Water Balloons!

Our ward part was Saturday and as YW President, I was asked to have the YW & YM bring 150 water balloons to the party.  Well, as things go, Friday night about 8:30, Matt and I went out to buy water balloons.  We got back around 9 and started the task.  We bought water bombs and grenades.  It was so late, I didn't really want to call all of my YW to come over, so I strategically texted one, who happens to have two twin brothers in YM to see if they could come help.  She said they could, but ended showing up alone.  So, we spent an hour making water balloons.  I spent 2 hours total and Matt probably 1.  It was a lot of work and of course once we broke out the balloons for a "water toss" game, they were gone within 10 minutes with all the little kids and big kids going crazy throwing them at each other.  I got a good shot at one of the YM who didn't show up to help!  Hahaha!  I got him good!  Here are a few pictures of Matt with a balloon we found when we came home - the last beloved water bomb.  It had fallen under the car before while we were loading the balloons up.  Matt let me practice my shot on him!

Is the LDS Church Meddling in Politics?

Disclaimer: This post mentions politics in some measure and may be found offensive to certain person(s) who have previously expressed disdain for the subject (Kristin). If you feel uneasy or scared by discussions of current events or anything that you would not hear on Baby Einstein videos or reality t.v., please click here for a source of entertainment that requires much less thought.

A few weeks ago the California Supreme Court ruled that a law forbidding same sex couples from marrying violated the state's Constitution. In doing so, the court essentially disenfranchised millions of Californians who voted in 2000 to maintain marriage between heterosexual couples only. A few days ago, a story on ksl.com centered around a letter that was supposedly to be read in sacrament meetings in California urging members to go door to door to rally support for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between men and women in hopes of undermining the state court's ruling.

As soon as news of the letter surfaced, some members of the church expressed disappointment that the Church decided to "meddle" in politics despite its long standing position to stay neutral. What these members don't understand is that the Church's actions have nothing to do with meddling in politics. Same sex marriage is a political issue, but not exclusively so. (If the state passes a law regulating Italian ice stands, does that make Italian ice a political hot potato, too?) Same sex marriage is also a moral issue, and that is exactly the type of thing churches are in the business of speaking on. If a church does not take a stand on an important issue of morality, especially one that concerns the family, what good is it? The Church isn't telling us whom we should vote for, it's telling us to stand up for the family and stand up to the 4 judges who decided to use their office to legislate public policy for California's 36,000,000 citizens.

I hope that the members of California, if indeed there was such a letter read today in sacrament meeting, will answer the call.