Monday, April 27, 2015

We're Not Done Yet!

"I'm not dead yet . . . . I feel happy. . . .I feel happy."

[Clonk]

Yeah, I can cut and paste more email with Anonymous/D. As long as I don't have to address the Republican clown car with Romney waiting aside the road for it to crash.

Grant Vaughn 

to D
While still not blogging, and enjoying telework especially when I can't link to office computers, I note this for the record that there will at least be half a win for same-sex marriage.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. US Cons. IV.1.

That's pretty clear and concise language from the Constitution even if there is nary a word in there about marriage. If same-sex marriage is legal in one state, it has to be recognized in all just like they have for Nevada and Maryland quickie weddings (there used to be blood tests, etc. in most states). So, it they have to be recognized in all, some states just won't allow it to happen in that state - the wedding, that is, not the state of marriage.

Simple and straight forward preserving both the right for whomever to marry, and states rights, to some degree, in a federal union (of states - not gays)

D



to me
It seems pretentious of me to say I agree, but I do. I still don't know how I feel about this, I seem to be caught betwixt two ideas, or ideals. My thinking seems to be along this line:  Gays seem to me to have every right to get married, even if it's a terrible idea.   I l think that the idea of persecution of Christians here is the U.S.A. is a paranoid fantasy.  As humans, it seems necessary to have a boogeymen or man on which to project your fears. Secularism is to be the substitute for Communism. We get ourselves all worked up by these things and I keep asking myself the same question.  What does it really matter to me?  I keep coming up with the same answer.  Not much I guess.  I don't think any of the kids are gay, they aren't likely to gay marry.  I'm certainly not going to do it. Who knows what the future might bring, however. There might be some society consequences but I'm hard pressed to see just what they might be, and how they might be separated from all of the other problems going on.  

Perhaps I'm just tired of hearing about it all the time.  It's pretty clear how this is going legally and culturally and each side now as an ample supply of sticks and stones to hurl at the other.

Both sides and self-righteously declare that they are on the side of goodness and truth and God.  I am reminded of Lincoln's second inaugural address. Perhaps this persistent and seemingly never ending conflict is God's just punishment on all of us.

Grant Vaughn

to D
I was thinking about Lincoln too as both sides are holding prayer vigils outside the supreme court. At least our religious tribe doesn't do that

D

to me
Yes. At least we have that.  A couple of weeks ago I taught Elder's Quorum.  It was on scripture and I wanted to take a practical look at them. President Benson actually gave a really good speech on the subject and there was some good advice about using scripture to solve practical problems.  The first thing I did when I opened up discussion was to shoot down these big culture war issues.  I don't want any of that. I want sound practical problem solving from the scripture none of this ethereal, unsolvable idealism.  "I want you to use the scriptures to help you solve your problems." I told them, "not to solve your neighbors problems."  

Grant Vaughn

to D
 "I want you to use the scriptures to help you solve your problems." I told them, "not to solve your neighbors problems."

"Like" Very much! Maybe I shouldn't have stopped blogging.

D

to me
Post it. Write up something to go along with it.  No reason to stop blogging. I think it's therapeutic for you. Just avoid the culture wars and the political stuff if you're tired of it, and only do it if you really have something to say.  Not that you were writing fluff pieces before.
And then, I had another little conversation with another friend on Facebook private messages:

I may yet have to keep on blogging to vent these frustrations. why so much religious CRAP on my FB page? - Mormons and more "traditional Christian" friends too. i can see why one could have plenty of reason to not believe. But I do believe- I just don't want to believe in CRAP. The audacity of Joseph Smith to face God was amazing. We need that same audacity to face Him if He'll allow it as we continue to prepare and we at least have to face the Holy Spirit and the Prophet Joseph along with Pres. Monson with the same audacity without the fear of being wrong. D. just taught an Elders Quorum lesson from Pres. Benson about learning from the scriptures. He told me that he actually said to them, "I don't want you to find the answers for other people's problems, I want you to find the answers to YOURS. That D, he's a good guy.

Response from my friend:

Great thoughts. And yeah -- what did we do for venting before blogging? Of course, before blogging we may not have needed to vent quite so often ...

Therapuetic? Indeed!

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