Comment

When a Loved One Struggles with Same-Sex Attraction

Thanks for the excellent article by A. Dean Byrd in the September 1999 issue titled “When a Loved One Struggles with Same-Sex Attraction.” The article clearly explained the Church’s position on homosexuality, its cause, how it can be overcome, and what loved ones can do to help people overcome that problem. The Church continues to come out strongly in opposition to same-sex marriages and has published another definitive article in the Ensign.

David E. Richardson
Salt Lake City

I was grateful to read, “If your loved one is not already married, do not encourage him or her to marry as a ‘cure’ for homosexuality.” If only my ex-husband had heeded that, we would not be going through the nightmare of divorce.

I was active in the Church, attended the temple, and stayed chaste, but I was not protected from the bad things that can happen in this life. I couldn’t understand why the Lord allowed this to happen to me, but I now realize He gives everyone agency and sometimes that means some of us get hurt along the way. I now understand the Atonement more than I ever did. The Lord comforted my soul in times of sorrow.

Name Withheld

But What Was Best for the Baby?

I wanted to write you concerning a recent article titled “But What Was Best for the Baby?” (July 1999). Just about the time the article came out, I had been working with a young LDS birth mother who was having great difficulty making a decision about what she should do concerning an unplanned pregnancy. The young woman’s mother read this article, then she left the magazine where her daughter would see it. The young mother read the article and was so impressed that she instigated a conversation with her mother. Both were impressed that the article was an answer to their prayers, and an appointment with the caseworker was arranged. The birth mother shortly thereafter selected a family and started writing to them in preparation for an adoptive placement.

In my work with young people who face unplanned pregnancy, I find it vital that they study the inspired counsel given by the First Presidency to priesthood leaders in a letter dated 15 June 1998 (see “Policies and Announcements,” Ensign, Apr. 1999, 80). This counsel helps young people understand the reason adoption is encouraged.

Michael R. Blair
Director, Ohio Agency, LDS Family Services