Oak's Devtional Address

Elder Dallin H. Oaks an apostle from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came to BYU-Idaho on Tuesday and spoke to the student body. I thought it was interesting, because he started out the talk saying that he knew his address would reach to other audiences. And, actually his talk has caused quite a bit of controversary in the media. I thought it was powerfull and inspiring. To access the address, here is the link: Religious Freedom

I enjoyed the five points that Elder Oaks offered to the students:

• Speak with love and show patience, understanding and compassion to those with differing viewpoints.
• Do not be deterred or coerced into silence by intimidation from opponents, insisting that churches and their members be able to speak out on issues without retaliation.
• Insist on the freedom to preach the doctrines of their faith.
• Be wise in political participation, remaining respectful of those who do not share their religious beliefs and contributing to reasonable discussion.
• Be careful to never support or act on the idea that a person must subscribe to a specific set of religious beliefs in order to qualify for public office.

As being an advocate for proposition eight and perserving marriage, I often felt that I couldn't express my opinion, because it wasn't taken in a respectful manner. Also, I felt unsure about expressing my opinon openly, since I have friends who live a homosexual lifestyle. I realized after listening to this talk that I have the right to express my opinion. So, I will:

I believe that people have the choice to live the lifestyle they chose. However, I do believe that if marriage was allowed between two members of the same-sex, then it would infringe upon my religious beliefs. It would be taught in schools to my children, when I believe as a parent that I have the right to teach my children. Also, marriage is a sacred institution that I believe should be perserved. This is the basis of how I feel. Feel free to post any thoughts.