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.
4 comments:
Matt, seriously thank you for that "Italian ice stand" analogy. Politics have NEVER been so clear and interesting to me. I may even pack away those Baby Einstein movies and turn on the news!! Robyn...where are you??
I'm glad you are able to read about political matters without being scared or furrowing your brow in confusion. Congrats.
Hey Steens,
Being a CA resident I thought I'd inform you that there was indeed a letter read in our ward today from the First Presidency. I don't remember being asked to go knock on doors (though I was running around the hallway looking for Ben's shoe that fell off on our way to the chapel, so I may have missed something), but the members were definitely encouraged to use any and all resources at our disposal to support an amendment to the recent court ruling.
On a lighter note, we're excited to see y'all in a few days!
I have to agree..great post. It is scary to me the way the world of politics is going these days. I was appalled when California allowed gay marriages.
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