"I did not discuss the video with my local leaders before making it public, but they were directed to it by church headquarters. At the end of some very heart felt discussions, my speaking out with this video threatened my temple recommend and my calling, and I ultimately chose to take it down to protect my standing in the church.
I have lived to regret the decision. And so today, in honor of the Valentine legend and in support of the love that drives so many of us to share our lives with each other, I stand up once more in favor of marriage, all marriage, with my Prop 8 video."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ygibBz-AsRQ
https://www.dovesandserpents.org/wp/2011/02/first-comes-love-then-comes-marriage/
After listening to her little video, I am surprized. I entirely agree with her astute political analysis. . . . we should not give our government the power to enforce a particular belief because once we give the government such power, we have no guarantee it will not be used against us.
Problem is, our Constitution originally forbade only the Federal government from establishing a state religion, and left the various states with their various state religions. The last official designation of a state-sanctioned religion did not disappear from our country until well into the nineteenth century. The practice of states issuing marriage licenses for religious ceremonies is a holdover from our state religion heritage. Purely civil marriages have become much more common, and I think the rationale for reserving it for hetersexual monogamist couples has been more or less just one of the common human patterns that we all ordinarily follow just because "that's the way things are".
I was actually surprized the LDS came out like a lot of other churches on this issue. I expected the BAC/baptist/fundamentalist Christians to speak out and take action. They are reacting to being told they have to sit at the back of the bus and just not tell anyone in any public place they believe in Jesus or the Bible, while various professedly "non-religious" advocates of various value systems get to speak all they want.
The HRC, a very large political activist GLBT national organization, publicly announced that it was singling out the LDS to force changes in the law in Utah about five years ago. It has been clearly made an agenda item to force the LDS to change their internal values/ordinances/marriage standards to confirm to the belief system of the HRC.
I had been expecting the LDS leadership to faintly object to the political agenda and eventually comply with whatever the law turns out to be. The LDS have done huge shifts in beliefs/practices in the past to "fit in" with the larger nation. . . .
But it looks to me like the LDS realized that when ideological groups pushing their values agendas just like they are religions that need state sanction come on the scene, they need to stand up for their own.
No more "back of the bus" Mormons, either. . . .
Of course, the right answer is to let people have their religious ordinance/ceremonies in accord with their group/chosen beliefs, and shut the door on the government meddlers who want to use legislation to establish their particular values. Just like this Mormon mom said.
. Who cares if they get married, blah blah blah not like we have to celebrate with them or something. Just move on with your lives people!
