This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I was struck by LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson's talk on Sunday about showing kindness to others ("Mormon prophet Monson: Be like Christ, love others," Tribune, April 6).
Monson quoted John Greenleaf Whittier's famous words, "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'" He went on to say we should treat all people well so that we would never have to feel this regret. I couldn't help but respond to my TV screen, "Then why do you treat gays so abominably?"
I thought about what "might have been" in the church. There "might have been" hundreds of thousands of men and women and their families who didn't leave the church in disappointment and pain over the past three decades. There "might have been" hundreds of thousands more temple weddings and the raising of children from those unions in the church.
There "might have been" happiness in the lives of these people, instead of callously inflicted pain. There "might have been" fewer suicides.
Yes, President Monson should encourage his members to ask this question about how they treat their fellow man. But he might ask that question of himself as well.
Johnny Townsend
Seattle, Wash.