I think people who don't understand why the LDS (Mormon) church wanted its members to vote no on Prop 8 in California are missing the big picture. I've been reading article after article today of people who feel that the church supported Prop 8 because of their hatred of same-sex relationships. If you don't understand that the church has the position that we hate the sin, not the sinner, then read no further. I think the subtlety of what I have to say will be lost on you.
One of the biggest reasons that Mormons don't want same-sex marriages has nothing to do with the marriages themselves. If a gay couple is having sex, which is viewed as a sin in our faith, is it more of a sin if they are married? I don't think so. So the actual act of homosexuals being married doesn't encourage or eliminate the sin.
What happens to the church if same-sex marriages are allowed in California (Remember, the argument made overwhelmingly by no on Prop 8 supporters is that it is a violation of human rights)? Eventually, a same-sex couple is going to try and get married at a Mormon temple. They will not be allowed and there will be a lawsuit. If the gay couple wins, what would the church do? I can't speak for the church, but my sense is that they would just shut the temple down. Our right to worship in our temple would be taken away by that couple. We worship in temples. We get married and make sacred promises to God in temples. If gay marriages are allowed to happen in California, we will eventually lose our places of worship, as will many other religions.
My heart goes out to people who are hurt by this proposition, because I know many gay people feel personally threatened by my church. Please realize that this is not an act of bigotry, but an attempt to preserve our freedom of religion the same way homosexuals are attempting to gain rights. It is hard that we are in opposition with each other, but that is the way it is. If gays gain the right to marry, many religious people will lose their religious freedom.
I'm not attempting to have an end all say in this matter. I hope that anyone who stumbles upon this post will appreciate my sincere desire to explain my side of the story, not even the complete Mormon story. I'd love to hear your comments, but I don't want this post to turn into people calling each other bigots.
Friday, November 7, 2008
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4 comments:
I don't know though. Not everyone is allowed to be married in the temple now and there's no law suits. It's not that they can't get married in the temple because they're gay- it's because they don't have temple recommends and don't meet the standards that are required. There are straight couples that fall into this category also... Just a thought.
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But it becomes a law suit that can potentially pass when the courts see it as discrimination based on sexual preference. It's just like when you apply for a job as an artist and you're not qualified as an artist. No one would blame a manager for not hiring that person. But if you're in the same situation and it can appear that you don't hire the person because they are latino or gay or whatever, then you have a big problem.
It’s an old topic, but I just discovered it (& your blog thanks to FB). Besides, I think you’ll appreciate my opinion as much as I appreciate yours.
In my opinion, this is why the separation of church and state is a good thing. I’m under the impression that the US government cannot force a church to marry people, no?
I’m curious, do you believe we should we make it illegal for divorced people to marry again?
Mich, I see what you are thinking, and I'm no legal expert so correct me if I'm wrong. My fear is not that the government could outright force the issue on any church, but technically the government licenses people to have the ability to marry people and the ability to get married. I wonder if they could restrict licenses to people or organizations who are willing to marry same-sex couples. In that case the LDS church would not be allowed to marry couples in temples at all.
I don't personally have a problem with divorced people marrying again. I'm not sure if you mean two people getting divorced and remarrying each other, or marrying different people, but either way that's cool with me!
Thanks for the discussion.
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