Prop 8....

OK, gonna soapbox a bit.

This entire Prop 8 experience has been a crazy, amazing experience. It's taught us on so many levels about ourselves and the other members of our ward and stake. I think this is a "Separate the Sheep from the Goats" kind of issue. We've certainly seen the level of commitment anywhere from "Who, me? I'm not doing that" to "oh, I guess if you're going to beg..." to "tell me where to be and I'll be there". I'm a little sad that there are not NEARLY enough of the last group. I worry that if the Bishop hadn't called and asked us to be supervisors, that we'd be in the mushy middle group. If I had a minute to spare and they begged, I'd be there.

After this experience, I hope I can say we've learned to be in that last group. It has been SO hard to get people to help. We've had some great families offering incredible amounts of time and sacrifice. But, at nearly every scheduled function for this, you see the SAME families, which constitute about 15-20% of our big ward. I imagine some of them are getting burned out, we certainly are, but they're still there. I love and appreciate them and their willingness to help. Maybe we'll throw a party when this is all over. If we survive this last big push..

I got an email from our "Yes on 8" regional coordinator this morning with a quote from October 1978 conference by Elder Maxwell that is certainly talking about our times now. It's long, but I'm posting it anyway.

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

It's definitely getting hot in California. I'll be back when the election is over and I've had about a two day nap.