BYU Law's Honor Code Forum

[tlsadmin3]

On February 21st BYU lifted the longtime ban on "homosexual behavior" in the honor code. The policy outlawed "all forms of physical intimacy that gives expression to homosexual feelings" used to prompt students to hide same-sex relationship for fear of being called into the honor code office.

On March 4, BYU shared a letter from the commissioner of the Church Educational System, regarding the update honor code was sent to students, faculty, and staff. Here is a short blurb from the letter sent out:

One Change to the Honor Code language that has raised questions was the removal of a section on "Homosexual Behavior." The moral standards of the church did not change with the recent release of the General Handbook or the updated Honor Code. There is and and always has been more to living the Lord's standard of a chaste and virtuous life than refraining from sexual relations outside of marriage. Lasting Joy comes when we live the spirit as well as the letter of God's laws.
A foundational doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His Children. Church leaders have long taught these principles.

Same-sex romantic behavior cannot lead to eternal marriage and is therefore not compatible with the principle included in the Honor Code.

What do you think about this update in the Honor Code? Would this impact your decision of whether or not to go to BYU? Are you currently going to BYU?

[LSATWiz.com]

I’d like to meet the person that drafted the original law. They seem to know what can lead to eternal marriage and what can’t, which implies they have in depth knowledge of eternal life. If so, they’d have a lot of interesting things to say. I’d be most curious about how eternal life works if you hate your spouse. Are you stuck with them? We know gender survives into eternal life but is infidelity possible? Can you be monogamous in this life and swingers in the after life or vice versa? Do you look how you are at your prime or when you actually die? Does plastic surgery survive into the after life?

Also, why is Joy capitalized? Are all emotions capitalized at BYU?

These are all questions I’d want to have answered based on that policy.

[cavalier1138]

I feel like people considering BYU have to be pretty aware of the school's religious backing and policies. There are plenty of other weird ones involving when and where male and female students can be together, dress codes, hair, etc. I doubt this will change who attends any more than Liberty pretending to be ok with gay people would change the makeup of that student body.

Up until fairly recently, BYU endorsed conversion therapy, including electroshock, which was performed at the behest of the school administration. Much like the church that runs it, BYU is still going to be a bigoted institution, regardless of what's on paper. They're just sanitizing the language of their official codes in order to avoid stirring up controversy outside the school. This is has literally been LDS practice since the church's inception.