Why I Voted Yes On Prop 102

I have thought long and hard this past week about what I should write. I really want this blog to be a happy place, and not one that incites contention. I want it to be a place that brings joy and peace to those who visit, not anger and hostility. But I also hope my children will read it, and perhaps someday my grandchildren also, and therefore I have concluded, it is imperative that I take a moment and be perfectly clear as to why I voted yes on Proposition 102.

Neal A. Maxwell, (A Time to Choose [1972], said,
“There is a special sense of urgency infusing itself into many Church members everywhere that says, quietly, but insistently—this is the time for us to choose! It is not just that God will insist that we choose for our own sake, but that those who depend upon us, or use us as a reference point, need and deserve to know which way we are going. . . .The disciple must not only stand in ‘holy places’ but on holy issues and ‘not be moved.’"

Therefore, here is my stand on the issue.

Prop 102 allows Arizona to amend the state constitution to define marriage as being only between one man and one woman. This passed in Arizona, as it did in Florida and California. It has not come without controversy however. We, along with my husband’s company contributed to help finance the fight for Prop 102 and in so doing became targets for angry letters and telephone calls. Those opposed to the traditional definition of marriage call those who are in support of it hatemongers and have called for the burning of homes and churches of all those who contributed. I probably don’t need to point out the irony in this.

I have no negative feelings towards those who oppose my view, but just as they feel they have the right to fight for their rights, so do I feel I have the right, and the obligation, to fight for mine. We believe the family to be the basic and most fundamental unit of society and that a family exists to bring children into the world, and to raise them to be responsible and contributing members of society. I believe marriage between a man and a woman to be ordained of God, and that sexual intimacy should be limited to a man and woman who are married and that anything other than this is immoral and weakens the moral fiber of our existence. Although I feel everyone has the right to choose their own behavior, I do not want my children to be taught as normal or exposed to behavior I feel is not only detrimental to their emotional well being, but also threatens their spiritual safety.

My beliefs stem from what I believe to be true regarding where we came from before this earth, why we are here and where we go after we die. We believe that before coming to earth we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father (God) in Heaven. It was decided there that an earth would be created where we could come and receive bodies so we could progress and become like our Heavenly Father. Therefore, one of the main purposes of our existence here is to get married and provide physical bodies for our spirit brothers and sisters. Therefore, I believe we not only have the obligation to marry and bear children but that every child has the right to both a father and a mother.

I believe the traditional family unit (husband, wife, children) existed before we came to earth, that it exists today and that families can also be sealed together for eternity and continue after this life. Therefore, not only does immorality weaken the family, which is the foundation upon which our society is built, but homosexuality defeats one of the main purposes of our existence as a homosexual couple cannot on their own bear children, and children raised in a homosexual environment are deprived of their basic human right to have both a mother and a father.

And so I will continue to raise my voice in defense of morality and the traditional family so that my children and grandchildren can have a world where they too can . . . . find joy in the journey.