Angie & Jim

Preserving the Divine Institution of Marriageby Angie

Last night we had the opportunity to attend a broadcast which was distributed to various Stake Centers all over California, as well as a few in Utah.  Elder Ballard, Elder Cook, and Elder Clayton (a member of the Presidency of the Seventy) spoke on the importance of protecting and defending the institution and definition of marriage against the rising tide of same-sex demands.  We were challenged to commit at least four hours per week over the next four weeks to support the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign, which will define marriage in California as only valid between a man and a woman.

Elder Ballard took some of his time to speak directly to the “young single and young married adults who are proficient in today’s techology.”  He pointed out, “You text, blog, Google, twitter, ping, and write on your walls… I would have been sent to my room for doing some of those things in my day!.”  It was very fun to hear him praise the talents and efforts of my generation, and encourage us to use our unique grasp of technology to spread the word in support of Proposition 8 with a new website developed by the church about marriage, families, civil rights, and tolerance.  My favorite quote of the evening, was from Elder Cook – who lived much of his life in California, including studying law at Stanford University:

“There are those who vigorously promote beliefs and practices contrary to our own.  They have the right of free speech, granted in our constitution . . . So do we!  We can vigorously promote our beliefs and practices.  We can do so with great conviction, and also with great love.”