I am feeling great anxiety right now as I sit here and watch all of the protests that have been going on against prop 8 in front of the temple (less than 5 miles from where I live). It is very scary to watch all of this unfold. It brings up a lot of questions in my mind. I don't like people telling me that I am an intolerant bigot. I found this article on the church website newsroom. I copied a few paragraphs that answered my questions perfectly. For the full article you can click here.The article said, "Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the Church were and are simply wrong. The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians. Even more, the Church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches." I couldn't agree more. If the gay and lesbian couples simply wanted these rights, they can have them through civil unions. It just seems to go so much deeper for them. Can't they have these rights while at the same time respecting my right believe that marriage is a sacred and holy institution that should not be defiled by perversion and immorality? That is what I believe and it is my right to feel that way.
The article went on to say, "Some, however, have mistakenly asserted that churches should not ever be involved in politics when moral issues are involved. In fact, churches and religious organizations are well within their constitutional rights to speak out and be engaged in the many moral and ethical problems facing society. While the Church does not endorse candidates or platforms, it does reserve the right to speak out on important issues.
"Before it accepted the invitation to join broad-based coalitions for the amendments, the Church knew that some of its members would choose not to support its position. Voting choices by Latter-day Saints, like all other people, are influenced by their own unique experiences and circumstances. As we move forward from the election, Church members need to be understanding and accepting of each other and work together for a better society." That is they beauty of the plan of Heavenly Father. We each have agency to believe how we choose. If a member of the church is against prop 8, then that is their personal choice and I should not judge them. Those opposing prop 8 are just doing what they feel is right. And so am I. I just hope we can find a way to exercise our personal beliefs and live together in peace.
On the news I saw some members going out to the temple to protest against the protest and that almost made me more sick than watching those protest against us. We are counseled to love and respect those with different beliefs than ours. That is the Savior's way. Peacefully standing up for what you believe is right will send a much stronger message than retaliating out of anger. I just hope and pray that all members of the church will stand for truth and righteousness as they follow the example of the Savior.
5 comments:
well said and very wise. its been a regular topic of conversation here as well.
I like what you said and have the same hopes. I really hope you guys are okay, I must say I feel a bit safer here in the Bible belt. Stay strong! :)
The above comment was deleted by Megan as she was a little worried about anonymous posters and privacy issues. She did the same to another comment for a similar post. However, I would like to respond quickly, and will post later today or tomorrow about some of my feelings about this issue and the logical inconsistencies on both sides of the issue.
The post
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Prop 8 protests":
Too bad the church has decided to use their 'loving' authority and MONEY (22 million) to say who I can love and marry.
I am not sure who posted this as they did it anonymously. If it was a random person, then I am not sure why they felt the need to post anonymously. If it was someone that we know, and they posted anonymously, that worries me. I have many friends who disagree with me on this issue, and it has not impacted our relationships one bit, so hopefully you did not do this out of fear of how we would receive you after your post. In fact I am seemingly having endless conversations with friends of mine on this topic, and if you need to get something off your chest feel free to give me a call, as long as you are willing to have a civil conversation and be OK about the fact that we will probably have to agree to disagree. In fact I hope you would call as I feel one of the reasons this is such a hot button topic is people are unwilling to have civil conversations without trying to point out that their “opponent” is in some way a bad person for their opinions.
Either way I have other things to do now, but will post more on this sometime tomorrow.
--Jim
i can't imagine the tensions that you guys are surrounded with! it is really scary how this one issue, could make such a huge ripple effect that is turning so 'dangerous'. i totally agree with everything you said (and not just cause i trust you so much!), because everyone has their agency, so it should be that God-given agency that will allow us to live peacefully together in spite of our differing beliefs.
it is testimony strengthening to read the 'proclamation to the world- the family' http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e1fa5f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=1aba862384d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0, cause it foretold this war on marriage 13 years ago.
hopefully a peaceful resolution is on it's way, quickly!
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