"Gay" in the News: Oklahoma Religion in the Courts

Oklahoma court ruling clashes with religion, business.  Most religious systems advocate for moral values.  Business represent a number of religious individuals who choose not to cater to immorality.  Therein lies the conflict.

Morality: Purity, Chastity, Virtue

The East Glacis of the
Great Salt Lake Temple

Some mistakenly believe that these ideals have the connotation the world assigns to the same values of sexuality. Nothing could be further from the truth.

On the one side, morality is values-based. It deals with our reason and rationale for altruism. We sacrifice self-interest because we have been created with the ability to recognize that it serves a higher purpose to forward the righteous needs and desires of others over our own.

On the contrary, the natural man is an enemy to God, and represents everything that persuades and entices abusive force, brutality, selfishness, satiation, excess, and worse, to exclude gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned.

Virginity is not the same as chastity or virtue. Nor does a loss of virginity of necessity signify any attendant sacrifice of virtue, chastity, or purity. Much of the world confuses these terms, and the dictionary is no longer useful, because common usage reflects that misunderstanding. Heavenly Father and myself are the ones to whom I account for my own morality. It is of little interest or account to the rest of the world. Most of the rest do not agree with me on what it means anyway, so why share my status and just spread confusion?

There are two special exceptions that exist at present, as there are often policy exceptions. One is if I happen to be married, and the other is my bishop. Both are confidential, and should never divulge or discuss with others any details of personal matters except under very rare circumstances.