But I don't remember what was said, I remember what I felt. And that was that these two people were deeply in love and didn't just want a certificate of marriage they want to dedicate their lives to one another.
They don't want to just live together, they want to start a life together. I have rarely known or seen a couple so in love and dedicated to one another. In love is somewhat common but dedicated is less so as far as I have seen.
People are easy to love when times are good, when financial cups rune the over but when the hard times come that is the true test of a couples love and dedication. Loving someone who is difficult, abrasive, angry, or rage full or is in the midst of an addiction is when some feel like giving up, giving in and quitting. And that when some say that love isn't enough but the real question is how much is your love worth? Is it worth fighting for, is it still worth weathering the storm or is it not worth the effort?
It's the hard times that make or break us, not the good times.
But this couple was only able to marry now because they are both men. At no point was their ceremony called a gay wedding for the same reason that when they had lunch today it was lunch not gay lunch. When they parked their car they parked it, they didn't gay park it. For the same reason that we don't say we went to an interracial wedding, we just went to a wedding.
Now many pastors, preachers and Bishops condemn these weddings that I went to this evening. When Jesus spoke of the end of days, He spoke of natural disasters not gay anything. So thankfully gay people will not usher in the apocalypse as some would have you believe.
And now I'd like to quote Christ on homosexuality, I'd like to....but you see I can't because He never said anything about it. Ever.
And if it were really so wrong, if it were really damaging I would think Christ would have spoke to it. But He did not. At any point.
But many choose to discriminate against gay people because of their "religious liberty" which I will take seriously when believing teens and young adults start killing themselves because society tells them they're lives and love is counterfeit, when kids who find God are disowned and kick out of their homes and onto the street because of their faith, I will take "religious liberty" seriously when parents send their children to reprogramming camps to gay away the pray.
I know the teachings of Christ quite well and He preached inclusion not exclusion. Being gay is not a lifestyle, it's not a choice to be changed. Just as you likely did not choose to be straight gay people did not choose to be gay. And unless you believe God creates His children to be inherently sinful or believe God makes mistakes then I don't see how being gay is wrong at all or in any way.
And now I'd like to share a quote from a friend of mine Peter: "
So here's the thing.
I'm not asking to be 'equal'.
I am equal. You denying that reveals your inhumanity, not mine.
But fairness... Fairness I can insist on.
Fair treatment by secular law - that is not negotiable.
You can preach hate against me... Or worse, that condescending 'compassion' cop out you recently invented... Inside whatever group or click you claim to lead or belong to. All you like.
As much as you like.
I am most sorry if you find yourself in a dilemma.
I am also sorry that your reaction to this dilemma is to double down on your gross error - rather than admitting it now. In doing so you only postpone your moment of truth. If you think you are avoiding it altogether, you are stupid... as well as evil.
The blood is not on the hands of my side here. Centuries of persecution is not weighing on my conscience, the way it should on yours. It is not my positions that are laughably inaccurate. It is not my actions that have to be conducted in secret. I'm not the one conspiring, doctoring photos, plotting to drive wedges between people or denying you any of your rights - not in any way, shape or form.
So get this. You have a choice to make.
You want to remain relevant... So you insist that society's laws enshrine you into a position of moral authority.
But you have no moral authority. You know that. And I know that.
There are two possible positions you can now occupy.
You can be irrelevant.
That is the most decent of the options you have left yourself. At this stage... After so much evil in your name... Some sort of reconciliation would require so much sustained effort on your part that I know I will pass away before I see it. Decades of work. And i know you don't apologize. So choose irrelevance, to anyone but yourself.
Or. You can choose to be malicious. You can choose to continue to behave as the antagonist. This will erode the last shred of respectability you may have left. In time... It will drain your resources. You will be hated by all. And the hatred you face will not be undeserved.
You will call on the Creator we both believe in. But He will know you for what you are. And the blood will cry up from the earth to indict you.
Your publications, broadcasts, team of lawyers, money and social influence will not save you then.
Your hollow repetition of the Almighty's name will carry no power and no truth - and everyone will know this.
Choose."
Peter is not attacking a person or a group of people what he's attacking is a thought process, certain ideas, and certain behavior. Peter has a different perspective given that he is a gay man who does believe in God. He knows that God does not make mistakes and God does not create evil, or inherently sinful children.
So each of us can be as inclusive, compassionate, understanding and forgiving as Christ was and be a credit to our faith, even redeem it from mistakes that have been made or we can double down on our prejudices. When it would be more Christlike to free ourselves of our prejudices.
But for my part I like this from last conference From Dale G. Renlund:
"My invitation to all of us is to evaluate our lives, repent, and keep on trying. If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.10 As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints. As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were.11
Maybe if we were to love one another as Christ loves us and allowed others to progress at their own pace, in their own way and along their own path we would do better as being Christian or Christlike. Because it's easy to love someone when they think like you, act like you, always agree with you. It is harder to love someone when they disagree with you, when they are contentious, when they believe differently, when they disrespect you or your beliefs and yet when Christ gave us His one and only new commandment. He did not give us any exceptions, no annotations to that scripture, He simply expects us to love others as He loves us. How can we truly love God if we despise any of His children, if we discriminate against His children, if we are contentious with His children, if we dehumanize His children, how can we truly love God if that is how we treat His children?And I think for some the issue is pure semantics. For me it is about my gay friends and family whose love is very real and not counterfeit seeking their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as we all are entitled to do. These are real families forged by real love and sacrifice being discriminated against for doing nothing more wrong than being born different. These are real people facing hate and discrimination and it needs to stop.The spirit of contention is not the spirit of God.
