Of all the distinctives that might define Christians, Jesus identified only one thing that will distinguish his followers:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35
We recognize, however, that we have fallen short of Jesus' vision for his followers--particularly with respect to our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers. We confess that as a church, we have failed to demonstrate Jesus' love in our interactions with the LGBTI members of our community.
For that reason, we, the undersigned, call on our fellow Seventh-day Adventists to extend the love and grace of Jesus to the homosexual individuals in our Adventist family in the following ways:
1. Acknowledging that a homosexual orientation is most often determined before birth and/or very soon after, by a complex combination of physiological and environmental factors that are beyond the individual's control.
2. Rejecting as a form of violence any programs that attempt to change or redirect one’s sexual orientation, recognizing that orientation is highly unlikely to change and that such attempts have caused deep trauma, even leading some to become suicidal.
3. Acting deliberately and decisively to prevent judgmental and condemning attitudes and actions against homosexual individuals.
4. Providing our homosexual sisters and brothers not only a place in our pews, but also a space on our platforms, allowing all of the gifts God has given them to be used to honor and serve God.
5. Fully integrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex members of the Adventist Church into the life of the church community.
These things we resolve to do in Jesus' name, for the sake of the Body of Christ.