For the first time since November, the new church policy postponing the age of baptism for children of same-sex couples was addressed over the pulpit by Russell M. Nelson, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In Sunday’s LDS Devotional for young adults. Nelson, rather than discussing the specifics of the new policy, instead addressed how the decision was made to enact it.
“Filled with compassion for all, and especially for the children, we wrestled at length to understand the Lord’s will in this matter, ever mindful of God’s plan of salvation and of his hope for eternal life for each of his children,” Nelson said.
Nelson remarked that the decision to enact the policy, which requires children of same-sex couples to wait until the age of 18 for baptism and renounce same-sex relationships, was made the same way the 2012 decision to lower the age of missionary service was made.
“We considered countless permutations and combinations of possible scenarios that could arise. We met repeatedly in the temple in fasting and prayer and sought further direction and inspiration,” he said. “When the Lord inspired his prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, to declare the mind of the Lord and the will of the Lord, each of us during that sacred moment felt a spiritual confirmation.”
Nelson noted that the decision to sustain the prophet in this matter was made by each individual after diligently seeking to hear the voice of the Lord and personally wrestling with the issue.
Speaking to young members of the church affected by this decision and others made my the Quorum of the Twelve, Nelson said that some may question why the church does what it does. He added that asking these questions and seeking answers at an individual level is critical to spiritual progression.
“Seeking to learn, understand, and recognize truth is a vital part of our mortal experience,” he said. “Revelation from the Lord to his servants is a sacred process, and so is your privilege of receiving personal revelation. You have as much access to the mind and will of the Lord for your own life as we apostles do for his church. Just as the Lord requires us to seek, ponder, fast pray, and wrestle with difficult questions, he requires you to do the same as you seek answers to your own questions.”
Nelson’s remarks to millennial members of the church included encouragement to spend more time in sacred places, seek answers from the Lord rather than social media, follow the prophets, and accomplish challenging obstacles in life. He also urged them to be true to the millennial they were born to be.
His talk was preceded by a talk given by his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, who encouraged young single adults to desperately seek the will and guidance of the Lord and apply the Atonement of the Savior in their lives.
Both President and Sister Nelson’s talks can be accessed on lds.org.
Comments
2 responses to “Same-Sex Policy Changes Discussed Over Pulpit for 1st Time During YA Devotional”
Why was this called a policy change for weeks if it was actually a revelation? Why didn”t they announce it as a revelation when it was first declared? How long will this last until they get a new revelation? Can we stipulate that they’re making it up as they go along?
I doubt they would even make a policy change, especially one of that magnitude, without at least trying to confirm it with the Lord. I feel like playing with the “policy change” vs “revelation” thing is just a semantics game. I doubt it’s just so cut and dried as policy change=God isn’t involved at all vs revelation=only from God and prophets didn’t have anything to do with it. If you’re wanting to find fault with the leaders, you will. If you need to play with semantics to find fault with the leaders, you’ll find a way. God always provides just enough proof for the church to have a testimony and just enough proof against the church to doubt. That’s why faith is required. I won’t deny it took me a while to come to terms with some aspects of this policy, but after a lot of prayer, fasting, and study, I understand it and am willing to take the church at its word that this will prevent more issues than it will create.