There is a point of dogma in the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which utterly escapes me: the ProChoice Doctrine.

According to the doctrine, gay and lesbian people were never born gay or lesbian. At some point, they obeyed the promptings of Satan and chose to be homosexual. Never mind medical science or empirical data; we're talking about The Truth.

I know that I'm a bit forgetful, but I don't remember the day when I made the big decision. And then, once I did 'choose' heterosexuality, apparently Satan tempted me with all kinds of images and impulses for choosing 'rightly'. No wonder I'm confused! Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Literally.

As if the ProChoice Doctrine weren't, er, complicated enough, there's the Doctrine of Matrimonial Crosscultural Nullification. This holds that, if a gay couple gets married, my heterosexual marriage is somehow diminished, polluted or otherwise compromised. Huh? If two gay or straight people get married, how does that affect me? Any more than if marriage occurs between two New Zealanders, three Certified Public Accountants, or even seven maids a milking. What is the connection to me? Hello?

In the words of former bishop and father of a gay son, David Hardy, in a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune, "I have come to understand that I know far fewer of the answers than I thought I knew, and am hopefully wiser for it. I have learned that when dogma and reality come face to face, one must invariably yield to the other."

--Richard Garrard