Though disappointed in the presidential results, I have to give a
shouting and joyful
HALLELUJAH!!!!! because Proposition 8 passed!!! Additionally other propositions in Arizona and Florida also passed. Traditional marriage has been protected for a while longer. Thank you to everyone who voted and fasted for this. Another evidence God hears our prayers and is mindful of His children. I am SO happy!!!! So far there are still more righteous people
willing to make their voice heard. I know it won't be that way forever but it sure counted and made a difference now!!! Hooray! While asking others to fast and in doing so myself I kept having the words to "Let Us All Press On" repeat in my head:
"If we do what's right we have no need to fear
For the Lord our protector will ever be near.
In the days of trial His saints he will cheer
And prosper the cause of truth.
Fear not though the enemy deride.
Courage for the Lord is on our side.
We'll not fear the wicked nor give heed to what they say
But the Lord alone we will obey."
It is comforting to KNOW that we're standing on the right side.
My dad just sent me some comments from his friend, Kelly Ogden, (also a professor at
BYU) that are worth sharing.
"Yesterday’s edition of
BYU’s “The Daily Universe” had an article entitled “Proposition 8 stirs controversy while church members wait for results.” The article quotes a University of Utah student who thinks the Church’s involvement in the issue is inappropriate: “I can’t believe they’re supporting Prop. 8. The church is supposed to be neutral. That’s changed now. They can’t support a candidate but they can support a proposition. They’
ve warped their stance. I’
ve had to separate myself from the church because of the way they’re handling the ‘problem’ of homosexuality. It’s so against what the church teaches. It’s unchristian.”
As soon as I read that I immediately thought of a statement from Elder Boyd K. Packer: “In the Church we are not neutral. We are one-sided. There is a war going on, and we are engaged in it. It is the war between good and evil, and we are belligerents defending the good. We are therefore obliged to give preference to and protect all that is represented in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we have made covenants to do it” (Address to Religious Educators at
BYU, August 22, 1981).
And Elder
Dallin H. Oaks just explained why the Church is involved with the current issue in an interview with the Church’s Public Affairs staff: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must take a stand on doctrine and principle. This is more than a social issue – ultimately it may be a test of our most basic religious freedoms to teach what we know our Father in Heaven wants us to teach.”
I bore my testimony to my students today. Those who claim that “prophets ought to keep their noses out of politics” have never read the Old Testament! Think about Moses, and Elijah, and Isaiah, and Amos, and others; they went directly to their respective political leaders and told them what the Lord wanted them to do, what course to pursue. (Can we limit what God can say about anything?) I testified that the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles is the wisest group of leaders on earth (!), and not just from their cumulative intellectual prowess (world-class heart surgeon, nuclear physicist, judge and legal mind, etc., etc.) but because of their direct connection with Heaven, and living by the Spirit every day. I testified that the sifting has begun. And I encouraged them to remember that we’re on the winning team – the Lord’s Team. In all other dispensations the truth has been lost; there has always been an apostasy; but not anymore. The truth is restored to stay. It will never again be lost or taken away from this sphere. This great Cause, in the end, will triumph. So, I warned them, don’t ever quit the Team! In the future, stay with this wisest group on earth – whatever the issue."
I hope and pray each of us will stand firmly and proudly on the Lord's side. Now that the election is past I would also ask everyone to keep our new leaders in their prayers (despite or because of opposition to their views). And also to pray that we as a country can come together and be a people who are understanding and kind to each other.
I'm still proud (and grateful) to be an American!
Trying on her finished costume.
