I have a question for you believing Mormons out there (there are some of you who read this, right??? I hope). First, some exposition:
With one (brilliant) exception (me), my immediate family members are all active Mormons. They are, however, split pretty much down the middle: my mother and sisters are conservative, and my father and brothers (and I) are liberal. My father always taught us, by word and deed, that all people are equal and deserve the same rights. Think of the most accepting, tolerant, respectful person you know. That person has nothing on my dad. So try to imagine how utterly shocked I was – how completely my world was shaken – when he told me he plans to vote yes on proposition 8. No, you know what? Don’t try to imagine that: you can’t. I thought I knew him, and therefore myself. But I don’t know this man who raised me to never follow authority blindly, to always follow my conscience, and to respect the paths of others because they are all valid. I just…don’t know him.
For those of you who don’t know (why don’t you know? Where have you been? Are you the people who think Obama is a Muslim?), prop 8 would amend the California constitution to ban gay marriage. My dad has always been an advocate of gay rights (for all rights), and has never been one to follow whatever the church says just because the church said it. He always follows his own conscience. And he tells me his conscience says gay people should have the right to get legally married. However, the church leadership told the members to pray about this decision – and here the plot thickens. My dad prayed about it and according to him, God told him to vote yes.
We talked about it for quite a while, and he finally asked me what I would do in his position, if I received divine inspiration that went against my own sense of morality. I told him that if something went against my sense of morality I would never believe it was divine.
That’s a lot of exposition, all to ask this question:
Are there any active, believing Mormons out there who are in favor of gay marriage and have prayed about it and gotten what you would consider personal confirmation that:
a) gay marriage is A-OK
OR
b) gay marriage should not be legal
?
Also, are there any active, believing Mormons who are in favor of gay marriage and feel that you don’t need to pray about it – that your personal sense of morality is the strongest, best, and only guide you need?
I’m wondering how you believing Mormons have made your decisions, and (I admit to a bit of cat-killing curiosity) if people are getting conflicting messages from the Big Guy.
