2 December 2008

2 December 2008

2 December 2008

2 December 2008

2 December 2008

However, in the meantime here are some silver linings to ponder in the aftermath of Election 2008.

• No more hearing “my friends.”
• “the next time a hurricane strikes, it will be the Democrats’ fault“
• the world will start loving us again
• it could have been worse
• Hollywood can start making patriotic films again
• it’s pretty remarkable to elect a Black president
• Provo was spared, as angry Republicans decided not to riot
• McCain staffer sniping has promptly reassured us that their campaign deserved to lose
• I guess I will understand how “dissent is patriotic”
• no more presidential polls until at least Spring 2009

And finally, proof that there is life after the election:

One of the new blogs I recently added to LDS and Mormon Blogs is Brick of Mormon Stories. It’s author was kind enough to send me a copy of his book, conveniently titled Brick of Mormon Stories.

As you may gather, the book is a collection of 26 stories from the Book of Mormon illustrated with LEGO enacted scenes. It may sound silly but I thought it was pretty cool and my family has enjoyed it (It may help if you are a LEGO enthusiast).

My eight and six year-olds especially like the book and only wish they were more pictures. Brick of Mormon Stories seems like it would be a good stepping stone to help out children starting to read the Book of Mormon. While we have been reading the illustrated Book of Mormon Stories the children can now read the actual text from the Book of Mormon but with entertaining photos.

I recommend you check out Book of Mormon Stories and get a copy yourself if you’re interested (I liked the book so much, you’ll notice I placed an ad over in the column but the only thing I got out of it was a free copy).

Perhaps there’s something to the Gospel and LEGOs. My second-cousin made a LEGO replica of the Nauvoo Temple that is on exhibit at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor Center.

It would be funny, but when family’s involved, it’s too close to the bone. (It’s the Onion but it’s SFW)

We hope that now and in the future all parties involved in this issue will be well informed and act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility toward those with a different position.   No one on any side of the question should be vilified, intimidated, harassed or subject to erroneous information.

It is important to understand that this issue for the Church has always been about the sacred and divine institution of marriage — a union between a man and a woman.

Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the Church were and are simply wrong.  The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians.  Even more, the Church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.

Some, however, have mistakenly asserted that churches should not ever be involved in politics when moral issues are involved.  In fact, churches and religious organizations are well within their constitutional rights to speak out and be engaged in the many moral and ethical problems facing society.  While the Church does not endorse candidates or platforms, it does reserve the right to speak out on important issues.

Before it accepted the invitation to join broad-based coalitions for the amendments, the Church knew that some of its members would choose not to support its position.   Voting choices by Latter-day Saints, like all other people, are influenced by their own unique experiences and circumstances.  As we move forward from the election, Church members need to be understanding and accepting of each other and work together for a better society.

As politically cliched as it sounds, there will have to be a lot of healing after this.  Although Prop 8 passed, there’s not a lot to celebrate.  I feel like the Church and supporters of traditional marriage were forced to enter into a tough fight and everybody got badly bruised.

His cousin, Mark Udall (who is not LDS) also won in Colorado.

Their second cousin’s fate, incumbent senator Gordon Smith, is still up in the air as his race is still too close to call.

And why of all GOP Senators does Stevens have to hang on? It’s been a cruel election.

While I doubt I will agree with many of his policies, he will be my president. I won’t have a bumper sticker or a yard sign calling for his impeachment, and don’t expect to be moving out of the country anytime soon (where do ex-pat conservatives move to anyway?).

To be honest, it’s hard to feel like celebrating and I’m not too optimistic about the promise to “fundamentally transform” this country for at least the next four years. But, democracy has spoken and life goes on.

Hopefully, those of us on the right will tamp down those who will try to kick start Obama Derangement Syndrome. There will be plenty to disagree about but we have four years to work on that in an honest and loyal fashion (Plus, we will have a Vice-President Biden to keep us amused)

But tonight is history.