Pioneer Day

There is much to learn from the past, no matter what our background. Today I specifically speak of those who fought for their freedoms and journeyed to where they could worship freely--and, even more specifically, I speak of those first Latter-day Saints who trekked across the prairies to escape persecution and to worship freely.

When I was around ten years old, I read a book entitled Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell (from the historical fiction Dear America book series). The idea of these books is that they transport the reader to a particular time and place--on a personal level. Oftentimes the "writer" (the protagonist) experiences a direct or indirect interaction with a historical figure. In this book, the figure was Brigham Young. I had never heard this name before--who was this man?

Brigham Young was born in Vermont on June 1, 1801, to an American Revolutionary War veteran and his wife. "Brother Brigham" (as he would later be known), who had not even a month's worth of education, worked with his hands for a living: building, creating, painting... He was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, spending two years in study before being baptized and becoming a Latter-day Saint himself.
In 1847, three years after the deaths of Joseph Smith and Joseph's brother Hyrum, Brother Brigham led Latter-day Saints across the prairie, settling in a desert valley which contained what would later become Salt Lake City, Utah. He also supervised the pilgrimages of more Latter-day Saints, tens of thousands of them, making sure that they made it to the valley. He was the second LDS prophet and president, and later became governor over Utah Territory. He died in 1877 at the age of 76, and today you can find his statue in Washington, D.C.
Brigham Young once said of the pilgrimage: "We have been kicked out of the frying-pan into the fire, out of the fire into the middle of the floor, and here we are and here we will stay. God has shown me that this is the spot to locate His people, and here is where they will prosper."

Again, no matter our background, we can learn from the pat. From Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers, we can learn to never give up. We are placed where we are and will be led to where we will be for a reason. The Lord ha His way and His timing.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Handcart statue at Temple Square

Sources:
"Brigham Young: An American Moses"
"Brigham Young: Second President of the Church"
Google.com

My Thoughts

With the recent Supreme Court decision on legalizing same-sex marriage across the nation, I have thought a long time, figuring how to state my thoughts on the matter, but now I state my case:
I support free agency. I do not support same-sex marriage.
Let me explain:

Let's first look at same-sex marriage.
The Family: A Proclamation to the World states the following: "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and...the family is central to the Creator's plan for...His children." This is exactly why I don't support same-sex marriage.
Adam and Eve were commanded by the Lord to "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28). Or, as also stated in The Family: A Proclamation to the World: "God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife."
If the primary purpose of marriage is to "replenish the earth" by procreation, how can that be accomplished between two people of the same gender? Science has proven that that is just not possible; there's no going around that. Some say that marriage is "just for love"--and I agree that everyone should be happy in that part as well as all other parts of life--but what man says does not change what the Lord says.

Now let's look at agency.
If you're a Latter-day Saint, you probably grew up hearing that agency is "the ability to choose and to act for yourself" (True to the Faith, 12).
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines agency as follows: "the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power." The Collins English Dictionary defines agency as "action, power, or operation."
What leads to action? Choices--be it our own choices or the choices of others.
So how does freedom relate to this? Freedom, according to Google, sums it up best: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint."

How does this all work together? As Americans, we claim the right to the "free exercise of" speech, religion, etc. (Amendment 1, U.S. Constitution). Applying this to the Supreme Court decision: unless it goes against the Constitution, any law should not infringe upon the freedoms of any citizens. The Constitution says nothing about homosexual marriage; the closest it comes to stating such is this, that "[the] Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges...of Citizens in the several States" (Article IV, Section 2).

Again, I state my position:
I support free agency. I do not support same-sex marriage.
Sounds a bit contradictory, I know...
So, do I support this legislative ruling? Yes. Not because I condone same-sex marriage--again, I do not condone it--but because I am a firm believer in free agency and believe that no one's freedoms should be infringed upon. Each person's choices leads to consequences--good or bad--and I will make no personal judgment--I will allow them to choose their consequences.
As for me, I will follow the Lord, for His law trumps the law of any nation.

Happy 239th Birthday, America!

"No one was either Tory or Whig; it was either dependence or independence." -Caesar Rodney

Now, various members of the Second Continental Congress had their personal views and general associations (liberal or conservative, etc.), but in the matter of how the thirteen colonies should handle their mother land: now that really boiled down to two things. Did they want to continue to pledge allegiance to Great Britain, or did they want to be on their own? Did they want to rely on Mom for support, or did they want to try their own wings and fly?
Clearly, we chose the latter--239 years ago.

Happy birthday!