Obviously, the legalization of gay marriage has been a hot topic recently. It has been interesting to see how things have been playing out in our state, where it seems like the majority of the population is made up of either extreme supporters of gay equality in marriage, or die-hard religious opponents – primarily members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a supporter of equal rights to all, I have a few things to say regarding the Mormon church’s response to the legalization of gay marriage.
One major argument that the LDS church makes is that legal rights to gay marriage threaten the “sanctity of marriage.” Well, I have a question: what does that statement really mean? Now that gays are allowed to marry, suddenly marrying your opposite sex partner isn’t a sanctified act? I’m sorry, but even if I were a religious person in this day and age, that wouldn’t be the kind of attitude I would want my fiancé to have concerning my marriage to him.
Additionally, according to Tad Walch writing for the Deseret News, LDS officials state that “The court’s decision does not alter the Lord’s doctrine that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.” One man. One woman. Now, it seems to me that with the LDS church’s history with polygamy, it really shouldn’t be the one throwing stones at non-traditional marriage practices. Especially when the lingering effects of those past practices continue to contribute to abused and destroyed lives.
In the same article, Elder Nash of the LDS church’s Quorum of the Seventy is quoted as saying that “[Gay marriage] marks a fundamental change in the institution of marriage in ways that are contrary to God’s purposes for his children and detrimental to the long-term interests of society.” This seems absurd to me. I understand that preaching propagation makes sense when a society is trying to grow in numbers. But that just isn’t necessary anymore. Our planet is already considered by many to be overpopulated. Therefore, that particular “word of God” really isn’t relevant today.
Nash also states that it is important that a child be raised by both a man and a woman. But why? Is it not more important that a child be raised by two loving, accepting and supportive adults who can care and provide properly for a growing child in a world where the gender separation gap narrows more and more each day? I do understand that men and women can bring different things to a child’s upbringing. These days, however, what men and women bring to a household is vastly different than it used to be when gender roles were stricter – meaning what men and women bring to the table can be extremely similar these days. These days plenty of women carry the main financial burden and still have time to teach their kids to throw a football and shoot a gun, just as more and more men take on the role of the homemaker. The way I see it, if a child is raised in a healthy and stable environment by two loving and caring parents, it doesn’t really matter in our modern society whether the couple raising the child is heterosexual or homosexual. To say that God disapproves of a functioning and loving household run by responsible homosexual adults just seems wrong to me.
Now, I’m not denying that the Christian Bible condemns homosexual practices and marriages, so I do understand why people who take such doctrine to heart would be opposed to the legal acknowledgement of gay marriage. However, just as the Constitution is considered by many to be a flexible document, maybe the Bible and other strict religious doctrines should be considered “living and breathing” things to be somewhat malleable with the changing times. The Episcopal Church has done a good job so far as Christians adapting to an evolving society. It has been interesting to follow its recent ordaining of female and gay bishops, and its overall genuine acceptance of gays. Maybe it is time that the LDS church realizes that supporting — rather than dooming and criticizing — genuine, intelligent and sincere people trying to be their very best selves is the best approach if it really is concerned with the well-being of our future society.