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Dear Gramps,

I want to know something about mormons. What do mormons do when they have children that have a handicapt. Because when incest is commited you would expect most of theese children would have some sort of handicapt?

Shifanya

Dear Shifanya,

People with disabilities are welcomed within the mainstream of the Mormon Church.  Members have been encouraged to welcome them and make each one feel needed within their congregations.  The Church has recently set up a new disabilities web site, Disabilities.lds.org, to provide help for families, caregivers, leaders, teachers, and friends of those with handicaps.  It offers a wide range of practical and professional resources for those with special needs  and whose lives are touched by those needing loving care and assistance.

In addition the Church has donated a large number of wheel chairs and other items throughout the world to those with special needs.  These donations are to people in poorer countries who otherwise would be unable to acquire a wheelchair.

One needs to realize that there are many reasons why a person might have a handicap, not just incest.  Incest may be a cause of some disabilities, but there are many factors and circumstances that can cause someone to have a handicap.

Incest is considered to be a terrible sin within the Mormon Church and is grounds for potential excommunication from the Church.  President Kimball, who presided over the Mormon Church for many years, indicated in an article in the New Era in 1980 that  “One of the worst sins is incest. The dictionary defines incest as “sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry.” The spirituality of one’s life may be severely, and sometimes irreparably, damaged by such an ugly sin.”

President Thomas S. Monson, current President of the Mormon Church, said:  “A district judge, in a letter to me, declared, “Sexual abuse of children is one of the most depraved, destructive, and demoralizing crimes in civilized society. There is an alarming increase of reported physical, psychological, and sexual abuse of children. Our courts are becoming inundated with this repulsive behavior.”

The Church does not condone such heinous and vile conduct. Rather, we condemn in the harshest of terms such treatment of God’s precious children. Let the child be rescued, nurtured, loved, and healed. Let the offender be brought to justice, to accountability, for his actions and receive professional treatment to curtail such wicked and devilish conduct. When you and I know of such conduct and fail to take action to eradicate it, we become part of the problem. We share part of the guilt. We experience part of the punishment.”  Ensign 1991 November

Gramps

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