I think that both efforts were misguided from a practical standpoint, given that most LDS members in the US would probably prefer that LDS leaders express their views but not directly encourage any political action.

Personally, I think the Church acts on the gay issue because it is low hanging fruit. In other words, it’s the easiest thing to fight against. Homosexuality hasn’t been completely accepted by our society yet and therefore enough support exists among the populous to make a difference. While actions like this may slow the acceptance of gays, ultimately I believe our culture will accept them without prejudice in the future as many other cultures already do. It will become a non-issue.

Arielle,

Thank you for stopping by and for your comments.

What exactly would you suggest that the saints should do?

Also, what would you say the main problem with homosexuality is and why should the church get politically involved?

Jay,

You bring up an excellent point about the other sins such as fornication, etc. that the church doesn’t get politically involved with and why they pick the gay issue, I’m not sure.

That’s the good thing about free agency though and the point I was trying to make in the post. For some “doing all they can do” to support it is different than others. Some people don’t support it, so there’s nothing they will do and that’s “all they can do.”

Maybe someone else knows why the church picked the gay issue over many other issues they could have picked. Have you heard anything?

Gays already marry (in some instances) and raise children in our society. This hasn’t made anyone more immoral than they may have already been. In fact adopted children have found good homes where they are cared for and loved by committed gay couples. It is much more important for those that believe a marriage between a man and a woman is the ideal situation to simply live what they believe and let others live what they believe. Passing laws to exclude people because of something they can’t help is wrong. If Christian families believe strongly in man/woman marriage, they should teach their children what they believe is right and not worry so much if their neighbor is doing it. Our responsibility is our family not other people’s families.

If it is a matter of society affecting our families that is a valid concern, but why is this issue so much more important than others. What about rampant fornication between heterosexual couples? This is much more pervasive and in your face than homosexuality is (TV shows, commercials, friends, family).

A rational person would admit that our society is not going to become gay because we allow homosexual marriage. No mater how hard I try I will never be attracted to a man, the thought disgusts me. However, the exact opposite is true for many gay men. Their numbers will always be in the minority and I can’t see why Christians should be afraid that they will negatively influence their families if they are are actively involved with their children.

I can definitely see your point and you have a valid argument. I think that most people who believe in banning gay marriage say it affects society in that there in theory would be no society if everyone was gay. Granted people who are gay are a very small percentage of the population, but that’s the theory anyways.

This leads to the question: what do you think would happen if we allowed gay’s to marry and raise kids? How do you think that would affect society?

You make an excellent point. I am in agreement with you. This is an issue of what rights does a person have as a citizen of the United States. Contrary to popular belief, the US is not a Christian nation, but a nation that allows us to be Christians or Buddhists or Muslims or LDS–even FLDS. So, it’s difficult to make this issue a religious issue. I think the real question is: “Can we legislate morality?” Now, before anyone tries to equate this issue with issues such as abortion, abortion is murder, which is already against the law.