IS HOMOSEXUALITY AN ABOMINATION?
And if so, Just What is an Abomination anyway?
In the Old Testament of the Bible, in Leviticus 20:13 it says: “and if a man lies with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination…â€Â Does the word abomination mean “evil†or just “unnaturalâ€?
According to the scriptures, there are a few other things that are an abomination, such as: having various weights—both great and small, in your house, or having various measures—both great and small, in your house, these are abominations. It is an abomination to eat any of the following creatures: all animals that chew their cud, all animals that divide the cloven hoof, like camels. It is an abomination to eat any of the following foul: coneys, pelicans, eagles, ossifrages, osprays, giedes, kites, vultures, swans, ravens, the little owl, owls, the great owl, hawks, night hawks, cuckows, the gier eagle, curomats, storks, herons, or lapwings. Also it is an abomination to eat bats or various flying insects, (thank goodnessJ). We usually do not eat the above creatures anyway, but, here are some things that we do eat that are also an abomination to the Lord God: pork, rabbit, (and for you seafood lovers out there), clams, oysters, crabs, lobsters, mussels, shrimp and prawns, (sorry). No crawdads or alligator or crocodile, lizards, snakes, turtles, or kimono dragons either.
We also cannot eat anything that dies on its own. The strange thing about this particular abomination is that you can feed the dead animal to the stranger that is within thy gate. (I guess that you then wait to see if the stranger dies or gets sick). It is an abomination to touch a dead carcass. It is an abomination to see, or look upon the nakedness of the following people: your kinsman (or cousin), your father, your mother, your step-mother, your sister, your niece, your nephew, your half sister, your aunt, your uncle, your daughter-in-law, your brothers wife, your sons daughter, and your daughters daughter, even at their birth or when they are an infant. (Now you have a great excuse to get out of changing your relatives diaper, ha ha ha! J). {As you can begin to see, some of these are ridiculous by today’s standards. But if you believe that abomination means evil, then you cannot choose which ones are evil and which ones are just unnatural or not-normal. Scripture is not for private interpretation. Some meanings have been lost in translation also.
It is an abomination to even touch a woman when she is having her menstrual cycle, and a week beyond that time. It is an abomination to sleep with your neighbor’s wife. It is an abomination to profane the name of the Lord (but people do this all the time), or to let the strangers within your gate do the same; these abominations will get you excommunicated from the church. These 7 things are an abomination to the Lord God: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that murder, hearts with wicked imaginations, feet that run to mischief, a false witness, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Wickedness and wicked thoughts and ways are all abominations to God. If a wicked man brings a sacrifice, or if a man brings a sacrifice having a wicked mind, then his sacrifice in an abomination to God. Anyone that turns there ear from the law, and then even their prayer is an abomination to God.
The following actions are all abominations to the Lord God, and they used to carry with them the death penalty by being stoned to death, they are: if you beget a son that is a robber (huh?), if you shed blood, if you do not do your duties, if you eat upon the mountains (idolatry, I think?), if you commit adultery, if you oppress the poor and needy (like my bishop does to me), if you spoil by violence (or mug someone), if you do not restore a pledge (keep a promise), if you look up to idols, if you charge someone interest, or collect interest (like my Mormon Grandparents did from me), and finally, if you are worshipping or believing in false gods. {Consider this: it is not normal to worship false Gods, from God’s perspective.}
From the New Testament: that which men highly esteem of themselves, it is an abomination to the Lord, or if you profess that you know God—but, your works deny him, it is an abomination to the Lord. From the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, The Catholic Church is an abomination To God. Also from the Book of Mormon: Boasting of your own strength; showing off your wisdom; forsaking the ministry; sleeping with harlots; and stealing away the hearts of many, these things are “most abominable—above all—except for murder and blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. {It is not normal to forsake the ministry or sleep with harlots, etc.}
It is also an abomination to put 3 different seeds into one hole in the ground. More abominations that used to have a sentence of death attached were: if a child slaps or strikes their mother or father; if a child disobeys a command; if a child talks back to their parents; then that child would be put to death, (ouch! L). Anyone that hurts a woman or anyone who rebels (like my mother did), they were put to death also. Thank goodness for our children that we live in a more civilized age now.
Finally, to show you that we all commit abominations all the time, the Bible tells us that: “All that do unrighteously are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.â€Â And: “your unrighteous thoughts are an abomination unto the lord they God.â€Â Since we all have been unrighteous, then we are all abominations. {We all are!}
Why is homosexuality not in the Book of Mormon passage above, or anywhere else in the Book of Mormon, for that matter, and why is there nothing alluding to it either? The church today, says that homosexuality is next to murder, but this is not consistent with the Book of Mormon or the New Testament. J Of course this information has changed and now to be gay is not even a sin, which shows that the leaders in Salt Lake City were wrong before and they can very easily be wrong again right now. I do not believe they even know!
Bible Scholars today, teach that the word abomination as used in the bible means that the abominable thing or act is simply “not normal†or perhaps “unnatural†(which is exactly what Elder Boyd K. Packer said earlier about same-sex attraction. He said that it was unnatural). Just try and substitute the words “not normal†or “unnatural†in any of the passages above, where the word abomination is at, you will see that it makes a lot of sense and that it fits. Also, all of the abominations that were punishable by death are no longer punishable by death, ever since our Savior made his Atonement for us. This is a good thing, because I would hate to see all these kids being killed for talking back or disobeying their parents. Now that this practice is no longer being done, I suppose that gay-bashers, who kill, are headed for hell. I wonder also about an Elder in my old ward, who once said aloud in Sunday school: “the only good homo is a dead homo.â€Â I also overheard some relief society sisters once say to each other: “all those queers and homosexuals should be rounded up and shot to death.â€Â More than once, I have heard latter-day saints say: “all gays should be killed.â€Â Jesus taught that even our thoughts would condemn us and we would be held guilty for those thoughts. I can only imagine what folks are thinking; even worse things I suppose.
So you see, I do know how some Mormons feel about us gays, and it is pretty bad. As for myself, I love all of Heavenly Father’s children, and I believe that I am not a bad person or an evil person either; like Elder Boyd K. Packer, Bishop Bobby Wood, and Brother George think I am. They have all misjudged me.
Robin Lee Johnson