No props for proposition 8

Election night was wonderful. As the blue states piled up, my wife and I started doing a victory dance and our three-year-old daughter started jumping up and down yelling, “Bawk Obama! Bawk Obama!”

As liberals in Utah, and in America for the past 8 years, elections have usually been depressing. Last night, however, was a glorious exception. I really feel now that the nation is at least headed in the right direction after a long and tragic detour through war, torture and greed.

One part of the election last night, however, tempered my joy. Proposition 8, banning the already legal gay marriage in California, passed. As a Mormon, it hurt to see leaders of my own church dedicate time, energy and money to take away the rights of homosexual parents and committed couples. Of course my fellow Mormons had a right to do what they did, and I harbor no ill feeling toward them. Still, they were wrong.

One of our Mormon scriptures sums up my feelings on the subject perfectly:

“We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.” Doctrine and Covenants 134: 9.

Pretty clear, right? So how could any Mormon who knows his or her scriptures push for Proposition 8? Your guess is as good as mine. One explanation is that we have a lot of scripture. We have everything in the Bible, then we have the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Plus, we believe in a modern-day prophet who can receive even more scripture. So, it’s sort of understandable if some Mormons don’t know everything about their religion, yet.

Now, the current prophet and leader of our church, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, asked members to support Proposition 8. I don’t know why. But it’s important to understand that his endorsement was not scripture. It was his opinion on a political issue, which I respect, but with which I don’t agree. Scripture has to be unanimously ratified by the Twelve Apostles and it usually contains a “Thus sayeth the Lord” followed by a colon, followed by whatever God wants to say at the time.

I know that’s not any comfort to the families in California who have lost their rights as a result. What I can offer, by way of comfort, is another Mormon scripture, Doctrine and Covenants 98:8: I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed.

That’s God’s response to the way the state governments were mistreating Mormons back in the day. Years later, Mormons would actually have to leave the United States because society could not accept their radical definition of marriage, which included both men and women (although usually men) having more than one spouse. Compared to that, gay marriage almost sounds traditional.

My point is this, God made us free and nobody can take that away. So, I simply don’t recognize any ban on gay marriage or any other interference in human rights in America. I know it’s not a giant leap forward and it doesn’t carry any legal protections. Still, if you’re a life-time committed gay couple and you come to my home, I consider you married.

If we all adopt that attitude, then it won’t matter what some unjust law says. What will matter is how we treat each other. Proposition 8 passed, but it will not last. Eventually, we will start treating everybody the way we would like to be treated.