In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States, and the response by the Mormon church to reaffirm that marriage in Mormon temples will continue to be authorized only between one man and one woman, I find myself contemplating the continuing suicides of young Mormon teens who cannot negotiate a space for themselves in Mormonism while gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, intersex or queer. I think of the pressure on these Mormons to "try" to marry and pretend to be heterosexual so that they can qualify for the highest level of Mormon heaven. I think of those who leave the Mormon church (or are excommunicated) for the sin of marrying a same-sex partner they love or for simply wanting something more than lifelong forced celibacy. And I am sad.
I love Mormonism and I love specifically the Mormon doctrine that God has a body. He made us in His image, which to Mormons means that the body itself is not something dirty, not something to rise above, but something that is divine and can be perfected. Mormons believe that the reason we are on this earth is very specifically to get this body. Without it, we were limited in our ability to become more like God. As spirits alone, we could only understand so much about God Himself. After the war in heaven, those who fought on Satan's side were doomed never to have a body, which is why they sometimes try to possess our bodies or tempt us because they are jealous of what they will never have.
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