Marching in the War on Gay Marriage

[Serephino]

Entire life is a stretch at best. There would have been documents about what branches she attended, When and where she was baptized/married/confirmed and possibly what roles she served in the church. Yes, enough information to track someone to their family. The information is very very basic, and honestly, no more then the eagles club, or any centrally located organization would keep
As for selling her. I can't begin to explain why that is not kosher in the LDS faith. It is enough to say that it calls for excommunication. The Church doesn't tend to play around with issues like that.

If anyone else has stories like this, I can give you the actual policy or facts on things. I know basic policy and debated it endlessly with seminary teachers and bishops before I left the faith. I am not trying to discredit or devalue what has happened to people, but I can explain what the official stance is.

They also had what schools she attended, and it was in the database who her parents were and what their address and phone number was.  She was also not supposed to befriend non Mormons.  There was other stuff that frightened me that I can't really remember details.  She never said she was from LDS, so it might be a more strict Mormon church; the scary extremist kind.   

Either way, I still don't think a church should have any political influence.  I let other people believe what they want, but I don't want it forced on me through laws.  And it pisses me off that they did this.     

[Huginn]

I would not find the family ties that strange, but having grown up in the church the focus on genealogy was rather large. It sounds like her family were still members, and such would not be hard to get the information for. Stakes (A larger collection of wards, spanning a few buildings) often put out small phone books of all the members. So yes, they surely do keep that sort of information current. But to the point of this thread I think, yes a religion, any religion excersizing its influence to dabble in the political realm is wrong. Be it the one I belonged to, or any other it is simply a recipe for disaster.

Quick note. Befriending non Mormons is in no way a tenant of the faith, along with selling her to a man these things lead me to believe either these people were not ,or should not have been tied to the faith at all. What they did would be seen as rather large sins but are not unheard of in some of the Mormon fringe groups. Would be more like the groups "Big Love" was based on.

[Bayushi]

Running a Prop 8 repeal in an off-year election would be a bad idea because the off-year elections (like the one coming up in November) attract only the 'hard-core' voters; most of those are old white people. Seriously, Prop 8 is a lot like Prop 167, the one that attacked Hispanic immigrants - it's a last gasp from the old guard before they're swept away. And just like 167 tilted the Hispanic population of CA against the GOP, Prop 8 will tilt many young people away from the GOP. We just need to wait a couple of years before the demographic shifts make it inevitable.

Actually, not to nit pick, but that was Prop 187, in California. I remember as I was in either Junior High or High School when all that was ongoing.

I'm against illegal immigration, but not against hispanics... the problem is, in states like California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida, the majority of illegal immigrants are going to most certainly be hispanic.

It's a Catch-22. Either you enforce the law, and get called racist; or you try to avoid the over-use of the race card by not enforcing immigration laws, and we're stuck with the mess that unchecked illegal immigration causes.

As for Prop 8, with or without the Mormon church and other religious crusaders; the greatest enemy of gay/lesbian marriage are the homosexual crusaders: They have alienated thousands of gay/lesbian folks with their own bigoted views and outright intolerance of any viewpoint not their own.

Such is the sad truth, when they become their own worst enemies because they engender so much distaste, disdain, and even hate in those who may not oppose them, but are still on the fence. I'm all for gay marriage, but I refuse to identify with any GLBT groups or organizations because of their outrageous conduct.

[Ket]

Please don't necro old threads, especially with off-topic posts.

If you'd like to continue a discussion, please start a new thread. Thanks.

[Synecdoche17]

Actually, not to nit pick, but that was Prop 187, in California. I remember as I was in either Junior High or High School when all that was ongoing.

Ah, my bad.

I'm against illegal immigration, but not against hispanics... the problem is, in states like California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida, the majority of illegal immigrants are going to most certainly be hispanic.

A very large percentage of illegal immigrants to the United States are persons who received tourist/business/student visas and never left - the grad student who wants another year for his PhD, the grandmother whose affluent son flew her across the Pacific, etc. Those crossing the border are actually a distinct minority of illegal immigrants, though, as they make for the best headlines, you'd never know.

As Ket said, necro-ing old threads is generally a bad idea - if you want to continue this discussion, I'd love to do so in a new thread. :)