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According to current church policy, if a person has the urges/inclination, but is doing their best to live a celibate life, I would need to overcome any of my negative reactions and reach out to that person in love, just as I would any other brother or sister in the gospel. Goodness knows, in today's society, they would need every good friend in the church they can get. (don't we all)

I think it is a nature and nurture problem. For instance, personalities are largely inborn, and some people are more more sensitive to the five senses. I believe these people would be more susceptible, as would those who are born with large, loving hearts. I ran across an interesting study about 10 years ago where sea horses exhibited homosexual behavior after being exposed to prolonged, intense stress. I can't seem to locate the study any more, but it did make me pause and think.

yeah, i heard that one too. i know thats what we've been told but i'm more interested in how people in particular you would behave. we've been told to be a gracious and loving people, but we aren't always (myself included), so i'm just interested in reactions. so question: if you had a good friend, or even family member who was openly (versus actively, where the person is acting on it) bi/homosexual, how would you react? shock? initial disgust and then acceptnce? or would things really change at all?

and, is openly admitting you feel a certain way the same as acting on it? you've accepted it as part of your life, but do you think its right to do that? accept it?

thats what i'm interested in finding out. i know what we're supposed to do in these situations, but i wanna know how people would honestly react. i won't judge, and i don't think anyone else here would either.

nk(s-k) is a curious panda bear....

but why not? i mean what if someone has dealt with it their entire lives? or at least a good deal of it, trying to understand why they were the way they were-i would think coming out ould be a liberating, if not complicated, experience. i think someone who is openly, not necessarily advertising it but admits to it when asked etc., gay or lesbian could deal with it better than if tey kept it locked inside. thats hard, keeping something like that to yourself, especially if the person is in a position where thay are pressured to be or bahve somehow.

but why they're open still isn't what i'm curious about: i want to know how you would react to the news, how you as an individual would react to a friend suddenly falling under a label you weren't expecting, or just a member of the ward you don't know as well-what are your thoughts about the person?

i got one part: you wonder why they're coming out if they're not acting on it. okay, thats a good first step, you have a thought, but how would you react?

nk(s-k) is immensely curious, you seem like you've got a reaction, so tell me...you know you want to!

I had a good friend who admitted he was gay. It was probably a year or so after high school when I found out. I was looking up old high school friends over Myspace when I found him. At first I didn't realize it was him because of his sexual orientation. After all, I practically grew up with this guy and he never seemed gay to me.

When I finally realized it was my good friend, I went into shock. How could I not? Questions popped into my mind. Did he ever think of me in any way other than a friend? What kind of acts had he done? How long has he been gay? And many others.

But then I realized that was a fear instilled upon me by Satan. Wasn't this guy still a good friend of mine? Was he any different than the guy that I've always known? He's never done anything to me. After a while I came to the conclusion that he wasn't the one who changed. I changed when I found out.

He was still the same guy I had always known. And after talking with him, it only proved my conclusions. Of course he stopped being friends with me... I don't know why. I still see him as my friend though. And I always will.

You know, I'm not surprised that most would chose to hide that fact away. Are we any different? I'm not talking about sexual orientation now. I'm talking about our religion. Sometimes, we as "Mormons" hide that fact away so that others won't judge us. It scares us to think what our friends would do if they found out about our religion. Sure, we could talk about Mormons and how we feel about them. But claiming to be one is a different matter.

On the opposite view, those who find out that we are "Mormons" probably feel the same way as we do about homosexuals. Fear is instilled upon them because they don't understand. That's how it works. It's only when people understand do they come to accept. I'm not saying we need to accept homosexuality. But we should at least try to accept the person.

now this is what i was waiting to hear-opinions and experiences, and honesty. i'll be honest, that would be hard, depending on their activity level. but as far as i'm concerned it doesn't matter to me if their gay. straight, bi whatever, so long as they're following the commandments of our church. I wouldn't honestly care if my roomie at college was gay, cuz lets face it-if i felt truly nervous about the arrangement, theres always the couch. besides, i had a friend at college, byu no less, who was an open bisexual.

she was happier around us once she told us, she felt more free and open with us because we accepted her for what she was. a friend, nothing more and nothing less. jsut a good friend with an unfortunate weakness.

and admittedly, i often wonder myself if i'm not a bit bisexual myself. but i'm going on a mission, i've talked about it with my bishop(s), and i don't act on it. but i feel more comfrtable with friends who know that i have concerns, it comforts me to know that they trust me, and that i can trust them. that being said, i don't tell everyone i know, because i AM afraid of what some peopel will say/do. my parents don't know, at least not to my knowledge, and its better that way. maybe when i get back from my mission and i have a better feel for jsut who i am, you know?

so question-is it wrong for a bisexual to attend a mission?

nk(s-k) knows his answer, do you know yours? remember, honesty counts!