The Family and Same-Sex Marriage

I shared these thoughts on Facebook today, and I decided I wanted to share them here as well.  The definition of marriage is an important issue to me, and I want to explain why exactly it is so important and what it means to me.

There has been a lot of furor lately over the Supreme Court's hearing on the legality of homosexual marriage.  My personal beliefs are that homosexual marriage (and behavior) is wrong and sinful.  In the words of the prophets, "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children . . . Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose . . . We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

I understand this may be difficult for those of you who do not share my belief system to comprehend.  From a purely secular viewpoint, defining marriage as a man and a woman doesn't totally make sense.  But, my beliefs are not based on secular knowledge.  My beliefs are based on faith in God and the teachings of his prophets.  The book of Isaiah says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Holy Bible, Isaiah 55:8-9,)

I believe that God has greater understanding than we do.  He sees the big picture, the eternal scheme of things, where we see only a small portion of it.  Just because we don't understand everything doesn't mean that something isn't true. Oftentimes, both in religious matters, and in secular matters, things initially don't make sense, but turn out to be for our benefit.  Did it make sense to people in the 1800s when doctors suggested that sickness came from tiny, invisible life forms?  Did it make sense for Washington to attempt to stop the powerful British army with a ragtag band of half-starved and frozen farmers?  Did it make sense for God to command Abraham to sacrifice his only son, to tell Noah to build an ark in the middle of dry land, or to direct Moses to lead the Children of Israel straight into the Red Sea?  Did it make sense for Jesus Christ, the only perfect person to ever live on this earth, and the literal son of God, to allow himself to be killed, even though he had the power to protect himself? 

The answer is NO.  None of these things made sense from a logical standpoint, yet each in each of these instances the thing that didn't make sense turned out to be the best thing in the long run.  And like these examples, I know that in the long run, it will turn out to be the best thing to preserve the definition of marriage as purely heterosexual.  It may not make sense now, but some day it will.

I know that I probably didn't convert anyone over to my viewpoint, and I didn't really intend to.  I just hope that this piece helps those of my friends and family who support gay marriage to understand where I come from and why I feel so passionately.  Please believe me when I say that I grieve deeply to hear about people who are pro-heterosexual marriage who name call or physically, emotionally or otherwise abuse or bully those who support homosexual marriage.  Bullying, abuse, name-calling, and other such negative behaviors are not Christlike and are never acceptable.  Even though I may disagree with those of you who support same-sex marriage, I care about you.  I stand by my views, and the words of the living prophets, but I love and respect each of you, and I hope that you will show me the same love and respect, regardless of your viewpoints. 

Palm Sunday

"It is fitting that during the week from Palm Sunday to Easter morning we turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ, the source of light, life, and love. The multitudes in Jerusalem may have seen Him as a great king who would give them freedom from political oppression. But in reality He gave much more than that. He gave us His gospel, a pearl beyond price, the grand key of knowledge that, once understood and applied, unlocks a life of happiness, peace, and fulfillment."

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Way of the Disciple," Ensign May 2009, 75-78

I love Palm Sunday.  It begins one of the most sacred weeks in Christendom.  It reminds us of the great atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am grateful to be able to celebrate Palm Sunday each year and sing praises to the King of Kings as the people of Jerusalem did so many years ago.

In honor of the day, here are some photos from the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem the semester that I was there.  It was an incredible sight to watch Christians of all different denominations gather together to celebrate the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem.

Dad buying "palm" fronds from the local kids. 

(He always was a sucker for cute kids selling stuff over there!)

)

 Look how big the palm fronds are!

Various Christians of all different sects and groups marching in the Processional

There were a LOT of people there-- you can see it filled up the whole street.  

The processional follows the way Christ would have walked, from the Mount of Olives to the Lion's Gate in the Old City on the Temple Mount.

This isn't a video I took, but it's a beautiful one of the Palm Sunday Processional in Jerusalem

A non-LDS, but pretty good depiction of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

An LDS Bible video of the Triumphal Entry.

Happy Palm Sunday!!!

He is Risen

Lost and Found

Yesterday I lost my cell phone. It was a very frustrating experience.

Normally I'm very careful about where I set my phone. I only ever put it 1) on top of my chest of drawers, or 2) in one of the 3 bags I take places. Because of this I usually know exactly where my cell phone is. In the last year since I acquired it, I have never lost it . . . until yesterday at approximately 8pm.

I noticed that my phone was gone when I arrived at ward prayer last night. During the summer we have ward prayer outside, next to the volleyball pit. I got to ward prayer just a few minutes before it started and reached in my purse to turn my phone to silent.

It wasn't there.

I cursed myself for forgetting my phone at my family's house and decided to go back after ward prayer to retrieve it. There was just one problem: It wasn't there. I called it at least five times, scoured my room, and checked both cars that I had driven. No phone.

At this point I was starting to feel a little panicked. My apartment complex just cut off our phone line about a week ago. How's that for rotten timing? I was now unable to contact friends or family, other than by email (assuming that my tempermental internet wouldn't disconnect unexpectedly in the middle of an email or instant message).

As I continued searching, the thought came that maybe I should pray to find my phone. I hesitated at first. Did I really need to pray about something so trivial? It was definitely inconvenient not to have it, but in the eternal scheme of things, wasn't a lost cell phone pretty insignificant? As I pondered, I felt a reassurance that it would be okay to pray for help. I decided to check my car one last time, and if the phone still wasn't there, I would pray.

As expected, the phone was not in my car. I came back inside and prayed for help. I explained that it wasn't a huge deal, but that it was very inconvenient not having my phone and that if possible, I would like to find it soon. Then I fell asleep.

This morning I was barely awake when my sister, Janel, showed up at my door. She had my phone in hand. Upon questioning her, I learned the details of how she had come in possesion of my phone:

Janel had received the email I had sent to my family, explaining that I had lost my phone and could only be contacted by email until it showed up. She decided to call it and see if anyone would answer. To her surprise, someone did. Apparently the phone had fallen on the ground near my apartment parking lot, and just as Janel called it, a girl happened to be walking by, heard the phone, and answered it. She arranged to give it to Janel and Janel brought it back to me.

Was it just a coincidence? Some people might think so, but I disagree. When I prayed last night, I knew that I would find my phone. Maybe if I had prayed sooner I would even have found it last night. Who knows?

Either way, I'm just grateful to have my phone back. The Lord does hear and answer prayers. Miracles happen every day.

Even in the form of a pink cell phone.

Thoughts

The other day I was surprised to learn that a good friend of mine had married unexpectedly. The biggest shock, though, was to learn that she had been living with the man for several months before they married. I was blown away. She is a returned missionary and has a good heart. We had talked multiple times about the future-- the kind of person we wanted to marry, what we wanted our weddings to be like, etc. We both agreed that we wanted to be married in the temple, to receive all the blessings that only come through those covenants.

Why do some people give in and make choices they know they will regret? I know my friend already regrets her choice. To their credit, she and her husband are working towards a sealing in the temple, but it will be a long, uphill battle. A battle that could have been completely avoided.

I'm grateful to have parents that have always taught me not to give in. I definitely want to be married, but I will not settle. I will never give up my blessings for a mess of pottage. It's not worth it.

The same day that I found out about my friend's marriage, I had the opportunity to attend an endowment session with my family. My mom, four of my sisters, and I all attended a session together. The spirit that was there was indescribable. I felt completely at peace. I couldn't help contrasting that experience with my friend's experience. It makes me sad to think that she will have to wait a long time before she can go to the temple again. How could she give that up for the moment?




Sitting in the celestial room with my family made me realize how lucky I am. I would never give up that experience. Not even to be married soon. I'd rather wait another twenty or fifty years, or even until the next life. It would be worth the wait. It's worth it to be able to kneel at the altar and know that I'm doing the right thing at the right time at the right place.

In the words of Maltbie Davencourt Babcock:

Be Strong! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.
We have hard work to do and loads to lift.
Shun not the struggle-- tis God's gift.

Be Strong! Say not 'The Days are Evil-- who's to blame?'
And fold the hands and aquiesce-- oh shame!
Stand up! Speak out and bravely, in God's name.

Be Strong! It matters not deep intrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day how long.
Faint not! Fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.

Highlights of this last General Conference

1. President Hinckley "knighting" President Eyring with his cane after he was called to the First Presidency.

2. Elder Wirthlin showing what it really means to teach by example as he continued his talk on love for at least 10 minutes after he started shaking badly.

3. Getting to see conference in Salt Lake for the first time.

4. Taking Trax for the first time

5. Watching Jacob alternate between tired, confused look and cheesy smile.

6. Finding out who would be the next apostle and member of the First Presidency.

7. Being with the family all day long!

8. Mom's heavenly chocolate cake.

9. Driving up into the canyon afterward to see the leaves and the view of the valley.

Looking back at this conference weekend, we were blessed with a lot of great moments. It's nice to have a conference weekend like that to put things in perspective. Sister Mary N. Cook said that we should strengthen our relationships with our brothers and sisters because they may become our best friends. I'm grateful to know that my best friends are within my family. "For I have no greater joy than to know that my [family] walk in truth." --1 John 1:4