Love Wins

As you already know, the US Supreme Court made it official that gay couples may be married in any state. There was an uproar of excitement and disappointment that swept the nation. I had been asked to share my thoughts on this topic and wrote an article about it. That brought some a lot of contention and my article was taken down. I'm not offended; my article was really just my opinion. I thought I'd jump on here and share with you a condensed version of my thoughts on this topic.

I don't care. I don't care if you're gay. I don't care if you're not gay. We're all human beings and we are all different. Some of us are gay; some of us aren't. And that's okay! Some of my dearest friends are gay or part of the LGBT community. I love them just the same.

I admit, I don't really understand why people can't love and marry who they want; whether they were of the same gender or not. I remember the uproar that Prop 8 brought. I was a freshman in college. I didn't know or understand it well enough to make a decision on it. I have always thought that love is love. And you should be able to love whoever you want. You should be able to marry whoever you want. Everyone deserves to be happy.

While this is how I feel, my Mormon faith condones the act of gay marriage. (Not the individual.) I grew up being taught that marriage is between ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN. As I've gotten older, I had to make a choice to decide for myself whether I agreed with this or not. So I went on my own journey which consisted of research, fasting, and prayer. I was able to make my decision.

I agree. I agree 110%, because I love God. I love him so deeply and intimately and I choose to follow Him. I have willingly accepted his laws and commandments and I choose to keep them. Thus, I choose to stand up for traditional marriage. Does that change the way that I feel about gay couples and them getting married? Not at all! I still love them. We're different and we have different views. That's completely okay.

Here's where I draw the line. I believe that you cannot force a church to change their views and standards to accommodate your beliefs. That is crossing a line. Yes, gay couples can marry in any state, but that doesn't mean you can force a church clergyman (or something similar) to officiate the marriage, if it's against that churches standards! Don't forget about religious freedom! You can't take that away!

Glenn Beck said, "I will stand with my church. Just as I would stand with your church if you wanted to marry gay couples. I was never against churches that decided that they were going to have female priests or marry gay couples. That's fine. That's up to you. But you can't force my church to do it."

Here's the official statement from the LDS church: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges that following today's ruling by the Supreme Court, same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States. The Court's decision does not alter the Lord's doctrine that marriage is a union between a man and a woman ordained by God. While showing respect for those who think differently, the Church will continue to teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice."

Other than that, life is still good. History was made yesterday. We can all still be respectful to each other and show love and kindness. Our differences make us unique. So to you who are celebrating this new freedom, I congratulate you and wish the happiness you seek for. As that goes for everyone; You all deserve to be happy!