Reaping what you sow

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Galatians 6:7 [emphasis added]

• Protesting at LDS temples across California and elsewhere
• Calls for protest rally's at LDS chapels
  
• Calls for boycotting Mormon owned businesses
• Calls for boycotting Utah businesses and ski resorts
• Families no longer on speaking terms
• People leaving the LDS church
  
• Threats to 'out' closeted gays in the Mormon church

It's all happening. The GLBT community is pissed - and, right or wrong, much of their anger is directed towards the LDS church - whom they consider the driving force in handing them a defeat. Tuesday, November 4, 2008 marks the day when the LDS church gained a powerful enemy.

Mind you, there has always been some enmity between the LDS church and the GLBT community at large. But, the churches distinction between attraction and behavior and it's message of 'hate the sin, love the sinner' tempered much of the anger - especially when compared to the rhetoric and actions of other Christians against the GLBT communty.

Like it or not - whether we accept it or not - the GLBT community is a force to be reckoned with. Many businesses already recognize this. They are not offering heath benefits to same sex couples out of the goodness of their hearts - they are doing it because they do not want to incur the wrath of the GLBT community. The business world recognizes that the GLBT community is not a bunch of effeminate men carrying placards and throwing a fit in the streets. It is doctors, lawyers, CEO's, and other people in positions of authority and power. To ignore the GLBT community is bad business. To be labeled a 'gay hater' could lead to business death.

A religion, of course, is not the same as a business; but, like a business, it is an institution run by men - who can and do make mistakes. Many of the success factors in business can also be a success factors in a religious setting. Missionary work is, in effect, the business of selling God.

Will the protests and angry rhetoric against the LDS church die down? Probably. Emotions are high right now. The GLBT community needs to vent their frustration - and the LDS church is on the receiving end. But, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that, eventually, the GLBT community will forgive and forget. The dragon has turned - and it has focused it's gaze directly on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The rallying at LDS temples will eventually stop - the protesting will eventually die down. But the anger at the LDS church is here to stay. And, eventually, that anger will turn away from rally's, boycotts, and protests - which are largely exercises in futility. Civil rights has come a long way since the 60's. Effective ways of achieving their goals have been fine tuned over the years. And now, those years of experience and practice will be put to use in finding ways to really hurt the LDS church and prevent it from being as powerful of a political force in future battles.

Is all of this anger directed towards the LDS church justified? Will history record the actions of the LDS church and its members in California as our modern day Mountain Meadows massacre? That will be the question of the ages.

In the latest press release from the LDS church, it recognizes that this election is merely the latest skirmish and does not mark "an end to the debate over same-sex marriage in this country." They state

We hope that now and in the future all parties involved in this issue will be well informed and act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility toward those with a different position. No one on any side of the question should be vilified, intimidated, harassed or subject to erroneous information.

But, is this too little and too late? Has the membership of the LDS church even been practicing what the LDS church preaches? Some facts are indisputable

• There was some overzealousness on the part of some of the members and local church leaders in California.


• Organizing efforts to take to the streets (i.e. political actions) during church meetings
  


• Members being made to feel that "if you aren't with us then you are against us"
  


• Local leaders directly asking for donations to ProtectMarriage.com - some even tracking those donations using public records.


• Misrepresentations, half truths, and even outright lies were being spread around
  


• Spreading of ridiculous rumors, such as the church would be forced to close all of its temples in California if proposition 8 failed.


• Talks and lessons in church addressing how the evil gays are seeking to destroy the institution of marriage, and even society itself.


• Even some of the general authorities of the church were guilty


• Speaking to a group of young adults, and also distributed as a video on PreservingMarriage.org, Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the LDS church, said

  You're going to have the possibility of the inevitable clashes between religious liberty and free speech; and, if your religious doctrine is such that you believe marriage between a man and a woman is the only definition of marriage then that smacks up against free speech; because if marriage is defined in a more broad way between members of the same gender - then you can't talk about that. [emphasis added]

In the end, will the hurt the LDS church? In the big picture, probably not. The LDS church itself is also a force to be reckoned with in its own right. It has proven this in California. Also, Mormon culture thrives on persecution. Being attacked by the evil gays can be seen as a badge of honor. While it will undoubtedly drive some away from the church, it may also attract those who hold similar views.

But one thing is clear, there are individuals who have been deeply scarred by the actions of the LDS membership in California. Their lives having been forever altered, and not in a good way. Some of these scars may never heal.

While I am choosing to remain active in the church in the aftermath of proposition 8, I may never be able to look at my church and local leaders in the same way. My sense of awe has been diminished. For the first time in 34 years, since joining the church back when I was a teenager, the thought has entered my mind that irreconcilable differences could, one day, result in the church and I to parting ways - and that scares the hell out of me!

My first

Yesterday ... for the very first time ... I met ... a real live in the flesh MoHo.

You guys really do exist, you aren't just figments of my imagination.

Beck's business brought him to Texas - and we were able to meet last night for a couple of hours to hug, to sit and talk, and to hug again as we parted ways.

I so wish other MoHo's lived closer.

I yearn for your company.

Food for thought

The following was posted on the Gay Christian Network today

I seriously doubt that a single soul would turn to Christ because of the campaign for Proposition 8. But I wonder how many people will now turn away from Christ because of this vile campaign.

Note, normally GCN doesn't allow political discussions as they often become heated; but, they made a one time exception for discussion of proposition 8 since it affects so many of the members.

My thoughts on the election

The election is finally over! A new president was selected by the people. He isn't the man I voted for - but I will accept and support him as the president of my country. The people voted for change. Only time will tell if Obama will accomplish the changes he campaigned for - and if the people will be satisfied with the changes.

Initial results show that proposition 8 in California has passed by a narrow margin. For many in the GLBT community, proposition 8 has been more important than the presidential race. It has been particularly divisive here in the queerosphere - even though most of us didn't vote in California.

Many have been hurt by the involvement of the LDS church in the proposition 8 campaign - particularly those who live in California and were subjected to anti-gay rhetoric in their church meetings. Sadly, this probably did not end yesterday as it will likely be a subject of conversation for weeks to come with in-you-face smugness; but, it will, hopefully, die down with time.

Many of us in the queerosphere opposed this measure; and, while we may not be directly impacted by its passage - we are disappointed in our church leaders, and particularly in some of our brothers and sisters who live in California. There is no denying that there was some overzeleousness on the part of the membership and local leaders in California. On one hand, we can say that this probably wasn't the intent of the general church leadership; on the other hand, they didn't do anything to quell it either.

And, there are some in the queerosphere felt it their duty to heed the call of the church leadership and support proposition 8. There were some very hurtful things hurled at them because of their support for the measure.

My heart goes out for those who are directly impacted by this decision. Gay culture is seen by many as one of promiscuity, drugs, and a generally hedonistic lifestyle. But not all gays buy into this culture; in fact, many want to distance themselves and simply want what their heterosexual counterparts already have and take for granted - and now that has been taken away from them.

I have a new calling - I am the seminary teacher for the youth in my ward. My seminary lesson yesterday morning included a segment on diversity and tolerance which said

Invite students to think about their attitudes toward people of other religions or those who seem to be sinners. Ask the students to write down what they think the Savior might say if He were to talk to them about their attitude. Read the following statements or give them to the students as a handout.

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: [emphasis added]

“I plead with our people everywhere to live with respect and appreciation for those not of our faith. There is so great a need for civility and mutual respect among those of differing beliefs and philosophies. We must not be partisans of any doctrine of ethnic superiority. We live in a world of diversity. We can and must be respectful toward those with whose teachings we may not agree. We must be willing to defend the rights of others who may become the victims of bigotry.
(in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 94–95; or Ensign, May 1995, 71).

This is the church I believe in. These are the teachings I want to incorporate into my own life. What happened in California is an aberration - it's not my church.

I was particularly struck by the comment in the lesson about those who seem to be sinners. There are some in the queerosphere who seem to be sinners - at least in regards to LDS doctrine and teachings. Others may feel that those of us who choose to remain in the church are misguided, perhaps even blinded. Regardless of where we stand with the church - we need to love and accept one another. While we may or may not agree with the choices made by some - we need to be tolerant of one another and celebrate the diversity we have in the queerosphere.

I have to confess, my testimony was shaken a bit by all of the rhetoric, misrepresentations, half truths, and outright lies being flung about regarding gay marriage by church leaders and members in California and elsewhere. Someone recently commented on an old post of mine and took me to task for my use of the term "Mormono-fascist". Yet that is exactly what we saw in California with father being set against son and brother against brother. I cannot predict the long term effect this may have on me as I'm not sure I will ever view my church leaders as I once did. But, for now, I choose to forgive them and move forward.

How the Grinch Stole Marriage

by Mary Ann Horton, Lisa and Bill Koontz (with apologies to Dr. Seuss.)
Click to hear a reading by Blake Williams.

Every Gay down in Gayville liked Gay Marriage a lot......
But the Grinch, who lived just east of Gayville, did NOT!!

The Grinch hated happy Gays! The whole Marriage season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, his Florsheims were too tight.
But I think the most likely reason of all was
His heart and brain were two sizes too small.

"And they're buying their tuxes!" he snarled with a sneer,
"Tomorrow's the first Gay Wedding! It's practically here!"
Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find some way to stop Gay Marriage from coming!"

For, tomorrow, he knew... All the Gay girls and boys
would wake bright and early. They'd rush for their vows!
And then! Oh, the Joys! Oh, the Joys!

And THEN they'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Gay down in Gayville the tall and the small,
would stand close together, all happy and blissing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Gays would start kissing!

"I MUST stop Gay Marriage from coming! ...But HOW?"

Then he got an idea! An awful idea!
THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"I know what to do!" The Grinch laughed in his throat.
And he went to his closet, grabbed his sheet and his hood.
And he chuckled, and clucked, with a great Grinchy word!
"With this beard and this cross, I look just like our Lord!"

"All I need is a Scripture..." The Grinch looked around.
But, true Scripture is scarce, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Grinch...? No! The Grinch simply said,
"With no Scripture on Marriage, I'll fake one instead!"
"It's one man and one woman," the Grinch falsely said.

Then he broke in the courthouse. A rather tight pinch.
But, if Georgie could do it, then so could the Grinch.
The little Gay benefits hung in a row.
"These bennies," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"

Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most uncanny,
around the whole room, and he took every benny!
Health care for partners! Doctors for kiddies!
Tax rights! Adoptions! Pensions and Wills!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, with a chill,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, in his bill.

Then he slunk to the kitchen, and stole Wedding Cake.
He cleaned out that icebox and made it look straight.
He took the Gay-bar keys! He took the Gay Flag.
Why, that Grinch even took their last Gay birdseed bag!

"And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will pocket their Rings."
And the Grinch grabbed the Rings, and he started to shove
when he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and off flew his hood.
Little Lisa-Bi Gay behind him sadly stood.
The Grinch had been caught by small Lisa-Bi.
She stared at the Grinch and said, "My, oh, my, why?"
"Why are you taking our Wedding Rings? WHY?"

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Shepherd sneered,
"The judges are evil, the other states weird."
"I'll fix the rings there and I'll bring them back here."

It was quarter past dawn... All the Gays, still a-bed,
all the Gays still a-snooze when he packed up and fled.
"Pooh-Pooh to the Gays!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out now no Gay Marriage is coming!"
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
then the Gays down in Gayville will all cry Boo-Hoo!"

He stared down at Gayville! The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every Gay down in Gayville, the tall and the small,
was kissing! Without any bennies at all!
He HADN'T stopped Marriage from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"
"It came without lawyers, no papers to sort!"
"It came without licenses, came without courts!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Marriage," he thought, "doesn't come from the court.
Maybe Marriage...perhaps... comes right from the heart.
Maybe Marriage comes from all the words the Gays say.
Words like Husband, like Wedding, and Spouse who is Gay."
And what happened then...? Well...in Gayville they say
that the Grinch's small brain grew three sizes that day!

And the Gays had their Weddings. They promised for life.
They swore to be faithful, to Wife and her Wife.
The Husbands were happy, to each other they vowed
To be Out and be Honest, be Gay and be Proud.
They told all their neighbors and friends of their Spouse,
They told of their Marriage and sharing their house.
They said "We got Married." They shouted it loud.
Their marital status was "Married and Proud."

And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light.
And he brought back the rings, cake and Gay birdseed bags!
And he... ...HE HIMSELF... hung the Gay Rainbow Flag!
...
The Lord looked down, at the proud and the tall,
and said "These are my children, and I love them all."

---

The moral of this story is that we don't need a piece of paper and the approval of the state to get married. We can just get married. Instead of having a commitment ceremony, we can have a wedding. Instead of partners, we can have husbands and wives. Instead of calling our relationship a Domestic Partnership or a Civil Union, we can call it a Marriage. Whether any government recognizes it is separate from what we call it. It's a free country and we can call ourselves what we like.

In 5 or 10 or 20 years, with plenty of visible same-sex married couples, the world won't see us as strange or scary, we're just the married couple down the street that happens to be gay. Eventually, the legal recognition of our marriages will follow.

If we allow ourselves to voluntarily sit in the back of the bus, we'll never make any progress. Rosa Parks had to sit in the front of the bus to make a difference. We must as well.

---

Copyright (c) 2004 by Mary Ann Horton. Permission granted to copy in whole, with attribution. This is a parody of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Link

Restore marriage ???

re·store [ri-stawr, -stohr]
–verb (used with object), -stored, -stor·ing.

1. to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish: to restore order.
2. to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting.
3. to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.
4. to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc.: to restore the king to his throne.
5. to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost).
6. to reproduce or reconstruct (an ancient building, extinct animal, etc.) in the original state.

antonyms: break, damage, destroy, hurt

Saw this photo on an article in economist.com.

Is marriage broken? Has it been damaged or hurt in any way?

Was marriage taken away?

Aren't mockeries, like Britney Spears 55 hour marriage to Jason Alexander, far more damaging to the institution of marriage?

How exactly does proposition 8 restore marriage?

Maybe I'm just a dumb Texan; but, I don't get it. It makes no sense to me.

Creepy

Last night I got a recorded message from John Cornyn (US Senator from Texas). He said he noticed I hadn't voted yet and urged me to vote for him.

Is it just me, or is this kind of creepy?

It just seems so Orwellian.

Call me a old fashioned - but I like voting on election day.

Garlic

Last night I made 40 clove chicken for dinner - which is chicken baked with 40 cloves of garlic. I used Alton Brown's recipe from Good Eats. It was pretty simple to make and quite delicious to eat.

This morning I have gas - and my farts smell like garlic.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I used dried thyme instead of fresh thyne. I added some whole peeled potatoes in with the chicken. Plus I used all chicken breasts since I'm not much of a leg or thigh man; although, I used bone-in/skin-on chicken breasts because I think they taste better than the boneless skinless variety.

Why I support gay marriage

I'm not going to rag on the LDS church, or anyone else, for opposing gay marriage. I am simply stating that I personally support it.

I didn't always support gay marriage. In fact, there was a time, in the not too distant past, when I was dead set against it. Although, I've never been totally against granting civil rights to same sex couples; but, it's only been within the last year or so that I actually came down in support of same sex marriage. Prior to that I felt that civil unions were OK - but I objected to calling it 'marriage' and using terms like 'husband' and 'wife'. I felt that we should preserve the historical significance of those words and come up with new terms for same sex couples.

My epiphany came when I actually met some same sex couples here in the queerosphere and realized that the love they have for each other is just as valid as the love between a husband and wife. I came to realize that while civil unions can have many of the same legal rights and benefits as marriage, such as shared property - a civil union doesn't have equal rights and benefits as marriage, such as visitation, residency, etc.

I suppose laws could be written such that civil unions do have equal rights and benefits as marriage - but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck - then it's a duck. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

I do not take this position lightly. I am very much aware that it puts me in direct opposition to the teachings and practices of my church. So, while I do support same sex marriage, I also believe that churches should have the right to define marriage among their own constituents as they see fit.

However, I feel that it is wrong for any group or religion to impose their moral values on the masses. This is why I do not support prayer or the teaching of creationism in our public schools - these teachings belong in our homes and churches, not in our public schools. One only need look towards the middle east to see the dark side of not separating church and state.

Likewise, I feel it is wrong for any group or religion to impose their view of marriage being between one man and one woman upon the general society. They are certainly free to believe as they will. But, when they try to impose their beliefs and moral code onto others - especially unwilling participants - well, let's just say I have a difficult time believing that is God's will.

So, that is where I stand. Regardless of the outcome of proposition 8 in California - or any other related legislation now or in the future - I believe there is enough room in our society for marriages with a husband and a wife along side of marriages with two husbands or two wives. You can praise me for my tolerance and acceptance. You can condemn me for allowing myself to be mislead by the craftiness of the devil. But, in the end, it won't change a thing. Me, myself, I personally support gay marriage. I respect those who disagree with me, and I only ask in return that you respect my personal beliefs.


Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 is Write to Marry Day. To participate, post on your own blog against Prop 8 on or before October 29, 2008, then submit the link to your post by completing the form here.

Miffed

Somebody contacted my photography club asking for volunteers to be a photographer at a fund raising event that was held yesterday; so, I volunteered and arranged to take a 1/2 day vacation off of work.

It seems the person who contacted our group is a photographer herself. A friend had asked her to come to this fund raising event, but she was unable to attend. So, she agreed to help find somebody. So, after exchanging some emails, text messages, and a phone call - I arranged to show up at 10:30am at this fund raiser.

It was a golf tournament benefiting the Hispanic College Fund. I had been instructed to ask for this friend of hers. Turns out he wasn't there; but, after explaining why I was there to the people who seemed to be in charge, we took a couple of golf carts and I followed them around the course taking pictures taking pictures of the various foursomes in the tournament. There were a couple other photographers out there; so, they decided I could take pictures at the awards ceremony and we headed back to the club house. They told me that once people finished their round of golf, they could be coming to the clubhouse for lunch which is when the awards ceremony was scheduled. So, I waited. Finally, people started arriving and I got ready to take some pictures. Well, it seems the awards ceremony was going to be after lunch, not during. So, I waited while watching everyone eat lunch. I had been told that the whole thing would be over by 1:30pm. Finally, by 2:30pm, they started the awards ceremony. And, then I had to listen to people prognosticate about how wonderful they are with the occasional opportunity to take a picture when they brought up the scholarship recipients. But another photographer positioned himself in front of me; so, I wasn't able to get any good pictures.

Anyway, I never met the guy I was supposed to ask for. Although, I know he was there because they asked him to stand while they were introducing various people during the awards ceremony. I had kinda thought he would, at least, come up and say 'hi' or something. This other lady, who works for a public relations firm that was helping out with the fund raising event, told me she would like a copy of the pictures. I told her I would burn her a CD; so, she gave me her card and said she would come by my house afterwards to pick it up (I live just a couple of miles from the golf course where the event was being held). I came home, transferred my images to the computer, burned a CD, and then sent an email to her blackberry (as instructed) along with directions to my house.

Well, to add insult to injury - she never showed up nor even bothered to acknowledge my email.

So, I wasted a 1/2 day vacation to take pictures of a bunch of guys I don't know playing golf and sitting watching people eat lunch - and, apparently, they don't even want the pictures! They didn't even offer me lunch - it was buffet style, so it wasn't like I would had been an extra plate they hadn't planned on.

Am I being selfish or unreasonable? I'm not looking for any sort of recognition - but a little acknowledgment would be nice. And, at least pretend you want the output I produced.

Oh well, at least the 5 people who read my blog will get to see one of my pictures from yesterday.

Rejection

Last Friday I had an appointment with my therapist. He called a couple of hours before my appointment, apologizing, saying that something came up and he had to leave the office. We canceled my appointment - and he said he would call me back to reschedule.

It's now Thursday - and I still haven't heard from him about rescheduling.

Intellectually, I know I should just call his office and schedule another appointment.

But, emotionally, I feel rejected, unwanted. I'm afraid to call him back. What if he is too busy to see me? What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he feels my problems are unresolvable?

Intellectually, I know my feelings are immature and irrational.

But, emotionally, it took a lot of courage to call up and make the first appointment. I fear that calling him up now will take more courage than I have.

Intellectually, I know this is silly.

But, emotionally, I have my pride. I shouldn't have to call up a therapist begging for an appointment. I am the customer -he is the service provider.

And so, I sit here - doing nothing at all. Feeling alone, isolated, like I have no where to turn.

Why can't I just pick up the damned phone! Yet, I recoil at the very thought ... while it just sits there - like a deadly serpent - daring me to reach for it - and mocking my inability to do so.

I am so screwed up - why would anyone want to be around me? Hell, I don't even want to be around me.

A change in the wind

Proposition 8 in California has become such a divisive issue, not only within our church, but churches everywhere.

For example: Father Geoffrey Farrow, a Roman Catholic priest in Fresno California (and part of the family - a gay celibate), took a stand against proposition 8 in California - and has paid steep price. He was removed from his position in the church, stripped of his salary and benefits, and ordered to stay away from all church communities he had served.

Article in the LA Times: Stand against Prop. 8 costs priest dearly

He also has a blog: Father Geoff Farrow

I can't help but wonder what long term effects this divisiveness will have.

If memory serves, when I read the history of the church (many moons ago), one of the factors in Nauvoo that lead to persecution, and ultimately expulsion, was a fear of the Mormon's as a voting block (Nauvoo being one of the largest cities in Illinois, at the time). Many churches welcome the involvement of the LDS church in the fight against proposition 8; but, is it more in the spirit of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Are we all going to be best buddies post November - or will they return to preaching that Mormon's are going to hell?

Make no mistake, the ability of the Mormon church to mobilize it's members into a voting block to influence an election will not go unnoticed, especially if proposition 8 passes (which is looking more likely).

Being a child of the 70's - the height of the civil rights movement - this is all feeling so familiar. It's like Deja Vu. Our society was forever changed in the 60's and 70's. Are we at the precipice of another great change?

• Are we ready for the fallout of this intense campaigning effort (on both sides)?
• Are we prepared to deal with whatever sociological forces we may have set in motion?

$2.599 / gallon

I just filled up at Costco this evening - $2.599 per gallon for regular (octane=87). What are people paying elsewhere?

A glimpse of how we are viewed by others

There has been a discussion today on the Gay Christian Network asking about "Mormon Views on Homosexuality" from a young man who knows Mormon's at school and was wondering how they felt about him (he, evidently, being openly gay).

I responded with a link to the "God Loveth His Children" pamphlet on lds.org; however, I thought others might be interested in some of the comments about Mormons from gay Christians

In fairness, the LDS church does take a rather compassionate stance towards those who are LGBT - in ways that many Evangelical circles could learn from ... they do *not* encourage gossip or expulsion for merely admitting to one's sexuality.

* * *

I have never met a Mormon who treated me poorly because of my sexuality. Most of the Mormons I know and have met have been very kind to me.

* * *

Every Mormon I've known (and trust me, it has been a GREAT many) have always been SO nice. Some of my best gay-straight convos have come from talks with Mormons. (Which must explain why I also had crushes on a few of them... :) )

... lots can be learned by other churches about how Mormons treat their gays.

* * *

They're really nice people.

Eye opening

I received the following email from a member of my ward - a forward of an email he received from somebody in California which was a forward of another email (I preserved the highlighting in the email)

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
I don't know if you're aware of what's going on politically here in California right now but for the first time in my life I've seen the church take a stand on a political issue to the extent that we've had Ward gatherings for the past three weeks to physically canvas neighborhoods and make phone calls to registered voters to educate them about the language and affects of Proposition 8. I guess I was kind of oblivious to the wider reaching affects that this could have on all church members but found this informative e-mail interesting and decided to forward it on to you.

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: XXXXXXXX
Subject: eye opening

In a recent LDS Sacrament meeting in California, the focus was on Amendment 8. (The gay marriage issue.) one of the speakers who was an LDS judge in the area, had statistics that were 'mind blowing'.

For example, in Boston, MA (where gay marriages are now legal,) the Catholic Charities have closed their doors because the state has required them to allow adoptions to same sex couples, and they refused. They are a large and worthwhile charity with great power in the state and they were overruled.

A Methodist church has lost their tax exempt status because the minister refused to perform a marriage of a same sex couple (they were not of his congregation).

A physician who refused to do fertility treatments on a same sex couple because of religious reasons was sued, lost and the state is requiring him to treat everyone as equals.

Our schools will be required to teach, starting in kindergarten, that marriages make up many different combinations. The consequences are horrible.

Directly tied into ALL of this is our right to continue to go to the Temple. If Gay Marriage is supported by the government, then those who are same-sex married, who are 'LDS' and legally recognized as married by the government, can sue to be married in the temple.&nbs p; It is my opinion that the church will not bend on this issue, and our rights to go to the temple will be in jeopardy.

AND goodbye to those religious tax-deductions. Tithing, fast offerings, etc. We will lose our tax-exemption status if the government legally forces the church to support same-sex marriage'

These effects are far-reaching! I hope no one is upset by this email, I would not want to offend anyone, but I believe this issue is not a poli tical issue at all, but a moral issue that affects all of society.

The Proclamation on the family clearly gives a warning voice on this matter. I pray that this issue on the ballots will overturn the gay marriages occurring right now in that state, and help prevent other states from adopting this stance. I believe that it is important to support and defend traditional marriage, home and family.

Another friend says that her relatives in Sweden are even watching what goes on in California. Friends in Canada are watching. The whole world is watching to see what happens.

I find it interesting that this good brother felt it necessary to forward a clearly political email to members of the ward - even though using the ward list for political purposes is expressly forbidden. He is in a leadership position and part of the ward council; so, I'm sure he understand this.

I know this person well, and he is a good man. I expect he does not view it as a political issue - he views it as a moral issue. There was no need to do any fact checking because it supports the views of homosexuals that he has been taught his entire life - it makes sense to him. It is further proof of Satan's "homosexual agenda" being forced upon the righteous. He likely felt it his moral duty to warn others of this insidious plan unfolding in California.

After all, the views expressed in this email are also expressed by an official web site of the LDS church



These views are given credibility by Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the LDS church talking to a group of young adults


In the above video, Elder Bednar says

You're going to have the possibility of the inevitable clashes between religious liberty and free speech; and, if your religious doctrine is such that you believe marriage between a man and a woman is the only definition of marriage then that smacks up against free speech; because if marriage is defined in a more broad way between members of the same gender - then you can't talk about that.

I'm sorry, but I expected our church leaders were above fear mongering. Don't we already have clashes between our religious doctrine vs legal and traditional definitions? Who is telling us we can't talk about marriages performed outside of a temple as being for time only, or that the consumption of alcohol is forbidden by God? Where are the legal challenges to our teaching of sexual abstinence before marriage? Gay marriage is already legal in Massachusetts - can anybody point to a single case where a church was legally warned about preaching against gay marriage? Is there any legal precedent to support this claim that the rights of churches to preach that marriage is between a man and a woman will be curtailed if prop 8 passes? Are you seriously trying to convince me that free speech will protect the rights of the KKK to say horrible things about jews and people of color, but it won't protect churches right to preach against gay marriage?

(as an aside, from a grammatical viewpoint - what does "the possibility of the inevitable" mean???)

Contrast this with the latest ad from the "No on 8" campaign



The savior taught "Ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:16). Are the fruits of misrepresentation of facts and fear mongering really what the Savior intended? Is this issue so important that we have to win - at any cost? Does the end justify the means?

Yes, this is eye opening indeed - but not in the way intended.