Dallin H. Oaks A high-ranking American Mormon church leader has spoken against same-sex marriage and gay parents in an address to New Zealand and Pacific church members. An apostle from church headquarters in Utah, Dallin H. Oaks, appeared via simulcast at a recent regional church conference, where observers say he delivered a strongly worded sermon on the essential role in society of "traditional marriage" uniting one man and one woman. The church is headed by a ‘prophet’ and two right-hand men, underneath whom there are ’12 apostles’ – Oaks is one of these. He’s reported to have stated to the regional conference that changes to civil law do not change the plan of God. He also said that children are best reared by having two biological parents, a mother and a father. The information has been reported by a pro-lgbti rights church member Gina Colvin, who writes as “KiwiMormon”, in a blog post which has sparked much debate. She says Oaks delivered "a tirade of poorly constructed and bigoted maxims; mostly noticeably about same sex marriage." “Now why Oaks wanted to row this particular boat in our fair waters is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he was cross with New Zealand Mormons for not caring about same gender marriage as much as he obviously does. In any event red lights were going up all over New Zealand flashing here and there with indignation and many a ‘how dare he?’” She quotes a number of other church members who were unhappy with the message from Oaks, such as: Church leaders have been firm and outspoken against marriage equality in the US, most notably during California’s Proposition 8 campaign. The church’s official stance is that there is a distinction between being gay, and acting on it, as it believes “sexual activity should only occur between a man and a woman who are married”. However it also says “same-sex attraction is a sensitive issue which requires kindness, compassion, and understanding”. While the view is not listed in the Mormon church’s official stance on same-sex issues, in 2010 another member of 12 Apostles, Boyd K. Packer, controversially suggested being gay was a choice, stating: “Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Why would Heavenly Father do that to anyone?” In New Zealand, Labour MP Su'a William Sio and controversial coroner Gordon Matenga were among the church members who spoke out against the marriage equality legislation which eventually passed with a comfortable majority.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 21st May 2014 - 10:51am