This week the Supreme Court is considering the legality of California's Proposition 8. I feel this is a very important week in the history of the United States.
Throughout time, various nations have ruled over each other, only to fall for one reason or another. Perhaps an explanation to these falls can be found in the Book of Mormon. Over and over again the Nephites and the Lamanites were at war with each other. Sometime the Nephites (usually the people of God) would triumph over the Lamanites. But at certain times they would forget the Lord their God and the Lamanites would win battle after battle, eventually overthrowing the entire people of the Nephites. This overthrow (though prophesied) was a consequence of the wickedness of the Nephite NATION!
Despite the various battles the US is involved in, the real battle of the human race is that against Satan. He has been fighting God since before the dawn of what we consider time. He has had a great deal of practice, and he isn't letting up. It seems one of his favorite temptations is sexual immorality. The specific example for this blog is same-gender attraction. Though temptation and sin are different, one usually leads to the other. Now Satan would have the United States, as a NATION, sanction not only the temptation, but the SIN as well.
Supporting this sin, especially as a nation, will bring upon us the judgements of God, as stated in The Family: A Proclamation to the World "Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon
individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient
and modern prophets."
Over the past few days, I have been surprised at how many people feel
that they can "divide their loyalties" as I would call it and feel they
can support gay marriage on one hand, yet remain faithful and active
members of the church on the other. They use arguments that "I can't
tell them how to live their lives" or "I shouldn't judge others" or "Let
them be happy in their own way," seemingly unaware that it is not only
their right but their responsibility to stand for the things they
believe to be right--or the rights they have/need/desire will be taken
away by those who are ever so willing to do so.
One friend asked me why it was so bad to "let them be happy?" My answer is that allowing them to do this is not going to help them be happy for "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). God has declared marriage to be between man and woman (or at times man and women). He has told us that the family is central to God's eternal Plan (Family Proclamation). The best chance of happiness is for people to follow the commandments of God.
Though I don't think the decision of the Supreme Court will cause an immediate change in the blessings or judgements of God we receive as a NATION, I do believe it will have a significant influence in them in the near future.
I pray the Justices have the courage to make the right decision.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The Next time....
Today I attended the funeral of a great lady who "lost" a battle with cancer. She is a great lady- easy to talk to, listens with her heart, and so loving. I did not know her long or well, but I felt so much at easy around her. She is one of those women I wish I had been able to know better and longer.
As much as this woman does deserve to have a blog page as her tribute, that is not what this blog post is meant to be. Instead, the occasion made me want to share a little about my beliefs of eternity.
As a Christian, I believe that because of Jesus Christ the bonds of death have been broken. It is part of God's eternal plan that we leave our Heavenly home for a time, come to earth and have mortal experiences, and die. But that death is not the end. At some future point, the bodies that have been laid in the graves will rise again. They will be reunited with our eternal spirit and we will be whole again. Only this time, our bodies will be Eternal.
It is that belief that has comforted me at the deaths of loved ones. That does not mean that I am not sad or troubled when those I love die. Some deaths, like those of aged grandparents, are semi expected and though we grieve, we are almost prepared for them. Others are sudden, and often much harder to accept. Regardless of the circumstance preceding the death, when it happens, we know that we will miss that person dearly. We grieve for OUR future without them. We think of the events in our lives that we won't see them at. And there is great sorrow in those moments.
In all likelihood, we will miss that person off and on for the rest of our mortal existence. But, there is an eternity where we will see them again. So... I'll be looking forward to the next time with the dear Sister who passed away today, and all my other loved ones who have gone and will go before me.
As much as this woman does deserve to have a blog page as her tribute, that is not what this blog post is meant to be. Instead, the occasion made me want to share a little about my beliefs of eternity.
As a Christian, I believe that because of Jesus Christ the bonds of death have been broken. It is part of God's eternal plan that we leave our Heavenly home for a time, come to earth and have mortal experiences, and die. But that death is not the end. At some future point, the bodies that have been laid in the graves will rise again. They will be reunited with our eternal spirit and we will be whole again. Only this time, our bodies will be Eternal.
It is that belief that has comforted me at the deaths of loved ones. That does not mean that I am not sad or troubled when those I love die. Some deaths, like those of aged grandparents, are semi expected and though we grieve, we are almost prepared for them. Others are sudden, and often much harder to accept. Regardless of the circumstance preceding the death, when it happens, we know that we will miss that person dearly. We grieve for OUR future without them. We think of the events in our lives that we won't see them at. And there is great sorrow in those moments.
In all likelihood, we will miss that person off and on for the rest of our mortal existence. But, there is an eternity where we will see them again. So... I'll be looking forward to the next time with the dear Sister who passed away today, and all my other loved ones who have gone and will go before me.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Who needs tolerance?
As a stay-at-home-mom living close to family and surrounded by people of the same ethnic, cultural, and religious back-ground, I must admit that I don't personally experience much discrimination or persecution. That being said, occasionally a Facebook friend will post a status or an article bashing my religion or lifestyle. And it hurts. And I get angry. And sometimes I rant to my husband. Sometimes I even rant on Facebook (or blog about it). And once in a great while, I even stand up for what I believe on their post.
This blog is one of those rants. So many times, the LDS church is accused of being intolerant. But from an insiders perspective, it is those outside of the church who are displaying intolerance. This intolerance (persecution) is nothing new to church members. In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 27:1 we read "And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church were so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma (church leader). And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests."
In the early days of the restoration, church members were driven out of their homes numerous times by mobs bent on their destruction. Pleas to political leaders of the day fell on deaf ears and eventually the LDS people left the country.
And I suppose that persecution in some form will be a part of the LDS history until the earth is renewed and receives its paradisaical glory.
But that doesn't make it right. And it doesn't make those calling for tolerance from the church any less hypocritical when their actions degrade the church and its people.
Nor does their call for "tolerance" change the laws of God. It seems so often the LDS people are thought to be uncaring or evil because we refuse to say that something we believe to be bad is good. I realize that you may feel differently about a topic than I do, and I hope that in conversations with you I will be respectful. But that does not mean that I will change my opinion that I believe you are wrong--I'd probably even go as far as telling you "You are sinning." Which, yes, is approximately the same as me telling you "You are going to Hell if you don't change that." Which is probably why you think I am intolerant.
But that is the point. I believe you are going to Hell if you don't change that. And as your LDS friend who cares about you, I do what I can to help you see that--Hopefully I do it kindly. Do I have faults? YES! Am I working on them? Hopefully.
I don't go around specifically looking for "sins" to point out to you. But if you ask me my opinion on gay marriage, smoking, abortion, or a host of other things, be prepared to hear that marriage should be between a man and a woman, smoking is bad for you, and that abortion is murder.
No one (not even you) is perfect. We are going to disagree. We will probably even offend each other. Just remember though, that if you expect tolerance from me, I will expect it from you. And if you have no strength to your argument, bashing the opponent is not going to help your case.
This blog is one of those rants. So many times, the LDS church is accused of being intolerant. But from an insiders perspective, it is those outside of the church who are displaying intolerance. This intolerance (persecution) is nothing new to church members. In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 27:1 we read "And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church were so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma (church leader). And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests."
In the early days of the restoration, church members were driven out of their homes numerous times by mobs bent on their destruction. Pleas to political leaders of the day fell on deaf ears and eventually the LDS people left the country.
And I suppose that persecution in some form will be a part of the LDS history until the earth is renewed and receives its paradisaical glory.
But that doesn't make it right. And it doesn't make those calling for tolerance from the church any less hypocritical when their actions degrade the church and its people.
Nor does their call for "tolerance" change the laws of God. It seems so often the LDS people are thought to be uncaring or evil because we refuse to say that something we believe to be bad is good. I realize that you may feel differently about a topic than I do, and I hope that in conversations with you I will be respectful. But that does not mean that I will change my opinion that I believe you are wrong--I'd probably even go as far as telling you "You are sinning." Which, yes, is approximately the same as me telling you "You are going to Hell if you don't change that." Which is probably why you think I am intolerant.
But that is the point. I believe you are going to Hell if you don't change that. And as your LDS friend who cares about you, I do what I can to help you see that--Hopefully I do it kindly. Do I have faults? YES! Am I working on them? Hopefully.
I don't go around specifically looking for "sins" to point out to you. But if you ask me my opinion on gay marriage, smoking, abortion, or a host of other things, be prepared to hear that marriage should be between a man and a woman, smoking is bad for you, and that abortion is murder.
No one (not even you) is perfect. We are going to disagree. We will probably even offend each other. Just remember though, that if you expect tolerance from me, I will expect it from you. And if you have no strength to your argument, bashing the opponent is not going to help your case.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Joint Anonymity...
Several years ago, I unexpectedly lost my 60 something year old Grandma. This week, which oddly enough would have been her birthday, I set up her computer which has been in my possession for at least 2 years for the first time.
Grandma was a newspaper writer for many years, but this computer I am sure came into her possession long after she had traded careers. Still she was active in politics in her own ways and had several "letters to the editor" saved in her files. One particular letter to the editor was particularly opinionated--which didn't really surprise me because of her personality. What did surprise me was the way it was "signed" at the bottom. She had used her first given name and her maiden name. What makes that so unusual was that Grandma ALWAYS went by her middle name and she had been married over 40 years. Quite frankly, I would guess that few if any of her closest friends would have even suspected the letter had been written by her just by reading it and the name at the end. Even as her grand-daughter, I would probably not have suspected it was her had I not read it on her computer instead of in the paper.
But what I really found interesting was the fact that both she and I have sought public ways to voice our opinions without actually having our associates know it is us making those statements. I can't ask her why she did it, but I can make guesses because of the things I feel--and because of the content of the letter which would have been unpopular with a large number of people.
Perhaps one day in the eternal worlds she and I will get to have a funny little discussion about our "anonymity" in writing opinionated things. But until then, I'll be grateful for the memories I have of her, and the new insights I have of her through the things I have gotten to read on her computer.
Grandma was a newspaper writer for many years, but this computer I am sure came into her possession long after she had traded careers. Still she was active in politics in her own ways and had several "letters to the editor" saved in her files. One particular letter to the editor was particularly opinionated--which didn't really surprise me because of her personality. What did surprise me was the way it was "signed" at the bottom. She had used her first given name and her maiden name. What makes that so unusual was that Grandma ALWAYS went by her middle name and she had been married over 40 years. Quite frankly, I would guess that few if any of her closest friends would have even suspected the letter had been written by her just by reading it and the name at the end. Even as her grand-daughter, I would probably not have suspected it was her had I not read it on her computer instead of in the paper.
But what I really found interesting was the fact that both she and I have sought public ways to voice our opinions without actually having our associates know it is us making those statements. I can't ask her why she did it, but I can make guesses because of the things I feel--and because of the content of the letter which would have been unpopular with a large number of people.
Perhaps one day in the eternal worlds she and I will get to have a funny little discussion about our "anonymity" in writing opinionated things. But until then, I'll be grateful for the memories I have of her, and the new insights I have of her through the things I have gotten to read on her computer.
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