The Mormon Voting Conundrum

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and as such he was able to ask Deity what to do about current circumstances, many of these revelations are recorded as scripture known as the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C).

D&C section 98 was recorded on August 6, 1833 "in consequence of the persecution upon the Saints in Missouri." (see D&C 98 header)

 

Verses 6-9 teach the saints of the church to vote in favor of the Constitution of the United States, and "whatever is more or less than this cometh of evil."  It also says that we should seek for honest, wise, and good men to be leaders, and "when the wicked rule the people mourn."

For these reasons the LDS members are having a hard time deciding to vote for Hillary Clinton, who does not represent conservatism and is not honest or good, and Donald Trump, who is a little more conservative but he is still not honest, wise, or good.  We live in a wicked world, and Mormons might consider both of these candidates to be wicked.

 

And thus we see the success of Evan McMullin who represents conservative values and he is considered to be honest, wise, and good, or at least better than the other two options, but he is an independent so people think that a vote for him is a wasted vote (or worse a vote for Hillary!?).

 

You see, it's not very difficult to understand how Utah is in a statistical 3 way tie in the recent polls.

 

A defense for the family

Today I will make a 5 brief comments in defense of traditional marriage.  The first three of these rebuttals can be studied in further detail from Sherif Girgis and Ryan Anderson.  I watched them both make presentations at the Wheatley Institution which can be viewed online.  The last two are aimed at the LDS and Christian communities.

1.  Arguement- Marriage is good, so it should not be exclusive.  Marriage IS an emotional union & domestic life
Rebuttal- There are 3 inherent qualities of marriage that are accepted by Americans to counter this argument... 1) marriage pledges permenance, its not based on until emotional union dies. 2) Marriage IS exclusive, emotion can be shared with many (including things and animals).
Conclusion- To redefine marriage as an emotional union weakens the commitment. An emotional union has nothing to do with the 2 core qualities of marriage.

2.  Arguement- Government has no reason to restrict marriage
Rebuttal- 1) the government's involvment in marriage is the least intrusive way to help children. Studies show that children need a mother and father because they offer unique gifts.  2) Marriage unites children to parents in a way that might otherwise be fragmented. 3) gay marriage is about desires of adults and weakens child rearing institution.
Conclusion- Government involvment affects the development of children which affects everyone.

3.  Argument- Why not just let the gays live how they want.  live and let live.
Rebuttal- 1) Gays are already permitted to live a gay life if they choose.  2) A new definition of marriage doesn't let others 'live and let live'. Churches, businesses, & freedoms of others are diminished.
Conclusion- New legislation is not necessary and will have the opposite affect of live & let live.

4.  Argument- Homosexuality doesn't affect others
Rebuttal- read rebuttals for #2 and #3 above.  Read Genesis 19:1-13. Read The Family: A Proclamation to the World "The disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."
Conclusion- God destroys the communities and nations that support the disintegration of the family

5.  Argument- God does not condemn homosexuality
Rebuttal- read Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Rom 1:26-28, Gen 19:4-13
Conclusion- God in the Bible does speak against homosexuality very clearly both in the New and Old Testaments

Much more could be said on this issue, but these are just some 'notes'.  A whole other can of worms opens up when arguments about how this affects our freedoms, but I will save that for a future post.  I do believe that more can be done to help homosexual couples with hospital visits and estate transfer upon death, however I don't agree that redefining marriage is the answer for these minor issues.

Over the past three years or so I have become fascinated by current events and news that is happening each day.  I follow politics fairly closely, or at least more than the average person, so I consider myself informed of many issues, but I also consider myself much less informed than many people.  I'm really not interested in politics, in fact I dislike them very much.  But I love seeing how current events are shaping the world as we move closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ, so in that sense politics is interesting to me. 

Christie hates politics.  She hates that people disagree and people take offense to things, and explaining one's viewpoint doesn't do anyone any good anyway, so she would rather that we not bring up controversial issues.  I believe that there is a lot at stake here (remember the second coming), so I think that we should do all we can to prepare others for this great event. 

I don't think that my views are well represented in the media, or social media, or most anywhere.  It seems that most people that I know don't like to dig into the details on critical social issues.  It's much easier to say that if my heart feels that such and such is right then that is what I will support, but if all the facts were understood then maybe your heart would feel differently.  Many times the facts don't fit on a meme, or tweet, or facebook status.  Sometimes relevant arguments take time to understand.  And that is where the difficulty is, most people do not want to attend seminars or read boring articles. 

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I have taken the name of Christ upon myself, meaning I TRY to do what He would do and say what He would say.  I believe that prophets live on the earth, and they have instructed to promote Liberty and Freedom which is what I intend to do in whatever small way I can.  I love the United States of America and maybe I can do some good with the freedoms that I have.  For these reason I want to post some simple and concise notes about some fundamental beliefs so that whether others agree or disagree they will at least understand why I believe what I believe.

Cactus Revival

The blog is back! At least I have decided to post after my five year hiatus.  A lot has happened in 5 years! I have owned a couple of homes, I have changed jobs a couple of times, I got married!  In some ways life is the same, but in most ways it is way way better than ever before.

Some things that are the same are that still wear some of the same clothes that I wore 5 years ago, I still enjoy going to church, and I still drive the same car. 

Some things that are way way better include me being madly in love with a beautiful wife, I own a super warm winter coat (finally!), and the quality of the food I eat is so much better (see www.cuisinealachristie.wordpress.com for more on that).

I'm probably not going to post very often for one main reason:

1.  I feel like I don't have as many adventures these days though. I feel like I'm not still trying to figure out life anymore. Most days are pretty routine. I go to work at 7:15, I get back around 5 or 6, I have dinner, and then Christie and I spend the rest of the evening reading in bed, eating treats in bed, watching Netflix in bed, and snuggling in bed.  Its a really really good life :) but there really isn't much to say about the day to day.

I think joy and entertainment are best found in the simple things and so that is where I would like to leave off on this post and pick up at for the next several posts.  This is going to be fun!  I can't wait to share more.

Christie is my girlfriend

Yup, this has been an eventful week for me. So here's the story, but its pretty typical I think:

Christie was in my ward when I lived at Roman Gardens last Fall and Winter. I noticed a lovely girl sitting in front of me at church one Sunday and I plotted to get to know her better. We had a mutual friend in Jackie, so I told Jackie that I wanted to learn to play piano (which I've been wanting to learn anyway) and Jackie told Christie that I need a teacher. I think I we had five lessons or so. Then I invited her to be in my band, The Groovitational Pull, for the talent show. Summer came and we decided that we should stay in touch. Our first date was going to the Timpanogos Caves. I think that was on June 12th or so. We went on another 4 or 5 dates I think and then decided to date exclusively. That's about it!

This last Thursday we went to see the free Modest Mouse concert in Salt Lake City along with about 40,000 other peopleThis picture was taken almost halfway through the line. The line continued behind us another block. I look really goofy in that first picture at the top of the page. Anyway, this week I was with Christie everyday except Wednesday I think. We also saw Date Night which was very funny, but also very gross and sexual so be warned.

I have also been finalizing some stuff on the house that I plan on purchasing. I did a full inspection with my friend Steve and we found several issues that will need to be fixed on the house. The house is small and its a fixer-upper, but I still feel ok about it. I found out that there is a $20,000 grant available from the city that I can put towards repairs and upgrades! If I get approved for this grant, I will for sure get the house, but if I don't I will have to walk away. If all goes well I will be signing papers at the end of the week and it will be ready for me to move in on August 1st.

The good, the bad, and the king

I feel like I need to settle into a better routine. It seems that one day I am on top of the world and the next I dont know which way is up. I am getting old and I am learning about my changing body once again. I'm pretty sure that my hair is thinning (even though no one else agrees), I don't feel as fit now, and I don't sleep as much. I haven't slept through the night once since I moved into my new apartment. I always wake up at 6:30 in a panic that I am late for work. My chest, arms and face have been getting these soars on them. I think that I am just stressing out my mind! I usually work about 9 hours a day and it seems like the entire time I am working at a frantic pace.

At the same time I am trying to close on a house (its just pending a roof inspection now) and I am trying to improve my dating life (and I feel more confused than ever about it).

The "bad" things in my life are also "good" because I enjoy all of it. I like my job, I am excited about getting a house, and I generally have a lot of fun with the girls I date (but who knows what they think about it). I got some really good news this week, besides the home owners accepting my offer, several of my favorite bands will be releasing new albums soon. We can expect new stuff from Sufjan Stevens, The Toadies, and Radiohead, also Arcade Fire has been recording for a while now.

I just ran my hand through my hair and 3 hairs came out :(

New Music Revival

I used to spend lots of time reading reviews and downloading music and I found really great bands back when ruckus.com was around. That website has been long gone for a while now and so has my interest and passion for finding new sounds. Fortunately, an old friend of mine recently got a really great job as an editor at inyourspeakers.com. I now check this website frequently and find new and interesting music all the time. Thanks to inyourspeakers.com I have recently come across the following albums that I probably wouldn't have known about otherwise.

Sea of Cowards by The Dead Weather -- I think that their first album was better, but this is a really good album.

Brother by the Black Keys -- sometimes this is exactly what I'm in the mood for. I've known about this band for a while now, but this was the first time that I really gave them an honest chance and I'm glad I did.

Mean Everything to Nothing by Manchester Orchestra -- This is probably the best new band that I've found. I knew that I would like this band after listening to the first 5 seconds of their first song that came up on youtube.

Maniac Meat by Tobacco -- This is another band that I hadn't heard of before, and it is very different than what I normally listen to, but sometimes I really like listening to electronic stuff. They said that Beck was involved with this album.

Aside from the albums listed, I've been listening to the Band of Skulls, the XX (still I know, I can't get enough, I was watching their music videos today and they are fantastic!), Silversun Pickups, and some Old Death Cab for Cutie, and the Polyphonic Spree. Right now I'm listening to Manchester Orchestra and it makes me smile like how sunshine all around makes me smile. I feel like starting a revolution! I wish I had a full band right now!