Time to stop hiding.
A very close friend of mine, Shaun, wrote this letter on gay marriage.
He is a part of the church and a strong member of it's community.
Please read.
Say it again.
Let me show you something. Some of you will be aware of this, most of you won’t. But first let me set the stage. Every two years a few thousand delegates of my church, The Community of Christ, meet for World Conference in Independence, Missouri, to vote on new legislation pertaining to the church and the world in which it operates. In April 2010, World Conference will take place, and the most historic and debatable legislation in the history of the church will be put to a vote.
Let me abridge it for you:
"Whereas, the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims that all persons are of equal worth in the sight of God (Doctrine and Covenants 16:3c-f; James 2:1-13); and
Whereas, God calls people according to their giftedness and not specifically by gender, race, economic or educational status (Doctrine and Covenants 119:8b); and
Whereas, The sacrament of marriage symbolizes a sacred covenant between two people seeking to make a lifelong commitment of mutual support, love, and faithfulness to one another; be it
Resolved, That WCR 1182 be amended by replacing the words “husband and wife” with the words “marriage couple”; and
Resolved, That WCR 272 be amended by replacing the words “husband and wife” with the words “marriage couple.”"
Full legislation can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ychw87p
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Say it again:
We won’t be the inconsequential. We won’t be the wasted potential.
I know maybe two people who are against this legislation. And believe me when I say: that’s fine. I’m not. It is due time. Our church is a leader among churches in passing what could be deemed as “liberal” or “progressive” legislation. We accept women into our priesthood! Women can preside over marriage ceremonies, can administer to the sick and serve communion. And God save me - they are good at it.
Who knew?
And now the question is before us: gay marriage. Yes? Or no? And I am here begging the World Church to vote a resounding Yes.
Hear me now: God doesn’t hate. Those who quote Leviticus as proof of God’s will against gay marriage were doomed to die for mouthing off to their parents when they were young. That’s not a threat, that’s Leviticus (20:9): http://tinyurl.com/y9kr427 . Do not let the rules of old get in the way of God’s love. Because as soon as we start putting “God’s” rules above God’s love, we aren’t talking about God anymore.
Now is our chance to tell the world that God doesn’t hate. And we, the Community of Christ, believe that fact whole-heartedly. End of story.
Say it again:
We fight so no one can fight us.
I’m not a homosexual man myself, but I’ll defend a homosexual man, woman, transgender, or whatever, to my grave. But this isn’t a debate article, this is a support article. We cannot back down from our fight because of threats of mass exodus from the church. Sometimes the fight is not about survival, it is about the fight. Backing down from this legislation because we’re afraid the church won’t survive the outcome is not how we should be looking at this at all.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want the church to die. Far from it. I want it to thrive. But my want for the church to thrive does not supersede my need to do what is right. If I can achieve both, excellent. If I can’t, my priorities are where they are.
Hear me now: it’s not about doing what’s best for the church; it’s about doing what’s best. I write this simply because I’m calling on people to fight for what I (we) think is best.
Don’t let threats stop us. Don’t let death stop us. If we cannot be stopped, we will not be stopped.
Say it again:
We live, and no one can stop us.
I’m not here to debate with the opposed. You can think what you want. But I will say this: it’s becoming more and more evident every decade, every year, every month, every day, that you are just slowing down the inevitable.
We live, and no one can stop us.
We live, and no one can stop us.
Hear me now: God does not hate. Passing this legislation will not rain hellfire upon the temple. Passing this legislation will not topple our foundation. Passing this legislation, I firmly believe, will see God lean forward, grin his big God grin, and say “Finally. Bless you.”
With all my heart, I believe that. And I will never stop.
Never stop.
Say it again,
Say it again:
We. Won’t. Die.
He is a part of the church and a strong member of it's community.
Please read.
Say it again.
Let me show you something. Some of you will be aware of this, most of you won’t. But first let me set the stage. Every two years a few thousand delegates of my church, The Community of Christ, meet for World Conference in Independence, Missouri, to vote on new legislation pertaining to the church and the world in which it operates. In April 2010, World Conference will take place, and the most historic and debatable legislation in the history of the church will be put to a vote.
Let me abridge it for you:
"Whereas, the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims that all persons are of equal worth in the sight of God (Doctrine and Covenants 16:3c-f; James 2:1-13); and
Whereas, God calls people according to their giftedness and not specifically by gender, race, economic or educational status (Doctrine and Covenants 119:8b); and
Whereas, The sacrament of marriage symbolizes a sacred covenant between two people seeking to make a lifelong commitment of mutual support, love, and faithfulness to one another; be it
Resolved, That WCR 1182 be amended by replacing the words “husband and wife” with the words “marriage couple”; and
Resolved, That WCR 272 be amended by replacing the words “husband and wife” with the words “marriage couple.”"
Full legislation can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ychw87p
--------------------------
-----
Say it again:
We won’t be the inconsequential. We won’t be the wasted potential.
I know maybe two people who are against this legislation. And believe me when I say: that’s fine. I’m not. It is due time. Our church is a leader among churches in passing what could be deemed as “liberal” or “progressive” legislation. We accept women into our priesthood! Women can preside over marriage ceremonies, can administer to the sick and serve communion. And God save me - they are good at it.
Who knew?
And now the question is before us: gay marriage. Yes? Or no? And I am here begging the World Church to vote a resounding Yes.
Hear me now: God doesn’t hate. Those who quote Leviticus as proof of God’s will against gay marriage were doomed to die for mouthing off to their parents when they were young. That’s not a threat, that’s Leviticus (20:9): http://tinyurl.com/y9kr427 . Do not let the rules of old get in the way of God’s love. Because as soon as we start putting “God’s” rules above God’s love, we aren’t talking about God anymore.
Now is our chance to tell the world that God doesn’t hate. And we, the Community of Christ, believe that fact whole-heartedly. End of story.
Say it again:
We fight so no one can fight us.
I’m not a homosexual man myself, but I’ll defend a homosexual man, woman, transgender, or whatever, to my grave. But this isn’t a debate article, this is a support article. We cannot back down from our fight because of threats of mass exodus from the church. Sometimes the fight is not about survival, it is about the fight. Backing down from this legislation because we’re afraid the church won’t survive the outcome is not how we should be looking at this at all.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want the church to die. Far from it. I want it to thrive. But my want for the church to thrive does not supersede my need to do what is right. If I can achieve both, excellent. If I can’t, my priorities are where they are.
Hear me now: it’s not about doing what’s best for the church; it’s about doing what’s best. I write this simply because I’m calling on people to fight for what I (we) think is best.
Don’t let threats stop us. Don’t let death stop us. If we cannot be stopped, we will not be stopped.
Say it again:
We live, and no one can stop us.
I’m not here to debate with the opposed. You can think what you want. But I will say this: it’s becoming more and more evident every decade, every year, every month, every day, that you are just slowing down the inevitable.
We live, and no one can stop us.
We live, and no one can stop us.
Hear me now: God does not hate. Passing this legislation will not rain hellfire upon the temple. Passing this legislation will not topple our foundation. Passing this legislation, I firmly believe, will see God lean forward, grin his big God grin, and say “Finally. Bless you.”
With all my heart, I believe that. And I will never stop.
Never stop.
Say it again,
Say it again:
We. Won’t. Die.