A few months ago I wrote my sincere apology to my LGBT brothers and sisters. Both who are in the church and those who have left.

Today, I offer my apology to the Mormon and ex-Mormon parents of gay children.

Back in Time

Five years ago, I was the high priest group leader. In one of our quorum meetings, the lesson topic was teaching the gospel to our children. This scripture was highlighted:

Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. D&C 68:25

One brother asked with concern, “How can I know if I taught my children as I should?” He then shared some of the bad decisions a couple of his children had made.

The balance of the meeting was filled with a fascinating back and forth discussion. Finally, somewhat of a consensus was reached. If your kids follow the commandments, then you can know that you taught them well during their childhood. However, I don’t think this sat well with a few quorum members, including me.

I was about to close the meeting, when a brother interrupted me. He had been totally silent during the entire discussion. This good man happens to have 3 gay children. As he began to speak, I realized how insensitive the discussion and conclusions had been to his situation. His voice betrayed a sense of discomfort, maybe even pain. He said something like this, “I think I did a pretty good job raising my kids. They have their free agency to make their own choices. All my kids are very good people.” In the following years, my friend has seldom ventured back into our priesthood meetings.

I’m Sorry

To my friend and to all parents of gay children….I apologize. You see, we were taught by our church that ‘blame’ for children being gay rests on the shoulders of the parents, on bad choices made by the kids, and on other, now discredited, speculations.

There is no ‘blame.’ Blame doesn’t even belong in an LGBT discussion. Maybe…credit, but not blame. And I give the credit to God. Your children came into the world perfect. Just as God created them. Beautiful babies with beautiful spirits. Blame and shame rests only on the shoulders of parents who do not embrace, love and champion their gay child.

I Apologize for What my Church has Taught

These words were pronounced in General conference by Elder Hartman Rector; April 1981-Sunday afternoon session. I’m sorry that these and many other misguided statements were ever part of our church teachings.

I’m Sorry that We Accepted These Teachings as Truth

That’s right. I did. We did. We absorbed this erroneous instruction from our leaders. As a result, an unfounded prejudice towards gays permeated our LDS culture. And…towards their parents…who hadn’t provided “a happy family experience.”

Unfortunately, these hurtful beliefs still abound within the church membership. Our leaders have done little to counter the unsound teachings of just a few years ago. A few months ago, I told my home teachers that during their next visit I wanted to discuss the November 2015 policy regarding gay couples. I commend them for their dutiful and well meaning response. They brought a paper discussing how homosexuals become homosexual. Guess what was at the top of the list. It’s the parents fault! Several other reasons followed. All totally discredited by modern science and experience.

I don’t hold any of those views today. But, I did. I’m sorry, my dear friends who have gay children.

I’m Sorry That We Are Now Hiding Our Past Teachings

You can find the audio and print versions of Elder Rector’s talk HERE. But, there’s a big problem. The written words don’t match the spoken words. The quote above, along with the entire section dealing with homosexuality, have been scrubbed from the written version. You can listen to the deleted section starting at the 6:45 minute mark.

We should not silently whitewash our past teachings about families with gay children. Rather, we should condemn and disavow them. Otherwise, this false and damaging ‘knowledge’ will live on in our culture until it dies of old age.

Well, I’m disavowing it right now. I disavow the false theories that were presented as truth in our recent past. My dear friends with gay children, the state of happiness in your home had no effect on the orientation of your children. I’m sorry that we are now hiding what was once openly taught.

I Love You

Finally, if you have gay kids, I love you and your beautiful children. If you are gay, you had better know that I love you. Our society is marching forward in a wonderfully positive direction. I love it that the younger generation has no compunction regarding LGBT. Thank heavens.

I also love my church. It has beauties. It has blemishes. Ignoring our imperfection only leads to greater imperfection. So, no way am I going to ignore.