In response to the recent policy change by the LDS Church, I have this to say:
God is not asking people to stop loving each other, as loving the Lord thy God with all your energies and loving others as you love yourself are the two great commandments and they will never change.
God is simply asking people to stop engaging in behavior that He will never condone and that all beings are very sacred to Him, as everyone has a divine purpose. We are all children of God, but people tend to forget that and pursue paths that eventually turn them against the Lord, thereby causing them to lose the Spirit of God and desire to do be a child of God. When people stop desiring to be a child of God, they make shaky choices that sometimes involves attempts to destroy others for their belief in God and His teachings. This is a response to those who try to destroy what God holds sacred. We all have things that we hold sacred and would be very offended if anyone tried to mess with them. This is God's way of saying, "Don't mess with my sacred stuff."
Lehonti felt it was safe to come down the hill a little at a time and give a little at a time, but it killed him in the end. We can have tolerance, but we shouldn't allow the tolerance to inhibit the rights that we do have and should cherish. I can see this being put in place to prevent or perhaps respond to a plea that same-gender couples might have to be sealed in the temple to their families.
One isn't forbidden from entering the temple if they can meet all the requirements for a temple recommend; it has nothing to do with anti-homosexuality, it's about meeting the requirements to get a recommend so that the temple can be entered. There is nothing in the new entries about children having to stop loving their parents, as God would never stop anyone or ask anyone to stop loving their families for being different.
There are man-made laws to protect same-sex couples, so why can't God provide ways for those who follow Him to have a little protection for the commandments and other sacred teachings? We are asked to be tolerant of others' beliefs, so why can't tolerance be both given and received? Let's not curse God and give up over THIS, as how will that help us? God has His laws and they don't include withholding love over petty differences even if beliefs aren't the same. We can continue to love others whether they be loved ones or friends even if we don't agree with their beliefs. This is to prevent parents of a same-gender relationship from trying to use the same argument over being allowed enter the temple if baptism is allowed. It is about protecting what is SACRED.
At eight years old, kids are not threats and are mostly innocent, but those in a same-gender relationship that are parenting said child may demand to be sealed in the temple to each other and to their child and ask why they cannot have that right if their child has a right to be baptized? Not all parents would react that way, but some could and would easily manipulate a child that age into trying to assist in making a same-gender sealing possible in the temple. I have read about parents in fundamentalist religions manipulating their kids into doing things that aren't necessarily good, but they do it because they will be seen as bad if they don't.
Christ would protect what is sacred and He gave us the Atonement so that we could help protect what is sacred after we sacred beings were protected by His love. It says nothing about having to stop loving others just because of their beliefs. People can love each other and not necessarily believe the same things. This is a 'love the people, not necessarily what they do' sort of thing. It's possible to love people without condoning their actions.
I wonder if this has something to do with the push on re-legalizing polygamy that the whole 'Sister Wives' phenomena has been pulsating ALONG the whole fiasco with Kim Davis over the marriage licenses. Anyone who reads the news knows about Kim Davis and the fiasco there, but not so many know about the 'Sister Wives' fiasco. It's like this: a daughter of Kody Brown, the star of TLC's 'Sister Wives', tried to join the Mormon Church and refused to denounce polygamy and was swiftly refused membership for her refusal to denounce polygamy. The same daughter went on Twitter and bashed the Church for some sympathy points. This has nothing to do with anti-homosexuality; it is about protecting the rights that people have within their religion and the fact Kim Davis made such a fiasco over the license thing when she could have simply quit if she wanted to protect her religious beliefs. The Kim Davis fiasco and the push on re-legalizing polygamy are creating such negative opinions that those with different beliefs need to find ways to protect themselves through peaceful means.
I believe the Church receives revelation from God. God never asked anyone to stop loving each other, but to stop messing with practices that He does not condone.
It also mentioned that children of such marriages may be baptized when they are of age, able to live on their own or separate from the household where the same gender relationship is, and willing to make such a commitment on their own instead of having their decision made for them. It does not say that love has to stop being given, as God would never ask that. God never said we had to stop loving others over the different beliefs we have.
