Standing up for Family Values

In addition to electing a new President this year, there was an initiative on the ballot in California that we watched closely. Proposition 8 would define marriage to be a union between a man and a woman in California. Although Texas had passed a similar amendment in 2005, California has had to regroup on this issue. In 2000 California voters approved a state law providing that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” The California Supreme Court recently reversed this vote, and so this constitutional amendment was put on the ballet for this year. What makes this initiative so interesting to me is that the church has come out with an official statement strongly encouraging member participation to help protect the sanctity of marriage. Here is part of the letter that was read in wards throughout California:


The Church’s teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan for His children. Children are entitled to be born within this bond of marriage.

A broad-based coalition of churches and other organizations placed the proposed amendment on the ballot. The Church will participate with this coalition in seeking its passage. Local Church leaders will provide information about how you may become involved in this important cause.

We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman. Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage"

When I heard that the letter had been sent out I was surprised, because the church usually doesn’t comment on elections other than to encourage the members to be informed and to vote. The church does, however, weigh in on issues it considers morally important. And when the Family Proclamation was read by President Hinkely in 1995, the church made it clear exactly what we believe in—that the family is ordained of God and that marriage is between a man and a woman. So this stand should not have been that surprising.


Members of the church in California responded in great numbers to the request of the First Presidency by donating money and time to go door to door to talk about this issue. This helped make the church a strong force in campaigning for the passage of this proposition. Personally, I made an effort to keep this issue and the people of California in my prayers and hoped that they would stand up for true family values. And on Nov. 4, Proposition 8 passed with a 52% majority. It was pretty exciting to see family values upheld in a state that tends to be so liberal.

When this amendment passed, those who opposed it seemed shocked they had lost. Almost immediately there began to be protests, and demonstrations that were aimed mostly at the LDS church. On Thursday, November 6 there was a march in Los Angeles that shut down the LA Temple. The gates were closed. Those workers at the temple had to stay until the demonstration was over and no new patrons were allowed in. Armed police officers were on the temple grounds to protect the building. The demonstrators even vandalized the walls of the gates outside the temple.






There was so much anger over this amendment passing—and most of it was being directed at the church. On Friday, a statement was released by the church calling for “respect” and “civility” in the aftermath of the vote. It also said “Attacks on churches and intimidation of people of faith have no place in civil discourse over controversial issues. People of faith have a democratic right to express their views in the public square without fear of reprisal.” Hopefully the anger directed at the church will give way to more peaceful protests. I know this is an emotional issue and understand people who love each other wanting to be married. But we cannot abandon the principles of the gospel just to make everyone happy. We cannot change the teachings of the Lord just so we can all feel good. Marriage is ordained of God—and it is meant to be between a man and a woman. And the day we stop standing up for these principles of righteousness, then we will lose the blessings and protection of the Lord. So we must be prepared to fight for our beliefs. And when we do, the Lord will bless us.

We the promised blessings of obedience happen in two different ways when it came to the anger directed at the church and the protests at the LA Temple. First of all, the ordinance work at the LA temple was not affected by its closure. A day or two after the protest, an email written by someone in the temple that day was forwarded to me. This Brother said that even though they had to close the temple and not let excursions groups who were planning to attend in that day, those that we unable to leave during the protests kept on working. And by the end of the day they had completed approximately the same number of ordinances that are usually done on a normal day of operation. So even though the protesters disrupted the plans of temple patrons, they were unable to affect the work. And that is a wonderful testimony of the blessings that will come through obedience.

The second blessing we have seen is the huge outpouring of support that has come from other religions--even those who have opposed us in the past. Here is a sample of what was being said--posted at beliefnet.com by Rod Dreher, a columnist for the Dallas Morning News:

"Now is the time for traditional Christians — Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox — to come to the aid of our Mormon friends. They put themselves on the front line of the traditional marriage battle like no other church group. And now individual Mormons are paying a terrible price for standing up for something we all believe in. I don't know how we can stand with them from afar, but at least we can thank them, and speak out when we see them being abused. We might also think again about how we view them. . . . I have deep disagreements with Mormon theology. But they are our friends and allies and fellow citizens, and they deserve our thanks and support."

So even though it is not easy to stand up for our values today, we must continue to do so. We must be respectful, and not hateful of those who do not share our beliefs. However, we cannot and will not abandon our beliefs or the teachings of the Lord just to get along with everyone. And this experience has shown me that if we stand firm, we will be blessed.