Difference between revisions of "Question: Since there are people that are born intersex, experience gender dysphoria, or identify as transgender, does this invalidate the Latter-day Saint doctrine of eternal gender?"

(→‎Question: Since there are people that are born intersex, experience gender dysphoria, or identify as transgender, does this invalidate the Latter-day Saint ("Mormon") doctrine of eternal male and/or female gender?)
m (→‎top: Bot replace {{FairMormon}} with {{Main Page}} and remove extra lines around {{Header}})
 
(14 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{FairMormon}}
+
{{Main Page}}
 
<onlyinclude>
 
<onlyinclude>
−
==Question: Since there are people that are born intersex, experience gender dysphoria, or identify as transgender, does this invalidate the Latter-day Saint ("Mormon") doctrine of eternal male and/or female gender?==
+
==Question: Since there are people that are born intersex, experience gender dysphoria, or identify as transgender, does this invalidate the Latter-day Saint doctrine of eternal gender?==
 
===The Criticism===
 
===The Criticism===
 
Some secularist critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints point to the existence of intersex humans, people who experience gender dysphoria, or people who identify as transgender in order to invalidate the doctrine of eternal, binary gender.  
 
Some secularist critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints point to the existence of intersex humans, people who experience gender dysphoria, or people who identify as transgender in order to invalidate the doctrine of eternal, binary gender.  
Line 7: Line 7:
 
''Intersex people'' are defined as those that:
 
''Intersex people'' are defined as those that:
  
−
<blockquote>are born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies."<ref>Wikipedia, "Intersex" <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex> (accessed 4 January 2019)</ref></blockquote>
+
<blockquote>are born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies."<ref>"Intersex," ''Wikipedia'', accessed January 4, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex.</ref></blockquote>
  
 
''Transgender people'' are those that identify with, dress as, and/or have gender-reassignment surgeries performed on them to become, identify with, and or act as a different gender than the one they were proclaimed to be at birth.
 
''Transgender people'' are those that identify with, dress as, and/or have gender-reassignment surgeries performed on them to become, identify with, and or act as a different gender than the one they were proclaimed to be at birth.
  
−
''Gender dysphoria'' is the dissonance caused by not identifying with the gender (male or female) that one is proclaimed to be apart of at birth.
+
''Gender dysphoria'' is the dissonance caused by not identifying with the gender (male or female) that one is proclaimed to be a part of at birth.
  
 
It is claimed that this invalidates the doctrine of gender as outlined by "The Family: A Proclamation to the World":
 
It is claimed that this invalidates the doctrine of gender as outlined by "The Family: A Proclamation to the World":
  
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
−
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.<ref>The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" <https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&old=true> (accessed 4 January 2019)</ref></blockquote>
+
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.<ref>"The Family: A Proclamation to the World," ''The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'', accessed January 4, 2019, https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&old=true.</ref></blockquote>
  
−
It should be noted here that "gender" is used synonymously with "biological sex".<ref>Church Newsroom, "General Conference Leadership Meetings Begin" ,https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/october-2019-general-conference-first-presidency-leadership-session> (accessed 7 October 2019). “'Finally, the long-standing doctrinal statements reaffirmed in The Family: A Proclamation to the World 23 years ago will not change. They may be clarified as directed by inspiration.' For example, 'the intended meaning of gender in the family proclamation and as used in Church statements and publications since that time is biological sex at birth.'”</ref>
+
It should be noted here that "gender" is used synonymously with "biological sex".<ref>"General Conference Leadership Meetings Begin," ''Church Newsroom'', accessed October 7, 2019, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/october-2019-general-conference-first-presidency-leadership-session. “'Finally, the long-standing doctrinal statements reaffirmed in The Family: A Proclamation to the World 23 years ago will not change. They may be clarified as directed by inspiration.' For example, 'the intended meaning of gender in the family proclamation and as used in Church statements and publications since that time is biological sex at birth.'”</ref>
  
−
It should be first noted that those who make this argument commit the [https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Logical_fallacies/Page_3 naturalistic fallacy] in logic. Just because it occurs in nature, that does not, by necessity, make the behavior inherently correct.
+
===Our spirits are eternally gendered either male or female===
 +
One immediate point to make is that, according to the Family Proclamation above and the Doctrine and Covenants, our spirits are eternally gendered either male or female ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/49.15-17?lang=eng D&C 49:15-17]). A male or female spirit can still be housed in an intersex body. The existence of intersex individuals does not invalidate the possibility that we have male and female spirits only.  
  
−
Secondly, it is important to understand that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not oppose same-sex marriage because it wishes to discriminate against LGBTQAIP+-identifying individuals. On the contrary, the Church values their service and hopes that they will find meaningful service within the Church organization. Additionally, the Church espouses a particularly detailed set of doctrines&mdash;believed to have come through divine revelation&mdash;that outline the purpose of our pre-mortal, mortal, and post-mortal life that make accepting LGBT sealings within the Church virtually impossible without surrendering core doctrinal values and propositions. The first part of this article will detail some philosophical objections to this criticism and then outline the aforementioned doctrinal propositions that Latter-day Saints would be reticent to relinquish.
+
As it concerns transgender individuals, there are four logical possibilities:
 +
#Their spirit has legitimately been housed in the wrong bodies by their choice.
 +
#Their spirit has legitimately been housed in the wrong bodies by God's choice.
 +
#Their spirit has legitimately been housed in the wrong body by the joint agreement of them and God.
 +
#There is a deeper mental condition that doesn't allow their brains to accept that they actually belong to the right body.
  
−
===The Problem of Ontology===
+
We don't know which of these actually are happening. It's best to wait for science and revelation to converge. Eventually, we know they will. As President Russell M. Nelson has taught, "[t]here is no conflict between science and religion. Conflict only arises from an incomplete knowledge of either science or religion, or both[.]"<ref>"Elder Nelson: 'There Is No Conflict Between Science and Religion'," ''LDS Living'', April 17, 2015, https://www.ldsliving.com/Elder-Nelson-There-Is-No-Conflict-Between-Science-and-Religion-/s/78668.</ref>
−
The philosophical study of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology ontology] studies issues such as cause, being, and the self. What is the self? What is identity? Philosophers have debated these issues for a long, long time. The next section (or three subsections) will detail important claims in mainstream LGBT thought regarding ontology and the problems associated with those claims.
 
  
 
====Feelings are not Being====
 
====Feelings are not Being====
 +
Some may be offended by the last possibility. It does remain a logical possibility.
 +
 +
Brigham Young University professor Ty Mansfield pointed out something important in regard to feelings not forming identity. He related it to sexuality but it can equally apply to gender dysphoria.
  
−
Latter-day Saint researcher Ty Mansfield PhD. pointed out something important in regard to feelings not forming identity:
 
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
 
“Being gay” is not a scientific idea, but rather a cultural and philosophical one, addressing the subjective and largely existential phenomenon of identity. From a social constructionist/constructivist perspective, our sense of identity is something we negotiate with our environment. Environment can include biological environment, but our biology is still environment. From an LDS perspective, the essential spiritual person within us exists independent of our mortal biology, so our biology, our body is something that we relate to and negotiate our identity with, rather than something that inherently or essentially defines us. Also, while there has likely been homoerotic attraction, desire, behavior, and even relationships, among humans as long as there have been humans, the narratives through which sexuality is understood and incorporated into one’s sense of self and identity is subjective and culturally influenced. The “gay” person or personality didn’t exist prior to the mid-20th century.
 
“Being gay” is not a scientific idea, but rather a cultural and philosophical one, addressing the subjective and largely existential phenomenon of identity. From a social constructionist/constructivist perspective, our sense of identity is something we negotiate with our environment. Environment can include biological environment, but our biology is still environment. From an LDS perspective, the essential spiritual person within us exists independent of our mortal biology, so our biology, our body is something that we relate to and negotiate our identity with, rather than something that inherently or essentially defines us. Also, while there has likely been homoerotic attraction, desire, behavior, and even relationships, among humans as long as there have been humans, the narratives through which sexuality is understood and incorporated into one’s sense of self and identity is subjective and culturally influenced. The “gay” person or personality didn’t exist prior to the mid-20th century.
Line 35: Line 41:
 
In an LDS context, people often express concern about words that are used—whether they be “same-sex attraction,” which some feel denies the realities of the gay experience, or “gay,” “lesbian,” or “LGBT,” which some feels speaks more to specific lifestyle choices. What’s important to understand, however, is that identity isn’t just about the words we use but the paradigms and worldviews and perceptions of or beliefs about the “self” and “self-hood” through which we interpret and integrate our various experiences into a sense of personal identity, sexual or otherwise. And identity is highly fluid and subject to modification with change in personal values or socio-cultural context. The terms “gay,” “lesbian,” and “bisexual” aren’t uniformly understood or experienced in the same way by everyone who may use or adopt those terms, so it’s the way those terms or labels are incorporated into self-hood that accounts for identity. One person might identify as “gay” simply as shorthand for the mouthful “son or daughter of God who happens to experience romantic, sexual or other desire for persons of the same sex for causes unknown and for the short duration of mortality,” while another person experiences themselves as “gay” as a sort of eternal identity and state of being.
 
In an LDS context, people often express concern about words that are used—whether they be “same-sex attraction,” which some feel denies the realities of the gay experience, or “gay,” “lesbian,” or “LGBT,” which some feels speaks more to specific lifestyle choices. What’s important to understand, however, is that identity isn’t just about the words we use but the paradigms and worldviews and perceptions of or beliefs about the “self” and “self-hood” through which we interpret and integrate our various experiences into a sense of personal identity, sexual or otherwise. And identity is highly fluid and subject to modification with change in personal values or socio-cultural context. The terms “gay,” “lesbian,” and “bisexual” aren’t uniformly understood or experienced in the same way by everyone who may use or adopt those terms, so it’s the way those terms or labels are incorporated into self-hood that accounts for identity. One person might identify as “gay” simply as shorthand for the mouthful “son or daughter of God who happens to experience romantic, sexual or other desire for persons of the same sex for causes unknown and for the short duration of mortality,” while another person experiences themselves as “gay” as a sort of eternal identity and state of being.
  
−
An important philosophical thread in the overall experience of identity, is the experience of “selfhood”—what it means to have a self, and what it means to “be true to” that self. The question of what it means to be “true to ourselves” is a philosophical rather than a scientific one. In her book Multiplicity: The New Science of Personality, Identity, and the Self, award-winning science and medical writer Rita Carter explores the plurality of “selves” who live in each one of us and how each of those varied and sometimes conflicting senses of self inform various aspects of our identity(ies). This sense seems to be universal. In the movie The Incredibles, there’s a scene in which IncrediBoy says to Mr. Incredible, “You always, always say, ‘Be true to yourself,’ but you never say which part of yourself to be true to!”<ref>Ty Mansfield, "'Mormons can be gay, they just can’t do gay': Deconstructing Sexuality and Identity from an LDS Perspective" FairMormon Conference, 2014. <https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2014/mormons-can-gay-just-cant-gay> Accessed October 17, 2019</ref></blockquote>
+
An important philosophical thread in the overall experience of identity, is the experience of “selfhood”—what it means to have a self, and what it means to “be true to” that self. The question of what it means to be “true to ourselves” is a philosophical rather than a scientific one. In her book Multiplicity: The New Science of Personality, Identity, and the Self, award-winning science and medical writer Rita Carter explores the plurality of “selves” who live in each one of us and how each of those varied and sometimes conflicting senses of self inform various aspects of our identity(ies). This sense seems to be universal. In the movie The Incredibles, there’s a scene in which IncrediBoy says to Mr. Incredible, “You always, always say, ‘Be true to yourself,’ but you never say which part of yourself to be true to!”<ref>Ty Mansfield, "[https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2014/mormons-can-gay-just-cant-gay 'Mormons can be gay, they just can’t do gay': Deconstructing Sexuality and Identity from an LDS Perspective]," (presentation, FairMormon Conference, Provo, UT, 2014).</ref></blockquote>
  
 
Thus, there is ''big'' difference between ''feelings'' and the meaning or labels that we ''assign'' to feelings. Thank goodness that feelings are not being. Couldn't we imagine a time where someone would want to change feelings that they didn't feel described their identity such as impulses for pornography, drugs, or violence? This does not mean that the author is comparing sexual orientation to bad impulses, this is simply to point out that feelings do not inherently control identity. We assign identity to feelings.
 
Thus, there is ''big'' difference between ''feelings'' and the meaning or labels that we ''assign'' to feelings. Thank goodness that feelings are not being. Couldn't we imagine a time where someone would want to change feelings that they didn't feel described their identity such as impulses for pornography, drugs, or violence? This does not mean that the author is comparing sexual orientation to bad impulses, this is simply to point out that feelings do not inherently control identity. We assign identity to feelings.
  
 
These points demonstrate that we all have to seek out something else to determine identity that is enduring, real, and meaningful. Some of us turn to God for that identity. Others may subconsciously or consciously create some form of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonism platonic] entity to ground our morality and identity i.e. "Love binds the universe. Love is my religion". But the basic point still stands&mdash;our feelings may be used to form identity, but that identity--the identity based in our feelings that we are having now--isn't enduring; and we must turn to the unseen world to form abiding and real identity.
 
These points demonstrate that we all have to seek out something else to determine identity that is enduring, real, and meaningful. Some of us turn to God for that identity. Others may subconsciously or consciously create some form of a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonism platonic] entity to ground our morality and identity i.e. "Love binds the universe. Love is my religion". But the basic point still stands&mdash;our feelings may be used to form identity, but that identity--the identity based in our feelings that we are having now--isn't enduring; and we must turn to the unseen world to form abiding and real identity.
−
 
−
====Where We Get Identity From is Based in What Epistemic Assumptions We Assume====
 
−
Since feelings are not being, we need to turn to somewhere to get identity. Thus, we need to make a decision as to where we place our moral authority. There are a number of different approaches one may take to form identity and the concept of the self. Where we place our authority reveals what we believe about [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology epistemology] or the source from which we should gain normative (what ''should'' be the case) or descriptive (what simply ''is'' the case) knowledge from the world.
 
−
 
−
'''Scientism'''
 
−
 
−
Some people (such as our critics) turn to a school of thought known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism scientism] which is "the promotion of science as the best or only objective means by which society should determine normative and epistemological values." Thus, if something is scientifically understood as good, then all should believe it is good. This position is the most likely to deny the existence of God and rely solely upon what is scientifically observable for morality. This is probably the position most in opposition to the Gospel. The global problem of skepticism, however, makes scientism untenable for establishing morality. If there is no actual reality that is being observed, and reality is just an illusion, then what is the point in using science as our basis for morality?
 
−
 
−
'''Naturalism'''
 
−
 
−
Some people ascribe to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(philosophy) naturalism] which is "'idea or belief that only natural (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws and forces operate in the world.' Adherents of naturalism (i.e., naturalists) assert that natural laws are the rules that govern the structure and behavior of the natural universe, that the changing universe at every stage is a product of these laws." Some naturalists are faithful Latter-day Saints who believe in God, other naturalists don't believe in God at all (a position known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism atheism]) or don't believe in the Latter-day Saint understanding of God. ''Naturalist atheists'' would probably be those who would oppose obstention from accepting homosexual behavior as correct and moral.
 
−
 
−
We've already seen that atheistic naturalism needs to find a compelling solution to the problem of skepticism, a solution which doesn't currently exist<ref>See Jennifer Nagel, "Epistemology: Three Responses to Skepticism" ''Wireless Philosophy''. February 19, 2019. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xehTcQeqDWs>. Accessed October 17, 2019; Jennifer Nagel, "Epistemology: New Responses to Skepticism" ''Wireless Philosophy''. February 26, 2019. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cKyPeDYh8w>. Accessed October 17, 2019.</ref>, to make their morality work. Those religions that accept homosexual behavior as inherently correct because of belief in a different articulation of God's attributes and character are also going to oppose us strongly.
 
−
 
−
An additional problem with the above two epistemic positions is that they don't provide any solution to the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is%E2%80%93ought_problem Is-ought problem]". Without a compelling solution to these issues (including the problems of identity), there is no grounding for the claim that denying multiplicity of genders or the proclaimed gender identity of those that experience gender dysphoria is prejudiced discrimination.
 
−
 
−
'''Latter-day Saints'''
 
−
 
−
To understand the Latter-day Saint position and to see its validity, one must look through a Latter-day Saint lens. The most common metaphysical belief among Latter-day Saint theologians, philosophers, and laypeople is that of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism materialism] ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/131.7?lang=eng D&C 131:7]) which is the assertion that all things that exist have matter. If something does not have matter, it does not exist. Latter-day Saints deny [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_nihilo creatio ex nihilo] or the belief that the universe was created out of nothing and instead affirm creatio ex materia which is the belief in creation from pre-existing, eternal matter. Latter-day Saints also affirm the existence of a sovereign God who is corporeal (meaning "has a body") and anthropomorphic (meaning "human"). He reveals knowledge about himself--occasionally by making physical appearances ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1.17?lang=eng Joseph Smith-History 1:17]) and sending angels ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1.30-33?lang=eng Joseph Smith-History 1:30-33])-- but most of the time, he provides revelation through the Holy Ghost ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/10.5?lang=eng Moroni 10:5]). It may be argued that, with things such as the global problem of skepticism, that we should turn to the unseen (but still material) world for truly abiding knowledge of who we are, why we're here, where we come from, and where we're going. We can't turn to "just science" to establish abiding identity. Revelation from God may be the only thing that can establish true identity! But now, what does revelation from God tell us?
 
−
 
−
===The Doctrine of Binarized Gender Essentialism is not based on scientifically observed phenomenon from a fallen world, but an ideal that was experienced in the pre-existence, at creation, and what the ideal will be post-resurrection/exaltation.===
 
−
Many people fail to recognize that the doctrine of binarized gender essentialism is not based on scientifically observed phenomena from a fallen world, but on an ideal that was experienced in the pre-existence, at creation, and what the ideal will be post-resurrection/exaltation. We believe this ideal has been revealed by God to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophet,_seer,_and_revelator prophets].
 
−
 
−
====Doctrine from the Pre-existence====
 
−
In the pre-existence, our Heavenly Father and Mother created us (exactly how we're not sure and don't have an official doctrine on the point)&mdash;male and female&mdash; from spirit matter (sometimes referred to as "intelligence" [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/abr/3.21?lang=eng Abraham 3:21]).
 
−
There are [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/tg/spirit-creation?lang=eng many] [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/tg/spirit-body?lang=eng scriptures] that bear the doctrine of binarily gendered spirits out.
 
−
 
−
====Doctrine from Creation====
 
−
We know from repeated statements in scripture that all people&mdash;male and female&mdash; were created in the image and likeness of God ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/gen/1.26?clang=eng&lang=eng Genesis 1:26]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/7.27?lang=eng Mosiah 7:27], [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/ether/3.15?lang=eng Ether 3:15], [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/20.18?lang=eng Doctrine and Covenants 20:18], [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/1.6?lang=eng Moses 1:6]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/2.26?lang=eng 2:26], [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/6.9?lang=eng 6:9], [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/abr/4.26?lang=eng Abraham 4:26]). If there is any ambiguity as to the notion that we all had binary gendered spirits before coming to earth, this doctrine solidifies that fact. Some have stated that since the translation is rendered as "God" that this suggests some gender neutrality in the scriptures. This is implausible.
 
−
 
−
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Coogan Michael Coogan]:
 
−
 
−
<blockquote>The traditional translation is "in the image of God he created them." This does not entirely make sense, since the last line speaks of "male and female," and God in the Bible is not androgynous but male.
 
−
 
−
An alternative is to understand elohim in the second line in its plural sense: humans are male and female in the image of the gods&mdash;because the gods are male and female, humans are as well. Which male and female deities are the model? Although the entire pantheon is a possibility, the divine couple, Yahweh and his goddess consort, are more likely.<ref>Michael Coogan, "God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says" (New York City, NY: Grand Central, 2010), 175.</ref></blockquote>
 
−
 
−
Thus, "God", our creator, may be more properly referred to as "Gods" ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/abr/4.1?lang=eng Abraham 4:1]). These Gods, according to Dr. Coogan, are a male and female deity. This male and female deity would then be the creator of our spirits since "God" is the father of our spirits ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/num/16.22?lang=eng Num. 16:22];[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/num/27.16?lang=eng 27:16]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/mal/2.10?lang=eng Mal. 2:10]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/6.9?lang=eng Matt. 6:9]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/eph/4.6?lang=eng Eph. 4:6]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/heb/12.9?lang=eng Heb. 12:9]). Thus we learn something about what the ideal will be post-resurrection/exaltation.
 
−
 
−
These Gods created the mortal tabernacles Adam and Eve&mdash;a male and female&mdash; and provided spirits to inhabit their bodies. God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth. The reasons are obvious as to why a male and female would be commanded to do such: they're the only ones who can procreate without the need of additional technological and/or vicarious/proxy assistance.
 
−
 
−
As an aside, there is scientific evidence in favor of binarized gender.<ref>Steven Pinker, "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature" (London: Penguin Books, 2003); W. Bradford Wilcox and Kathleen Kovner Kline, "Gender and Parenthood: Biological and Social Scientific Perspectives" (New York: Columbia University Press, 2013); Diane F. Halpern, "Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities: 4th Edition " (London: Psychology Press, 2013); Paul Seabright, "The War of the Sexes: How Conflict and Cooperation Have Shaped Men and Women from Prehistory to the Present" (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012); Walker Wright, "Does More Gender Egalitarianism Reduce Gender Differences?" <https://difficultrun.nathanielgivens.com/2018/01/24/does-more-gender-egalitarianism-reduce-gender-differences/?fbclid=IwAR1oFl4vcY1OFXfuhbjUiVlUAxWkA4etZ46LUBMK_lRGBW973oEckRjD-A0> (accessed 20 August 2019); Walker Wright, "Does Gender Egalitarianism Reduce the STEM Field Gender Gap?" <https://difficultrun.nathanielgivens.com/2018/02/21/does-gender-egalitarianism-reduce-the-stem-field-gender-gap/?fbclid=IwAR19NhT5L-r2mV5OinYIlE-h--7xzrXwdi8F2XZxqxMoqkLmBq9UePNbvk4> (accessed 20 August 2019)</ref> While males and females do overlap significantly, we are different in meaningful ways.
 
−
 
−
====Doctrine from The Fall====
 
−
We learn that, after the fall, that thorns, thistles, and noxious weeds would torment man. We learn that nature would become chaotic in some ways and divert from the creational ideal. Thus nature has an order to it, but not complete order. These revelations that we have received about creation remind us what the ideal was during the pre-existence, at creation, and what the ideal will be post-resurrection/exaltation.
 
−
 
−
During this time of the fall, we have no evidence that God creates any of our bodies. Our biological parents, living in this fallen world, create(d) our bodies. Those bodies are subject to the affects of the Fall. We only have evidence that God created our spirits and the bodies of Adam and Eve. This is simply one of the effects of the fall that we have to overcome. Everyone has them. Christ asks us to take up our cross ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/10.28?lang=eng Matthew 10:28]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/16.24?lang=eng 16:24]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/9.23?lang=eng Luke 9:23]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/14.27?lang=eng 14:27]) and overcome the natural man (Mosiah 3:19).  Will one presume that someone is created with Downe's syndrome, autism, depression, anxiety, depression, etc? Such would make God evil, and as a scriptural truism, God is not evil. Those who identify as LGBT will need to wrestle more sincerely with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil problem of evil] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy theodicy].<ref>See David L. Paulsen, "[https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/david-l-paulsen/joseph-smith-problem-evil/ Joseph Smith and the Problem of Evil]" ''BYU Speeches'', September 21, 1999</ref>
 
−
 
−
====Doctrine from Resurrection====
 
−
We know that at resurrection, our bodies will be perfected and stripped from the effects of the Fall ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/11.43-45?lang=eng Alma 11:43-45]).
 
−
 
−
====Doctrine from Exaltation====
 
−
We learn that upon resurrection, we will be judged. When we are judged, and if we obtain the celestial kingdom, we will become Gods and go on to have everlasting increase. This is only done with husband and wife&mdash;male and female&mdash;sealed in holy temples of the Lord ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132.18-20?lang=eng D&C 132:18-20])&mdash;based upon the pattern followed at creation.
 
−
 
−
Thus we see that the doctrine of binarized gender essentialism cannot truly be harmed by those that identify as transgender, are born intersex, or who experience gender dysphoria. All of these things are based upon what is observed scientifically in a fallen world. Our doctrine is based upon what we believe God has revealed about the ideals manifested at pre-existence, creation, and what will be manifested once we are resurrected and exalted. We see that the disagreement is not based upon what is observed. All of us can observe the existence of these people. Where we (in this case members of the Church and secularists and/or progressive members) disagree is about where one's epistemic assumptions should lie i.e. where to turn to for knowledge about morality and/or ideals to categorize nature with.
 
  
 
===The Argument from Personal Revelation===
 
===The Argument from Personal Revelation===
−
There are often claims from members of the Church who identify as transgender and other members of the Church who support transgenderism that they have received personal revelation that they are meant to identify as the gender that they currently identify as and/or that gender is not meant to be binary. Both situations are highly improbable. For the first issue, it would require that God allow a person to enter the body of an individual when their sex chromosomes are unknown. Since life is not conceived until a sperm and egg cell meet, and since the sperm determine the sex of the individual, it seems highly unlikely to suppose that God would allow someone to inhabit a body that did not accord with their correct gender. Though perhaps the people act on their own when entering the body and thus sin. Thus this is highly improbable--though theoretically possible.
+
There are often claims from members of the Church who identify as transgender and other members of the Church who support transgenderism that they have received personal revelation that they are meant to identify as the gender that they currently identify as and/or that gender is not meant to be binary.
  
−
For the second issue: since this is a topic that involves the ontological makeup of the entire human family and since the revelation on this issue seems to already be very clear, this type of revelation does not lie within the stewardship of those that identify as transgender or those that support transgenderism, but with the prophet of God and the prophets have consistently declared a nature of either male or female ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/28.2-4?lang=eng D&C 28:2-4]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/42.53-58?lang=eng 42:53-58]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/112.20?lang=eng 112:20]; see above for scriptures outlining identity). Thus, it is more than likely that these individuals have been deceived by false Spirits ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/50.1-2?lang=eng D&C 50:1-2]) and their testimonies should be disregarded. If these individuals ''were'' to receive true revelation that this was the case, they would be placed under strict commandment to not impart it to other people until that revelation accorded with the prophets (Alma 12:9). Some argue against this using the example of Cornelius who received revelation that he would receive baptism&mdash;supposedly before Peter received the revelation to take the Gospel to the Gentiles ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/10?lang=eng Acts 10]). Yet there are two problems:
+
There are often claims from members of the Church who identify as transgender and other members of the Church who support transgenderism that they have received personal revelation that the Church is wrong about this issue and that it will eventually accept transgenderism and so on in the future. Since this is an important theological topic that involves the entire human family and their eternal destiny, this type of revelation does not lie within the stewardship of those that identify as transgender or those that support same-sex marriage, but with the prophet of God ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/28.2-4?lang=eng Doctrine and Covenants 28:2-4]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/42.53-60?lang=eng 42:53-60]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/112.20?lang=eng 112:20]). We should wait for the Lord to reveal more officially as to what is occuring with transgender individuals. As it regards those that have felt like they've received revelation that gender isn't binary, the Savior told us that the one way we could protect ourselves against deception is to hold to his word ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-m/1.37?lang=eng JS-Matthew 1:37]) and he announces himself as the source of the revelation declaring that gender is binary ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/49.28?lang=eng&clang=eng Doctrine and Covenants 49:28]). Thus, it is likely that these individuals, if they have indeed felt revelation occur, have been deceived by false Spirits ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/50.1-2?lang=eng Doctrine and Covenants 50:1-2]) and their testimonies should be disregarded. If someone were to receive a revelation like this, it would be given to them for their own comfort and instruction. They would also be placed under strict commandment to not disseminate their revelation until it accords with the revelation of the prophets, God's authorized priesthood channels ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/12.9?lang=eng&clang=eng#p9 Alma 12:9]).  
−
#The Savior had already given the command to the apostles to go to all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature and baptize them ([https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/mark/16.15-16?lang=eng Mark 16:15-16]; [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/morm/9.22-24?lang=eng Mormon 9:22-24]<ref>Be sure to see our [[Question: Why does part of the longer ending of Mark show up in the Book of Mormon?|article]] on the longer ending of Mark.</ref>). Thus, this wasn't necessarily a question of what but of when. This was not a revelation about essential missiological outlook, it was a revelation of when to execute it. Thus the example is not analogous to this situation.
 
−
#Even if we were to assume that a revelation to Cornelius signaled the future change of the Church in ancient times, that is certainly not how the Lord has wished to distribute revelation in modern times as seen in the three first scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants cited at the top of this section.
 
  
 
{{Main|Question: How does official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints view those that receive revelation that contradicts that of the Prophet?}}
 
{{Main|Question: How does official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints view those that receive revelation that contradicts that of the Prophet?}}
−
 
−
===Argument from Fallibility===
 
−
Some argue that the prophets are simply wrong on this issue and have presented a few examples to bolster their case.
 
−
 
−
====Additional Light====
 
−
Some argue that there may yet be additional light added to this question because of questions that need to be answered regarding LGBT issues. Usually, disagreement over this issue stem from one side's insistence on deducing conclusions based on propositions already established in Scripture (which the author adheres to) and the other's insistence that there needs to be additional revelation on this issue. Questioners ask things like the following:
 
−
 
−
*''What if people are born into the wrong bodies?'' As addressed above, its theoretically and theologically possible, though not very probable. Since the personal revelation of these individuals involves the essential ontological nature of the human species, their revelation should still not be considered as relevant for the Church as a whole and it is likely that they have been deceived by false Spirits.
 
−
*''What constitutes being male and female?'' Some people accept the premise in The Family: A Proclamation to the World that all children of God are male and female but ask what constitutes maleness and femaleness. What if a male has feminine characteristics and/or is the more nurturing one in the familial relationship? What if a female is more industrial and earns money for the family? The first thing to be pointed out is that the Family mentions that individual circumstances may necessitate individual adaption. The second point is that the main function of males and females is creational as is seen from our pre-mortal existence, the creation narratives, and from scriptures pertaining to our exaltation (see above).
 
−
 
−
====Simple Fallibility====
 
−
Latter-day Saints do not believe in the doctrine of infallibility. Prophets are considered mortals that can make mistakes at times. Some advocates of the LGBT position have argued that the prophets are simply wrong on this issue (usually for reasons discussed above). The problems with the position are outlined above. The position is the result of revelation that has come to prophets over three thousand years beginning with the authorship of the J source of the Pentateuch circa 1000 BC. If the prophets have gotten our essential ontology wrong for '''''that''''' amount of time, it's difficult to imagine how we can trust them. This wouldn't be just because of how long of time, but also because of how easily deducible it is from the scriptures what our eternal identity and purpose is and the fundamental rewriting of that purpose. It makes God deceptive.
 
−
 
−
====The Argument from Priesthood Restriction====
 
−
As an additional means of justifying opposition to the Church's position on same sex marriage, some point to the pre-1978 restrictions on people of African descent from holding the Church's priesthood or officiating in temple ordinances, including the Church's disavowed explanations for the restrictions. If the Church was wrong about their explanations for that, could it be wrong about this issue? This has been examined in another article on the FairMormon wiki.
 
−
 
−
{{Main|Question: Isn't the Mormon opposition to same-sex marriage hypocritical, considering that they used to ban black from holding the priesthood until 1978?}}
 
  
 
As a final word which we wish to emphasize:
 
As a final word which we wish to emphasize:
Line 130: Line 63:
  
 
[[es:Pregunta: Ya que hay personas que nacen intersexuales, ¿esto invalida la doctrina del género eterno de los Santos de los Últimos Días ("Mormón")?]]
 
[[es:Pregunta: Ya que hay personas que nacen intersexuales, ¿esto invalida la doctrina del género eterno de los Santos de los Últimos Días ("Mormón")?]]
 +
[[Category:Questions]]

Latest revision as of 15:27, 13 April 2024

FAIR Answers—back to home page

Question: Since there are people that are born intersex, experience gender dysphoria, or identify as transgender, does this invalidate the Latter-day Saint doctrine of eternal gender?

The Criticism

Some secularist critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints point to the existence of intersex humans, people who experience gender dysphoria, or people who identify as transgender in order to invalidate the doctrine of eternal, binary gender.

Intersex people are defined as those that:

are born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies."[1]

Transgender people are those that identify with, dress as, and/or have gender-reassignment surgeries performed on them to become, identify with, and or act as a different gender than the one they were proclaimed to be at birth.

Gender dysphoria is the dissonance caused by not identifying with the gender (male or female) that one is proclaimed to be a part of at birth.

It is claimed that this invalidates the doctrine of gender as outlined by "The Family: A Proclamation to the World":

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.[2]

It should be noted here that "gender" is used synonymously with "biological sex".[3]

Our spirits are eternally gendered either male or female

One immediate point to make is that, according to the Family Proclamation above and the Doctrine and Covenants, our spirits are eternally gendered either male or female (D&C 49:15-17). A male or female spirit can still be housed in an intersex body. The existence of intersex individuals does not invalidate the possibility that we have male and female spirits only.

As it concerns transgender individuals, there are four logical possibilities:

  1. Their spirit has legitimately been housed in the wrong bodies by their choice.
  2. Their spirit has legitimately been housed in the wrong bodies by God's choice.
  3. Their spirit has legitimately been housed in the wrong body by the joint agreement of them and God.
  4. There is a deeper mental condition that doesn't allow their brains to accept that they actually belong to the right body.

We don't know which of these actually are happening. It's best to wait for science and revelation to converge. Eventually, we know they will. As President Russell M. Nelson has taught, "[t]here is no conflict between science and religion. Conflict only arises from an incomplete knowledge of either science or religion, or both[.]"[4]

Feelings are not Being

Some may be offended by the last possibility. It does remain a logical possibility.

Brigham Young University professor Ty Mansfield pointed out something important in regard to feelings not forming identity. He related it to sexuality but it can equally apply to gender dysphoria.

“Being gay” is not a scientific idea, but rather a cultural and philosophical one, addressing the subjective and largely existential phenomenon of identity. From a social constructionist/constructivist perspective, our sense of identity is something we negotiate with our environment. Environment can include biological environment, but our biology is still environment. From an LDS perspective, the essential spiritual person within us exists independent of our mortal biology, so our biology, our body is something that we relate to and negotiate our identity with, rather than something that inherently or essentially defines us. Also, while there has likely been homoerotic attraction, desire, behavior, and even relationships, among humans as long as there have been humans, the narratives through which sexuality is understood and incorporated into one’s sense of self and identity is subjective and culturally influenced. The “gay” person or personality didn’t exist prior to the mid-20th century.

In an LDS context, people often express concern about words that are used—whether they be “same-sex attraction,” which some feel denies the realities of the gay experience, or “gay,” “lesbian,” or “LGBT,” which some feels speaks more to specific lifestyle choices. What’s important to understand, however, is that identity isn’t just about the words we use but the paradigms and worldviews and perceptions of or beliefs about the “self” and “self-hood” through which we interpret and integrate our various experiences into a sense of personal identity, sexual or otherwise. And identity is highly fluid and subject to modification with change in personal values or socio-cultural context. The terms “gay,” “lesbian,” and “bisexual” aren’t uniformly understood or experienced in the same way by everyone who may use or adopt those terms, so it’s the way those terms or labels are incorporated into self-hood that accounts for identity. One person might identify as “gay” simply as shorthand for the mouthful “son or daughter of God who happens to experience romantic, sexual or other desire for persons of the same sex for causes unknown and for the short duration of mortality,” while another person experiences themselves as “gay” as a sort of eternal identity and state of being.

An important philosophical thread in the overall experience of identity, is the experience of “selfhood”—what it means to have a self, and what it means to “be true to” that self. The question of what it means to be “true to ourselves” is a philosophical rather than a scientific one. In her book Multiplicity: The New Science of Personality, Identity, and the Self, award-winning science and medical writer Rita Carter explores the plurality of “selves” who live in each one of us and how each of those varied and sometimes conflicting senses of self inform various aspects of our identity(ies). This sense seems to be universal. In the movie The Incredibles, there’s a scene in which IncrediBoy says to Mr. Incredible, “You always, always say, ‘Be true to yourself,’ but you never say which part of yourself to be true to!”[5]

Thus, there is big difference between feelings and the meaning or labels that we assign to feelings. Thank goodness that feelings are not being. Couldn't we imagine a time where someone would want to change feelings that they didn't feel described their identity such as impulses for pornography, drugs, or violence? This does not mean that the author is comparing sexual orientation to bad impulses, this is simply to point out that feelings do not inherently control identity. We assign identity to feelings.

These points demonstrate that we all have to seek out something else to determine identity that is enduring, real, and meaningful. Some of us turn to God for that identity. Others may subconsciously or consciously create some form of a platonic entity to ground our morality and identity i.e. "Love binds the universe. Love is my religion". But the basic point still stands—our feelings may be used to form identity, but that identity--the identity based in our feelings that we are having now--isn't enduring; and we must turn to the unseen world to form abiding and real identity.

The Argument from Personal Revelation

There are often claims from members of the Church who identify as transgender and other members of the Church who support transgenderism that they have received personal revelation that they are meant to identify as the gender that they currently identify as and/or that gender is not meant to be binary.

There are often claims from members of the Church who identify as transgender and other members of the Church who support transgenderism that they have received personal revelation that the Church is wrong about this issue and that it will eventually accept transgenderism and so on in the future. Since this is an important theological topic that involves the entire human family and their eternal destiny, this type of revelation does not lie within the stewardship of those that identify as transgender or those that support same-sex marriage, but with the prophet of God (Doctrine and Covenants 28:2-4; 42:53-60; 112:20). We should wait for the Lord to reveal more officially as to what is occuring with transgender individuals. As it regards those that have felt like they've received revelation that gender isn't binary, the Savior told us that the one way we could protect ourselves against deception is to hold to his word (JS-Matthew 1:37) and he announces himself as the source of the revelation declaring that gender is binary (Doctrine and Covenants 49:28). Thus, it is likely that these individuals, if they have indeed felt revelation occur, have been deceived by false Spirits (Doctrine and Covenants 50:1-2) and their testimonies should be disregarded. If someone were to receive a revelation like this, it would be given to them for their own comfort and instruction. They would also be placed under strict commandment to not disseminate their revelation until it accords with the revelation of the prophets, God's authorized priesthood channels (Alma 12:9).

Main article: Question: How does official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints view those that receive revelation that contradicts that of the Prophet?

As a final word which we wish to emphasize:

FairMormon joins The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in unequivocally condemning the discrimination of any of God's children based upon gender (or gender identity), race, sexual identity and/or orientation, and/or religious affiliation..

See also: Question: If same-sex attraction is something that occurs naturally, why can't God and the Church accept it by allowing sealings of LGBT couples?


Notes

  1. ↑ "Intersex," Wikipedia, accessed January 4, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex.
  2. ↑ "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed January 4, 2019, https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&old=true.
  3. ↑ "General Conference Leadership Meetings Begin," Church Newsroom, accessed October 7, 2019, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/october-2019-general-conference-first-presidency-leadership-session. “'Finally, the long-standing doctrinal statements reaffirmed in The Family: A Proclamation to the World 23 years ago will not change. They may be clarified as directed by inspiration.' For example, 'the intended meaning of gender in the family proclamation and as used in Church statements and publications since that time is biological sex at birth.'”
  4. ↑ "Elder Nelson: 'There Is No Conflict Between Science and Religion'," LDS Living, April 17, 2015, https://www.ldsliving.com/Elder-Nelson-There-Is-No-Conflict-Between-Science-and-Religion-/s/78668.
  5. ↑ Ty Mansfield, "'Mormons can be gay, they just can’t do gay': Deconstructing Sexuality and Identity from an LDS Perspective," (presentation, FairMormon Conference, Provo, UT, 2014).
Retrieved from "https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/index.php?title=Question:_Since_there_are_people_that_are_born_intersex%2C_experience_gender_dysphoria%2C_or_identify_as_transgender%2C_does_this_invalidate_the_Latter-day_Saint_doctrine_of_eternal_gender%3F&oldid=241093"