Proposition 8

Many of you know about Proposition 8 on the ballot in California this year. It has been on my mind a lot lately as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has really been tracking and working against it. I will not sit on the fence on this issue. I stand with the LDS Church 100%. I was reading a blog this morning and found a good synopsis of this proposition:

"Proposition 8 is simple and straightforward. It contains the same 14 words that were previously approved in 2000 by over 61% of California voters: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

Because four activist judges in San Francisco wrongly overturned the people’s vote, we need to pass this measure as a constitutional amendment to restore the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

Voting YES on Proposition 8 does 3 simple things:

1. It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined.
2. It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people.
3. It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs."

Ryan and I were discussing this last night. The Family: A Proclamation to the World, the Church's official stance on marriage and family, plainly states, "We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children." Could it be any more plain?

Marriage is NOT state-created. The institution of marriage was given by God in the first place--not the President of the United States, the Governor of California, or any random judges, nor was it man-made. How does it, then, make it OK for any of these people to redefine marriage and turn it into something it never was meant to be? This measure has nothing to do with same-sex couples being allowed the same legal privileges as married couples. They have already been granted access to those legal privileges. Instead, same-sex couples want society's stamp of approval on their choices.

I feel that many people who are backing the failure of this measure don't truly understand the future ramifications of their choice. They don't see that not passing this measure means that marriage will become a free-for-all. Polygamy will be just fine...and what's to say that in a few years, the age of consent will be lowered and suddenly, you will have 40 year old men marrying 12 year olds, or for that matter 5 or 6 of them at a time. Really--what is to stop that from happening? It's easy to say, "Well, it won't go THAT far," but 15-20 years ago, no one would have imagined we'd be here, either.

Near the end of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," we read, "We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." The failure of this measure is just that: the disintegration of the family. We have seen repeatedly in scripture that God keeps His word. He is constant and unchanging. I, for one, am not willing to sit on the sidelines and allow these calamities to happen without doing what I can to avoid them. I hope you'll join in this cause, too.