Well...some of the folks on here aren't going to like this, but I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - a Mormon. I believe the fullness of the Gospel with the authority of the priesthood was restored to the earth about 170 years ago. I'm sure I will either be outright rejected on this forum by some, or talked about behind my back. I am open to answer any questions (or accusations...) and happy to answer them to the best of my ability. I believe Priesthood authority was lost when the carriers of that priesthood were killed off and that we entered into the dark ages... The church was changed from its original teachings and those teachings were altered down through the ages and, yes, even the Bible was altered. We see the King James version as most accurate. Great people tried to get back to the truth - suffered horrible consequences in most cases, but helped set the way for the restoration of the fullness of the gospel to happen and it had to happen here on this continent - with freedom - for it to be able to take root. Even so the church endured persecution which is why the saints finally headed out west where they could practice and the church could grow in relative peace. We now have more members outside America than within..

But Duchess, I (we) see our Father in Heaven as just that - a loving Father. I don't see you as a stain....To be honest I may see you as lost....but not beyond hope. (Honestly I don't even know you...) Not sure why you refer to yourself as a pagan..if its literally a religion or as compared to a Christian - but almost all of us on here have been lost at one time or another. Some of us still are....and certainly none of us is perfect. There is only one person who has ever been perfect. We are in a dark world and there is a lot to be confused by.

Having said that...I believe that in the Old Testament times the Lord gave commandments people may not have understood, but believe there were still reasons for them. Sometimes it is just about obedience as in the case of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son.. I believe it was a test of his faith and faithfulness and also that it taught Abraham a lot about the atonement...(Christ's sacrifice). They were taught not to eat unclean meat, too, and we know there was wisdom in that. (The reason the Bubonic (sp?) plague passed by the Jews....which was, apparently, a cause for persecution toward them because of that). Circumcision served more than one purpose as well...

I don't believe homosexuality is healthy either physically, spiritually or emotionally. I believe it is unnatural. If you practice it and this offends you I am sorry. But I also think there is a way back. I do not hold contempt for those who practice it - but I will never see it as normal or acceptable. I see it as damaging in many respects to those who practice it and do not want it taught as normal to my children or my children's children. I believe there may be cases where there are true hormonal imbalances..but we do have the technology to correct those. I certainly don't fill the traditional roles of a woman in some ways. My husband is more emotional than the average man (outwardly). But we balance each other out..

Anyway - not sure if that was even brought up for personal reasons, but I do not see you as a stain in any case. I see you as a person of great worth in our Father in Heaven's sight and in my sight. Wickedness was never happiness. (Scripture from the Book of Mormon : ) The commandments are there for our sake....for our happiness and for our safety. I have some other things pertaining to the state of America I'm going to type in in a following post.