Friday, November 7, 2008

How I wish...

Why can’t we be more loving? Accepting of others. Tolerant.

I am sad about the hatred that Proposition eight has caused. Towards Mormons. Towards homosexuals. Towards people.

I support Proposition Eight, not because I hate gay people or because I don’t want them to be happy. I support Proposition Eight because I believe that Heavenly Father’s plan for us includes a man and a wife and children. He made our bodies biologically complimentary for that purpose. He made different (subtle and sometimes no so subtle) temperaments between genders to strengthen and uplift one another. A legal union between a man and woman is so deeply sacred and wonderful and I believe correct.

That being said, I believe that homosexuals are children of God just like I am. That they are of equal worth as me, that they are equally loved by God. I don’t agree that the physical act of homosexuality is okay, but I cannot cast a stone when I myself am wrought with weaknesses and imperfections. I do feel deeply for those who find themselves with same-gender attraction. What a difficult path. What difficult decisions. I can understand the desire to be accepted by the world. To be loved by a partner for always and forever. Everyone wants that.

I cringe at the bigotry I see on both ends of the stick. Why is it all of the sudden Mormons vs. Gays? Why can’t some people support the traditional institution of marriage without speaking unkindly of God’s beloved children? Why can’t the world understand that even though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints can’t support gay marriage we are not trying to be bigots, we are just staying true to our religious beliefs?

Oh, it is so wildly complicated and I doubt any understanding or agreement will ever be reached. I just hope that we can be nicer to each other, that we can serve each other, and that instead of judging one another, we can look at ourselves and become our best persons possible. That’s what I hope.

12 comments:

Melanie said...

Well said. I doubt that the "opposition" will accept even our leaders' kind, logical, and well thought out response to the defense of traditional marriage; however, we can each set an example of love and kindness.

adrienne said...

Oh, my sweet girl! How I love your convictions and your kindness. I am so distressed for all the bashing that has taken the place of thoughtful discourse and I am sad that people think that anyone who has a different point of view is the enemy. And even if we do have "political enemies", we are to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us.
Thanks for being a good example of thoughtful discourse. You do me proud, girlie.

Kristy said...

Very, very well said. As Jared would say: can't we all just get along?!

Chris and Tara Mason said...

Very well said - it's too bad that most people can't express themselves as kindly as you!

The Powells said...

AMEN.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I could NOT agree more!!!

Jer and Jealin said...

You have such a gift with words. I'm tempted to copy that whole post and put it in my journal. (With your name as the author of course.) That really hits home for me. No, I'm not gay, but someone close to me is. I wish they would read this...
Btw, Your teeth look super white in the Halloween pics. :)

Evan and Rebecca Jones said...

Well said. Evan's fam lives in LA so we've been getting the updates on how crazy it's been over there!

I so wish tolerance on both sides could be practiced.

...Laura... said...

Hey- sorry it has taken me so long to reply. It's just been one of those weeks. Doubling coupons means getting double the amount for the coupon. Some stores, especially local grocery stores, will have specific days or weeks where they will promise to double or even triple the coupon value. None of mine do, but I've seen a lot of people online take advantage of this, so you might want to check out your store.

Walgreens has instant saver coupons, which is another way for saying their store specific coupons. You can find them in teh weekly fliers that come in the papers or will be at the front of the store. You can also get some that last all month long, which are found in their Easy Saver Rebate booklet which are found near the fliers at the front of the store. I think they're "instant", because even if you're buying 5 of the same product, you only have to have one coupon scanned, and it will instantly multiply the correct amount to be deducted.

Does that make sense? Sorry I took so long :)

Audrey said...

That is very well written. I agree that a temptation/lifestyle such as that would be an extremely difficult life to have.
That being said, I still am really bothered that we are the only church being targeted for the passage of these propositions. There were so many people of faith & people who just plain believe in the composition of family to be a man and a woman and children that voted to pass this. Where is the respect and tolerance for the vote of the majority?

adrienne said...

Today I used your blog as my visiting teaching message

brenley said...

very well said. thank you! it's been interesting being in the midst of all of it. i wish people were more tolerant of others and that they'd listen more and point fingers less.