Comments about ‘LDS statement on Prop. 8 hostilities’

I truly wish those who are seeking "equality" by forcefully vilifying others, will stop to see what is really going on, and stop their own destructive behavior so that we all can work together and value one another's attributes that we bring to each of our communities. Just as they have free choice to believe as they do, I have the same choice to believe as I do. We have an obligation to respectfully disagree, and not degrade the other for the differences. Why would those who truly want to be included try to exclude others?

I worry that it will only get worse, but truly pray for a peaceful solution, respect and comrade to prevail.

The LDS Church decided to become a political party and will be treated as such.

Where those principles were when the California airwaves were filled with half-truths and fear mongering - pretending some imagined cataclysm was about to befall all of society because I married Tim? When people were on my neighbor's phone calling us misguided and evil? Where were they when he was "exercising his rights" by forcing his religion and disrespect into the personal lives of an unwilling minority via the law?
Of course he has the right to his own religious convictions. We all do. But we don't tell each other how to build our families - we don't tell each other whose family will be respected and whose won't.
I have no concerns about Mormonism or any other religion, and in fact fully support those pursuits in loving people. I have made no attempt to harm anyone's family, nor to change anyone's religion, and I have fully minded my own business on my green acre. Yet my family has been directly attacked, and by God, I will defend it. I will pray, I will march, I will shout, I will sue, and I will vote again and again until this heinous invasion of the sanctity of my home is removed entirely.

How many hate crimes against those of a particular religious belief are being committed by the protesters of the democratic process?
Vandalism, Harassment, Abuse, Libel, ... The list goes on and the videos of physical attacks I've seen by these protesters against those trying to enter LDS temples is horrifying. Any relief in sight for the members of this religion?
I lived in Utah and saw a homosexual community prosper there for decades because of the tolerance of the LDS community towards people of all walks of life. I guess this was taken for granted and even taken advantage of. These protests are doing more damage to the protesters' so called movement than it will do to the LDS church which has been the target of biased attacks for more than a century and a half.

Where was the "mutual respect" for people's right to marry in California? They respected Mormons' right to marry. It wasn't mutual, was it?

I supported Prop 8 (CA) and Prop 102 (AZ) for non-hateful reasons. People like me have a right to live according to our beliefs without facing aggressive lawsuits and political actions designed to force us to accept and even support a lifestyle we do not condone. NO ONE, including myself, has a right to intimidate or destroy property simply because they're not getting their way.

Why isn't it fair to meet the destructive behavior of the mormon church's actions with destructive behavior from the other side. Their are consequences to every action and the mormons are simply experiencing those.

This isn't going to end well, is it?

Part of the democratic process is that if you're going to throw a punch, you're going to have a punch thrown back. You don't get to march into the public square, slime people, malign people, demagogue against people and then jump behind the bushes and say "Oh god, we're a church. You can't criticize us. You can't bring it back to our front doors and say 'We have a problem with what you've been saying about us and doing to us in the public square.'" The Mormon church has politicized itself with this movement in California to ban same-sex marriage. And it wasn't just that the Mormon church encouraged its followers. The prophet of the Mormon church had a letter read in every Mormon church in the land instructing its members as a religious duty to donate time and money to this campaign. You cannot campaign against a vulnerable minority group in this country in the political realm without expecting some sort of response.

The proponents of gay marriage see their issue as one of civil rights, not one of morality v. immorality. Therefore, any argument against it is invalid in their eyes just as arguments in the 1950s regarding racial segregation are now viewed as invalid by nearly everybody. In the 1950s integration of the races was preached from many pulpits as immoral. And gays see current claims regarding what they consider civil rights the same way Blacks saw them during their struggle for equality. The point is that each side is arguing a different issue. Their is nothing that churches can say to change the mind of gay proponents. To them it is a matter of civil rights, period.

Just as in the 1950s civil rights discussions, educated people are beginning to agree with them. The prop 8 vote in California only proves the point. Look at how close the vote was. If the U.S. Supreme Court does not soon allow gay marriage, voters will make it happen.

You already have teh right to live according to your beliefs, and by your support you now want others to live by your beliefs as well. No is forcing you to do anything, in fact, its quite the opposite.

Elton John has handled this issue with dignity. He believes same sex couples should have civil partnerships and heterosexual couples get married. His argument: this set up gives the same equal rights to both couples. I've always liked his music.

The LDS church has not done anything outside the IRS definition of a church. Nor is it the only church which got involved in prop 8. Go to the California Secretary of State's website and see the long lists of churches which donated on both sides of the prop 8 battle.

By the way, the LDS church is less politically involved than other churches--it hasn't really said anything about stem cells, for example. If you want to call the LDS church a political party, you will have just defined many more churches as political parties.

Comparing homosexual activity to racial tension is a Non sequitur. People regardless of race are able to do the same things and participate in the same activities. What the homosexual agenda is to give themselves a set of rights that are non-existent. With homosexual marriage no rights have been taken away. They want additional rights that the rest of the populace does not have. How selfish. Back to the race argument. A black man and a white man have more in common than a man and a woman of any race. The differences between the genders allows for the continuance of the human race. This is why marriage is between a man and a woman. True there are those who are unable to procreate, but the are the exception, not the rule. A gay man has as much right to marry as a straight man does, to a woman. There is no functional need for two men or two women to marry each other. They can love one another. No one is taking that away from them. There are legal ways of obtaining all the rights of marriage without marriage.

Did the people calling your neighbors identify themselves and/or who they were representing? I did not make any phone calls, but was well aware of the instructions given to LDS volunteers - and it was to be courteous and civil. I believe there was even an informal script, and nowhere was name calling to be included. If this occurred I am so sorry, it was wrong.

Please represent your cause in a civil and non-threatening manner, and you will do honor to your firmly held beliefs. You can, and probably already do, engage in many ways to improve the lives of the poor and needy in your area, and I wish you well.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who oppose same sex marriage have been loyal to the truth. We must stay loyal to our convictions or we lose our integrity. Please be aware that our loyalty to the truth will continue even under intense opposition. As followers of Christ our integrity cannot be compromised. The jewels of the gospel of Jesus Christ are within our reach. But we must live the principles of truth. When we do so, we will become better men and better women and contribute to a better community, a better nation, and a better world.

For an Englishman, Elton John has a good grasp of the American constitution.

Marriage is not a right, nor is it a government entitlement. Marriage is a religious practice. It always has been.

Secular doctrine teaches that mankind evolved from animals, some of which mate for life but none of which marry. It is RELIGIOUS doctrine that conceived of marriage.

While the United States may have tied taxes and other things to marital status, constitutional constraints forbid the government from annexing religion and its practices as its own. To do so would violate the First Amendment of the Constitution reads, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Like it or not, marriage is and always has been a religious practice, therefore it is not a voters prerogative to define it.

Civil unions may well be a protected right of all people, but marriage certainly is not, and all the protesting, rhetoric, labeling, acrimony and childish accusations in the world cannot change that fact.

Unfortunately, for many, this is no longer about what is right and is now about winning.

The voters spoke! Some won and some lost. That is what our elections are for. The NO protests on Proposition 8 in Calif. just demonstrate their rejection of American ideals.

Once again religion is the cause of division, hatred, and oppression. However, the bible is overwhelmingly a book of grace mercy and forgiveness. Proposition "Hate" is not what my God would support.

The uprise concerning the outcome of the passage of Prop 8 in California is another sign that all is not well in America.The losers on this issue seem to be taking their loss to the streets and not back to the ballot box as a civil society would do.Its time we become a sane society once again.