What Equality Means to Me

I can't help but feel this overwhelming need to share with my friends and family what I believe at this crucial time in our country's/world's history.  So here it goes. I hope you can feel my sincerity through this impersonal virtual setting and that you can take my thoughts with as much love and consideration as you can possibly muster.

I'm trying to do the same.
Because there are a lot of opinions and deep feelings that are being shared right now by people who believe with all their hearts that one thing is right, while others take the opposite view with just as much passion. Both sides deserve to be heard, because that's how we learn from each other and from God. By asking questions, seeking answers, receiving them for ourselves, and then acting.

This is what I have learned for myself.  When I was 8 years old, I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). I knew at that young age that it was the right thing for me to do. I later learned why. What I learned was that, by making the commitment to be baptized, I made a commitment to the human family that I would mourn with those that mourn and that I would do everything I could to take Christ's name upon me by the way I treated my fellowman. In other words, I promised to be my brother's keeper.  I want more than anything to be like my Savior, Jesus Christ. This is what I know about him: He is kind. He is selfless. He is humble. He is obedient. He is so loving, so understanding. He is no respecter of persons.  He is always there. He is forgiving. He is gentle. He is perfect. He came to Earth, lived a perfect life, and died so that justice for our sins, pains, heartache, imperfections could be met with mercy.  We just have to believe Him. He is all-knowing. His entire purpose is to bring me and everyone back to Him.

He didn't leave us alone. He put us in families. There is a divine design that enables a man and a woman to create life. I know with all my heart that when this creation occurs under the appropriate seal of marriage, that so many blessings come to that intimate circle of individuals.  The word "family" has so many definitions in today's world. I don't doubt for one moment that two men or two women wouldn't be able to love each other or a child and give themselves a beautiful life and family. I don't assume that attraction to someone of the same gender is immoral and sinful. But I do believe that God has a high standard of morality and that standard is that sexual intimacy is to be held sacred between a man and a woman bound by the covenant of marriage. Any action outside of that boundary would then become a sin or acting against God's loving commandment. What a beautiful and protective standard. What a blessing to be able to bring His children into the world.  What a sacred and inspiring responsibility.  How overwhelmingly grateful I am that the Lord loves us enough to give us standards and commandments.  And that brings me to something else that I know. I know that there is such a thing as right and wrong and they are universal. I have learned in my life that doing what is wrong brings pain in the long run and doing what is right brings peace and happiness.

I know that I am a child of God. And because I know that, I know that everyone else is His child, too.  I know God loves me. And because I know that, I know He loves everyone else, too.  No one should ever feel alone in this world. We belong to each other. We share the same planet and are part of the same eternal plan of a loving Heavenly Father who wants so badly for us to be happy. And even if we feel otherwise, His plan will always lead us to happiness. Sometimes it takes a lot of faith to believe it. But He doesn't give up on us, even when we don't believe Him.

In a world where unconditional love is almost impossible to find, it is hard to imagine a God with such a capacity. Especially if we have been hurt by another person. How could a loving God exist when so much pain coexists?? I believe it is because next to His love for us is His love for agency and choice. God wants so badly for us to return to Him, but He won't force us. He wants us to choose Him and, unfortunately and painfully, that freedom allows for error. I believe with all my conviction that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all wrongs will one day be made right. All pain will be swallowed up by His everlasting sacrifice if we only have faith and courage and strength to choose Him and His unpopular path.

As for me, I can not judge what another person chooses. I haven't walked in his/her shoes. I have my own weakness and failures that make me so painfully imperfect. I have so much to learn from other people and I feel it my duty and privilege to add my voice to the many others that have spoken on this issue.  I hope it is a voice of love and peace. I pray it is a voice of hope.