I am going to go out on a limb and say that I’m probably going to make some people mad. But I’m ok with that. I think that most people who read my blog know where I stand on things but I thought I’d just clarify just in case.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that before we came to earth we were created as spirits children of God. Our bodies are simply a glove, so to speak, that gives us our physical substance but I believe our bodies look as our spirits were created. We were created as spirits in the gender that we continue to be here on earth and God didn’t make a mistake nor did He intend for us to change it.

Every person on earth is a child of God and I believe that we should treat each other with kindness and respect, regardless of how they behave or whether or not we agree with what they do or how they live their lives. Because we have a loving Heavenly Father, he guards our agency and grants us the ability to choose. He has given us commandments that He knows will help us have the best possible outcome here in this life and help us progress further, faster in the next. But we don’t have to choose to do that if we don’t want to. He will never force us to, but we do have to live with the consequences of our choices.

Chastity means to refrain from all sexual relations before marriage and all sexual relations after marriage except with our spouse. I believe that loyalty to spouse also falls under this category as well, loyalty in word and action in all situations. I also believe that marriage was ordained of God and that His word on that subject has never changed. It is between a man and a woman, period. Mans laws do not make right what God has already stated is wrong.

Good and evil influences abound in this world, although sometimes it seems like more evil than good. But they’re both here. Both are necessary for the most growth possible. Evil comes from the devil, Satan. He tempts us to choose something other than God’s laws. We all face temptations tailored to us because Satan knew us before we came and knows many of our weaknesses.

Now to the above quote. There seems to be an increase in the temptations concerning same sex attraction and gender identity. Not that it wasn’t always there in some form or other, we read about it in the Bible from thousands of years ago. But just because there is a temptation doesn’t mean it has to be acted on. Satan will throw all sorts of things at us. It’s interesting how easy it is to recognize temptation for what it is in some instance like stealing or killing, but so hard to recognize it in other instances.

But God doesn’t judge us on our temptations, we will not be held accountable for being tempted to steal or being attracted to the same gender or lying or whatever. We will however be judged on our actions. If we go ahead and steal something we have to live with the consequences. Some of those consequences align with our civil laws and punishment will be exacted. If we choose to be unchaste in any manner, we will be held accountable before God at some point in time. There is no getting around that and there is no argument that will free us from the consequences of our actions. The only way to take care of it is through repentance while we are still here in this life.

Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us immensely, far more than we can comprehend. He has provided us with the best plan for our growth, happiness and peace. Along the way we can be compassionate toward all we come in contact with because we don’t know the battle they may be silently fighting. The plan was never supposed to be easy, there would be no character development if it was. But we can resist temptation and live good, virtuous lives. No one is perfect, but with Jesus’s help and grace, it is possible.