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PrevPrevious EpisodeRevelatory Whiplash (Part 3 of 4)
Next ExpisodeDan Vogel was a McConkie Mormon! (Part 1)Next

Legal, Science, and Social Issues on LGBT (Part 4 of 4)

Table of Contents: Legal, Science, and Social Issues on LGBT (Part 4 of 4)

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What are some of the legal, science, and social reasons the LDS Church may have removed the Policy of Exclusion?  Greg Prince answers these questions.

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GT:  I know in our last interview, one of the things that, what’s the word? The people that disagreed with you the most, I guess we’ll put it that way. Previously, we had talked, and I know it came up again last night, where you had said that it was a straw man, where people think that the government will now force gay marriages.  You’d given an example, has a rabbi ever been forced to marry a Jew and Gentile and things like that? So, I know there are still some people, if you look at my comments, I have a few people from lawyers that say that your argument is a straw man.

Greg:  I base my argument on two bits of data. One is that when the Hawaii decision was handed down, that invalidated the law, the Hawaii Supreme Court made it explicit, that under no circumstances would the LDS Church or any church be required by the state to perform any kind of marriage, that the authority to perform marriages resided in the state. It could be given to churches, and give them the privilege of performing marriages that would be legal, but there was no obligation that extended with that privilege. In other words, the state could not say, “Here’s how you have to do it. Here’s who you have to perform ceremonies for.”  It was made explicit in that.  The other data point is lengthy conversations with Bill Eskridge, who is a professor of law at Yale, is considered the top legal expert in the country on LGBTQ law.

And on the science front….

Greg:  Decades ago, researchers started looking at twins to see if that gave them clues as to the cause of homosexuality. If it were strictly genetic, then identical twins would always be the same. If one were gay, the other would be gay, if one were straight, the other would be straight.  Fraternal twins, because they don’t share the same genetic makeup would be expected to be different, like maybe not concordant at all.  It turned out that it was a mixture of the two, that with identical twins, the concordance would be in the neighborhood of 50 to 60%–one twin is gay, then it would be likely that the other also would be gay, but not essential. Whereas with fraternal twins, it was maybe around 20%. So what that really said, although we didn’t realize the ramifications of it at that time was, genetics is part of it, but there’s something else that’s part of it, and we didn’t know what to call that yet. Eventually, that came to be known as epigenetics, which are factors that work on how the genes function, but they’re not the genes themselves.

We also talk about the recent policy change that allows Americans to get married civilly one day and sealed later without a one-year wait. The conclusion is only available to subscribers of our FREE newsletter.  Just sign up at GospelTangents.com/newsletter and I will send you a free link to watch the conclusion!

- Legal, Science, and Social Issues on LGBT (Part 4 of 4) - Mormon History Podcast
Greg Prince discusses legal, social, and science aspects of LGBT policies.

Don’t miss our other conversations with Greg!

285 – Revelatory Whiplash

284 – The Christian Right & LGBT Fight

283 – Mixing Church & Politics in Gay Fight

 

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More Podcasts with these Guests:

  • Revelatory Whiplash (Part 3 of 4)
  • The Christian Right & LGBT Fight (Part 2 of 4)
  • Mixing Church & Politics in LGBT Fight (Part 1 of 4)
  • Looking back at 2017: Top 20 Moments
  • When Did LDS Start Ordaining Young Men?

Get more information on the people and things discussed in this episode:

  • Guest: Greg Prince
  • Theology: Gay-Mormon Issues
  • Science Topics Covered: Mormon Science
  • Historical Mentions Mormon History
  • Tags: GT Podcast, iTunes

Tell me when the next episode drops!

PrevPrevious EpisodeRevelatory Whiplash (Part 3 of 4)
Next ExpisodeDan Vogel was a McConkie Mormon! (Part 1)Next
  • Date: June 10, 2019
  • Guest: Greg Prince
  • Theology: Gay-Mormon Issues
  • Science Topics Covered: Mormon Science
  • Historical Mentions Mormon History
  • Tags: GT Podcast, iTunes
  • Posted By: RickB

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