Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 08:46:14 -1000 From: Mia H H Lam Subject: SB 1243: MORMONS STILL TRYING TO BAN INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE/HOMOSEXUALITY (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1998 09:02:25 -1000 From: Martin Rice Subject: SB 1243: MORMONS STILL TRYING TO BAN INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE/HOMOSEXUALITY Aloha kakahiaka kakou. The following from Kaikua`ana Joshua in Honolulu . . . the notes contained herein are his, not mine (darn). The Mormans (LDS) have caused us so much grief! Now, for your perusal, enjoyment, education and/or consternation... (My comments are in >>brackets<<, all else from the Mormans' website). ________________________________________________________ >> Mormons officially discourage interracial marriage -- it's selfish! << Following excerpts are from the Morman page on Interracial Marriage http://mormons.org/basic/family/marriage/interracial.htm As evidenced by the ever-increasing divorce rate, marriage is simply a difficult process in the best of circumstances. When the complexities and stresses of race differences are added to the situation, it is far more likely that divorce will occur. Therefore, "interracial marriages are discouraged by [the Church]." When one considers marriage, it should be an unselfish thing, but there is not much selflessness when two people of different races plan marriage. They must be thinking selfishly of themselves. They certainly are not considering the problems that will beset each other and that will beset their children. We are unanimous, all of the Brethren, in feeling and recommending that Indians marry Indians, and Mexicans marry Mexicans; the Chinese marry Chinese and the Japanese marry Japanese; that the Caucasians marry the Caucasians, and the Arabs marry Arabs."(0/0/59) (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.303) _________________________________________________________ >> Mormans' paranoia over same-sex marriage explained by fear of social ostracism in the afterlife << Following excerpts are from the Morman page on Same-Sex Attraction http://mormons.org/daily/sexuality/oaks_same.htm The purpose of mortal life and the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to prepare the sons and daughters of God for their destiny--to become like our heavenly parents. Our eternal destiny--exaltation in the celestial kingdom ... is only available to a man and a woman who have entered into and been faithful to the covenants of an eternal marriage in a temple of God. Because of God's great love for his children, even the worst sinners (or almost all of them) will ultimately be rewarded with assignment to a kingdom of glory. Persons who have lived good lives and received most of the ordinances of salvation but have failed to qualify for exaltation through eternal marriage will be saved in a lesser place in the celestial kingdom where there is no eternal increase. >> Mormons officially comdemn gay-bashing, but it doesn't occur to them that their active role in the fight against same-sex marriage encourages it, and is exactly that -- gay-bashing! << Our doctrines obviously condemn those who engage in so-called "gay bashing"--physical or verbal attacks on persons thought to be involved in homosexual or lesbian behavior. >> Oh, and by the way, don't refer to those people as LESBIAN or GAY!!! << We should note that the words homosexual, lesbian, and Gay are adjectives to describe particular thoughts, feelings or behaviors. We should refrain from using these words as nouns to identify particular conditions or specific persons. Our religious doctrine dictates this usage. It is wrong to use these words to denote a condition, because this implies that a person is consigned by birth to a circumstance in which he or she has no choice in respect to the critically important matter of sexual behavior. __________________________________________________________ >> It's interesting to note that the Mormans DO make a distinction between civil (state) marriage and temple (church) marriage, at least for their adherents << Following excerpt is from the Morman page on Divorce http://mormons.org/basic/family/marriage/divorce_eom.htm The Doctrine and Covenants reiterates the teaching that marriage is ordained of God. The Church distinguishes between (1) civil marriages, which are valid for "time" (until divorce or the death of one spouse), and (2) temple marriages, or sealings, solemnized by proper ecclesiastical authority, which are binding for "time and all eternity" if the participants are obedient to the gospel. _________________________________________________________ In my web travels today, I came across the text of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Virginia v. Loving http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=388&invol=1 (the 1967 decision that struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriage). The parallels between that case and the Hawaii same-sex marriage case are striking. Among other things, the court found that: 1) Virginia's law prohibiting interracial marriage among whites was designed solely to maintain WHITE SUPREMACY, and 2) that just because the framers of the constitution (and its amendments) couldn't foresee what was to come in the future, did NOT make those documents irrelevant to current realities. (See http://gaylesissues.tqn.com/library/content/blguest.htm for an excellent article explaining the similarities of the two cases.) And now, for something a little more lighthearted, I'd like to recommend for your reading pleasure, the "Exclusive Interview with the Blessed Virgin Mary" http://www.postfun.com/pfp/features/98/aug/virgin_mary.html. This fab satirical website also includes other marvelous features, such as "Accepting Jesus Christ as Your Own Personal Shopper," "Outing Celebrities for Jesus," "The Christian Hanky Code," and "Which Religion is Right for Your Complexion?". (Don't get me wrong here... I'm a gay Christian... but this stuff is really funny!) Aloha, Joshua P.S. - If anybody has a copy of the actual wording of the amendment that'll be inserted into the Hawaii constitution if the anti-same-sex-marriage amendment passes, please forward it to me. (I don't mean the wording of the question as it will appear on the ballot -- I mean the wording of the amendment itself -- which I believe should be found in the Act passed by the legislature authorizing the vote on the question.) "Joshua Kay"