I am realizing that this blog will be more frequently updated as I copy and paste my different responses on other blogs, messages, etc. :-) The following represents my personal, religious beliefs on the matter. I wish to separate this from other secular perspectives, because I know these perspectives will not impact most when it comes to voting.
The following is a response I wrote to an LDS woman who was feeling torn about Prop 8. She felt like the message to support Prop 8 was being "crammed down her throat" and that this conflicted with the Church's teachings on agency. She wondered if she could personally ask Heavenly Father about the matter, or if she should take it on faith alone.
"I think perhaps what you are feeling is the pressing urgent nature of [the First Presidency's] statements. Because this is a short-term endeavor, that is perhaps why you feel suffocated, but that is why we are being admonished with a sense of urgency.
You don't have to take it on faith alone. However, if you have a testimony that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and the mouthpiece of God, then you can know what the First Presidency says is from Heavenly Father. We don't have to pray about every single thing that we hear in General Conference. All we need to pray about is if these people are prophets & apostles of God. They are not perfect, but in those settings, they are delivering His message. "Whether by my voice or the voice of My servants it is the same."
We will always have agency. God will not withhold from giving commandments through His prophets because He doesn't want our agency taken away. When we are given any sort of commandment whether it's the Ten Commandments or a commandment to support Prop 8, we will always have a choice whether or not we want to follow. Your agency is not being taken away. Someone inviting you to do phone calls is an invitation. No one can force you to do ANYTHING.
Look past the here and now and all of the details of laws, codes, etc. What it comes down to is that Heavenly Father created man and woman as separate and different but equal partners and that anything other than this is not marriage. He also created His plan that we would form family units of a father, a mother, and children, and this is the unit through which we are organized in the eternities. This is an eternal matter. God defined marriage; we as His children do not have any place to define it. He is all knowing, loving and merciful, but He nor His servants will ever ask us to be cruel. By supporting Prop 8, we are in no way persecuting others. We must absolutely love people with all of our hearts but this does not mean embracing lifestyles that clearly go against God's ETERNAL plan for His children. We can love people without loving what they do, and truly loving others mean inviting them, not forcing them, to a better way: His way."
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2 comments:
Mary, I don't think it's by faith alone. I think as Latter-day Saints--this is our opportunity to re-evaluate where we make our stand. Our prophet and those we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators have drawn a line--not lightly, I might add. These men are very serious. They see what we cannot. If you are a member and don't think so--how many years have they been admonishing us to get out of debt--perhaps seeing the current trends of the market. We are always able to ask Heavenly Father for answers--but we also need to trust that the Lord's anointed will never, EVER lead us astray. The moment he does--he no longer is a prophet. Wilford Woodruff gave us that promise before the turn of the 20th century. Look back on all the prophets before--they see what we cannot. And it is all we can do to trust them. I trust them. I have walked the halls where they walk daily, I have met a few of them, and you cannot deny their humility and the spirit that they carry. But all should pray to receive these same answers. But it is also essential that we give weight when the First Presidency of the Church, who we sustained two weeks ago, using Church letterhead and signs their name to a statement. At least that's my opinion.
Hey Laurel, I fully agree with you!! That's exactly what I was saying . . . is that all we have to do is pray to know that they are prophets and then we will not have to pray about every single little thing that comes up.
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