Why Legislate Morality?

More on the proposed amendment to California’s Constitution this November.

In our society, the theology of “live-and-let-live” or claiming that others’ choices are none of our business is the very attitude that brings about the decline of our people.  In an article written by Maurine Proctor of Meridian Magazine, she goes further into the impact of allowing gay marriage on our country:

From The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:

In a new letter that will be read over the pulpit to California congregations, the First Presidency is advising members that, “Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage.”

“We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage is legally defined as being between a man and a woman.”

“The Church’s teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal,” the letter reads.

“Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the formation of families is central to the creator’s plan for his children.

“Children are entitled to be born within this bond of marriage.”…

How this affects the whole country:

What is disturbing is that unlike Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is confined only to those who are residents of the state, California has no such law. Thus residents of other states, whose marriage laws do not allow genderless marriage can come to California, get their nuptials, and then head home claiming their marriage is legal….

Family fragmentation is a public issue with public consequences. For example, in April of 2008 the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, along with others, issued a study showing that family fragmentation in the United States is costing taxpayers $112 billion annually…

Why defining marriage is important to families:

Of course, life isn’t perfect and sometimes people become single parents — a spouse dies or parents experience a painful divorce. Although we can’t always protect bad things from happening, there is one thing we can do. Never intentionally create motherless or fatherless children… Study after study shows that children fare best in a home with their own mother and father. They have less delinquency, less drug usage, less tendency for suicide, less abuse, less tendency to live in poverty. They have higher grades, more security, more self-confidence…
Any law that dilutes the definition and purpose of marriage leads to fewer marriages and more children being born out of wedlock. Sadly, we have already witnessed these alarming trends in Scandinavian countries that legalized same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships more than 10 years ago, and now the out of wedlock birthrate is between 50 to 60 percent (depending on the country).

“Acts done in the name of freedom have shut down the freedom of the religious.”

When Massachusetts adopted homosexual marriage, the state left a Boston Catholic adoption service no choice but to shut down or agree to place adopted children with homosexual couples. This is not because the state funded the charity, but only because the charity had to depend on a state license to operate…

After New Jersey passed civil union legislation, the state removed part of the tax-exempt status from a church in Ocean Grove after the church refused, on religious grounds, to offer its gazebo for a civil union service. In Massachusetts, parents lost the right to be notified when their child’s public school was going to teach on the topic of homosexuality.

Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon wrote in 2004, during the same-sex marriage debate in Massachusetts, ”The experience in other countries reveals that once these arrangements become law, there will be no live-and-let-live policy for those who differ. Gay-marriage proponents use the language of openness, tolerance, and diversity, yet one foreseeable effect of their success will be to usher in an era of intolerance and discrimination … The ax will fall most heavily on religious persons and groups that don’t go along.”…

California and Marriage

In November California voters will be given the opportunity to add to the California Constitution.  The wording of the amendment will make it clear that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman.  My church’s Proclamation On the Family is clear that this is how God intends marriage to be. I hope to provide some information on this topic until it is time to vote.  To start I will quote ProtectMarriage.com which my church and my family is supporting:

Why It’s Needed:

1.  Children need the love of both a father and a mother.  The body of research-proof is overwhelming and consistent.

2.  Traditional marriage deserves protection because of its contributions to societal well-being.  The historic purpose for governmental recognition of marriage has been about children and society, not the relationship of two adults.

3.  Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexual relationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimate purpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreases the total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90s—and just 2 percent of same-sex couples in these countries ever bother to marry, while there has been a 46 percent increase in out-of-wedlock births.

4.  Expanding the definition of marriage begs the question: Why stop at same-sex couples?  What legal basis would remain to limit the number of partners in marriage?

5.  Legalizing same-sex marriage necessarily mandates changes to all California public-school curriculum.  Children will be subjected to a mandatory acceptance of homosexuality and all of its practices.  Public school curriculum will actively discriminate against the values of the majority of its community’s families.

6.  Religious freedom has been the cornerstone of success for the United States of America.  It is naïve to believe that when acceptance of same-sex marriage is legislatively or judicially forced upon citizens via employment law, education, or other government mandates, rights of religious liberty won’t decrease.

The Most Significant Classroom

Now that summer is here and the kids are all home full time, I am really feeling the effects of being a stay-at-home-mom.  I love my kids like crazy, but they can also make me a little crazy, so I really enjoyed reading this quote that reminded me why it is so important that I do this: “Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, ‘Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one’s own family.’ ” —President Thomas S. Monson Ensign November 1991

“Unleashing the Dormant Spirit”

This talk was given a dozen years ago, but still is full of power and comfort. I loved listening to the sincerity in F. Enzio Busche’s voice as he delivers this powerful message and puts life into perspective. Thanks to Jenn for sharing it with me!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snAjZ8mfoYw

Playing Santa Claus

I hesitate to post about this, but in the interest of using this blog as a journal, and because so many people have donated to the cause, I thought I should.

You may remember when I posted on this subject earlier. Sandra is a friend of mine who is so sweet and willing to help others whenever she can. She has many difficulties to deal with in her life, and in January witnessed the murder of her two neighbors. She is, of course, still recovering from the trauma of the experience. She heard screaming and yelled at the man with a knife to stop from her front door. He didn’t stop until he had wounded his estranged wife, and killed his mother-in-law. Sandra and her older son tried to help, but both women died, and the man drove himself to a bridge and jumped to his death.

After talking with Sandra about it on the phone, and knowing that she was not comfortable in her home because of the bad memories that keep returning, I tried to come up with a way to help her. I live too far away from her to drop in and check on things, so I’d have to help long distance. I talked with my mom about my concerns and she suggested we work together as a family to make her home a more pleasant place to be. In spite of her hard work at several jobs, she still struggles financially, and I thought changing her surroundings with some new things might help brighten her spirits.

My mom came across a great deal on frozen cinnamon rolls sold by the case, and we thought it would be great to use them as a fundraiser to get some nice things for Sandra’s home. It wasn’t hard for me to get my friends behind me and we sold more than two hundred cinnamon rolls. Erica and her boys also got in on the action and sold some at a yard sale and to their friends. Some of my local friends also gave me things for her grandson like toys and books, and even a living room rug was donated.

I arranged to meet Sandra for a visit at her home last Saturday. My parents were in town visiting for the week prior and they came with us to deliver the goodies. We drove to her house which is about an hour and a half away. I was nervous because I didn’t want to embarrass her or make her feel uncomfortable. I wanted her to feel that there were people who don’t even know her that care about her, and that her happiness is important to me as well. I wrote her a letter because I was not sure if I could convey what I wanted once I was there with her. She speaks primarily in Spanish, so I wrote a letter in English and used an online translator to change it to Spanish. Along with the letter I included $110.00 that was raised, but had not been spent. She was taken by surprise, and it was a little awkward because she just didn’t know what to say.

I told her about my friends and family that wanted to do something nice for her and she was so sweet saying over and over, “This is a happy day…. I am so happy.” The best part for me was when she asked me, “How did you know I needed these things?” I went for a light answer because I didn’t want to cry, and answered, “oh, I know everything.” But I also explained to her that I had thought a lot about what I could do for her, and shopped with a prayer in my heart so I would be led to the things that would be most appreciated. It was a wonderful visit, and Rob and I agreed that although it was a little awkward for her to receive these things and for us to give them, it was worth it. Knowing that as soon as we left the awkwardness was over, and she could be left to enjoy having some new things to make life more pleasant, and having the feeling that there are so many people out there hoping for her happiness. I think too often we don’t do service for others because we worry it will be awkward, but how much better it is to endure those awkward moments than let someone go unacknowledged.

I have pictures in the gallery of everything we brought to her and our visit. (Except for the rug, I think that one is on my Dad’s camera.) Thanks so much for your ideas, and for the donations I received from you all!!!

Introspection

I have felt a bit like a leaf in the wind this week; Blown around by the will of the wind, feeling like life is out of my control as it continually blows me one direction when I clearly want to go another. I think I usually do pretty well at going with the flow, but at other times I feel a need for a clear purpose and get so frustrated when the plans I make for myself are upset.

As I’m trying to pull myself out of my blogging slump, and my emotional somberness, I have been searching for a topic that is relevant to my current situation. Only, I just can’t seem to decide what my current situation is. Lack of motivation? Loss of interest? Generally overwhelmed? Selfishness? Stubbornness? Impatience? Rebellion?… So I thought I would look back on the General Conference just before Hunter was born. I’m not sure why, but I wondered if I might remember some of those things that inspired me before I entered into motherhood. I am still a bit lost, and this week I hope to get back on track by being more diligent in my scripture study. That is one thing I haven’t done much of, if any (wince), lately and I can feel that I have lost the guidance of the spirit that comes from it.

This talk struck a chord with me, I’m not really sure how to process it yet, but I thought I would share:

The Time to Prepare – Joseph B Wirthlin

…It has been said that “life is such a precious gift, it should be guarded from needless dilution. . . . ‘Each day is not just another day but more like a falling drop of water, a golden moment of life’s span adding to an increasingly rich pool of living.'”
Indecision can immobilize or paralyze us, hindering our preparation in mortality. We can become like the people of Nineveh whom the Lord described to Jonah as “persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand.” The Apostle James observed that “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” An old Swiss saying describes such indecision in these words:

With one foot in,
with one foot out,
You can’t be in,
you can’t be out–
Not warm, not cold,
not square, not round,
More poor than poor
and always bound.
For such a man
will never know
where to begin
or where to go.

We cannot be double minded in our relationships with husband or wife, parents or children. Are we going to savor the enjoyment of our children after they are a little older and we are not so busy? What about the valued friendships that fade because of the thoughtful, lengthy letters we plan to write but never finish and send? Are we faithful in going to our temples regularly? Consider the books we are going to read, the impulses to kindness we are going to act upon, and the good causes we are going to espouse. Are we always packing our bags with the things we value most in life but never leave on the trip? Does tomorrow never come? Let us resolve to begin to live today–not tomorrow, but today–this hour while we yet have time.

We know that death is a necessary transition. It will come sooner or later to each of us. Our mortal bodies will return to earth, and our spirits will return to the spirit world. By virtue of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, we all will be resurrected. Each of us will stand before the judgment bar of the great Jehovah and be rewarded according to our deeds in mortality.

If we make every earthly decision with this judgment in mind, we will have used our mortal probation wisely and its days will give us peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.