This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Debates about the LDS Church policy towards gays have been missing the mark. The church's core belief that the world is getting worse is the reason it has resisted progressive ideas, such as gay marriage or the Equal Rights Amendment. The church's central belief is that we are in the latter days, "signs are being fulfilled ... wickedness is everywhere [and] nations are constantly at war," to quote its Gospel Principles manual.
One look at the recent mass shootings — or Donald Trump's latest comment — and it's not hard to believe the world is spinning down the toilet. After all, each generation has longed for the good old days.
Statistics, however, tell a different story: Today we are living in the most peaceful moment in our species' existence. War is declining and humanity is becoming less violent than ever. From women's rights to gay rights, civil rights have never been stronger — all that according to Steven Pinker, a psychology professor at Harvard, who authored "The Better Angels of Our Nature."
When a church's core doctrine is that the world is getting worse, it will use societal changes as fodder to justify its raison d'etre. If the LDS Church is looking for a new sign of the times, it can do worse than follow Noah's example: Tell us about climate change.
Daniel Crivello
American Fork