Cloning

n the past I had never taken an official stance on cloning, though I did lean more on the negative side of the issue. This unit really helped me to understand more about cloning and helped me to take a more rooted stance, even though I am still torn between the two sides.

Before this unit I thought that cloning animals for scientific purposes was ok, but cloning humans to bring someone back to life was wrong. I believed and still do believe that no mortal human can produce a soul. This then brings up the issue do cloned humans have a soul? At first thought I automatically respong no, we cannot create souls. But after I read Jenna Michnick's answer to that question I had to rethink my reasoning. Jenna said that "every living person on this earth has to have a soul." I remember a primary lesson I was taught when I was younger, the teacher cut out some paper dolls and explained that without a spirit our bodies would be like these paper dolls - lifeless. I agree with Jenna that every living person has to have a spirit, or they would not be living. Something that troubles me is the idea of a human creating a soul. I just do not feel that a human being, in this life, has the power needed to create a soul.

If these clones do have spirits, then is cloning a necessary part of Heavenly Father's plan, so that all of His children can receive bodies? I have a hard time believing that the Lord would allow some of his children to be granted a perfect body that he made, and leave others to fill imperfect bodies made by imperfect humans. Or does the clone receive the spirit that the original had? If the clone receives the spirit that the individual had, I do not believe that we should be cloning people. In my opinion that is putting our will above the Lord's will. God has a plan for everything, and if that plan includes someone dying, who are we to override His plan and clone them, bringing their spirit back to this earth?

I do not believe that children should be cloned for infertile couples. While it is devastating when a couple cannot have children of their own, there are alternatives to raising a family of their own. There are plenty of kids that are in need of a good home. I understand that adopting children is not the same as having your own, but each of us is giving challenges in this world that we wish we could find a loophole to get through. But unfortunately we have to deal with hard things and find alternatives to bring us joy.