Near, Far, Wherever You Are

I couldn't think of an appropriate title for this and that song just happened to be playing at one of the desks near me. You know what this post marks? The return of the work blog post while I'm killing some extra minutes at work. It's funny how some work things are remarkably different here at the Church Office Building as opposed to other work environments, hereafter referred at as the COB:

• Missionary attire everywhere. Women (sisters) where midcalf skirts, although they don't have to wear pantyhose. Guys are all in white shirts, and on the 18th floor, I am supposed to wear a suit coat because you just never know when some higher up will walk out of the Presiding Bishopric offices.
• ID badges and gates that will stop you if you don't have proper authorization.
• Some valet guy with white gloves that waits down in the VIP parking area.
• Weekly devotional meeting with your department.
• Church art everywhere.

And then other things that are remarkably similar:

• Tech guys some desks over that are reading and laughing at the Busted Tees website.
• Somebody's radio playing just normal music. I don't know why that surprised me. I guess I just assumed it would be only MoTab or classical music playing.
• Water cooler talk.
• Someone bringing in treats and the email that goes out letting everyone know that the lifesaving vittles have arrived to get you from that seemingly endless gap from breakfast to lunch.

These days are incredibly long when I'm waking up at 5am to get here at 6:30 and then out by 4:30, but I love how quickly the mornings go. Plus, my desk faces east and the one benefit to being here so early is seeing the sun come up over the mountains.

The best part is, I like what I'm doing with people that I like, at a place that I feel comfortable...mostly. (I have confirmed once again that I never want to work at a place permanently with business formal wear.)

On my drive up by myself, I remembered that I used to drive up a few days a week up to Claremont from Irvine while I was attending school there. For the first year I was going up four times a week, driving 45 minutes each way, if there wasn't any traffic. Traffic made that commute easily an hour and some change. Even when I lived in Irvine and worked in next door Newport Beach, it took me a half hour to travel the 10-15 mile distance that it was. My point is...this commute is no trouble at all. Especially at the hours that I'm traveling.

Anyway, there are a lot of things that I'm remembering about work, one of which is my customary lunch blog post, so maybe you will be seeing some more regularly scheduled programming around here.

Maybe.

My Name is Jona(h)s

After her session working at the temple, Amy briefly mentioned to me what a privilege and responsibility it is to use the priesthood. It really is amazing the amount of trust that Lord places in us to bear his priesthood and carry out his work. I was thinking about this point last Sunday while in elders quorum, and then during Sunday school.

I came into church that morning not feeling on top of my game, spiritually. In the week prior I had been feeling like I had been coming up short in a number of different areas, and I was hopeful for something that could inspire a turnaround, to where I could just start over, and also that I could feel like I could have another shot at redeeming myself for the ways I had been lacking previously. What really amazed me was that during our priesthood meeting, I really felt that; I was conducting, and I felt energized and enthused in a way that I hadn't been feeling for a little while. We had a number of new elders in the quorum, and we had an awesome lesson taught to us by one of the guys who normally teaches institute when school is in session. I was so grateful to be conducting because it allowed for me to have an opportunity to speak to the elders and bear my testimony while feeling the burst of energy that I had during the meeting.

Sunday school was just as enlightening. Something that I really appreciate about the Old Testament is just how flawed all the people are throughout that book, and that's especially true in the case of Jonah. What I really appreciate about this story is how forthright it is in telling his story, but I appreciate even more how the Lord gives the opportunity to act in his name even when we are reluctant to do so. He works through us despite the many foibles and weaknesses that we have, and in that process, we come to be molded and sharpened into the people that he needs us to be.

I am all too aware of my own shortcomings. I feel like so often I can look at my life and the opportunities and responsibilities that have been entrusted to me, and think to myself that I am either undeserving or underqualified in being able to meet those opportunities and needs, but I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father loves me and will work through me in spite of how many reasons I give him to not do so. It's a great thing to be a part of his gospel.

Remember Me?

Remember how I used to be the guy that would blog regularly about 4-5 times a week? I had a whole range of topics that you could choose from - politics, sports, current events, psych stuff, relationships and dating, running and exercise, and my own personal life and churchy things. The next year, I think, will be a really busy.

Last week I got back from California and then got moving the very next day. As I've grown older, it's now taking me longer to move. It's more involved. I own pieces of furniture. I have cookware. I don't own a spice rack, though I do desperately crave one, I have more than a dozen different spices. Isn't that crazy? I inherited a pretty awesome bookshelf in my last apartment and a desk. I bought a file cabinet. I have a TV stand. And last Friday I bought my first real piece of furniture - a dresser. Granted, it was from Ikea, but I actually really love it. It has eight drawers, a little taller than waist high, and of the black/brown variety. As I start moving my clothes around, I always get interested in how many t-shirts I have. It's up to 35 now, with about 25 of those that I would not hesitate to wear in any casual situation, not including the dozen or so white and black t-shirts that I also have in my repertoire. I love me some t-shirts, but if you think I have a lot, you ought to ask Dave about his collection. He's the king. It's beautiful.

I moved over everything by the weekend, but this morning I finally started getting settled in with everything. It's really nice. It's nice to feel at home. My roommates are super cool. I love that they're all really clean too. When I was younger I used to be pretty passive-aggressive, or just outright aggressive, about cleanliness. If a roommate had a newspaper subscription and let them pile at the door, I'd wait until there was a few weeks worth and then pile them all on his bed. I'd put dirty dishes in bed. One of my mission companions used to do that all the time, and I adopted it as my own. In the last couple years, I just cleaned everything without any complaint. Sometimes my roommates would help out, sometimes they wouldn't, but I'd just go ahead and stay on top of it, regardless. That got tiring with the last pair of roommates that I had, so it's nice to feel like I'm not alone in the upkeep of our apartment.

Anyway, I'm excited for the fall. I'm settled. I've started working at the church office building. Classes start next week, although I don't really have any real classes. My research assistantship will start the following week. And now it's time to just really get cracking on my thesis.

On my car ride home from work yesterday I was thinking how different today is than one year ago. I had totally different roommates. Different apartment. Different Utah friends. Different Utah dating interests. Calling. Position in school. And then I started thinking about how different next year at this same time will be too. I was mostly thinking in terms of my resume. I'll have a year's worth of research with one of the top Marriot school professors under my belt. I'll have had a year's worth of work with a huge international, widespread organization doing research and evaluation with them. I'll have my thesis done. But who knows what next August 25th will bring, right? Changes are always happening, and I kind of love it, and I'm so grateful for it.

Oh, and play this game. It will change your life - Robot Unicorn Attack. It's so funny.

The Me Update

A bunch of things going on:

• Was in California from Friday until this past Tuesday. This is what happened: Angels game, Big Bang Friday Fireworks, ran 21 miles, beach, Northwood Pizza, Wii, stake conference, shopping, Sunday night dinner, games with me killing at the last round of Ticket to Ride, more beach, some Jack's, Mo's, some more running Wild Rivers, the end.
• I always say this, but I really can never believe how nice it is to run at home. The humidity is so nice. It makes breathing so much easier. The elevation I'm sure helps too. And really I just love running around my familiar streets. Just love that.
• I have spent the last couple of days moving, just down the street with some guys I know in my ward. I have to say, I am so excited for the move. I am currently residing in the largest bedroom in my life. My full bed hardly occupies any space in it. I have my bookshelf, desk, and TV on a stand, an end table, and I still have room for another table in here. It's crazy. I thought I had a lot of clothes, but then it turns out that I really only have enough to take up one side of my walk-in closet. I feel so spoiled right now. I wonder when I'll have another room this big again.
• I had my first day of work at church HQ yesterday. I was so tired throughout the day. I can't believe that I now have to get up at a normal time like the rest of the world. Well, except for today. I slept until 9:30 today because I just felt like it. And it felt good.
  
• It turns out that I have three paid positions this year. How crazy is that? One professor I was working with last year said he made $60k one year while in the program, and I wondered how that was possible, but now I have an idea of how he worked that. Not that I'm making that much. I'm still well below that, but I'm making a pretty substantial amount. Probably more than most of the teachers around here.
  

That's the short of it. Everything is going really well, and in spite of myself, things keep moving forward. I'm hoping that once I get all settled in my new place I can finally get crackin' on my thesis again. That kind of went by the way-side in the last week or two. Oops.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Further Prop 8 Reading

More articles on Prop 8.

This one is by John Eastman about how the judge should have recused himself from the trial. This one from Ed Whelan about the supposed "lack of evidence" or marriages procreative purposes. And then some notes about Judge Walker's ruling today about a stay of anti-Prop 8 judgment pending appeal.

Beware of False Prophets and False Teachers

A few weeks ago I was searching online for some information about karaoke places around Provo that allow you to rent private rooms for groups, and that was when I happened upon this site - LDS Skinny Dipping. It piqued my curiosity, so I began digging around the site and was surprised to learn that there seems to be a somewhat thriving community of LDS members who enjoy naturism, aka nudism. What I found most interesting was the extent to which these people will go to find gospel-reasoned justification for the activities that they engage in, noting the difference between social/chaste nudity v. worldly nudity. Here's a quote from the preface to the site:

Understanding and respecting nature does not make us "the natural man." We obey natural laws just as we obey spiritual laws - as both come from the same divine source. The natural man is one who does not master his appetites and passions. The natural man reacts, rather than responds - is given to rash action, rather than considered response. The natural man is driven by selfish interests, by animal-like lusts and desires - not by principles and disciplined thinking.

Being naked IS natural, but it is not undisciplined, unprincipled, and inconsiderate of others. It is a form of humble vulnerability - not a lustful feast of the flesh, but an act of contrition and discipline. Rather than fear the flesh or give into the flesh, the honest nudist seeks to master the flesh. He is committed to common decency, and shows self-mastery when naked. This makes a bold statement as to the inherent goodness of man. It's a valiant, and dignified statement. No matter what we wear, we are not subject to the lusts of the flesh but strive to live in harmony with the Spirit of the Lord.

And in their forums they'll go on to talk about general conference talks and how they haven't specifically ruled out naturism/nudism, and that they're good for another six months, or they'll cite some obscure quote by some ranking leader in the church from years ago and how that leader went swimming naked, or something to that effect, as if those things are justification for the behaviors they'd like to engage in.

Anyway, the point is that people will find a way to justify anything. They will twist and bend words and ideas until they are no longer recognizable in an attempt to justify their own beliefs or behaviors. Such is very much the case when it comes to this issue of same-sex relationships.

I'm pretty sure that I already quoted this talk at length awhile ago, and Dave quoted it on a blog post last week as well, but I think it deserves some further highlighting given the exchange that I just posted earlier.

About a decade ago, Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the 12, gave a talk bearing the same name as the title of this post. You can find the talk by clicking here. Here are some relevant excerpts to the exchange I had a few days ago:

Brothers and sisters, the exact time of the Second Coming is known only to the Father (see Matt. 24:36). There are, however, signs that scriptural prophecy relating to that tumultuous day is being fulfilled. Jesus cautioned several times that prior to His Second Coming, “many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:11). As Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our duty to be watchmen on the tower, warning Church members to beware of false prophets and false teachers who lie in wait to ensnare and destroy faith and testimony. Today we warn you that there are false prophets and false teachers arising; and if we are not careful, even those who are among the faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will fall victim to their deception.

President Joseph F. Smith gave wise and clear counsel that applies to us today:

“We can accept nothing as authoritative but that which comes directly through the appointed channel, the constituted organizations of the Priesthood, which is the channel that God has appointed through which to make known His mind and will to the world. … And the moment that individuals look to any other source, that moment they throw themselves open to the seductive influences of Satan, and render themselves liable to become servants of the devil; they lose sight of the true order through which the blessings of the Priesthood are to be enjoyed; they step outside of the pale of the kingdom of God, and are on dangerous ground. Whenever you see a man rise up claiming to have received direct revelation from the Lord to the Church, independent of the order and channel of the Priesthood, you may set him down as an imposter” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 41–42).

When we think of false prophets and false teachers, we tend to think of those who espouse an obviously false doctrine or presume to have authority to teach the true gospel of Christ according to their own interpretation. We often assume that such individuals are associated with small radical groups on the fringes of society. However, I reiterate: there are false prophets and false teachers who have or at least claim to have membership in the Church. There are those who, without authority, claim Church endorsement to their products and practices. Beware of such.

...President Joseph F. Smith warned when he spoke of the “proud and self-vaunting ones, who read by the lamps of their own conceit; who interpret by rules of their own contriving; who have become a law unto themselves, and so pose as the sole judges of their own doings” (Gospel Doctrine, 381).

...False prophets and false teachers are also those who attempt to change the God-given and scripturally based doctrines that protect the sanctity of marriage, the divine nature of the family, and the essential doctrine of personal morality. They advocate a redefinition of morality to justify fornication, adultery, and homosexual relationships. Some openly champion the legalization of so-called same-gender marriages. To justify their rejection of God’s immutable laws that protect the family, these false prophets and false teachers even attack the inspired proclamation on the family issued to the world in 1995 by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles.

Regardless of which particular false doctrines they teach, false prophets and false teachers are an inevitable part of the last days. “False prophets,” according to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “always arise to oppose the true prophets” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 365).

However, in the Lord’s Church there is no such thing as a “loyal opposition.” One is either for the kingdom of God and stands in defense of God’s prophets and apostles, or one stands opposed.

It's funny how something like this issue all of a sudden sparks my interest in politics and culture again. There are two things that are sure to spark all of my ire, 1) when my neighbors downstairs bang on our floors as if they think we're being loud on purpose, and at times when we're not even being very noisy, and 2) this issue of same sex marriage, and pretending that they are spiritually inspired when their views are in clear contrast to the expressed positions of the church.

I've made a similar statement to this a number of other times on my blog, but we really need to make an effort to be informed on the issues that confront us as a nation, and be ready to take a stand for those things that we believe in. Most importantly, we need to be truly guided by the spirit in our efforts as we become more expressive of those opinions. I love how Elder Ballard puts it:

As members of the Church, each of us needs to model what it truly means to be a believing and behaving Latter-day Saint. Our example will have a powerful effect on others, making the restored gospel become much more relevant, meaningful, convincing, and desirable to them. Let us, each one, radiate to others the joy, confidence, love, and warmth of being part of the true Church of Christ. Our discipleship is not something to be endured with long face and heavy heart. Nor is it something to be jealously clutched to our bosoms and not shared with others. As we come to understand the love of the Father and the Son for us, our spirits will soar, and we will “come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy” (D&C 45:71).

Let us reach out in friendship and love to our neighbors, including those of other faiths, thus helping to build better family-to-family relationships and greater harmony in our neighborhoods. Remember, too often our behavior is a bigger deterrent to others than is our doctrine. In the spirit of love for all men, women, and children, help them to understand and to feel accepted and appreciated.

Let us remember that it is our duty to be faithful to the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes faith—real faith, total and unreserved—to accept and strive to live prophetic counsel. Lucifer, the adversary of truth, does not want us to feel or exhibit that kind of faith. He encourages disobedience, planting defiance in the hearts of the unwary. If he is successful, they will turn away from the light into the darkness of the world. Our safety, our peace, lies in working as hard as we can to live as the Father and Son would have us live, in fleeing from false prophets and false teachers, and in being anxiously engaged in good causes.

Such is our mission and duty in this life.

A Prop 8 Facebook Conversation...

This is probably way more than you're interested in, but I posted this article on Facebook about the "strange charges" that Judge Walker made in the Prop 8 decision. This conversation followed:

‎Russ - "what about the violation of basic civil rights of the 52% of Californians to govern themselves?" We've never had that right, Chris. Or rather, we have that right until we use it to take away other peoples' rights. That's the job of the Judicial Branch: to ensure that the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the people don't enact laws that take away basic human rights.

Think about it this way: I live in Washington, a pretty darned liberal state. Would you think it okay if the liberal majority here voted on a proposition that would amend our state constitution to say that conservatives can't broadcast their views on television? No, obviously not, even though the majority wanted it: the Bill of Rights protects the conservative minority's right to free speech. We don't have the right to govern ourselves if it takes away another's human rights.

Similarly, the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to marry is a fundamental human right, and thus all citizens are entitled to it under the 14th Amendment--see Loving v. Virginia (1967), Zablocki v. Redhail (1978), etc.

As the Court said in Loving v. Virginia: "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. Marriage is one of the `basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival." It's really a pretty clear-cut issue. You can disagree with the Supreme Court's rulings if you want, but as it stands, marriage is classified as a fundamental human right and thus you can't vote to take it away from people.

And that's a good thing. Keep in mind that our religion is very much a minority in this country, and if the majority decides they don't like us, we'll be screaming for the court's protection against the majority's right to govern themselves.

Chris - We've never had the right govern ourselves? Do we not elect our own government officials from among the public populace? Do we not propose and vote on laws that the people have submitted or that our politicians have drawn up? We do go...vern ourselves. I think that's about as fundamental as it gets when you're talking about a DEMOCRACY. Isn't that inherent in, and apart of, the definition of the label most commonly ascribed to the type of government that we have?

I think if you really wanted to, you could find just as many, and maybe even more court decisions that have affirmed the traditional definition of marriage. In response to the court decisions that you have cited, what about the 1972 Baker v. Nelson decision that was appealed from the Minnesota State Supreme Court up to the US Supreme Court that was dismissed by the plaintiffs because the SCOTUS decided that marriage was not a federal issue, thus affirming the state's decision to leave marriage defined as between a man and a woman. Additionally, aside form the semantics of marriage v. civil unions being argued, what CA rights will same sex couples be gaining that they do not already have with this decision?

Do you really want to invoke our religion in this question? Because our leaders have unquestionably come out in support of the proposition, and against the most recent court decision. If you faithfully and honestly hold up your right hand every time you sustain the prophet, then aren't you also pledging your support of the direction that he has plotted for us as God's mouthpiece? I don't doubt that it's a difficult issue to understand, but as a member of the church, we all presumably also support his decision. That is as fundamental as it gets in our religion, in spite of whatever arguments you might have otherwise.

Russ - ‎"We do govern ourselves. I think that's about as fundamental as it gets when you're talking about a DEMOCRACY. Isn't that inherent in, and apart of, the definition of the label most commonly ascribed to the type of government that we have?..."

It doesn't matter how commonly that label is applied to our system of government: it's wrong. We're a federal constitutional republic. That means we're a collection of states that are overseen by a central authority, all of which are bound to follow the laws set out in a constitution. The people elect our representatives to make laws on specific issues not covered by the Constitution (under the guidance of the Constitution's principles, of course). But ultimately, the United States is governed by the Constitution, not the people.

That's it. That is the structure of our country's legal system. I don't care how many times people say we're a democracy; we're not, and that's one of the big misunderstandings that causes people to get upset when the legal system doesn't function the way they want it to.

"I think if you really wanted to, you could find just as many, and maybe even more court decisions that have affirmed the traditional definition of marriage."

Let's not get into the traditional definition of marriage, because if so, then individuals of different races couldn't marry. That's the traditional definition in this country, unless you restrict "traditional" to the last 50 years. And if you do THAT, then you admit and endorse the concept of changing marriage's "definition" based on changing social and legal culture--which is exactly what is happening.

"dismissed by the plaintiffs because the SCOTUS decided that marriage was not a federal issue"

No no no. You can't generalize. The Supreme Court ruled that the THAT particular case was not a federal issue, not the concept of marriage in general. Baker v. Nelson is a really hard case to apply. Because the Supreme Court refused to hear it but it came through the appellate process instead of through a writ of certiorari, that decision is binding but in a very confused way, since the Court didn't explain their decision. I wish Judge Walker had addressed it directly in his ruling, personally, since it is definitely a gray area. I don't disagree with that.

"Additionally, aside form the semantics of marriage v. civil unions being argued, what CA rights will same sex couples be gaining that they do not already have with this decision?"

Walker covers that explicitly in his decision (which you really should read, if you haven't, and read it a bit more closely if you've only skimmed). He says that "First, domestic partnerships are distinct from marriage and do not provide the same social meaning as marriage. Second, domestic partnerships were created specifically so that California could offer same-sex couples rights and benefits while explicitly withholding marriage from same-sex couples."

As for the religious issues: I'll have to get back to you after lunch. ;)

Post lunch - So here's my brain spew. If I'm out to dinner with the prophet and I'm trying to decide whether to have strawberry cheesecake or chocolate cake, I'm not going to take his recommendation as revelation directly from ...the mouth of God. Prophets are allowed to have opinions just as much as people are, and we're allowed to disagree with their opinions.

See this message, for instance: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/approaching-mormon-doctrine

An important quote: "Not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church."

For example: Joseph Smith believed in a universal ether. The theory of the universal ether has been conclusively proven incorrect. Does that mean Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet? No, it just means that every word he said isn't doctrine. That's the beauty of the church--it's led by human beings, who are fallible, and allowed to have their own opinions and beliefs outside of those that are inspired. Sometimes when the people in charge have particular opinions, the church follows even though it's not the right thing to do.

See our history with blacks and the priesthood, for example. That is a horrible, shameful part of our history, and there's no way to see it as anything else. Brigham Young was racist--that's not really in question. He said on page 290 of the Journal of Discourses: "You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind." I don't necessarily hold it against him; he was a product of his time. But the people of the church confused personal opinion with revealed doctrine, and the church kept with that tradition for too many years. Many prophets supported his racist ideology, so it wasn't even just "a single leader on a single occasion", it was many leaders over many occasions that were wrong. I personally don't believe it says anything bad about me that I think the prophets who denied the priesthood to people based on the color of their skin were wrong, and that the members of the church would have been good people to disagree with their prophets on that point.

So what are we supposed to do if we know that prophets can sometimes be wrong? I do believe that a person would do well to follow everything the prophet says, and that God won't look harshly on them for doing so if that leads them to bad things (like uphold racist policies). But I also believe that sometimes, if moved by the Spirit otherwise, they would do even better to follow another path. For example, Nephi disobeyed every prophet before him when he murdered Laban, but it was a good thing, yes? Because he did it while following the dictates of the Spirit.

That's our job as followers: to use the Spirit to guide our actions. If you don't believe in personal revelation and the importance of following the Spirit's dictates, then I would suggest you reread the Book of Mormon and the teachings of Joseph Smith. That, frankly, was his whole schtick: find out for yourself. Do your own thinking. Follow the prophet, yeah, but only because you've had it confirmed by the Spirit.

I did a lot of research, prayer, and study when this proposition first was put on the ballot, and everything I read, every conclusion I came to, and everything I felt leads me to believe that Proposition 8 is a bad thing. It establishes a horrible precedent: that the rights of the minority can be withheld by a vote of the majority.

I know that the Founding Fathers were inspired when writing the Constitution (and many, many prophets have spoken to the same effect). They were led by the Spirit to write what they did, and to establish our country as a country that would NOT be ruled by one person or by the whim of the mob, but would instead protect the rights and freedoms of all of its people. I know that our church, as a strange minority--a "peculiar people"--could easily be the target of mob hatred as much as homosexuals are now, and in fact have been in the past (see Executive Order 44, obviously). I believe that the Constitution was written in part to let us freely do the work that we're doing now, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, protected by the establishment of a government that was not subject to the whims of the people, but was established to protect the freedom of all in order to safeguard our ability to do the work we're called to do. Being complicit in establishing a precedent that the rights of a minority could be taken away by majority vote is a sickening thought, contrary to the intent of the Framers as inspired by God, and would be tantamount to handing a loaded gun to the person who says "I want to kill you".

I do believe that marriage between a man and a woman, solemnized in the Temple, is ordained of God. But that doesn't mean that I believe others shouldn't be able to make their own choices just because we don't agree with them: that's the Savior's plan. Forcing people to do what they should is the Adversary's plan.

Also: if your neighbor has sex with his girlfriend outside of marriage, does that mean that suddenly your chastity is made meaningless? Not at all--it just means they made a bad choice. If a member married in the Temple commits adultery, does that invalidate any other member's Temple marriage? No. It doesn't affect you at all. So why would non-member dudes marrying other dudes or ladies marrying other ladies affect your ability to have an eternal marriage?

So yes. I believe in the prophet's guidance. I sustain him happily and lovingly, and I follow his words as the Spirit dictates. I believe in this particular case that the leaders of the church at this time are being swayed by their personal opinions, by the culture they grew up in, and are forgetting the divinely-inspired protection that the Constitution offers us as a people. As much as the metaphor is used, we're NOT supposed to be sheep--we're supposed to be active followers who research, pray, think for ourselves, and listen to the Spirit to determine our actions. That whole process led me to my conclusion, and if I'm wrong, I trust that the Lord will judge me justly based on that.

But finally: regardless of how I feel, this isn't a religious issue, it's a legal issue, in spite of whatever arguments you might have otherwise.

Chris - Before I respond to the other points, the church one is without argument. When the church mobilizes its members in an effort to support a particular issue, this is not a matter of opinion. When the church issues official statements such as ...this one - http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-statement-on-proposition-8-ruling - then its not something at all comparable to whether President Monson decides to have chocolate cake or ice cream for dessert. It's not a matter of opinion when the church has an official proclamation on the family and it defines marriage as being specifically being between a man and a woman. I don't know how anyone can ever argue this point. Do you not think that the Prophet has received revelation when he has asked his consecrated members to donate their times, talents, and efforts to the support of this proposition? Or is that something he just decided to do on a whim? as if he felt like today he'd have steak, and oh, by the way, let's have our members do something that will force them to dig deep into their wallets, probably alienate many of our own members as well as the community around us, withstand ridicule and protests, just because it happened to strike him at that particular moment?

Yes, the Spirit IS the law, but this is a doctrine that is fundamental to our beliefs. I don't want to argue the finer points of your opinions on blacks and the priesthood, but don't you think that if God had really wanted that revelation to come sooner, than he would have found another way than let his apparently misguided prophets fumble their way along for 148 years after the founding of the church to finally change that doctrine? Whatever the reasons were for the way that unfolded, it was the way that God intended. If God had wanted otherwise, then it would have been son. Or was God somehow rendered impotent in that particular instance?

Whatever you want to call the government of the United States, it still approaches nearer democratic rule than any other nation. Yes, we have aspects of a republic. Yes, the constitution has great bearing on the formulation of our laws and the administration of our government, but ultimately, the people decide on the direction that this country goes. The constitution was implemented as a means of securing some fundamental rights. Never before has the SCOTUS ruled on this matter, which is why there is so much discrepancy between different state decisions because it has always been referred back to the state.

We elect representatives, those representatives (hopefully) carry out the will of the people, and (hopefully) appoint like-minded judges to rule on the matters of the law. If the constitution needs further revision, then those become amendments carried out by the will of the people.

This is about traditional marriage. Comparing homosexuality to racism is a specious claim that is often invoked in this discussion. You're talking about a protected class of citizen, which is not something that has applied to matters of sexual orientation, until now with the recent discussion of same sex marriage and these cases of judicial activism.

This is not about specific rights being afforded to same sex couples. Even in your own quotation of Judge Walker, he mentions that, "domestic partnerships are distinct from marriage and do not provide the same social meaning as marriage," but this is the point that I'm making: this is an argument over the "social meaning" of marriage." This is about semantics, and this is about the acceptance and embracing of a particular form of lifestyle that many people do not agree with. The second point of that same excerpt further validates my point, "domestic partnerships were created specifically so that
California could offer same-sex couples rights and benefits." It's the reclamation and validation of a traditional definition of marriage that we're after. The couples who enter into domestic partnerships are afforded those same rights and benefits that heterosexual couples also enjoy.

Please refrain from the claims that what someone else does in their own bedroom has no bearing on my life. Without getting into any kind of specifics, the way a person lives his life, however private his behavior, will always have an affect on other people, if only because we live in a community of citizens. What a person does in private will affect his comportment in public because we are the sum total of our thoughts, words, and deeds. This is why our church leaders have asked us to take a stand on this particular issue. There will be further reaching consequences than simply the allowance of same sex marriages, and that's why we have those watchmen on the tower to see those things that we don't. Apparently, there is something ahead that you and I cannot perceive at this time, and that is why our church leaders have asked its members to act on this particular issue.

He backed off after my last response, saying that he would end the discussion before anything too personally insulting might be said.

I have a follow up post on this coming right...about...now!

More on Judge Walker's Prop 8 Decision

I found this article, Prop. 8 judge makes strange charge, via this post by Ed Whelan over at NRO. From the article:

Until very recently, same-sex marriage was unknown in human history, and it is opposed today by many progressive leaders, like Obama and Clinton. Can this be explained only by irrational prejudice or religious zeal? No. Only unions between men and women are capable of producing offspring, and every civilization has recognized that responsible procreation is critical to its survival. After the desire for self-preservation, sexual passion is probably the most powerful drive in human nature. Heterosexual intercourse naturally produces children, sometimes unintentionally and only after nine months.

Without marriage, men often would be uncertain about paternity or indifferent to it. If left unchecked, many men would have little incentive to invest in the rearing of their offspring, and the ensuing irresponsibility would have made the development of civilization impossible.

The fundamental purpose of marriage is to encourage biological parents, especially fathers, to take responsibility for their children. Because this institution responds to a phenomenon uniquely created by heterosexual intercourse, the meaning of marriage has always been inseparable from the problem it addresses.

Homosexual relationships (and lots of others as well), have nothing to do with the purpose of marriage, which is why marriage does not extend to them. Constitutional doctrine requires only one conceivable rational reason for a law, and the traditional definition of marriage easily meets that test.

From the commentary by Whelan:

Also yesterday, plaintiffs’ lawyer Ted Olson, in a long interview on “Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace,” did little more than repeat, over and over and over, variants of the question-begging propositions that “We do not put the Bill of Rights to a vote” and that “the right to marriage is a fundamental right.” As to just how it is that the Bill of Rights might be thought to create a right to same-sex marriage, or that the Supreme Court’s previous holdings on marriage might be thought to extend to this previously unimagined novelty, or that anyone purporting to be a conservative on matters of constitutional interpretation could take the position that Olson is taking, Olson offers little or no clue. Evidently, his powers of persuasion haven’t been honed by arguing to a judge whose overwhelming bias was evident from the beginning.

One line of questioning that I wish Wallace had asked Olson: Why didn’t you speak out against Prop 8 during the 2008 campaign, when California voters were deciding how to vote on it? Why doesn’t your failure to have done so properly invite the suspicion that your anti-Prop 8 lawsuit is driven as much by your ego and vanity as by your newly declared convictions?

I posted this comment accompanying that article on Facebook:

Opposition to same sex marriage is not exclusive to religious people, or even conservatives. I thought this point was interesting in the round table comments at the end of the article - you might like to repeat the mantra that you do not put the Bill of Rights to a vote, but what about the violation of basic civil rights of the 52% of Californians to govern themselves?

100 Things

Amy did this on her blog, after her sister wrote this somewhere, maybe on a blog also, I don't know, but I'm following suit. I guess I've just been thinking about what 100 things I would put since she mentioned it, and I haven't been blogging so much lately, so here goes:

1. I was born in Mission Viejo, CA. Lived in Orange County my entire life up until I left for college. Most of that time was spent in Irvine.
2. I am the younger of 2 kids. My brother is 8 years older than I am.
3. I am the first person in my family born in the United States. On both sides of my family actually. I only just not realized that. That includes extended family going both directions.
4. I played soccer growing up, and would play it everyday of my life if I could. I don't know if there is anything else in this whole world that gives me as much joy.
5. I am halfway through my graduate program in applied social psychology.
6. I had a cat all growing up, but I think I'm more of a dog person.
7. I like collecting things. I collected a lot of baseball cards as a kid, and a couple years ago my mom sold my best baseball cards in a garage sale. The guy paid maybe $10 for probably a couple thousand dollars worth of cards. Fortunately, I still have all my comic books. There are lots of those too.
8. I want a beach house when I'm older.
   
9. I joined the church of the Mormons when I was 17.
10. I served a mission in Santiago, Chile.
11. My favorite toys as a child were my GI Joe. I had a whole army of them.
12. My best friend as a kid was Justin McFerran. Now my best friend is Dave. We've been friends for the last 17 years. Wow.
13. I received my bachelor's degree in psychology from BYU in 2005. Except for about a month soon after coming back from my mission, I never deviated from that path.
14. I was painfully shy as a kid.
15. My favorite sports teams are the Angels, Lakers, and Raiders. I'm a home town fan, but my favorite to follow has always been the Raiders, but it's been the most difficult seeing that they've been the worst team in the NFL over the last 7 years. At least no one can say I'm a bandwagon fan.
16. I was arrested on 5 counts of strong-armed robbery when I was 13.
    
17. I have run 2 marathons.
18. My first crush was when I was kindergarden (well, as much as you can have one as a 5-year old) on Jenny Dale. She had these big coke bottle glasses, and no one else had glasses as a kid, and I loved her for it.
19. I played the saxophone for one year as a kid, and for several years also played the organ.
20. I learned how to ski when I was 5.
    
21. I am a yellow belt in karate, so watch out. Combine my technical fighting skills and my previous history as a felon, and I am suddenly a very dangerous man.
    
22. I definitely prefer chocolate over any other kind of sweets.
    
23. I am much more verbal than I am visual. Just ask me to describe a picture for you and then have me draw one, if you want proof.
24. My first car was a Chevy Blazer.
    
25. I got my first ticket my first night driving in Provo down center street, and Dave and I had all of our stuff in the back of that Blazer, and a cop cited me from going 30 mph down Center street.
26. My favorite book is Treason, by Orson Scott Card. He is also my favorite author.
27. On September 11, 2001, my friend Chris Cornwell called and woke me up in the morning to tell me that two planes had hit the WTC towers. I was taking a nap after my early morning shift as a janitor in the JKHB.
28. My first job was helping out at the tent sale at Chick's Sporting Goods.
29. When I was too young to be alone, my mom used to take me with her to work, and then I would go watch movies alone at the theater in her shopping center.
30. My favorite TV show is Scrubs - Scrubs saw me through my worst breakup.
    
31. My favorite superhero as a kid was Captain America.
    
32. I am maybe the best pen pal you could ever have. When my brother went to boot camp for the Marines when I was 12, I wrote to him multiple times a week. When my friend Chris moved to South Carolina was I was 15, I wrote him monthly for the next three years until we met back up as freshman at BYU. I write missionaries very regularly. My missionary children will never suffer from want of correspondence from me. I just miss people a lot, I guess.
33. My favorite vacation as a kid was going to Cancun. I think that was our last one as a family too. I got offered alcohol at a restaurant bar and I went scuba diving. I loved it.
34. I failed my driver's license test two or three times. I was just too nervous.
35. I love going to concerts. My favorite have always been punk shows.
36. I want to go to Jerusalem more than anywhere in the world, but I think I want the BYU Jerusalem Center study abroad experience, so I don't know if I'll go anytime soon. I'll take anywhere in Europe or Brazil for now.
37. Because I served my mission in Chile, I'm fluent in Spanish, but I'm always surprised when I hear the language or start speaking it that I still understand it.
38. I don't have any allergies.
39. A car ran over my leg was I was about 4 years old.
40. I have had three bikes stolen from me, and it was always a devastating experience. Really, having anything stolen from you is a very violating kind of experience.
41. My greatest fear these days is of not measuring up.
42. I want to learn to play the piano, and then the guitar.
43. I want to take a hip hop dance class.
44. I hated vegetables as a kid, up until I came back from my mission. Now I eat just about anything.
45. I really like art in all its varieties. I love poetry, but I love painting and sculpture and photography and just about anything else you can name.
46. Just about everything about who I am now can be traced back to my brother until I was about 14, and then my friends.
47. Blue used to be my favorite color. Now I don't really have one, I just like anything that can be described as vivid or brilliant.
48. I have very strong tooth enamel. Whenever I go to the dentist, the dentist always comments on it.
49. To my knowledge, I have never spent a night in a hospital. The only bone I've ever broken was a small one in my wrist while playing soccer.
50. I was handball champion at my grade school the last two years I was there.
51. I received the first ever "Principal's Award" at my grade school that they continue giving to this day (I think) for doing a good deed. I got it for making sure that all this athletic equipment that had been left outside after hours got returned to the school.
52. 4th of July is basically summer Christmas to me and my friends. It's my favorite holiday, apart from actual Christmas.
53. Since it's not really a holiday, Halloween is my favorite non-holiday day. I absolutely love the entire month of October. I love the scary stuff and candy and everything associated with it. Incidentally...
54. I love costumes and dressing up. I feel like I've been acquiring this love the last several years, because I haven't always been this way. But my favorite thing about dressing up is finding some way to involve makeup. I just love it.
    
55. I was a ninja for six years in a row as a kid for Halloween.
56. I am very conservative in my Politics. You can pretty much go down the list of every political topic and assume that I'm right of center on everything. And I feel like I'm pretty informed about everything too, so I pretty much assume that I'm always right about stuff.
    
57. I can sleep in just about any environment. I have fallen asleep at a concert before.
58. I love airports. I have always had good experiences traveling, so airports are only associated with vacations and going somewhere fun for me.
59. My mom used to make her own variety of German chocolate cake when I was kid, and I always wanted that as my birthday cake. Nothing I loved more.
60. I am very good at remembering details about people.
61. I wish I could watch every comedic movie with Dave, Greg, and Mike. There is no one in the whole world that I laugh with more.
62. My favorite bands are Strung Out and Unwritten Law.
63. I LOVED ghost stories as a kid. For about three years, I made my mom either buy me every book of ghost stories that I could find, or take me to the library so I could check out more. I would read them alone in a darkened room by myself.
64. If I could meet any deceased not-associated with any religion person, it would have to be Ronald Reagan.
65. If I could live during any time period, it would probably be during the Renaissance. I wouldn't have to experience the ravages of time and aging, but I could fight with swords. I loved chivalry as a kid. I was a little bit of a weird kid.
66. I have a bit of an addictive personality. I get very involved with the things that I enjoy.
67. My favorite baseball player as a kid was David Justice. My first autographs were from Bob Boone and Dick Schofield, both Angels. I got those at my first baseball card show.
68. I really, really, really want to go to Comic Con, but that desire also started way before it was cool to go, and only geeks went. I still could spend hours in a comic book store.
    
69. My favorite painting ever might be Starry Night Over the Rhone by Van Gogh. The way he does texture is perfect for painting water, but whenever I see lights shining over water, I always think of that painting. It reminds of walking any pier by the beach at night.
    
70. I am a strong believer in everyone having to go through some kind of major breakup before getting married. Dating experience gives a lot of depth to a person, I believe.
71. If there are three things I could teach my children, it would be to love the Lord and his gospel, to love reading, and to just be active.
    
72. I have some regrets about things in my past, but I think that's okay. I think it just means that I've made mistakes, and I know better now. It doesn't mean my life is dictated by those wrongs, you know?
73. I love Home Depot. I hope that someday I can do a major overhaul of some part of my own home. Maybe not the whole thing, but at least a few rooms. I'd love to do a kitchen, if only because it's so much more complicated than any other part of the house. Bedrooms are easy, but doing appliances and plumbing and cabinetry, etc. is quite a feat.
74. My favorite job was as a residential appraiser working with all of my friends. Not only was it so much fun, but it was cool to see different houses, travel all over southern California, and actually enjoy what I was doing. Doing home refinishing stuff with Greg was also really fun too.
75. I have never attended a funeral before.
76. I would wear a t-shirt, with shorts and sandals every day of my life if I could.
77. If I were to redirect my professional career, I would either go to law school so I could work with Dave, or I would be a physical therapist. I think I could realistically do either of those. Not so realistically, I would love love love to be a writer. I don't think I'll ever make a sustainable living with writing, but I am almost certain I will write a book some day. And I think that will happen in the next several years.
    
78. As it turns out, I really like singing. I love karaoke type games.
79. I think I take after my mom more than my dad.
80. My favorite sports moments - Bo Jackson killing the Bengals in the AFC Divisional Playoff in the early 90s, Robert Horry hitting the 3-pointer to beat the Kings, and the Angels scoring 8 runs in one inning in the series clinching game, then Adam Kennedy hitting three home runs in one game against the Twins, and then being at Pizza Factory when Scott Spiezio hit the three-run home run that changed Game 6, and realizing we had to rush home to see their fortunes completely swing back for the Angels.
81. Dave and I would play Spanish Hit Man in junior high and talk about girls.
82. Rachel Collins was my first kiss, and first girlfriend.
83. My first time golfing was when I was about 24 at my friend's bachelor party. I used to hate it. Now I love it.
    
84. I wanted to play football in high school, but my mom and brother wouldn't let me because they thought it would detract from soccer.
85. I want 4-6 kids. Preferably on the higher end of that.
86. I really want to learn how to cook and to sew. I'm getting pretty good at grilling. I think I was meant to be a stay-at-home dad.
87. I really, really hope that I live next door to Dave and his family someday. We'll knock down the wall between our backyards and make a soccer field, and we'll coach our kids teams together.
88. I have never been fired from a job, but I really want to quit a job in a really dramatic and abrupt fashion one day.
89. I think the first CD I ever bought was Pennywise's self-titled album. The first tape I ever bought might have been a Paula Abdul album. Quite the contrast.
90. The best days of my life are all church associated - the day I received my endowment, my first night in my second area of the mission and committing a woman to baptism, and the last day of my mission. There's nothing like the sudden influx of enormous amounts of the spirit. I've had great days since, but those were so grandiose in one way or another. Now everything is much more subtle. I'm sure there will be more though.
91. I love shopping. I love clothes and I can be dangerous with a credit card.
92. I love soda. Like, really love it. Vanilla Coke is favorite.
93. I much prefer the satisfaction that comes from eating when I've been starving over getting sleep when I've been extremely sleep deprived. I don't feel like I ever really get good sleep or like I get caught up at all after finally getting to sleep again, but the first meal within the first bite eating when I've been really hungry is instantaneously satisfying.
94. I watch just about every sport. I watched the majority of the World Cup games, and I'll watch everything that I can when it comes to the Olympics. I am way more in favor of the Summer Olympics v. the Winter ones. Amy is the opposite, and I think she's crazy for it.
95. I would love to do MMA training as my form of working out, but I don't have the money to afford that.
96. I used to be deathly afraid of public speaking, but now I feel like it's actually a strength of mine. I have no fear or nervousness anymore when it comes to public speaking.
97. I like taking long showers. It's where I get my best thinking done.
98. I want to have a monkey as a pet someday. I would dress him up in a sailor suit, or get him a train conductor's outfit. Or a suit of armor.
99. I don't think I want my formal education to end after BYU.
100. I have seen many R-rated movies in my day, but only two in the last year - Zombieland and Shutter Island. I really enjoyed both. I won't ban them for the rest of my life, but I'll keep them extremely limited. I feel like that's good enough for me.

What's Bothering You?

A lot of things recently, really just politically.

• The one thing I'll just never understand, however, is how members of the church can celebrate a court decision that goes clearly against the stated position of the church. I know that it's hard to understand, and nobody fully grasps the issue in its entirety, but when the leaders of the church, those men whom we pledge to sustain multiple times throughout the year by the raise of our right hand, tell us that we support the passage of Proposition 8, why is it so hard to grasp that that is the line that we are to hold? Following the prophet will always supercede any political position that we already have, because it's no longer about politics - it's about being on the right side of the line, which has been clearly defined by the Lord's mouthpiece. That particular belief will sound pretty crazy to anybody who isn't a member of this church, but that is the only place where safety can be guaranteed.
• Been listening to some podcasts of This American Life recently, which definitely leans left in its politics. They have been talking a lot about the economy, and how to improve conditions. You know what I found remarkable about their conclusions? The solution is always fiscal responsibility, staying out of debt, and keeping taxes low.
• The Proposition 8 thing makes me mad. Supporting Proposition 8 seems to mean that you hate gay people. You are a bigot and want to restrict fundamental rights by supporting that constitutional amendment. You know what else this reminds me of? Being critical of President Obama means you're racist. Not liking what the Reverend Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson says means you're racist. People throw these terms around at every opportunity to detract from the greater issue at hand. Throw a white sheet on a person and it automatically discredits everything that person will ever have to say. Yes, that kind of white sheet.
• This is a little off topic, but I would really think that a former governor would always be best suited to be POTUS. A state is really just a microcosm of the nation as a whole, and a governor who has a demonstrated track record of success would seem to have a pretty good idea about how to work with the two opposing parties, manage an economy, and lead a group of people. That just makes sense to me. I don't think Sarah Palin really qualified, mostly because her experience was so limited, but doesn't it seem like she had a better record than Obama did at the time of his election? I don't know.
• If you don't like the direction of the country - economy, health care, social issues - then it's time to start encouraging your friends and family to vote differently, isn't it? Admittedly, I'm pretty hard right in my politics, but I can't believe how much I disapprove of in the last two years, politically.

Anyway, if you're interested in some political commentary of Proposition 8, you can read The Editors' response from National Review here, read about the problems with Judge Walker's handling of the case here, and the guys from Powerline here, which features this quote:

Conservatives have long said that the day would come when liberal judges declare the Constitution unconstitutional. That happened today, when a gay federal judge in San Francisco, relying on the opinions of mostly-gay "expert" witnesses, ruled that an amendment to the California constitution, which was adopted in perfectly proper fashion by a substantial majority of voters, is "unconstitutional." In this context, unconstitutional means "unpopular with me and my friends."

As a legal matter, Judge Walker's decision is a bad joke. It will be appealed, of course, but the outcome of the appeal will be determined by politics, not law. I think it is safe to assume that anyone nominated to the Supreme Court by a Democratic President is explicitly or implicitly committed to the proposition that gay marriage is a constitutional right. If you think that is bizarre, stop voting for Democratic politicians.

It's all very maddening, isn't it?