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California group delivers petition to LDS headquarters in S.L.
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So I have been inordinately saddened to find the church beginning to encourage its members to support particular measures, such as Prop 8. At a time when the LDS church is still widely perceived as being a sort of cult, its leaders choose to publicly involve themselves in a measure that seeks to deny civil liberties to particular individuals.
Vote your conscience on prop 8 - I'm not using this space to judge an individuals' choice. But I'm sad to see what i perceive as the LDS church attempting to be perceived as 'mainstream' by conservative churches. Working against Prop 8 is not going to make the church any more palatable to a hardcore evangelical churchgoer, whose mind is likely made up about Mormons. What it will do is discredit the church in the eyes of moderate individuals, who might otherwise be excellent prospective members.
I imagine one doesn't save souls by legislation.
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It hasn't/doesn't/won't.
What has upset people is non-residents deliberately trying to influence political affairs in another state. How would you like it if a large number of citizens from, say, Vermont decided to begin influencing a ballot initiative in Utah? You'd ask, (rightly,) what business is it of theirs what your ballot issues are. And the answer is that it's none of Vermont's business. Just as Utah's ballot initiatives are none of Vermont's business, so are California's ballot initiatives none of yours.
And if you do feel that strongly about it, put your mouth where your money is. Go to California and stand in those protest lines. Don't hide behind your wallets; go to San Francisco and help your California LDS brethren.
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The LDS Church claims to be led by revelation from God. Our leaders are called to, well, lead. Most folks are comfortable with the idea that a prophet's role is to warn when the tribal wisdom is wrong - until he does it and then come the complaints that the prophet is out of step with the tribal wisdom. That's his job!
I feel so sorry for children in same-sex homes. They are missing a vital element of human relationships. Social science backs that up, but some people only like science when it agrees with their agenda.