LDS Church Fights Gay Marriage in California

As this is primarily a political, and not religious blog, I hesitate to discuss items of a religous nature. Many of you know that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). On June 24th, the AP reported that the LDS church has issued a letter to its California Bishops to be read during church services on Sunday.

The letter addresses the recent debacle perpetrated by the California Supreme court in which the seven justices overturned "Proposition 22". Proposition 22 was an act that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. It was voted on in the 2000 election and passed with a 61.4% majority which is a staggering victory considering the conservative reputation that California holds. However, why bother with elections when we have the all-wise supreme court to make our policy decisions for us.

Now, an attempt to ammend the California state constitution, defining marriage as between a man and a woman, has been placed on the November ballot for the people to vote on. The LDS church has asked its membership in California to "do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating your means and time".

As a Latter-day Saint, this letter is significant in a number of ways. First, it absolutely ends the debate as to the churches position regarding gay marriage. Many members of the LDS church still think that the churches position on homosexuality is akin to its position on Blacks and the Priesthood pre-1978. This position is ludicrous in that the Church never stated that being black was a sin, nor did they posit that blacks would never be able to recieve the priesthood. On the other hand, the churches position on homosexuality has never wavered nor offered any inclination that the position as to the sinful nature of homosexuality would ever change.

Despite this there are members of the LDS church who feel that the church's policies (i.e. homosexuality is a sin) are "hurtful" to homosexuals. How is that exactly? Anyone who belives that the LDS church is true, must also believe their claim that the church is divinely led. If that is the case, then no amount of whining is going to change the "hurtful" policy. Do they think that they can change God's mind? On the other hand, if they don't belive that the LDS church is true, then what does our opinion matter anyway?

Regarding the issue of Gay marriage, we have to ask ourselves this question. Why? Why is it necessary for homosexuals to have a state recognized marriage? I'll tell you, it is because they know that their actions are unnatural and wrong, and they are desperately looking for government approval. If they can get the US government to say that there is nothing immoral about homosexuality, that a homosexual marriage is just a moral as a heterosexual one, then they feel that they will be justified on their actions. This goes beyond tolerance. This is an attempt to change the very definitions of "right" and "wrong".

If the Gay Rights people are successful in keeping gay marriage legal, then it will only be a matter of time before churches are sued left and right because they "discriminate" against homosexuals. You may think its a stretch, but the Boy Scouts of America, a private organization, was almost forced to hire homosexuals as scoutmasters. If the court can force the BSA to do it, why not the LDS or Catholic church?

I applaud the LDS church for taking a clear cut position on this issue.