Traditional Marriage

"...Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual pre-mortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." -The Family: A proclamation to the World1

Link to the Proclamation: https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&cid=PA0414-02

Marriage is between a man and a woman, it is the oldest institution and was started by our first parents Adam and Eve. Eve was created to be a helpmeet to Adam and together they created a family and grew together. In today's world we are being bombarded from every way that marriage, in the terms that we know, is outdated and has been redefined to include everyone, and anyone can get married. While it can be very easy to brush it off and say that marriage is only a civil right, as members of the church we have to be proactive in standing up for our beliefs.

In the Divine Institution of Marriage it states2 "Throughout the ages, governments of all types have recognized marriage as essential in preserving social stability and perpetuating life". Marriage is not only about love it is about stability in our communities and giving the children of our communities the best chance possible for a healthy life. Marriage bonds husbands and wives and more importantly parents to children. Children deserve to be born into a home with a mother and a father, to be reared by equal and opposite forces that work together to provide the best environment for a child. 

As supporters of traditional marriage we have been branded as bigot's and now we have the responsibility of the burden of proof to show that traditional marriage it the right way, even though it has been the builder of societies since the beginning of humans. 

There is a great stress to the American public to accept same sex marriage.The article "The overhauling of Straight America"3  shows the exactly how we have been desensitized to this change.  It was jarring to read how carefully the plan took place to normalize same sex marriage in the US. It started small seemingly unnoticeable; first by talking about same-sex attraction very openly, in order for something to be accepted the taboo has to be lifted and the previously strange is now seemingly normal. It doesn't stop there the once taboo subjects are to become the victims and we their protectors. Then we attack the victimizers because everyone loves a villain. Next we see a surge in media coverage so that everyone with a TV or computer in their home is bombarded. Last but not least raise money and encourage donations, because you can buy anything in the world with money, including power. 

No matter how difficult, or how few in numbers we may be we have to stand up for what we believe in. One very difficult thing about standing up for what you believe in is seeming hateful to an entire group of people. We have to treat those we disagree with love and compassion and we need to treat everyone as Christ would. When Christ was a brought a woman who had sinned he asked that those who are without sin cast the first stone. Christ then commanded her to go and sin no more; he did not justify the sin and yet he was kind and compassionate to the sinner. We need to follow his example and love those around us even those we don't agree with. 

1. https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&cid=PA0414-02

2. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/the-divine-institution-of-marriage

3. http://library.gayhomeland.org/0018/EN/EN_Overhauling_Straight.htm