For my General Conference analysis, I analyzed President Boyd K. Packer's talk about the sinfulness of homosexuality. I found that he used a ton of logos, defining our beliefs and God's laws. My favorite logical argument he makes is the cat story. We do laugh, but we all agree that you cannot vote on the sex of a cat, or the laws of gravity. I thought that was one of his more powerful arguments, I at least thought it was the most memorable. He was very persuasive, at least to members. Obviously, it has created a lot of uproar. There is a petition to try ad get President Packer to rescind what he said, the Church has given a statement in response saying we stand behind our doctrine, and there are Facebook© pages supporting President Packer. I do not know if this is correct, but to me, it speaks of President Packer's talk that it has caused such a stir. Granted, it's a very polarized issue, but I still believe that the power and frankness of his talk spurred on this strong reaction.
He used strong, logical examples, along with emotional examples and very authoritative sources (the scriptures) to convince us that homosexuality is not a tendency inherent in people, but a temptation given them as part of the test in this life. I believe that President Packer's frankness and logical arguments powerfully convinces us not only that homosexuality is a temptation and a sin, but give hope that the Atonement covers those tendencies, and with Christ's help, we can overcome all sinful tendencies. President Packer's talk is one of hope.
I personally love the Church's stance on this issue: it's that act that is sinful, not the thoughts. I had a friend, who was gay, ask me once why I thought it was bad, and I didn't know how to answer him. Now I do, because of the events surrounding President Packer's talk. I hope one day I will get the chance to talk to him again and explain my position with more clarity. I am very grateful for this assignment, because it made me read a Conference talk, and showed me that there is a lot to be gained from doing so. I will be reading more in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment