Monday, August 18, 2008
Register to Vote!
For those of you who happen to be in California, this is extra-especially important this election. Believe me, I know it is hard to get motivated to vote in an area where you may only be for a couple of years, you don't know the local politics, and if you are like me, you don't really care who wins for city counsel. This year those who live in California have the chance to vote on Proposition 8 which is a constitutional amendment that will define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Regardless of how adamantly you feel on the topic, our church leaders have stressed the importance of the outcome of this vote. We can't pretend to understand the potential ramifications if this measure fails, but I believe our leaders do. For that reason I am encouraging everyone who can vote in California to do so. Educate yourself on this issue, get registered, and have your voice heard. For those who don't live in California, register anyway! This is one of the many freedoms our spouses fight for, it would be tragic to not let our voices be heard. Remember, there is not enough darkness in all the world, to put out the light of one small candle!
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4 comments:
Right On! Thanks so much for posting about this important issue! There are lots of things we can do to influence what happens in our country, but still the best and the most basic is being informed and VOTING! Thanks for the post!
LDS ‘Yes on 8′ Game Plan
I’ve posted a letter sent from Boyd K. Packer on July 28th to the LDS stake presidents in California:
BKP July 28
Apparently, there is a plan in place to put up one million ‘Yes on 8′ yard signs at 7:00 am on September 22nd.
I'll tell you what will happen if it passes.
NOBODY will get to be married according to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in this article.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,561460,00.html
He's quoted as saying:
SPIEGEL: If a majority of Californians vote to ban gay marriage in a referendum in November, does your decision lose its meaning? Or are they just overturning the word "marriage?"
George: If this amendment to the constitution passes, it would prevent gay people from being married, but it would not remove this protection that we put in our analysis. ... We're saying that if you look at a classification of gay people, you must treat it just as if you are classifying on the basis of the color of their skin or their religion. And that is probably the most important thing in the whole ruling, even though the population's attention understandably has mostly been on the "M word" of marriage.
What he's saying in the interview snippet above is basically if Prop 8 passes, he'll have no choice other than to force domestic partnerships on all couples (same sex and opposite sex) and not marriage.
If prop 8 passes "marriage" will be defined but not guaranteed. To do that, you'd have to amend to Constitution to get rid of the equal protection clause.
Thank you all for your comments. I am choosing to follow the counsel given in a declaration the LDS church gave to the entire world in 1995. The full text is available here,http://www.lds.org, but there are several sentences within that text that will guide my decision. "We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife." "Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan." "Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." "We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."
And if you don't agree with this counsel, that is one of the great things about the LDS church, we believe that one of the most important things we have been given is our ability to make our own choices. 2nd Nephi Chapter 2 Verse 27, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."
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