I've been digesting what Packer said for a few days now. I have three brief insights I'd like to share with you.
1st. He never actually says homosexual, now does he? This is great news for future Mormon apologists. Heck, it's good news for Bruce R. McConkie Boyd K. Packer! Should his superiors decide to reverse their official anti-gay stance he can claim he was talking about pornographers. Or shoplifters.
2nd. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” isn't canonized and Apostles don't get to canonize whatever they want. Not even the President of the quorum can do that. Even if he super-duper wants to. I wonder what his boss thinks of the obvious overreach. Can a breach of etiquette be blamed on a moment of religious fervor? Can it be excused by the same?
3rd. This is for anyone who thought that Conference was good except for Packer's talk:
ps. Should you care to read a bit more of Packer's teachings checkout this BYU link.
My favorite quote: "We've always counseled in the Church for our Mexican members to marry Mexicans, our Japanese members to marry Japanese, our Caucasians to marry Caucasians, our Polynesian members to marry Polynesians. The counsel has been wise."
Halfway through the two weeks, over the course of several phone calls, we talked about how we loved each other and we each acknowledged out loud that we were thinking marriage. The conversation naturally evolved to when and where we would get married. The next morning, Ty called the Salt Lake Temple and scheduled our wedding. Things were feeling pretty set already...and then Ty changed his relationship status on Facebook to say he was engaged to me.
No, there is no mention of Ty being a big gay anywhere in their official life story! The gay, as it were; remember, Ty wrote the book on being a gay Mormon.
More accurately, Ty wrote the book on being a hopelessly repressed gay Mormon. His book outlines his commitment to celibacy. On CNN he declared his commitment to the entire country. In person at Matis family gatherings he quietly soaked up the adoration of countless other repressed gays. They wanted him and he knew it.
He still knows it, by the way.
You can probably sense my disdain for the man. He represents everything wrong with the gay-meets-Mormon universe. Is is impossible to be a complete human being and celibate. Period.
And that's why I don't like Ty. Or it was... until today.
Today I found out he's getting hitched. To a lady. And it's not that I'm upset he'll be sexing a player on the other team. Gay guys sleep with women sometimes, no big. No, the bad part is the using.
He's using her. She gets him into heaven. Finally, no more guessing about the fate of a gay celibate Mormon. No more hoping the celibacy thing pans out after death. Nope. Once he pops that cherry punches that ticket he's guaranteed a seat on the Heaven Express.
He'll never see her as a women. That Sister of God may as well be a crowbar he slips between the pearly gates. Unless he needs liquid oxygen and a hammer because the Pearly Gates are padlocked after hours, in which case he can think of her as that.
She'll never be loved in that relationship. Not like a wife should be loved. He'll like her, sure. A baker likes flour. A judge likes justice. Anyone can like a tool, a ticket, or a pet.
... they aren't merely mistaken, they're dead wrong...
North Star* just forwarded everyone a statement from the Matis family. In it, the parents of Stuart Matis requests that any activities planned by those wishing to remember the 10th anniversary of Stuart's suicide be canceled. They feel any such activities would detract from the Stuart's wish for change.
This is so, so wrong. Where do I even begin?
THE FAMILY OF AN ICON HAS NO SAY ON HOW OTHERS VIEW THE ICON. Sorry, but it's true. Stuart is a symbol now. Be it martyr or victim there is nothing his parent's can expect except to draw more attention to the event.
THE FAMILY IS MISTAKEN ABOUT THE CHANGE STUART WANTED. Mr. and Mrs. Matis don't expressly say what Stuart wanted. They do say that a rally is not how Stuart would want to change things. They also say "...he was also an intensely private person. It was in quiet, unobtrusive ways that he made his biggest impact on others."
He blew his brains out on the steps of the Stake Center. That IS NOT how a "intensely private person" effects change in a "quiet, unobtrusive" way.
THE FAMILY IS SERIOUSLY F---ED IN THE HEAD. They claim to understand so much about gay Latter-day Saints. They claim to have spoken to many gay latter-Day Saints. They claim to talk to other members about the needs of gay Latter-Day Saints.
Those claims are all true. I've been to the firesides at their house so I can confirm this first-hand.
But this is also the family that wrote in a book they authored, "Although losing our son was difficult, it has been comforting to know that he was faithful to his temple covenants." (p 20).
Comforting? Comforting to know that your son, all his potential grandchildren, and all your would-have-been family memories of his adulthood are ALL DEAD. But, hey, at least he didn't date some dude!
So maybe they don't understand gays so well. They even dust-off the old chestnut of "same-gender attraction" instead of just acknowledging their son was g-a-y GAY.
And they are wrong, wrong, wrong about finding comfort in Stuart's death. There's NO comfort in Stuarts death. There's NO silver lining. It is pure, epic tragedy.
The failure of the Stuart's parents to see that is beyond the pale. It is disgusting. Filthy. Putrid.
SILENCE IS MURDER. The planned event is the opposite of silence. It can only save lives. If you live anywhere nearby I would hope you attend.
