95 Theses for a Mormon Reformation
In 1517 a 34-year-old German Catholic monk arrived at a crossroads in his faith. The Catholic Church had long espoused the notion of “indulgences” which effectively meant a person could pay the church in exchange for forgiveness. This principle deeply bothered Luther who did not find support for such a practice from his review of the Bible. Then when Pope Leo X announced a new round of indulgences in order to fund the building of St. Peter’s Basilica, Luther had to decide whether he would sit silently by while the religious authorities perpetuated practices that had been culturally accepted but were not doctrinally founded or speak out regarding that which he felt was right and true.
Luther chose to speak.
In order to promote discussion among the faithful he posted his (in)famous document “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” aka “The 95 Theses” on the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church. His theses were not angry accusations but rather humble questions that pushed back on widely held beliefs that he found to be inconsistent with the teachings in the Bible. Though the theses were humble in tone they were piercing in content. For example he wrote, “Why does not the Pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?”
Four years later in 1521 Luther was excommunicated after refusing to recant the content of his paper. Luther’s writings and unfailing commitment to his personal integrity sparked the great Protestant reformation that empowered the people of Europe to read the Bible for themselves and arrive at conclusions that were uniquely their own.
***
In 2018 as a 34-year-old American Mormon elder I have reached a decision point. The LDS church has long espoused the notion of monogamous heterosexual marriage being the only acceptable form of marriage to God, the notion that women are unable to hold leadership positions genuinely equivalent to those held by men, and that every member is entitled to personal revelation but only if and when that revelation correlates with the beliefs of 15 white men in Salt Lake City. These principles have festered within me as I cannot find support for such practices from my review of the scriptural records nor in my conversations with my Heavnely Father.
Then when the church announced new policy regarding limited access to the gospel for children of gay parents, doubled down on the idea that women will not receive equal representation in church leadership, and continually seems unable or unwilling to address the changing needs of it’s membership, I reached my decision point. Would I sit silently by while my religious authorities perpetuated practices that had been culturally accepted but were not doctrinally founded or would I speak out regarding that which I feel is right and true?
I choose to speak.
In order to promote discussion among our faithful members I post this document, my 95 theses, here on the digital doors of Mormondom. I hope to emulate Luther’s humble questioning tone as well as his clear and cutting logic. Unlike Luther, I hope not to be a contributor to anyone jumping off the good ship Zion and boarding a new religious vessel. Rather I hope to invite others to collectively put our fingers in a few leaks and bail some water while we all sail onward together.
Do I expect this post to have the reach and affect of Luther’s post? Of course not.
Am I equating myself to this brave and reformative man? Absolutely not.
Will I find myself in the same position as Luther did four years from now? I seriously doubt it.
Yet, given my limitations both in language and audience, I nonetheless make my attempt here because I believe our Restoration would greatly benefit from a modest Reformation.
***
Before reading this list let me very clear about a few things. These questions, these theses, come from a place of veracious faith within me. My faith in my Heavenly Parents’ love for me and all of us, my faith in the reality of Christ’s life and the transcendence of His message, and my faith in the overarching benefits of the Restoration.
It is this ardent and abiding faith which has given birth to these questions. My faith is the source of my doubt. For example, because I have such strong faith in the charity and expansiveness of Christ, I doubt those who seek to exclude people from His gospel, especially when doing so in His name, regardless of their title or position.
For faith to flourish we often need greater doubt. For faith to sustain we often need to question.
When we ask, we grow.
The intent therefore of these questions is NOT to diminish or undermine anyone’s faith, the intent is to promote and expand such faith to those who seek after it.
A large section of these questions are about LGBTQ+ issues because that is where the bulk of my concern and legitimate confusion lie. The vast majority of the questions are mine. They are not questions to which I have already formulated answers and am only asking to be inflammatory and divisive. They are genuine questions to which I am anxious and hopeful to receive answers.
Some questions I have borrowed from other thoughtful bloggers, authors, and friends. With time and reflection I have integrated their questions deeply enough that I feel authentic in calling them my own. I have linked to these posts below and am tremendously grateful for the courage, perspective, and skill with which these faithful members have contributed to my growing faith.
So with symbolic hammer and nail in hand I submit the following 95 theses for your thoughtful and prayerful consideration:
1. Who is harmed if we offer celestial marriage to any two people committed to each other, to God, and to the Restoration?
2. Who is harmed if we don’t?
3. What evidence do we have to support our subjugation of groups of people based on biological conditions over which they have no control?
4. Why has the church been willing to change it’s position on the origin and nature of same sex attraction over time but isn’t openly giving space for the possibility of further change?
5. If heterosexual people, incapable of or with no intent for reproduction, can marry with the church’s blessing why do we offer resistance to same sex marriages on the basis of their inability to produce children?
6. If a heterosexual couple has a biological barrier to reproduction and we support the adding of children to their family through adoption, in-vitro fertilization, or surrogacy why don’t we extend same sex couples equal support for the expansion of their families via these same methods?
7. Is it possible that our Heavenly Father has provided the inspiration necessary to bring about medical and social miracles in order to give same sex couples a pathway to participate in the plan of salvation in the same way opposite sex couples do?
8. If the church has changed its position on birth control to include this statement, “The decision as to how many children to have and when to have them is extremely intimate and private and should be left between the couple and the Lord. Church members should not judge one another in this matter”, why can not this position, which can include the private decision to have no children and be free of judgment from church members, be extended to same sex couples?
9. Why does the church’s position on the purpose of sex within marriage, which is, “Married couples should also understand that sexual relations within marriage are divinely approved not only for the purpose of procreation, but also as a way of expressing love and strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds”, not apply to same sex couples who engage in sexual intimacy for these same divinely sanctioned reasons?
10. If gay people have the same capacity as heterosexuals to form loving, lasting unions, and their intimate relations within those marital unions also serve “as a way of expressing love and strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds,” then how do we know that their unions are not divinely approved?*
11. Are our church leaders and general members aware of the strange logic in asking our gay members to live a celibate life, which produces no children, on the basis that acting on their attraction is wrong because it can produce no children?
12. How do we know if a doctrine or standard taught today is an unchangeable eternal truth or just a socio-cultural tradition that will change one day?*
13. Is it really God’s will that His children born with a homosexual orientation be required to live their entire lives in celibacy without the emotional, physical and spiritual attachment of someone they are naturally attracted to?*
14. Are we justified in imposing such a drastic restriction on our gay brothers and sisters in this life based on doctrinal speculations that may be more metaphorical than literal and about which we have little to no actual revelation?*
15. Should incomplete, uncertain knowledge of the specifics of the afterlife trump what we can know with certainty in this life: that Heavenly Father’s gay children are fully capable of forming loving, meaningful relationships with those to whom they are naturally attracted?*
16. Is it possible that our Father is in favor of the cultural shift regarding the definition of marriage so that same sex couples can live the Law of Chastity as taught in the temple and enjoy all the blessings associated with that law?
17. Do our current leaders have the desire and courage to ask these questions and consider whether our current position on LGBTQ+ issues is truly God’s will or whether it, as many other polices have been, could be in error?*
18. Is the church justified in resisting societal acceptance of homosexuality, or is it simply holding to past traditions and views that are causing harm to those affected, as it previously did on civil rights and the priesthood ban?*
19. Can the existence of gay people, with their unique gifts, abilities and love, be seen as another expression of the wondrous variation found in all God’s creations?*
20. Are we sure that the law of chastity which asks covenant makers only to “have sexual relations to whom you are legally and lawfully married” can’t apply to same sex couples who are legally and lawfully married?
21. We allowed cultural influences to prevent us from offering priesthood and temple blessings to non-white members for an extended time, are we currently allowing any cultural influences to damage or marginalize any other groups of people?*
22. Can we give space for the idea that present policies and teachings from leaders are a product of our current culture and not necessarily permanent truths in the same way teachings about black members were a product of their time and ultimately subject to change?
23. Do we believe one of the “many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Ninth Aricle of Faith) that our Father may reveal is how to provide all the blessings of mortal and eternal marriage to His gay sons and daughters?
24. Do we have confidence that our living prophet has the capacity to obtain a policy changing revelation when it is sincerely asked for and when the time is right?
25. Which verse(s) of scripture clearly show that same sex marriage is wrong in the eyes of God?
26. If it is so problematic to God’s eternal plan for same sex couples to marry why do we see no prohibition of the practice in Restoration scripture?
27. Why do church leaders and LDS websites choose not to cite or mention the only scriptural references to homosexuality? (Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1: 26–27 are the verses most commonly cited by evangelicals in their arguments against same sex marriage)*
28. Jesus clearly taught on three separate occasions that anyone who divorced and remarried is guilty of adultery. Why have we been willing to make a clear exception to this teaching of Christ concerning matters of sexual choice but not others?*
29. Is it possible the scriptures are not as definitive on the topic of same sex marriage as we may have assumed they were?
30. If sex between a married man and married woman is ordained of God why is not sex between two married men or two married women likewise ordained of God?*
31. Are we absolutely certain that it is not?*
32. Are we certain enough to advocate for the denial of this most wondrous connection between two loving people to a growing number of our brothers and sisters?*
33. Is it not an act of hypocrisy to deny something to one person that we are unwilling to deny to ourselves?
34. If we are willing accept that some of the teachings of prophets and apostles are well intentioned but ultimately inaccurate and failing to serve us well (i.e Brigham Young’s Adam-God doctrine or Bruce McConkie’s justifications for the exclusion of black members from the priesthood) is it possible that the teachings of current apostles and prophets can likewise be well intended but not reflective of God’s will? (i.e. Dallin Oaks suggestion that the acceptance of the ideas within the Family Proclamation are the “test for our time” along with the underlying implication that support for same sex marriage would be a failure of that test.)
35. This one comes a voice from the dust from President J. Reuben Clark: “How shall the Church know when these adventurous expeditions of the brethren into these highly speculative principles and doctrines meet the requirements of the statutes that the announcers thereof have been ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’? The Church will know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the body of the members, whether the brethren in voicing their views are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’; and in due time that knowledge will be made manifest”.*
36. How can we know if the controversial positions and teachings of the brethren on homosexuality are from the Holy Ghost?*
37. Have the members of the church received the confirming testimony of the Holy Ghost on this issue, or do they simply accept what our leaders have said because the issue does not affect them personally?*
38. How much time must pass, during which gay people continue to suffer and some commit suicide, until “due time” is reached and the truth or error is sufficiently made manifest?*
39. Why do we state publicly that only marriage between one man and one woman is acceptable in the eyes of God but continue to seal men to multiple women in our temples?
40. Why do we seal men to multiple women but not women to multiple men?
41. How do we reconcile our policy that God’s eternal law of marriage is between one man and one woman when many of both our Old Testament and Church History prophets were openly married to multiple women?
42. Why does a church that calls people to repentance for mistakes that harm others not choose to repent when it makes mistakes that harm others?
43. When announcing new positions on important topics why doesn’t the church disavow previous positions especially when those previous positions are the source of marginalizing beliefs held by members?
44. Why do we have Face to Face events with the apostles if they are unwilling to address the difficult and salient questions of the members?
45. Why hasn’t the Proclamation to the Family been put forth to the body of the church to be accepted by Common Consent?
46. What are we to understand from the observation that the church removed the word “revelation” from the printed version of Elder Packer’s October 2010 conference talk when he used that word to describe the Proclamation to the Family?
47. Are there benefits of having age or term limits to apostolic service and having them enter emeritus service just as we do for Seventies?
48. Would we be better served by having greater diversity in age, race, culture, socio-economic, and geographical representation in our leadership at the highest levels?
49. Would the church be better served by having full time missionaries focus on improving the quality of church membership in addition to increasing the number of church membership?
50. If we believe that “no success in life makes up for failure in the home” why do we have so many meetings and assignments that cause us to be away from our families and our homes?
51. Would we be better served by saying “I hope…” and “I believe…” a little more and “I know…” a little less in our testimony meetings and lessons and being really intentional and honest about when we use each phrase?
52. How well is it working for our youth, our leaders, and our culture to have adult men asking adolescent youth about masturbation behind closed doors in regular one on one interviews?
53. If section 89 verse two of the Doctrine and Covenants tells us the Word of Wisdom was given “not by commandment or constraint” why is it culturally understood and widely taught as a commandment of constraint?
54. If the Word of Wisdom really is a commandment of constraint why do we serve hamburgers and hot dogs at ward Pioneer Day parties despite the clear direction regarding meats that “they should not be used except in times of winter, or of cold, or famine”?
55. Are we sure we are doing God’s will when we use Joseph’s revelation that a word of wisdom be given to the saints not by constraint in which he cautioned against hot drinks, as a pretext to absolutely constraining members from the temple if they drink iced coffee?
56. Can a principle that has undergone as much variation in definition and adherence by church leaders in less than 200 years truly be considered an eternal doctrine?
57. How can a principle which espouses the need for moderation in food and drink in order to promote physical health and therefore gain spiritual strength condone the choices of a morbidly obese unhealthy person who struggles to moderate soda and fried food consumption but eschew the choices of a fit healthy person who adequately moderates their relationship with wine or tea?
58. Do we believe that God sees a big difference in the health consequences or spiritual capacity of someone who consumes Diet Coke and Red Bull versus someone who drinks mochas or green tea?
59. Do we really believe He is interested in and willing to deny blessings to the tea drinker that He is willing to extend to the Red Bull drinker?
60. If the church refuses to give clear guidance about whether to pay tithing on gross, net, or surplus but trusts members to work this out with the Lord and be accountable to that private commitment which varies from person to person, why do they insist on giving detailed guidance about whether to drink coffee, decaf coffee, or Mountain Dew and not trust members to likewise work out the word of wisdom with the Lord and be accountable to whatever private decision upon which they arrive?
61. Why did early church leaders talk so often and so passionately about members not trusting in their leaders as the primary source of guidance and truth but rather encouraged members to seek and ask for themselves if what is being taught is true?
62. Why do current church leaders talk so often and so passionately about members exercising obedience and advocating that we “follow the prophet” without promoting the idea that we take their words to the Lord to receive revelation that is uniquely our own about which parts are true for us?
63. What happened to the culture of trust and autonomy exemplified by Josephs own words and the Lord’s admonition, “I teach true principles and let people govern themselves” and “It is not meet that I should command in all things… men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause”? (D&C 58: 26–27)
64. If God knows my name, knows what is best for me, answers my prayers, and offers me knowledge through personal revelation; what greater truth can there be?
65. Why do we institutionally send our young men to members homes each month to collect their fast offering money under the banner of “priesthood service for the poor and needy” but we do not institutionally send our young men to homeless shelters, special needs facilities, rest homes, or substance abuse groups each month to minister to and utilize their priesthood on behalf of God’s children who really need it?
66. Why can’t girls hand out programs before sacrament meeting?
67. If we really believe in heavenly parents why doesn’t the young woman’s theme start with “We are daughters of our Heavenly Parents who love us and we love them” instead of “we are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us and we love Him”?
68. What unspoken messages do we send by having different ages and durations of missionary service based on gender?
69. Which part of the priesthood dictates that it (the priesthood) is necessary for someone to conduct a sacrament meeting? In other words, is it necessary to hold the priesthood in order to remind people about upcoming events or announce the speakers and hymns or does God think the Relief Society president could do that just as well?
70. Why can’t my wife and I serve together in the primary presidency?
71. Why can’t my wife and I serve together in the Sunday school presidency?
72. Why can’t I sit next to my wife during the temple endowment?
73. Why can I be a king and priest to God but my wife can only be a queen and priestess to me?
74. When displaying pictures of the prophet and apostles in our buildings why don’t we picture them with their wife/wives?
75. Where do I go if I am ready for my Matriarchal blessing?
76. Why do we spend more money on youth programs for boys (i.e. BSA) than we do for girls?
77. Is it likely that someone visiting our church and observing it’s culture for the first time would agree with our stated position that both genders are equally valued?
78. What cultural and procedural changes are available to us to provide greater influence, legitimacy, and credibility to our assertion that men and women serve as equals in the church?
79. If only Levites could hold the priesthood, then any Jewish male, then even Gentile males, then all worthy males regardless of race; doesn’t that show that whom God entrusts with His priesthood is not an eternal doctrine but rather an evolving doctrine with expansions of the priesthood to other demographics in the future possible or even likely?
80. Are we aware of the severe mental health damage being done to our youth with the impractical and harsh rhetoric we offer regarding masturbation and sexual development?
81. If fearing and shaming young people about masturbation and pornography isn’t helping prevent the behavior or working to promote healthy sexual development, does it seem reasonable to try a different approach?
82. If we are going to talk so much about the dangers of pornography do our leaders have a responsibility to make a reasonable attempt to define what pornography is and what it is not?
83. Are we aware of how our approach to teaching youth about sex is causing many of our youth to enter adult marriages lacking a robust understanding and ownership of the value and power of healthy sexuality?
84. Is the widespread sexual dysfunction in LDS marriages an acceptable outcome of our well-intentioned desire to “keep our youth pure and virtuous”?
85. Is using the word virtue, which as almost no connection to sexuality in the scriptures, as a euphemism for sexual purity really better than teaching about the scriptural context of virtue which is clearly about intrinsic strengthen, goodness, and wholeness?
86. Why doesn’t the church offer financial transparency to it’s members so we can see how tithing, donations, and profits from corporate enterprises and investments, etc are allocated to cover church expenses such as salaries of employees and stipends to leaders, and to areas such as building funds, humanitarian aid, missionary costs, media costs, legal fees, commercial real estate development, Boy Scouts, Brigham Young University, etc?
87. Is it reasonable for church members to have a say in how and where their sacred offerings are utilized?
88. Does the law of tithing require 10% of our increase be given the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in particular or to the work of God more generally?
89. If a member is uncomfortable with their money being spent in areas the church supports but the member does not, is that member justified in the eyes of God and His law of tithing to allocate 10% of their increase to charities or groups that are otherwise doing the work of God?
90. Is it possible for the church to reach a point where it has money that is “sufficient for it’s needs” to provide for the ongoing operations of the church without requiring the financial contributions of its members?
91. If missionaries, even older ones seasoned in the gospel, are required to attend intensive training for difficult doctrinal, cultural, and linguistic challenges prior to representing the Lord and His church why not have bishops also receive intensive training for the difficult martial, sexual, financial, social, spiritual, and emotional problems they will face prior to beginning to represent the Lord and His church?
92. When we say that obedience is the first law of heaven we seem to imply that “1st” means ‘most important and most valuable’ but what are the benefits of considering that it literally means the first, as in a starting place or launching pad to the 2nd, 3rd, and 299th laws of heaven which may include a broader sense of personal integrity, a shared trust between the individual and the divine, and a mutual agreement about what is true for that person even if that unique truth falls outside the universally prescribed and more limited notions of obedience?
93. Do church leaders and lay members have a responsibility to collaborate in doing better for God’s children all across the broad scope of the human condition so that through our expanded ideas of inclusion and equity we bring more people to a knowledge of the restoration and the joy it offers?
94. What is keeping us from doing better?
95. Where do we start?
References:
What do we know of God’s will for His LGBT children? An examination of the church’s position on homosexuality by Bryce Cook. Questions noted with an * above along this a comprehensive review of the topic can be found in this amazing article by Brother Cook.
https://mormonlgbtquestions.com
Dear Mormon Man, tell me what you would do by Amy McPhie Allebest
https://mormondom.com/letter-to-a-mormon-man-8d251aa1f062
The Mormon Enthusiast by Blaire Ostler
https://rationalfaiths.com/the-mormon-enthusiast/
Three part podcast on Revelation by Dan Wotherspoon, Charles Harrell and Ronald Barney presented by Mormon Matters
http://www.mormonmatters.org/podcast-item/433-435-revelation/
