So, I'm taking a Child and Family Advocacy class- which is
basically defending the family, and I LOVE it, because I LOVE my marriage and I
LOVE my family. You guys.
There are so many people in the world that want good things,
but don't know how to go about getting those good things. It's our duty as
members of the church to share our beliefs, and stand up for not only your marriage
and family, but also the marriages and families of others.
With this Supreme Court ruling, we do know that God has a
hand in everything. But WE ARE GOD'S HANDS. We can't just sit back because we
think we don't know what we are doing or saying. We can't have the mentality
that "someone else will do it". YOU are that someone else. We have to
do what God wants, not push Him aside and take complete control of His hands.
Yes, equality is important, but so is our religious freedom.
And just because we have lost this case, doesn't mean we should give up. We
always have to keep trying. Joseph Smith said, “The Standard of Truth has been
erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing;
persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may
defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and
independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept
every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be
accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” WE are
responsible for spreading His Gospel.
Many have talked about the second coming, and we need to be
prepared for when the Savior does come again. We have to be His hands, and we
HAVE to be involved, and stand up for the sacred union of marriage. Christ will
always help us, and He will be with us if we try. Exodus 4:12- "Now
therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt
say." This is Christ's work, not ours, so we have Him on our side always.
We now more than ever, need to fight for our religious beliefs and freedoms.
And I just love you all so much, you guys are just the best!
I will ALWAYS fight for my family!!! Thanks for being so awesome!
So this is what Dallin H. Oaks spoke about back in 2009. I
took my favorite parts out and put them below, but here is the link for the
entire speech.
"And now, in conclusion, I offer five points of counsel
on how Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves to enhance religious freedom
in this period of turmoil and challenge.
First, we must speak with love, always showing
patience, understanding and compassion toward our adversaries. We are under
command to love our neighbor (Luke 10:27), to forgive all men (Doctrine and
Covenants 64:10), to do good to them who despitefully use us (Matthew 5:44) and
to conduct our teaching in mildness and meekness (Doctrine and Covenants
38:41).
Even as we seek to speak with love, we must not be surprised
when our positions are ridiculed and we are persecuted and reviled. As the
Savior said, “so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew
5:12). And modern revelation commands us not to revile against revilers
(Doctrine and Covenants 19:30).
Second, we must not be deterred or coerced into
silence by the kinds of intimidation I have described. We must insist on our
constitutional right and duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences
on public issues and to participate in elections and debates in the public
square and the halls of justice. These are the rights of all citizens and they
are also the rights of religious leaders. While our church rarely speaks on
public issues, it does so by exception on what the First Presidency defines as
significant moral issues, which could surely include laws affecting the
fundamental legal/cultural/moral environment of our communities and nations.
We must also insist on this companion condition of
democratic government: when churches and their members or any other group act
or speak out on public issues, win or lose, they have a right to expect freedom
from retaliation.
Along with many others, we were disappointed with what we
experienced in the aftermath of California’s adoption of Proposition 8,
including vandalism of church facilities and harassment of church members by
firings and boycotts of member businesses and by retaliation against donors.
Mormons were the targets of most of this, but it also hit other churches in the
pro-8 coalition and other persons who could be identified as supporters.
Fortunately, some recognized such retaliation for what it was. A full-page ad
in the New York Times branded this “violence and intimidation”
against religious organizations and individual believers “simply because they
supported Proposition 8 [as] an outrage that must stop.” [xv] The fact that this ad was signed by some leaders who had
no history of friendship for our faith only added to its force.
It is important to note that while this aggressive
intimidation in connection with the Proposition 8 election was primarily
directed at religious persons and symbols, it was not anti-religious as such.
These incidents were expressions of outrage against those who disagreed with
the gay-rights position and had prevailed in a public contest. As such, these
incidents of “violence and intimidation” are not so much anti-religious as
anti-democratic. In their effect they are like the well-known and widely
condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South that produced corrective
federal civil-rights legislation.
Third, we must insist on our freedom to preach the
doctrines of our faith. Why do I make this obvious point? Religious people who
share our moral convictions feel some intimidation. Fortunately, our leaders do
not refrain from stating and explaining our position that homosexual behavior
is sinful. Last summer Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke these words to a BYU
audience:
“We follow Jesus Christ by living the law of chastity. God
gave this commandment, and He has never revoked or changed it. This law is
clear and simple. No one is to engage in sexual relationships outside the
bounds the Lord has set. This applies to homosexual behavior of any kind and to
heterosexual relationships outside marriage. It is a sin to violate the law of
chastity.
“We follow Jesus Christ by adhering to God’s law of
marriage, which is marriage between one man and one woman. This commandment has
been in place from the very beginning.”[xvi]
We will continue to teach what our Heavenly Father has
commanded us to teach, and trust that the precious free exercise of religion
remains strong enough to guarantee our right to exercise this most basic
freedom.
Fourth, as advocates of the obvious truth that
persons with religious positions or motivations have the right to express their
religious views in public, we must nevertheless be wise in our political
participation. Preachers have been prime movers in the civil rights movement
from the earliest advocates of abolition, but even the civil rights of
religionists must be exercised legally and wisely.
As Latter-day Saints, we should never be reticent to declare
and act upon the sure foundations of our faith. The call of conscience —
whether religious or otherwise — requires no secular justification. At the same
time, religious persons will often be most persuasive in political discourse by
framing arguments and positions in ways that are respectful of those who do not
share their religious beliefs and that contribute to the reasoned discussion
and compromise that is essential in a pluralistic society.[xvii]
Fifth and finally, Latter-day Saints must be
careful never to support or act upon the idea that a person must subscribe to
some particular set of religious beliefs in order to qualify for a public
office. The framers of our constitution included a provision that “no religious
Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
under the United States” (Article VI). That constitutional principle forbids a
religious test as a legal requirement, but it of course leaves
citizens free to cast their votes on the basis of any preference they choose.
But wise religious leaders and members will never advocate religious tests for
public office.
Fragile freedoms are best preserved when not employed beyond
their intended purpose. If a candidate is seen to be rejected at the ballot box
primarily because of religious belief or affiliation, the precious free
exercise of religion is weakened at its foundation, especially when this reason
for rejection has been advocated by other religionists. Such advocacy suggests
that if religionists prevail in electing their preferred candidate this will
lead to the use of government power in support of their religious beliefs and
practices. The religion of a candidate should not be an issue in a political
campaign."
These are all just random articles and videos that I think
are really good.
This article is a pretty non biased, and explains it further
if you don't know that much about it, but it's good to know.
Also, you've also probably heard of what the church has said
about it, but here it is. There a link to the actual statement- The Divine
Institution of Marriage, in this article below.
LDS Church news conference on religious freedom and
nondiscrimination
What is Religious Freedom?
The Case for Traditional Marriage.
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