tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6144399754818696603.post7580532550955060104..comments2023-10-05T03:21:41.343-06:00Comments on Invictus Pilgrim: Gay Gospel Doctrine Class: Eyes to See and Ears to HearInvictus Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15961213460164925021noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6144399754818696603.post-90840334663260343342011-03-21T09:18:20.662-06:002011-03-21T09:18:20.662-06:00@Dave - Thank you SO much for your comments and fo...@Dave - Thank you SO much for your comments and for being so honest. I was touched by what you wrote. I found these sentences particularly profound and significant: "I no longer pray to be healed or changed. Now I pray to be open minded as I explore this path. I pray to recognize and know truth ..." Thank so much for sharing this.<br /><br />@Brad - Glad it was of some help. That's what these lessons are all about.Invictus Pilgrimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961213460164925021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6144399754818696603.post-69592699710598483812011-03-21T07:40:39.780-06:002011-03-21T07:40:39.780-06:00I appreciated this lesson and its take on spiritua...I appreciated this lesson and its take on spirituality and parables. I've been pondering some of the Savior's parables lately, so this was helpful.mistahdoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10565026922565152435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6144399754818696603.post-63199502183333307222011-03-20T09:36:31.021-06:002011-03-20T09:36:31.021-06:00Dear Clive and Invictus - thank you for helping th...Dear Clive and Invictus - thank you for helping those of us who struggle as we figure out our own path.<br /><br />I stopped praying for several years. Mostly because I didn't feel worthy and because I lost hope that my prayers would lead to peace. After years of begging and pleading for the attractions I felt for men to go away, I gave up. And no amount of prayer filled the void I feel inside - an emptiness that is difficult to explain, but which I'm sure many readers here are familiar with.<br /><br />After re-reading church articles, including Packer's conference address, related to homosexuality and same gender attraction, I began to ask myself, why I choose to associate and believe in something that has caused me so much pain. I decided then that I will no longer hate myself for these attractions. And since no amount of prayer, faith, self-denial, or obedience has changed my sexuality, I determined that I needed to take a different path. <br /><br />About three months ago, I started praying again. But the nature of my prayers has changed. I no longer pray to be healed or changed. Now I pray to be open minded as I explore this path. I pray to recognize and know truth, even if these truths are in conflict with what I've been taught. And I pray to have the strength to continue on this path of self-discovery and not go back to my path of self-denial -- the path that feels like slowly dying, as your other commenters have described.<br /><br />I can't say that I've been overwhelmed by spiritual guidance as a result, but I have felt some peace as the inner conflict of self-denial and shame is ending. And today, I felt a spiritual witness as I read these words in your gospel lesson: "We must be willing to kindly yet clearly spread the Good News that being gay is a gift from God, that we are worthy men and women who are created in His image, that He loves us and answers our prayers, and that this knowledge brings us joy." <br /><br />So today, I am grateful to feel the spirit confirm that I am loved and accepted as a gay man.<br />Thank you - Dave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com