Review of Nate Oman, “A Welding Link of Some Kind,” Thoughts from a Tamed Cynic (Substack, September 27, 2022).

Abstract: Nate Oman claims to demonstrate a theological path that allows for same-sex sealings within existing Latter-day Saint doctrine. In fact, he claims that such an adjustment would be not only compatible with most Church doctrine but more scripturally sound than current teachings and policies regarding same-sex relationships. However, he falls short of his declared objective. His essay sets up an exaggerated pattern of dramatic theological overhauls in Latter-day Saint theology, downplays existing revelation on the subject of sealings and exaltation, and proposes a new theology to justify his policy conclusions. In the end, his essay completely ignores the root cause of the contention surrounding the issue: the nature of doctrine and the truth claims of the restored Church.

In the summer of 2021, the Washington Post published an article highlighting (and celebrating) the increasing acceptance of and advocacy for social progressivism within the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The article briefly nods at various issues from vaccinations to Heavenly Mother to Donald Trump, but the bulk of the article centers on the growing desire among some members for the Church to reverse its teachings on same-sex marriage. The author concludes her article by quoting Patrick Mason, a prominent progressive advocate within the Church:

I can see multiple futures for Mormonism … People have already started to do the work to sketch out a theological rationale that would allow for the kind of revelation that [Page 208]allows for women’s ordination, for same-sex marriage, all kinds of things … What was once possible then becomes probable.1

Few members have accepted Mason’s invitation to pave a theological path to Church-sanctioned same-sex marriage, but Nate Oman, a previous contributor to the Interpreter Foundation’s journal, has taken up this charge. Exactly one year after the Washington Post article, Oman published an essay2 describing a “theological possibility of same-sex marriage sealings in a way that requires minimal theological change and maintains maximum continuity with Church practices” (p. 1).

This audacious claim quickly gained attention among Church critics and adherents alike. Within the first few days of its release, the essay was featured prominently in publications ranging from By Common Consent3 to Public Square Magazine4 to the Salt Lake Tribune.