I realized today that my editing skills are lacking. P8 in my last post meant proposition 8 which is a proposal in California to define marriage as one man and one woman in the Californian constitution. For anyone that wants to research the topic more, I found these helpful websites:
http://www.protectmarriage.com/ --the coalition of churchs that asked the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to get involved
http://www.preservingmarriage.org/ --the church's website on the matter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_8 -- a good unbiased resource
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/same-sex-marriage-and-proposition-8 -- includes portions of an official broadcast from the brethren of the church to the members in California
I also have read alot of deragatory things about the church because it's involvement in Proposition 8. I think this topic is especially hot because the church is very adamant that it will remain politically neutral. The thing that people don't realize is that this isn't siding with the Republicans, it is taking a stance on a moral issue that is fundamental to the gospel. Elder Oaks of the quorum of the twelve gives us a good perspective on why the church got involved: "Over past years we have seen unrelenting pressure from advocates of that lifestyle to accept as normal what is not normal, and to characterize those who disagree as narrow-minded, bigoted and unreasonable," Oaks said. "Given these trends, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must take a stand on doctrine and principle. This is more than a social issue -- ultimately it may be a test of our most basic religious freedoms to teach what we know our Father in Heaven wants us to teach." -- http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2008/10/20/news/breaking/1.txt
I read about another state that now allows gay marriage, which is the third state to do so. The Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled that to deny gay's marriage licences infringed on their constitutional rights: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4996BE20081010?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 I honestly don't care if 2 people of the same sex live together, but when schools are allowed to indoctrinate kids on the matter, THAT IS WRONG. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,436961,00.html
I thought I would list books that I've read that are very informative on the signs of the times and that are written by General Authorities:
The Coming of the Lord by Gerald Lund
The Signs of the Times by Joseph Fielding Smith
The Millenial Messiah by Bruce R. McConkie
If anyone knows of other books that are worth while on the subject, please post them!!!
One tidbit of useful information is that the church is going to make Patriarchal Blessings available for download and is also allowing members to contribute to a LDS wiki. Here is the link announcing it: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705257109,00.html?pg=1
I also should've made it clear that everything I say is my opinion and DEFINITELY not official doctrine!!
3 comments:
We are waiting for more!! I will give you special alone time tonight so you can do this!! :)
Hey Ben! I don't know if you have been following the backlash of Prop8 passing in Cali, but the Church is being singled out for it. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081108/ap_on_re_us/mormon_backlash_boycott_2;_ylt=ApteNfwdBLEvIy1levMFU1HLLJ94)
I think its really interesting that people want to boycott Utah. Usually a boycott occurs when the other side is going to give in. Utah might just lose all of its non-Mormon tourists and seem like the most arrogant state in the nation, but the Church will never back down.
Also of great interest to me is the number of people within the Church who opposed Prop 8. So many times, we are given counsel, of which we can follow on a gradient. This, however, was made black and white by the Church. You could vote yes or no. Although this may be too judgmental and may not account for personal circumstances which only God knows, I was surprised by how many people rejected this counsel that plainly laid out good and evil. Many times we wish it we were given such specific counsel, but we probably aren't given it because too many of us reject it.
--Steph
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