledgeable people who have profound understanding of the Gospel principles that can help those of us who want to deal with homosexuality and other human conditions in a righteous and loving manner.

I encourage you to search these statements for the answers the Lord is giving you for your own life.

O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?
And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul?
Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, o my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
---2 Nephi 4:26-28

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
---Mosiah 4:9

Steven Cramer (Gerald Curtis), in his book, Draw Near Unto Me, testifies that "Christ is less concerned with the mistakes we make than He is with having things made right with Him." Indeed,

God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
---John 3:17

Most of the quotations in this document have not yet been ordered under categories, but until they are, there is plenty of instructional and inspirational material in the following statements. I would encourage each and every person who desires to be a disciple of Christ and to find ultimate happiness to study and ponder the Scriptures and the other books that are quoted here.
(Note that the Spanish texts included here will be replaced with English texts over time, and a separate Spanish-language version of this document will be prepared.)

In the Gospel, in a sense, there are two fundamental breakdowns... There is what we refer to as "the doctrine of Christ," and then there is what we refer to as the moral and ethical principles.
Now, it is in "the doctrine of Christ" that the power comes. And because of the power that can flow in a personal relationship with the Lord, giving our lives to Him, serving Him with all of our hearts -- through that power, through the heavenly element of the Holy Ghost, we will acquire a celestial dimension of moral and ethical character.
But somewhere along the line, we come into the Church and we get a testimony, but we get "caught up" in a kind of humanistic approach to solving our personal problems, to changing our behavior. If we get caught up in the approach of hacking away on the moral and ethical principles, we can never -- worlds without end -- go above and beyond a terrestrial dimension of character in our lives.
But if we accept the Lord and we're filled with His Spirit and we know that He is the source of the power we need to solve all of our problems, then the natural accruement to us will be to acquire a kind of honesty, a kind of patience, a kind of love, a kind of integrity that is of a celestial nature.
Some of the time, I am troubled in my heart when I see men and women who approach the Gospel almost as thought it is simply a moral and an ethical system. It is all of that, but is much, much more...for finally, it is only He who can change human nature.
Oh, it is true, we can change human behavior, but changing human behavior is a lot different than changing human nature. And only the blood of Christ can place you and [me] in a position to have our nature changed.
George W. Pace, in "Developing a Personal Relationship with the Savior" (cassette recording), American Fork, Utah: Covenant Recordings, Inc., 1979.

Here are scriptural references to the term "doctrine of Christ":
Hebrews 6:1
2 John 1:9
2 Nephi 31:2, 21
2 Nephi 32:6
Jacob 7:2, 6
3 Nephi 2:2

We, the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children...
We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife...
The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity...
We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.
Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust, the First Presidency, in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." 1995: Salt Lake City. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
http://www.lds.org/library/pro_of_the_fam/pro_of_the_fam.html

“Why does the Church become involved in issues that come before the legislature and the electorate?”
I hasten to add that we deal only with those legislative matters which are of a strictly moral nature or which directly affect the welfare of the Church. We have opposed gambling and liquor and will continue to do so. We regard it as not only our right but our duty to oppose those forces which we feel undermine the moral fiber of society...
Some portray legalization of so-called same-sex marriage as a civil right. This is not a matter of civil rights; it is a matter of morality. Others question our constitutional right as a church to raise our voice on an issue that is of critical importance to the future of the family. We believe that defending this sacred institution by working to preserve traditional marriage lies clearly within our religious and constitutional prerogatives. Indeed, we are compelled by our doctrine to speak out.
Nevertheless, and I emphasize this, I wish to say that our opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group. As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church. It is expected, however, that they follow the same God-given rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, whether single or married.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Why We Do Some of the Things We Do,” Ensign, November 1999.

We want to help [people with same-sex attractions], to strengthen them, to assist them with their problems and to help them with their difficulties. But we cannot stand idle if they indulge in immoral activity, if they try to uphold and defend and live in a so-called same-sex marriage situation. To permit such would be to make light of the very serious and sacred foundation of God-sanctioned marriage and its very purpose, the rearing of families.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, "What Are People Asking about Us?," Ensign, November 1998.

Sexual relations are proper only between husband and wife appropriately expressed within the bonds of marriage. Any other sexual contact, including fornication, adultery, and homosexual and lesbian behavior, is sinful. Those who persist in such practices or who influence others to do so are subject to Church discipline…
There is a distinction between immoral thoughts and feelings and participating in either immoral heterosexual or any homosexual behavior. However, such thoughts and feelings, regardless of their causes, can and should be overcome and sinful behavior should be eliminated…
Individuals and their families desiring help with these matters should seek counsel from their bishop, branch president, stake or district president. We encourage Church leaders and members to reach out with love and understanding to those struggling with these issues. Many will respond to Christ-like love and inspired counsel as they receive an invitation to come back and apply the atoning and healing power of the Savior
Ezra Taft Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Thomas S. Monson in a First Presidency statement concerning the importance of the law of chastity in a letter dated 14 November 1991.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:4-6)

And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things, who shall come down among the children of men.
And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come
(Mosiah 4:2-3)

Physical intimacy between husband and wife is beautiful and sacred. It is ordained of God for the creation of children and for the expression of love between husband and wife. God has commanded that sexual intimacy be reserved for marriage.
When you obey God’s commandment to be sexually pure, you prepare yourself to make and keep sacred covenants in the temple. You prepare yourself to build a strong marriage and to bring children into the world as part of a loving family. You protect yourself from the emotional damage that always comes from sharing physical intimacies with someone outside of marriage.
Homosexual activity is a serious sin. If you find yourself struggling with same-gender attraction, seek counsel from your parents and bishop. They will help you.
If you have committed sexual transgressions, begin the process of repentance now so you can find inner peace and have the full companionship of the Spirit. Seek the Lord’s forgiveness. Talk with your bishop. He will help you obtain the forgiveness available to those who truly repent.
"For the Strength of Youth" (2001 edition)

Whether directed toward those of the same or opposite gender, lustful feelings and desires may lead to more serious sins. All Latter-day Saints must learn to control and discipline themselves.
"For the Strength of Youth" (pre-2001 edition)

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness...
[including] without natural affection...
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them...
We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
(Romans 1:26-2:2)

As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law...
(Romans 2:12)

Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
(Galatians 5:16-24)

1. God created us “male and female” (D&C 20:18; Moses 2:27; Gen. 1:27). What we call gender was an essential characteristic of our existence prior to our birth.
2. The purpose of mortal life and the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to prepare the sons and daughters of God for their destiny—to become like our Heavenly Parents.
3. Our eternal destiny—exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom—is made possible only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ (through which we became and can remain “innocent before God” [D&C 93:38]) and is only available to a man and a woman who have entered into and been faithful to the covenants of an eternal marriage in a temple of God (see D&C 131:1-4; D&C 132).
4. Through the merciful plan of our Father in Heaven, persons who desire to do what is right but through no fault of their own are unable to have an eternal marriage in mortal life will have an opportunity to qualify for eternal life in a period following mortality, if they keep the commandments of God and are true to their baptismal and other covenants.
5. In addition to the cleansing effect of the Atonement, God has given us agency—the power to choose between good (the path of life) and evil (the path of spiritual death and destruction [see 2 Ne. 2:27; Moses 4:3]). Although the conditions of mortality can limit our freedom (such as by restricting our mobility or our power to act on certain options), when we have reached the age or condition of accountability (see Moro. 8:5-12; D&C 68:27; D&C 101:78) no mortal or spiritual power can deprive us of our agency
6. To accomplish one of the purposes of mortal life, it is essential that we be tested against opposition to see if we will keep the commandments of God (see 2 Ne. 2:11; Abr. 3:25-26). To provide that opposition, Satan and his followers are permitted to tempt us to use our agency and our freedom to choose evil and to commit sin.
7. Because Satan desires that “all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Ne. 2:27), his most strenuous efforts are directed at encouraging those choices and actions that will thwart God’s plan for his children. He seeks to undermine the principle of individual accountability, to persuade us to misuse our sacred powers of procreation, to discourage marriage and childbearing by worthy men and women, and to confuse what it means to be male or female.
8. In all of this, the devil, who has no body, seeks to persuade mortals to corrupt their bodies by “choos[ing] eternal death, according to the will of the flesh…, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring [them] down to hell, that he may reign over [them] in his own kingdom” (2 Ne. 2:29).
9. The First Presidency has declared that “there is a distinction between [1] immoral thoughts and feelings and [2] participating in either immoral heterosexual or any homosexual behavior.” Although immoral thoughts are less serious than immoral behavior, such thoughts also need to be resisted and repented of because we know that “our thoughts will also condemn us” (Alma 14:12). Immoral thoughts (and the less serious feelings that lead to them) can bring about behavior that is sinful.
10. Because of God’s great love for his children, even the worst sinners (or almost all of them) will ultimately be rewarded with assignment to a kingdom of glory. Persons who have lived good lives and received most of the ordinances of salvation but have failed to qualify for exaltation through eternal marriage will be saved in a lesser place in the celestial kingdom where there is no eternal increase (see D&C 131:1-4).
11. In the midst of the challenges and choices of mortal life, we are all under the Savior’s commandment to “love one another” (John 15:12, 17). As the First Presidency said in a recent message:
“We are asked to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We are asked to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We are asked to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. We are called upon to be true disciples of Christ, to love one another with genuine compassion, for that is the way Christ loved us.”
Kindness, compassion, and love are powerful instruments in strengthening us to carry heavy burdens imposed without any fault of our own and to do what we know to be right.
we should distinguish between (1) homosexual (or lesbian) “thoughts and feelings” (which should be resisted and redirected), and (2) “homosexual behavior” (which is a serious sin).
Feelings are another matter. Some kinds of feelings seem to be inborn. Others are traceable to mortal experiences. Still other feelings seem to be acquired from a complex interaction of “nature and nurture.” All of us have some feelings we did not choose, but the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that we still have the power to resist and reform our feelings (as needed) and to assure that they do not lead us to entertain inappropriate thoughts or to engage in sinful behavior.
Just as some people have different feelings than others, some people seem to be unusually susceptible to particular actions, reactions, or addictions. Perhaps such susceptibilities are inborn or acquired without personal choice or fault, like the unnamed ailment the Apostle Paul called “a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure” (2 Cor. 12:7). One person may have feelings that draw him toward gambling, but unlike those who only dabble, he becomes a compulsive gambler. Another person may have a taste for tobacco and a susceptibility to its addiction. Still another may have an unusual attraction to alcohol and the vulnerability to be readily propelled into alcoholism. Other examples may include a hot temper, a contentious manner, a covetous attitude, and so on.
In each case (and in other examples that could be given) the feelings or other characteristics that increase susceptibility to certain behavior may have some relationship to inheritance. But the relationship is probably very complex. The inherited element may be nothing more than an increased likelihood that an individual will acquire certain feelings if he or she encounters particular influences during the developmental years. But regardless of our different susceptibilities or vulnerabilities, which represent only variations on our mortal freedom (in mortality we are only “free according to the flesh” [2 Ne. 2:27]), we remain responsible for the exercise of our agency in the thoughts we entertain and the behavior we choose. I discussed this contrast in a talk I gave at Brigham Young University several years ago:
“Most of us are born with [or develop] thorns in the flesh, some more visible, some more serious than others. We all seem to have susceptibilities to one disorder or another, but whatever our susceptibilities, we have the will and the power to control our thoughts and our actions. This must be so. God has said that he holds us accountable for what we do and what we think, so our thoughts and actions must be controllable by our agency. Once we have reached the age or condition of accountability, the claim ‘I was born that way’ does not excuse actions or thoughts that fail to conform to the commandments of God. We need to learn how to live so that a weakness that is mortal will not prevent us from achieving the goal that is eternal.
“God has promised that he will consecrate our afflictions for our gain (see 2 Ne. 2:2). The efforts we expend in overcoming any inherited [or developed] weakness build a spiritual strength that will serve us throughout eternity. Thus, when Paul prayed thrice that his ‘thorn in the flesh’ would depart from him, the Lord replied, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Obedient, Paul concluded:
“ ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
“ ‘Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong’ (2 Cor. 12:9-10).
“Whatever our susceptibilities or tendencies [feelings], they cannot subject us to eternal consequences unless we exercise our free agency to do or think the things forbidden by the commandments of God. For example, a susceptibility to alcoholism impairs its victim’s freedom to partake without addiction, but his free agency allows him to abstain and thus escape the physical debilitation of alcohol and the spiritual deterioration of addiction.
“… Beware the argument that because a person has strong drives toward a particular act, he has no power of choice and therefore no responsibility for his actions. This contention runs counter to the most fundamental premises of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Dallin H. Oaks in “Same-Gender Attraction,” Ensign, October 1995.

Our concern for the bitter fruit of sin is coupled with Christ-like sympathy for its victims, innocent or culpable. We advocate the example of the Lord, who condemned the sin, yet loved the sinner. We should reach out with kindness and comfort to the afflicted, ministering to their needs and assisting them with their problems.”
Gordon B. Hinckley in “Reverence and Morality,” Ensign, May 1987, p. 47.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
(Matthew 5:27-28)

He that has committed adultery and repents with all his heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive...
(D&C 42:25)

Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.
And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night–time.
And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.
And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.
O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?
And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?
Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.
Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?
May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!
O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.
O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.
(2 Nephi 4:16-35)

It is important to note that there are legitimate and morally acceptable forms of love other than marriage. There is a long-honored tradition—and rightly so—of sexually chaste but deeply rewarding friendships between and among men and women. Nothing I have said should be interpreted as a call to depart from that tradition. The choice before men and women today, as always, is not limited to heterosexual marriage on the one hand or homogenital sex on the other. There is still an honored place for plain, common friendship.
The question invariably arises as to whether persons with same-gender attraction can ever change. While some assert—not on acceptable evidence—that same-gender attraction is immutable and unchangeable, there is good evidence that some individuals have indeed changed to a normal heterosexual lifestyle and thought pattern. Others, however, despite valiant and prayerful effort, continue to struggle with the challenge of same-gender attraction. Their burdens are heavy, and their tears many. As I counseled my young friend in Nigeria, they can, however, struggle on in faith, keeping the commandments of God, with the assurance He will strengthen and sustain them. It is not easy, but perhaps it is not intended to be so. Few of life's real challenges are easy to deal with.
The Church's teachings about the inherent dignity and worth of all persons make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be protected and defended. All of those who strive to follow Jesus must decry any forms of injustice, oppression or violence directed against homosexuals. We must all go further, reaching out to those who struggle with same-gender challenges, to help and succor them with compassion, respect and love.
Alexander B. Morrison in “Some Gospel Perspectives on Same-Gender Attraction.” Presented at the 10th Annual Conference of Evergreen International, Inc. on September 16, 2000.

Since perversion can have such an effect on the physical and on the emotional, it has been thought to be centered there. But where do we turn when the physical and the emotional treatments are only partly successful? To Latter-day Saints the answer ought to be obvious. We turn to the spiritual nature. The world may not regard that as important, but we do. When this is regarded as a moral matter and as a spiritual matter, there are answers not otherwise available.
If I could announce to you some dramatic, even bizarre, cure for this condition, I am sure many would move without hesitation to accept it, but when we talk of little things, most, I fear, will receive it just as Naaman first received the message from the prophet Elisha. (See 2 Kings 5:1-14.)
Boyd K. Packer, “To the One.” Address given at Brigham Young University 12-Stake Fireside on March 5, 1978.

For those just beginning in the practice of homosexuality or those deeply entrenched, there is hope. The Lord has promised:
Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest. (Alma 12:34)
Now let us assure you that you are not permanently trapped in this unholy practice if you will exert your-self. Though it is like an octopus with numerous tentacles to drag you to your tragedy, the sin is curable and you may totally recover from its tentacles. One of Satan's strongest weapons is to make the victim believe the practice incurable regardless of one's effort. Lucifer is the “father of all lies.”
Satan tells his victims that it is a natural way of life; that it is normal: that perverts are a different kind of people born ‘that way’ and that they cannot change. This is a base lie. All normal people have sex urges and if they control such urges, they grow strong and masterful. If they yield to their carnal desires and urges, they get weaker until their sins get beyond control.
You are brilliant. Use your brains to think and ponder and explore but never presume ‘to counsel your God’ and don't presume to call black white just because you think it so. Do not presume to change vital, basic eternal truths. The truth is truth regardless of all accumulated opinions arrayed against it.. Sin is sin, the devil to the contrary. Rationalizations cannot change it. Life is eternal. God is at the helm. Be sure you are always found on the Lord's side.
Society as it degenerates might skid down the hill toward acceptance of the sin, but the Lord and his true Church will never condone these sexual sins.
Spencer W. Kimball. "A Letter to a Friend." Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. First published in 1971 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Revised edition 1978.

For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
(D&C 1:31-33)

“Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”
(1 Corinthians 11: 11)

I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup...
(D&C 19:15-18)

“O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness.... Arid they shall perish”
(2 Nephi 9:28)

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination
(Leviticus 20:13)

Vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly
(Romans 1:26-27)

Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness.
(Romans 1:28-29)

They allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.
(2 Peter 2:18-19)

Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!
(2 Nephi 15:20-21)

I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
(1 Nephi 3:7)

O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous.
(2 Nephi 9:40-41)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:28-30)

Sin in sex practices tends to have a “snowballing” effect. As the restraints fall away, Satan incites the carnal man to ever-deepening degeneracy in his search for excitement until in many instances he is lost to any former considerations of decency.
Spencer W. Kimball in The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, pp. 77-86.

Blessed is the man that endureth [i.e., resisteth] temptation: for then he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted. I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
(Jas. 1:12-16)

Masturbation, a rather common indiscretion, is not approved of the Lord nor of his church, regardless of what may be said by others whose “norms” are lower. Latter-day Saints are urged to avoid this practice.
Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sin of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad good, and black white.
Spencer W. Kimball in "President Kimball Speaks Out" (1981), 10-13.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
(2 Timothy 4:3-4. See also Moses 5:50-55.)

“Be wise in the days of your probation,” said Mormon; “strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.”
(Mormon 9:28.)

A homosexual can change himself. I firmly believe that no one can cure a deeply entrenched pervert except himself. The Lord will help, his servants will help, and kind friends will help, but the major effort must come from the individual who has the weakness.
The first thing after one has mentally repented and is determined to restore himself is to abandon every person, thing, place, or situation which could return him to his problem. ...
In the great majority of the cases brought to our attention, prayer has been neglected or abandoned. The person has either ceased to pray or has permitted his prayers to stray from actual communication down to a wordy repeating of familiar phrases. He has generally hesitated to fervently ask for forgiveness when he perhaps intends to return to his perfidy or has not fully made up his mind that he has terminated it. One then should return to his Lord, remembering that the Lord is always there, anxious to enter the life of his sons and daughters on the earth. ...
He should develop new associations of honorable, strong, spiritual people who will lift him rather than downgrade him. The Lord has given us the Church, and while the people therein are not perfect, the spiritual average and the moral average certainly is much higher...
Your faith can be increased, your testimony developed, and your power to overcome greatly increased by the reading of the scriptures. Organize a program and set apart a time every day to read the scriptures along with your prayers.
The continued contact seems to be helpful. To have the man return to report success in his efforts or even partial failure is helpful, and to these continuing visits credit may be given for recoveries. Many find that since they will be making reports, an additional strength comes from that realization and they control themselves and their thoughts a day at a time, a week at a time, and soon the months have passed and thoughts are controlled and actions are above reproach.
Spencer W. Kimball in The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball (1982), pp. 274-78.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
(2 Nephi 2:27)

Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
(Moses 4:4)

Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence…
(Moses 6:57)

My beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.
Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?
For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?
Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?
Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?
And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment.
O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life.
O be wise; what can I say more?
(Jacob 6:5-12)

Much confusion can be avoided if we heed the words of the Lord's prophet. President Gordon B. Hinckley has provided a solid foundation in addressing this difficult issue. He has stated: "Prophets of God have repeatedly taught through the ages that practices of homosexual relations, fornication, and adultery are grievous sins. Sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage are forbidden by the Lord. We affirm those teachings."
Gordon B. Hinckley in Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (1997), p. 8.

In a conference address, President Hinckley provided further counsel on what our attitude should be toward those who experience homosexual attraction: "We love them as sons and daughters of God.... We want to help these people, to strengthen them, to assist them with their problems and to help them with their difficulties. But we cannot stand idle if they indulge in immoral activity, if they try to uphold and defend and live in a so-called same-sex marriage situation. To permit such would be to make light of the very serious and sacred foundation of God-sanctioned marriage and its very purpose, the rearing of families."
Gordon B. Hinckley in "What Are People Asking about Us?" Ensign, Nov. 1998, p. 71.

President Hinckley wisely counseled, "Marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step to solve problems such as homosexual inclinations or practices, which first should clearly be overcome with a firm and fixed determination never to slip to such practices again."7
Gordon B. Hinckley in "Reverence and Morality," Ensign, May 1987, p. 47.

When homosexual difficulties have been fully resolved, heterosexual feelings can emerge, which may lead to happy, eternal marriage relationships.
"Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems: Suggestions for Ecclesiastical Leaders" (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1992), p. 6.

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offers an inspired view of the Lord's love and mercy: "I cannot comprehend his power, his majesty, his perfections. But I do understand something of his love, his compassion, his mercy. There is no burden he cannot lift. There is no heart he cannot purify and fill with joy. There is no life he cannot cleanse and restore when one is obedient to his teachings."
Richard G. Scott in "True Friends That Lift," Ensign, Nov. 1988, p. 77.

There is no struggle for which the Atonement of Jesus Christ is not sufficient. Many individuals who have experienced homosexual difficulties have felt the blessings of the Atonement in their lives, and their burdens have been lifted through the Lord's grace.
A. Dean Byrd in "When a Loved One Struggles with Same-Sex Attraction," in the September 1999 Ensign.
http://oocities.com/LDS_SSA/sept99.htm

And I will...ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
(Mosiah 24:14)

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
(Matt. 5:44)

Every generation in every dispensation of the world has had its own multitudes crowding around that cross, laughing and jeering, breaking commandments and abusing covenants. It isn’t just a relative handful in the meridian of time who are guilty. It is most of the people, most of the places, most of the time, including all of us who should have known better. In offering the symbolic but much more modest sacrifice of our own dispensation—that which reflects our broken heart and contrite spirit (see D&C 59:8), we promise to “always remember him and keep his commandments; … that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us].” (D&C 20:77)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in “I Stand All Amazed” in the August 1986 Ensign.
http://www.evergreen-intl.org/filecabinet/htmlfiles/Amazed.html

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
(Gal. 6:2)

“Return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you.”
“Turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, [and] if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.”
Love comes by learning how to give it to another in a spirit of trust. If you feel deprived of love, that is difficult. Yet sustained concern and support of others will engender their interest and love. You will feel needed. You become an instrument through which the Lord can bless another. The Spirit will let you feel the Savior’s concern and interest, then the warmth and strength of His love. President Kimball said: “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other.”
Richard G. Scott in “I Stand All Amazed” in the May 1994 Ensign.
http://www3.ivenue.com/evergreeninternational/filecabinet/htmlfiles/scott2.html

Every incorrect choice we make, every sin we commit is a violation of eternal law. That violation brings negative results we generally soon recognize. There are also other consequences of our acts of which we may not be conscious. They are nonetheless real. They can have a tremendous effect on the quality of our life here and most certainly will powerfully affect it hereafter. We can do nothing of ourselves to satisfy the demands of justice for a broken eternal law. Yet, unless the demands of justice are paid, each of us will suffer endless negative consequences. Only the life, teachings, and particularly the atonement of Jesus Christ can release us from this otherwise impossible predicament. Each of us has made mistakes, large or small, which if unresolved will keep us from the presence of God. For this reason, the atonement of Jesus Christ is the single most significant event that ever has or ever will occur.
In The Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball gives a superb guide to forgiveness through repentance. It has helped many find their way back. He identifies five essential elements of repentance.
Sorrow for sin. Study and ponder to determine how serious the Lord defines your transgression to be. That will bring healing sorrow and remorse. It will also bring a sincere desire for change and a willingness to submit to every requirement for forgiveness. Alma taught, “Justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.”
Abandonment of sin. This is an unyielding, permanent resolve to not repeat the transgression. By keeping this commitment, the bitter aftertaste of that sin need not be experienced again. Remember: “But unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return.” Joseph Smith declared: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not … pleasing in the sight of God.”
Confession of sin. You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done. Remember, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Restitution for sin. You must restore as far as possible all that which is stolen, damaged, or defiled. Willing restitution is concrete evidence to the Lord that you are committed to do all you can to repent.
Obedience to all the commandments. Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into your life with strength to focus on the abandonment of specific sins. It includes things you might not initially consider part of repentance, such as attending meetings, paying tithing, giving service, and forgiving others. The Lord said: “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.”
I would add a sixth step: Recognition of the Savior. Of all the necessary steps to repentance, I testify that the most critically important is for you to have a conviction that forgiveness comes because of the Redeemer. It is essential to know that only on His terms can you be forgiven. Witness Alma’s declaration: “I was … in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But…I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.” 14 You will be helped as you exercise faith in Jesus Christ. That means you trust Him and you trust His teachings.
For your peace now and for everlasting happiness, please repent. Open your heart to the Lord and ask Him to help you. You will earn the blessing of forgiveness, peace, and the knowledge you have been purified and made whole. Find the courage to ask the Lord for strength to repent, now. I solemnly witness that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. I know that He lives. I testify that He loves you personally and will help you.
Richard G. Scott in "Finding Forgiveness" in the May 1995 Ensign.
http://www3.ivenue.com/evergreeninternational/filecabinet/htmlfiles/forgive2.html

I wish I could replace your doubt with my certainty, but I can’t give it to you. I can provide an invitation: Please, decide now to repent and change your life. I promise you, in the name of the Lord, that He will help you. He will be there in every time of need. He gave His life so that you can change your life. I promise you, that you’ll feel His love, strength, and support. Trust Him completely. He is not going to make any mistakes. He knows what He is doing. Please, decide now to change your life. Be obedient to His teachings, and He will bless you. I promise you He will bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Richard G. Scott in "Finding the Way Back" in the May 1990 Ensign.
http://www3.ivenue.com/evergreeninternational/filecabinet/htmlfiles/wayback2.html

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
(Matt. 7:7-8)

Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
(D&C 9:7-8)

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
(1 John 3:22)

Instead of enjoying the countless edifying experiences, precious wholesome relationships, and the wondrous beauties of the earth the Lord has given for our happiness, do you pursue excitement beyond the bounds He has set? Do you seek transitory stimulation, even recognizing that it is always followed by powerful negative feelings? Do tantalizing emotions stimulate your appetite, creating an insatiable thirst for more?
Even though you publicly defend strongly your actions, privately in moments of sober contemplation you may have recognized that you are in trouble. While outwardly you may blame others for your problems, inside you may have already discovered that indulgence in violation of trust and denial of truth leads to ever-diminishing options. One backs himself ever farther into a corner. Finally there seems to be no way out, and a sense of hopelessness sets in. You may be tired of others trying to run your life—always telling you what to do. After all, you have the right to make your own choices. That is correct. You have that right. It is your agency.
The secret to solve problems in your life will be found in understanding and using the eternally beneficial interaction of your agency and His truth. The Master said: “He that keepeth [the] commandments receiveth truth and light… When others give you advice, have you ever said, “I just don’t believe the way you do. Those are your standards and your principles. I have my own”? Please understand that no one can change truth. Rationalization, overpowering self-interest, all of the arguments of men, anger, or self-will cannot change truth. Satan knows that, so he tries to create an atmosphere where one unwittingly begins to feel that he can not only choose what to do, but can determine what is right to do. You can fool others who want to believe you, but you cannot deceive the Lord. Because of His justice, He will one day have to confront you with the consequences of your unrepented acts. No one wants that to happen. Some transgressions are so powerful that it is unlikely that you will begin to overcome them without another’s help. Seek that help. In time, with the strength that comes from continued use of agency to live truth, you will be healed through the Savior. Please find someone you trust who is trustworthy, who understands agency and truth. You can begin anywhere—with a friend, a loved one, a competent professional, or a solid member. As you gain confidence, see your bishop. He has priesthood keys that will help you. Begin now and don’t stop until you understand and obey the teachings of the Savior and receive His healing power in your life.
May the Lord soften your heart that you may know the things we have discussed are true. May he give you the courage and strength to begin to be healed now. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Richard G. Scott in "Healing Your Damaged Life" in the November 1992 Ensign.
http://www.evergreen-intl.org/filecabinet/htmlfiles/heallife2.html

“Every man may act in doctrine and principle…according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable…in the day of judgment.”
(D&C 101:78)

La ley de conducta moral del Señor es la abstinencia de relaciones sexuales fuera del matrimonio y la fidelidad dentro del matrimonio. Las relaciones sexuales son apropiadas sólo dentro de los lazos del matrimonio entre marido y mujer siempre y cuando se expresen en forma apropiada. Cualquier otro comportamientieno sexual como la fornicación, el adulterio, o la conducta homosexual o lesbiana, es pecaminosa. Aquellos que persistan en tales prácticas o que sean una influencia en otras personas quedan sujetos a la acción disciplinaria de la Iglesia.
Existe una diferencia entre los pensamientos y sentimientos inmorales y la participación en comportamientos tanto heterosexuales como homosexuales. Sin embargo, tales pensamientos y sentimientos, sin importar las causas, pueden y deben superarse, y el comportamiento pecaminoso debe eliminarse. Esto se puede lograr por medio de la fe en Dios, el arrepentimiento sincero, y el esfuerzo continuo. Quizás se necesite la ayuda de otras personas. Felicitamos y alentamos a aquellos que hayan logrado superar los pensamientos y sentiminetos inapropiados. Rogamos a los que estén involucrados en esa clase de conducta que la desechen; les amamos y oramos por ellos. Confiamos en que por medio del arrepentimiento y la búsqueda de la ayuda necesaria, experimenten la paz que se recibe al vivir de acuerdo con las enseñanzas de Dios.
Recomendamos a los líderes de la Iglesia y a los miembros en general que se acerquen con amor y comprensión a esas personas que luchan con estos problemas. Muchos responderán al amor cristiano y al consejo inspirado al recibir la invitación a regresar y a aplicar el poder expiatorio y sanador del Salvador.
Las transgresiones homosexuales casi siempre van acompañadas de la pornografía y la masturbación, prácticas sexualmente anormales que se deben superar antes de que se puedan resolver los problemas homosexuales.
La pornografía es sumamente peligrosa y adictiva; incluye todas las formas de diversión que se consideran vulgares, inmorales, o pervertidas de cualquier manera.
Aunque hoy día muchas personas consideran la masturbación como algo normal, el Señor ha condenado esta práctica... La reincidencia en esta práctica intensifica los impulsos sexuales, lo cual dificulta el que la persona supere los problemas homosexuales.
El matrimonio no debe considerarse como un medio para resolver problemas homosexuales...
Hay esperanza para aquellos que desean dehacerse de los problemas homosexuales. Pese a que el proceso del arrepentimiento es por lo general largo y difícil, los miembros pueden superar esos problemas si se acercan al Señor, si siguen el consejo inspirado de Sus siervos y si toman la firme determinación de seguir un programa de rehabilitación. El arrepentimiento trae consigo bienestar, una conciencia tranquila, y gozo. El servicio en la Iglesia añade fortaleza y consuelo.
Cómo comprender y ayudar a los que padecen de problemas homosexuales: Sugerecias para líderes eclesiásticos, por la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días. 1992. Traducción de Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems. Publ. No. 32250 002.

Los dones de Dios son suficientes para ayudarnos a superar todos los pecados que cometamos y todas las debilidades que tengamos si tan sólo nos volvemos a El para que nos ayude.
Ezra Taft Benson en "Un poderoso cambio en el corazón." Liahona, marzo de 1990, pág. 7.

There hath 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.
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

I wanted to deny God, but I couldn't. Once you experience a relationship with God, rather than simply holding Him as part of a religious belief, you can never deny His existence.
Incorporate the Word of God in your daily life. Walk in His light, and you'll no longer walk lost in darkness. He'll guide you forever, if you let Him.
Jeff Konrad in You Don't Have to Be Gay: Hope and Freedom for Males Struggling with Homosexuality or for Those Who Know of Someone Who Is. 1987: Newport Beach, Calif., Pacific Publishing House.

One should not try to cure, or to ask God to cure, something for which cure is not necessary. God does not "cure" people of legitimate needs. Rather, the Christian faith indicates the proper, as distinct from inappropriate, means of fulfilling such needs. It is not merely ironic, but tragic, that people have attempted to "cure" what should rightly be fulfilled.
Elizabeth Moberly in Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic.

Los intereses homoemocionales y homosociales son sanos mientras no sean excesivos y no desarrollen una dimensión erótica. Cuando los intreses por personas del mismo género son erotizados, se convierten en intereses homosexuales.
Utilizo el término homosexual como un adjetivo para describir los sentimientos, pensamientos, o comportamientos de una persona, pero no como un sustantivo para representar a las personas. Los términos gay (refiriéndose a los hombres) y lesbiana (refiriéndose a las mujeres) incluyen no solamente sentimientos y comportamientos personales, sino que también describen una identidad política, cultural, y social.
Atracción sexual hacia otros hombres distorsiona las relaciones sanas y amorosas y lo alejan de las bendiciones que se pueden enconrar en el matrimonio y en las relaciones familiares...El comportamiento sexual es de preocupación especial, porque viola los mandamientos de Dios y detiene su progreso eterno.
Dios nos creó como varón y hembra. El desea que los hombres y las mujeres se unan uno al otro bajo el convenio del matrimonio para procrear y cumplir su destino eterno. En Su plan eterno, no hay clasificaciones de homosexaules, bisexuales, o heterosexuales. Todos estamos en esta tierra, pasando una experiencia humana con varios retos por vencer de manera que lleguemos a ser verdaderos hombres, mujeres, poseedores del sacerdocio, esposas, esposos, madres, y padres como Dios quiere que seamos.
Existe una diferencia entre (1) pensamiento y sentimientos inmorales y (2) el participar en comportamientos tanto heterosexuales como homosexuales. Los sentimientos que despertaron sus atracciones homosexuales emergieron sin que fuera culpa suya. Ya que no los eligió conscientemente, no debe sentirse culpable por ellos. Sin embargo, usted puede escoger de qué manera responderá a dicha atracción y no debe alimentar los sentimientos deliberadamente al fantasear con ellos y convertirlos en pensamientos lascivos...Usted es responsable de su albedrío en cuanto a los pensamientos que tenga...Los pensamientos inmorales (y los sentimientos de menor consecuencia que conducen a ellos) pueden resultar en un comportamiento pecaminoso.
A los líderes de la Iglesia a veces se les pregunta si hay un lugar en la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días para personas con predisposiciones o sentimientos homosexuales o lesbianos. Naturalmente que sí. El grado de dificultad y el procedimiento necesario para abstenerse de ese comportamiento y dominar los pensamientos será diferente paraq cada persona, pero el mensaje de esperanza y la mano de amistad que tiende la Iglesia son los mismos para todos los que se esfuercen por lograrlo.
Todos debemos comprender que las personas (y los parientes de ellas) que luchen con la carga de la atracción hacia personas del mismo sexo tienen la necesidad especial de recibir afecto y aliento, lo cual es claramente una responsabilidad de los miembros de la Iglesia, quienes han hecho el convenio de estar dispuestos a 'llevar las cargas los unos de los otros' y 'cumplir así la ley de Cristo.' (Véase Mosíah 18:8 y Gálatas 6:2.)
Yo testifico personalmente que es posible disminuir la atracción homosexual, eliminar el comportamiento homosexual, y llevar una vida feliz en armonía completo con el Evangelio. Lo sé porque yo lo he logrado.
En estos días se dicen infinidad de mentiras acerca de que la homosexualidad es saludable y un estilo de vida alternativo. Aún algunas personas en la Iglesia son engañadas por la forma en que Satanás tergiversa la verdad y comienzan a pensar que saben más que los líderes de la Iglesia...
La espiritualidad juega un papel principal en su habilidad para resolver sus problemas homosexuales. Frank Worthen, un pionero en grupos cristianos que ministran a personas que sufren atracción homosexual, explicó, "Nuestro rescate de la homosexualidad viene de una Persona en lugar de un método."
El primer principio del Evangelio es la fe en el Señor Jescristo (véase el 4to Artículo de Fe)... Si Jesucristo es poderoso para salvarlo, ¿lo puede cambiar? Con fe, Cristo puede sanarlo no solamente física, sino también mental y emocionalmente. Cristo tiene el poder no sólo para transformalo interiormente sino también para curar las heridas del pecado.
Los pasos del arrepentimiento:
+Reconocer sus pecados
+Sentir pesar por sus pecados
+Abandonar sus pecados
+Confesar sus pecados
+Hacer una restitución
+Perdonar a los demás
+Seguir guardando los mandamientos de Dios
Usted está librando una gran batalla en su interior. Una parte de usted quiere responder sexualmente al sentimiento homosexual dentro de usted, pero algo más adentro le recuerda los principios morales que siempre ha creído y lo devuelven al Evangelio. ¿Cuál obedece? Tal vez ambos pueden hacerlo sentir bien, pero se contraponen entre sí. Esta batalla es uno de los trucos más hábiles de Satanás . El desea que usted pierda toda esperanza, pues sabe que la incredulidad lo atrapará en la problemática homosexual....
Cuando esta batalla está en su apogeo, usted debe escuchar cuidadosamente para distinguir la influencia de Satanás de la Luz de Cristo. Aun cuando los susurros de Satanás pueden parecer algo naturales, lo alejarán del Evangelio, del la verdad, y de la paz.
El presidente David O. McKay dijo, "Ninguna persona puede resolver sinceramente que va a aplicar en su vida diaria las enseñanzas de Jesús de Nazaret sin experimentar un cambio interior. La frase 'nacer de nuevo' tiene un significado más produndo del que muchas personas le dan. Este cambio no puede describirse, pero es muy real." Para alcanzar la vida eterna, debe existir un renacimiento y una transformación. Alma enseñó que toda la humanidad debe "nacer otra vez; sí nacer de Dios, ser cambiados de su estado carnal y caído, a un estado de rectitud, siendo redimidos por Dios, convirtiéndose en sus hijos e hijas; y así llegan a ser nuevas criaturas..." (Mosíah 27:25-26).
Este es un proceso de renovación diaria para mantener nuestros corazones limpios, alineados, y dirigidos apropiadamente por el Espíritu.
En las Beatitudes leemos, "Y bienaventurados son todos los que padecen hambre y sed de rectitud, porque ellos serán llenos del Espíritu Santo" (3 Nefi 12:6). El élder H. Burke Peterson explicó, "La escritura no dice 'benditos son los rectos, pues ellos serán llenos del Espíritu.' Eso es obvio. Sino que la escritura dice que benditos son aquellos que quieren ser...rectos.
"La desobediencia es esecialmente una lucha orgullosa por el poder en contra de alguien que tiene autoridad sobre nosotros. Puede tratarse de los padres, de un líder del sacerdocio, de un maestro, y hasta de Dios." ("Cuidaos del orgullo," Ezra Taft Benson, Liahona, julio de 1989, pág. 6). El antídoto para el orgullo es la humildad, la mansedumbre, y la obediencia.
Jason Park in Cómo resolver los problemas homosexuales: Una guía para hombres Santos de los Ultimos Días. Salt Lake City: Century Publications, 2002.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
(Mosiah 3:19)

[The Saviour's] blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.
But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Mosiah 3:11-12)

He preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.
And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?
(Alma 5:13-16)

Debemos...recordar que el adversario se dedica a promover un astuto plan propio con el que invariablemente ataca el mandamiento de engendrar hijos que dio Dios al marido y a la mujer; además tienta con tácticas que encierran infidelidad, falta de castidad, y otros tipos de abusos del poder procreador. La banda de Satanás proclama a toda voz la libertad de elección, pero silencia la responsabilidad.
Russell M. Nelson en "La constancia en medio del cambio," Liahona, enero de 1994, pág. 40.

If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
(Ether 12:27)

Recordad que sois libres para obrar por vosotros mismos, para escoger la vía de la muerte interminable, o la vía de la vida eterna."
(2 Nephi 10:23)

Parece que todos somos susceptibles a un desorden o a otro, pero sin importar nuestras susceptibilidades, tenemos el poder de controlar nuestros pensamientos y nuestras acciones.... Debemos aprender a vivir de tal manera que una debilidad que es mortal no nos evite lograr la meta eterna.
Dallin H. Oaks in "Free Agency and Freedom," The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, documents of the Third Anuual Symposium on the Book of Mormon, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1989, p. 14.

El control mental debe ser más fuerte que los apetitos físicos o los deseos de la carne. Cuando los pensamientos se pongan en completa armonía con las verdades reveladas, nuestras acciones serán apropiadas.... Todos nosotros, con esfuerzo y disciplina, tenemos la capacidad de controlar nuestros pensamientos y nuestras acciones. Esto es parte del proceso del desrrollo de la madurez espiritual, física, y emocional.
Gordon B. Hinckley en "La reverencia y la moralidad," Liahona, julio de 1987, pág. 46.

Una plaga de pornografía se ha extendido por casi todos los paises del mundo con creciente ímpetu e impacto devastador.... Las tecnologías modernas, que pueden bendecir nuestras vidas de tantas maneras, también se están utilizando para difundir la corrupción pornográfica.... [Ellas] llevan ahora a los hogares...escenas de inmoralidad y corrupción que contaminan a aquellos que las miran...
La pornografía no es crímen sin víctimas.... Lo que puede comenzar como una exploración curiosa puede convertirse en un hábito que domina. Los estudios muestran que aquellos que se dejan atraer hacia la pornografía pronto empiezan a anhelar cosas más obscenas aún. Si uno se somete continuamente, el espíritu pierde su sensibilidad y puede corroer la conciencia de personas descuidadas. La víctima se convierte en esclavo de pensamientos y hechos carnales. Así como el pensamiento engendra o dirige la acción, la exposición a la pornografía puede llevarnos a actuar de acuerdo con lo que se vaya formando en la mente.
David B. Haight en "Moralidad personal," Liahona, octubre de 1984, pág. 57.

God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it
(Genesis 1:27-28)

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
(John 7:17)

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.
(Romans 15:1)

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
There hath 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.
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
(1 Corinthians 10:12-14)

Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
(1 Corinthians 11:11)

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
(2 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:5-10)

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
(James 1:12-15)

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
(1 Nephi 3:7)

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil...
(2 Nephi 2:25-27)

My soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
(Enos 1:4-6)

He beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word.
Therefore he did say no more to the other multitude; but he stretched forth his hand, and cried unto those whom he beheld, who were truly penitent, and said unto them:
I behold that ye are lowly in heart; and if so, blessed are ye.
(Alma 32:6-8)

Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true...
I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word.
(Alma 32:21-22)

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow...
And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.
O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?
Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.
And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof...
Because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.
Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.
(Alma 32:28-43)

I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God...
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.
And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell
(Alma 34:33-36)

Whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
(Alma 36:3)

But behold, ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.
Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
(Alma 39:8-9)

Behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.
Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.
O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?
(Helaman 13:27-29)

The Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness...
(Ether 12:26)

I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I.
(D&C 19:16-17)

All things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church.
For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me in righteousness...
(D&C 100:15-16)

Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
(D&C 121:45)

A significant minority [of the author's BYU students] did not understand scriptural doctrines such as salvation by grace, justification through faith in Christ, sanctification, atonement, and the meaning and terms of the Gospel covenant. They were well taught in the peripherals but not in the vitals of the restored Gospel…
For human beings, the greatest problem in all the universe, the greatest contradiction, dilemma, or dichotomy there is consists of two simple facts. The first of these two facts is clearly stated in D&C 1:31: “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.”
This seems a harsh scripture, for it clearly states that God cannot tolerate sin or sinfulness in any degree. He can’t wink at it, or ignore it, or turn and look the other way. He won’t sweep it under the rug or say, “Well, it’s just a little sin. It’ll be allright.” God’s standard, the celestial standard, is absolute, and it allows no exceptions…
Many people seem to have the idea that the Judgment will somehow involve weighing or balancing, with their good deeds on one side of the scales and their bad deeds on the other. If their good deeds outweigh their bad, or if their hearts are basically good and outweigh their sins, then they can be admitted into the presence of God. This notion is false…
The other horn of the dilemma, the other fact that makes this the greatest of all human problems, is simple enough… I sin every day, and so do you… “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Imperfect people can be reconciled to a perfect God and be allowed to dwell in His presence… God assures us that no son or daughter has ever been loved by a mortal father more than we are loved by Him. In fact, the solution to the Great Dilemma, to the alienation of imperfect humans from their perfect God, is precisely what all the Scriptures bear witness of in one way or another. And that solution is called the Atonement of Jesus Christ…
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18)... What the Lord is saying here is this: "It doesn't matter what you did. Whatever it was, no matter how horrible or vile, is not the issue. The issue here is that whatever your sin was or is, I can erase it, I can clean you up and make you innocent, pure, and worthy, and I can do it today; I can do it now."
Unfortunately, there are many members of the Church who simply do not believe this... They believe in Christ, but they do not believe Christ...
The "good news" of the Gospel is good news to me not because it promises that other people who are better than I am can be saved, but because it promises that I can be saved -- wretched, inadequate, and imperfect me. And until I accept that possibility, until I believe Christ when He says He can bring me into His kingdom and set me on a throne, I have not really accepted the good news of the Gospel -- I have only accepted the Messenger while rejecting His wonderful message...
My favorite example of this kind of thinking was a man who once said to me, "Look, Bishop, I'm just not celestial material." I guess I finally lost my patience and responded by saying, "So what's your point? Of course you're not celestial material. Neither am I, neither is any of us. That's why we need the Atonement of Christ, which can make us celestial...
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." We regularly misinterpret this scripture to mean something like "Blessed are the righteous..." But this beatitude refers to people like you and me who want to do what is right...
"Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered." (2 Nephi 2:6-7)
Attitude -- the condition of our hearts-- is everything. No matter how proud we may be of our relative ability to keep the commandments, until our attitude is right, until our hearts are broken and our spirits are contrite, our relative goodness is of little benefit. However impressive any individual's relative performance might be, without the Savior that performance is insufficient for salvation; it falls short of the celestial perfection required for the presence of God.
On the other hand, once our attitude is right...our relative weakness is of just as little importance, provided we enter into and keep the covenant [of the Gospel]...
Above all else, God wants our hearts. Imperfect performance can be corrected, sins can be remitted, mistakes can be erased -- but God can do nothing with an unwilling and rebellious heart until it repents. Weakness can be saved, rebellion cannot. "Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind." (D&C 64:34)
For Latter-day Saints, the doctrine of grace does not mean that we are saved by grace alone, that is, without participating in the process to some degree, nor does it mean that salvation is totally without conditions. If that were true, salvation would be something that just fell our of the sky and happened to us -- like getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery. The Latter-day Saints do not believe that grace is either random or irresistible or that salvation is a unilateral decision on God's part (predestination). God may be predisposed in our favor, He may put within our reach what was once beyond us, and He may remove every obstacle in the way of our salvation, but He will not force us down the path He has cleared, nor will He save us without our consent. The Gospel covenant is provided by sheer grace, but it must be entered into by choice.
[There is a] difference between wanting righteousness and wishing [we] wanted righteousness... The latter is not a commitment. It is not faithful. It does not meet the obligations of the Gospel covenant -- and it receives no promise. For in these cases, the individuals don't really hunger and thirst after righteousness but after sin, and they expect Jesus to tolerate it or even to subsidize it. These have broken their covenant... They seek to be saved in their sins rather than from their sins...
"Enduring to the end" does not mean "enduring in perfection." Rather, it means enduring in the covenant of faith and repentance...
Stephen E. Robinson, in Believing Christ. 1992. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. ISBN 0-87579-634-6 (hardbound) or 1-57008-926-4 (paperback).

"Wilt thou be made whole?" (John 5:6)... There is an incredible spiritual difference between praying to stop doing a particular sin and praying and working to rise about our sinful nature...
We bring some of the adversity we experience into our lives by our own unwise choices; some of it is inflicted upon us by improper and evil choices of others who misuse their agency. Many unwanted circumstances come simply from living in the environment of this imperfect and fallen world.
It helps to know that adversity is not something that happens to you. It is something that happens for you. We fought a premortal war for the privilege of coming here to learn from adversity and opposition...
The Lord... "shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." (2 Nephi 2:2)
We always reap in our physical life what we have been sowing in our mental life -- if not immediately, the eventually. This is especially true of viewing pornography...
When we choose to inflame our passions by juggling the hot coals of pornography, for example, those indelible seed which have been so carefully nourished cannot grow into anything except a harvest of filthy, compelling thoughts and wicked deed as we grow numb to consequences and then act out the things we have locked in our minds and passions with the many practice sessions of pornographic fantasy...
Some will disagree...[but] in our first experiences of yielding to temptation, we create a vulnerability to give in to future temptations. That vulnerability is both cumulative and progressive, so that every compromise makes the next one easier.
The most immediate and devastating consequence of indulging the fires of illegitimate passion is the loss of the Lord's Spirit.
Steven A. Cramer (Gerald Curtis), in Draw unto Me. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2001.

The favorite method the enemy of our souls has employed in ages past and that he will employ today is to capture souls by leading them gently, step by step, towards the greatest and most destructive sin against spiritual life -- immorality, the ultimate end of self-indulgence.
Melvin J. Ballard in the New Era, March 1984, p. 38.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.
(1 Peter 2:11)

Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation.
Brigham Young in Discourses of Brigham Young. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954, p. 345.

"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."
(Romans 13:14)

A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith [in] Jesus Christ,...that we might be justified by the faith [in] Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
(Gal. 2:16)

Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
(Moroni 10:32-33)

All who are true follower of his son, Jesus Christ...may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear, we shall be like him [and that] we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.
(Moroni 7:48)

Now that I know Him better, I realize one of the main things Christ does is to plan the rescue of those who are willing to be rescued. He will rescue them not only from their sins and addictions, not only from weaknesses and bad habits, but also from broken hearts and broken relationships. His rescue extends to every heartache, resentment, and negative emotion which keeps us from believing and receiving His love and healing forgiveness which is so abundantly available if we will only accept it.
At that time, after a lifetime of sexual addiction and failure to live up to the spiritual standards taught by the Church, it was beyond by belief or comprehension that I could ever become clean, pure, or acceptable to the Lord. I had no understanding of what it means when the Lord changes your heart and makes you new. At that time, I could neither understand nor conceive of the freedom, joy, and resulting feelings of self-worth that are possible when we allow God to change our hearts and our natures, transforming us beyond the carnal nature of our fallen flesh...
As the Lord guided us through the coming years, my wife and I would both learn that nothing is impossible for Christ if we will allow Him to do His work within us. The time would come when I would be delivered from my sinful addictions by the majesty and power of His redeeming love and Atonement.
I had begun the "forsaking" part... But next must come the confession part, and I was not prepared for that. This is where Satan snares many sincere and determined repenters. He has endless schemes of rationalization to help us live a double life of hypocrisy...by avoiding confession...
I heard him and believed it. That was my plan! The devil knows that even if we do successfully abandon the sin, we can never find peace and forgiveness until we confess to the ones we have offended, to our bishop, and to the Lord. Trying to repent without confession is Satan's fatal, going-only-part-of-the-way trap.
The less we believe in Satan, and the less we understand and recognize his "cunning devices," the more power he can exert over us (see Alma 10:13).
The deceptive and destructive part of Satan's scheme is in trying to persuade us to lower our goals, to "face reality" and just to "be ourselves," which always means to be our lesser selves, our fallen selves.
Therefore, as the demons reminded me of my lifetime of failure, both in my morals and my marriage, they also whispered that I was never going to become a celestial person. Over and over, the asked when I was going to face up to this reality and quit torturing myself. Why was I so proud? Why was I making my life so miserable by trying to be more than I was capable of being? To make it easier to lower my sights, they suggested that giving up on attaining the Celestial Kingdom wasn't like I was admitting failure or choosing something degrading. All it meant was that I would finally admit that most of me was pretty good, but I just wasn't celestial material...
As I pondered these suggestions, I had no idea that these new thoughts were coming from Satanic enemies who were bent on my destruction. I thought that I was coming to see myself more realistically. I actually believed these conclusions were out of my own reasoning...
Christ is continually inviting us to rise above the natural man, to become celestial people by striving for the attainment of His image and likeness in our characters and personalities...
I [became] aware of the difference between merely controlling human behavior through determination and willpower and the actual modification of human nature through the power of Christ's Atonement, so that we no longer need or desire unworthy behaviors.
Turning to the Scriptures, I found "the doctrine of Christ" to be a major theme -- indeed, the very core of the glad tidings of the Gospel. With my eyes opened to new insight and understanding, I discovered how blind I had been. Everywhere I looked, I found the Scriptures describing Christ's power to deliver us from our evil nature...
I had always believed that I must perfect myself before He could accept me. But now I realized that, if that were possible, we would not even need a Savior. No man who deserved redemption would need redeeming. I learned that reliance upon Christ is so necessary that "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace and his great condescensions unto the children of men that we have power to do these things." (Jacob 4:7)
By focusing on my sinfulness instead of Christ's power to remove that sinfulness, I had prevented myself from obtaining the faith I needed and foolishly perpetuated the very thing I was trying to stop...
Serious transgression may limit God's ability to be with us and bless us, but it does not prevent Him from loving us...
The Lord changed my life from despair to ecstasy, from lust to love, and from helplessness to victory... I know that He will do it for anyone so that we may share with Him the love and fellowship He enjoys with the Father.
"Mormons" have a need to understand that everyone must be born again -- even righteous, life-long members who have not been guilty of any major transgression.
Even after baptism, what is required is a complete transformation of the heart, desires, and fallen human nature. Preparing for the Celestial Kingdom is not based on controlling our evil desires with superhuman restraint and willpower, for then the evil is only caged and locked inside us like a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the right temptation to light the fuse. That is the natural man's way of trying to be good. It is the difference between relying on the mortal plan of merely controlling our bad habits and allowing Christ to change our heart and give us a new birth so that we no longer want the sins. And nothing but the blood, Atonement, and grace of Jesus Christ can do that...
Over the years, many people in the process of recovery from addiction and other problems have asked me how they can know when it is all finally and forever behind them. As important as this question is, it is probably the wrong question...
There was an instant change, a surprising peace, a surprising infusion of power, hope, and confidence which came into my being from the moment I finally stopped trying to be my own savior and surrendered to Christ. But there was also a natural process of orderly growth which followed, as He gave me time and experience to make those changes in my character permanent. This process is still going on...
Overcoming the desires of the natural man is not easy, and in most cases, it does not come quickly. It only takes a moment or two to surrender and commit our lives to God, but to conquer the flesh requires a lifetime of persistent efforts and determination. This process of growth often involves stumbling over and over as we renew our resolves and efforts... Since it requires time to perfect our living of those commitments and make them a permanent part of our personality, Christ has instructed: "Ye must practice virtue and holiness before me continually" and then asked us to be willing to "continue in patience until ye are perfected." (D&C 46:35; 38:24; 67:13)
The "mighty change" does not depend as much on what we do with our outward behavior as what our willingness to improve makes possible for God to do inside us...
The most gratifying thing I have learned about the transformation of the second birth is that we do not need to understand the process, only to trust it and to accept it...
Talk to your Heavenly Father about yourself. Remind Him of your struggles and your innermost desires. Confess your unworthiness and great need for Him and His love. Express to Him your recognition that you are powerless to accomplish the change you are seeking without Him. Acknowledge your reliance on the Savior and your gratitude for His sacrifice in your behalf.
Continue to repent each day as thoroughly and sincerely as your limitations will allow. Give yourself, with all your faults, failings, weaknesses, and sins to Him with permission to do whatever He knows is best for you. Plead for His love, His forgiveness, and for His guidance.
While you wait for Heavenly Father's response, pray often. Every time you open the Scriptures, every time you read the Ensign, hear a conference talk, or ponder His blessings, pray that you may find His will for you within those words. Pray morning, noon, and night -- and listen morning, noon, and night.
The surest method of receiving the Lord's guidance is to go to His word, the Scriptures, and seek for His personalized answer to you. The messages He would send to you will not necessarily be in the printed word, but may be borne into your heart by the impressions of the Spirit as you ponder them...
Gerald Curtis (aka Steven A. Cramer) in The Worth of Every Soul, Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Publications, 2004.

We must do all that we can do. We must extend ourselves to the limit, we must stretch and bend the soul to its extremities. In the final analysis, however -- at least when dealing with matters pertaining to spiritual growth and progression -- it is not possible to "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps," nor is it healthy to presume we can.
Robert L Millet in By Grace Are We Saved, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1989, p. 100.

He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.
(Alma 7:11-16)

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:16)

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
(Proverbs 3:11-12)

I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage...that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
(Mosiah 24:14-15)

I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things..."
(Alma 26:12)

He changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word...
(Alma 5:7)

We believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
(Mosiah 5:2)

In abandoning sin, one...must be certain not only that he has abandoned the sin, but that he has changed the situations surrounding the sins.
He should avoid the places and conditions and circumstances where the sin occurred, for these could most readily breed it again.
Spencer W. Kimball in The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, pp. 171-172.

In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
(John 16:33)

The Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent...has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."
(Mosiah 5:2)

More well written books that explain Gospel principles that apply to our challenges:

Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive."
---D&C 67:3

How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.
---1 Nephi 7:12

I, the Lord, declare unto you, and my words are sure and shall not fail.
---D&C 64:31

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish.
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake.
And soon we'll have this tale to tell:
All is well... All is well!

How long we have wandered as strangers in sin
And cried in the desert for Thee!
Our foes have rejoiced when our sorrows they've seen,
But Israel will shortly be free.

Restore, my dear Savior, the light of Thy face;
Thy soul-cheering comfort impart;
And let the sweet longing for Thy holy place
Bring hope to my desolate heart.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

As I have loved you, love one another.
This new commandment: love one another.
By this shall men know ye are my disciples:
If ye have love one to another.

The Spirit, voice of goodness, whispers to our hearts
A better choice than evil's anguished cries.
Loud may the sound of hope ring 'till all doubt departs
And we are bound to Him by loving ties.

Our Father, God of all creation, here us pray
In reverence, awed by Thy Son's sacrifice.
Praises we sing. We love Thy law; we will obey.
Our Heavenly King, in Thee our hearts rejoice.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy Heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

At the throne I intercede; for thee ever do I plead.
I have loved thee as a friend with a love that cannot end.
Be obedient, I implore, prayerful, watchful evermore,
And be constant unto me that thy Savior I may be.

I believe in Christ; He stands supreme!
From Him I'll gain my fondest dream.
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With Him I'll stand in that great day
When on this earth He comes again
To rules among the sons of men.

I marvel that He would descend from His throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That He should extend His great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

A mighty fortress is our God,
A tower of strength ne'er failing.
A helper mighty is our God,
O'er ills of life prevailing.
He overcometh all;
He saveth from the fall.
His might and power are great;
He all things did create,
And He shall reign forevermore.

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!