The Federal courts have now officially stepped in and legalized Gay Marriage.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/supreme-courts-landmark-ruling-legalizes-gay-marriage-nationwide/ar-AAcaBM5?ocid=U218DHP
I will examine some past, current and future events that will soon come to pass.
"8 Jerusalem will falter and Judea fall because their tongue and their actions are contrary to Jehovah, an affront to his glory before his very eyes.
9 The look on their faces betrays them: they flaunt their sin like Sodom; they cannot hide it. Woe to their souls; they have brought disaster upon themselves!" (Isaiah 3, Gileadi Translation)
"5 ¶And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6)
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:37)Some few in the end times will be saved like the days of Noah. Because the world is filled with wickedness.
This post is not about the Gay Marriage Issue but the prophecies in the scriptures.
I will use the writings of Denver Snuffer to highlight these points. I hope this bring some few to fast, pray, and study the words that the Lord has given him in this day and age. I hate to distract from the message for a topic about gay marriage as our personal relationship with Christ is the most important thing but I feel to comment on this issue.
LDS Church Response:
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| New Era, July 2015. Taken from Lds.org. A colorful picture mirage of temples. |
Today the church reiterated the following.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges that following today's ruling by the Supreme Court, same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States. The Court's decision does not alter the Lord's doctrine that marriage is a union between a man and a woman ordained by God. While showing respect for those who think differently, the Church will continue to teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice." (Lds Living, http://ldsliving.com/story/79291-church-responds-after-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-gay-marriage)
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| WhiteHouse Picture Following the Gay Marriage Ruling |
"After the Supreme Court issued its ruling on gay marriage Friday, President Obama gave a speech in which he said Americans need to change their religious views to be accepting of gay marriage, the Daily Caller reported. To that end, he encouraged gay marriage supporters to "help” people overcome their deeply-held religious views" (source: examiner)Slippery (Denver Snuffer, Monday, February 22, 2010):
The Church is quite important to me. It deserves my careful study. Therefore I do not mind giving it the attention which it requires to understand what the Church is doing to cope with the various pressures, trends, and difficulties it encounters daily.
The Church's study of public opinion is so careful, so well done, and so frequently updated, that in his October, 2006 General Conference talk, Elder Jeffrey Holland made the following observation:
"Not often but over the years some sources have suggested that the Brethren are out of touch in their declarations, that they don’t know the issues, that some of their policies and practices are out-of-date, not relevant to our times. As the least of those who have been sustained by you to witness the guidance of this Church firsthand, I say with all the fervor of my soul that never in my personal or professional life have I ever associated with any group who are so in touch, who know so profoundly the issues facing us, who look so deeply into the old, stay so open to the new, and weigh so carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully everything in between. I testify that the grasp this body of men and women have of moral and societal issues exceeds that of any think tank or brain trust of comparable endeavor of which I know anywhere on the earth."
This statement was based upon the Church's on-going public relations survey taking, opinion polling, and focus group studies.
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When the Church changed its position and supported the same-sex attraction ordinance in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago [proposition 8], the Church's spokesman made the following public announcement of the Church's reasons for the change:
"There are going to be gay advocates who don't think we've gone nearly far enough, and people very conservative who think we've gone too far; the vast majority of people are between those polar extremes and we think that's going to resonate with people on the basis of fair-mindedness."
This is the language of opinion polling. The words "going to resonate with people on the basis of fair-mindedness" are the words of social sciences. The decision was not a "revelation" but a change in position based upon the polling which showed the position change could be safely made. The Salt Lake Tribune made the following report on January 30, 2010:
“When Salt Lake City embraced anti-discrimination ordinances for gay and transgender residents last fall -- snagging a landmark endorsement by the LDS Church and widespread support from city officials -- more shifted than public policy. Public opinion -- throughout Utah -- jumped, too. Support for some gay rights, short of marriage, climbed 11 percentage points across the state from a year ago, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune poll, and shot up by 10 percent among Mormons. Two-thirds of Utahns (67 percent) favor employment protections and safeguards for same-sex couples such as hospital visitation and inheritance rights, up from 56 percent in January 2009, when pollsters asked the same question. (This year's survey of 625 frequent Utah voters has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points; last year's was 4.5 percent.) Opposition dropped, overall, from 40 percent to 23 percent. Among LDS respondents, it plummeted from 48 percent to 28 percent. ‘This isn't a gradual change of attitudes. This is a fairly dramatic jump,’ says Matthew Burbank, chairman of the University of Utah's political science department. ‘Clearly, the fact that the LDS Church was officially endorsing this position had an impact on people.’ A similar number of respondents, 66 percent, also say they support expanding Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination policy -- the first of its kind in Utah and already mimicked in Salt Lake County—throughout the state.”Church and Government
Social and Cultural "Rights" (Sunday, February 21, 2010)
The case of Perry v. Schwartzenegger in California, which challenges the Proposition 8 vote was cited by Elder Lance Wickman, the Church's General Counsel (lawyer). In that case the public's decision to prohibit same-sex marriage is being challenged on the basis that voters cannot negate a fundamental right.
The Church is alarmed about the growing potential for conflict between social and cultural "rights" on the one hand, and the free exercise of religion on the other.
The deeper problem the Church has with their position on this legal conflict in California, is the position taken on the Salt Lake City ordinance the Church endorsed a several weeks ago. In that decision, the Church announced that employment and housing were "fundamental rights" which same-sex attraction could not forfeit.The Church endorsed the use of coercive governmental power to compel employers and property owners to permit homosexual employees and renters, upon pain of punishment by the Courts. This was an extraordinary departure from past positions of the Church, and represented the first time the Church approved governmental compulsion against employers and property owners to protect homosexual conduct.
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And if any judge, anywhere, or ultimately five of the nine Supreme Court Justices, decide that marriage is a "fundamental right," then the result will follow that religion cannot prevent the practice.
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It will take time for the arguments to wend their way through the courts. But ultimately the Church's position on the "fundamental right" of homosexuals to be employed and housed without discrimination, using the coercive force of the government to protect that "right" against employers and property owners, will be the same reason the government will force the LDS Church to be coerced into acceptance of homosexual marriage. The LDS Church's own words/press release and public relations spokesman's words will be the reason cited by the Court against the Church, at the time the decision is reached. The Court will announce that the LDS Church has already recognized the need for governmental power to be used to protect fundamental rights of housing and employment. The Court will rule the Church must, therefore, accept as a fundamental right marriage, as well.Family Proclamation To The World
WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.(lds.org)A Quick Rundown
1) It would take awhile to go through the courts but gay marriage would be legalized (2010). Almost 5 years later that day has come.
2) The church called upon the government through their PR to support equal rights especially in the housing sector.
3)They claim their doctrine will not change.
4) They state that its the duty of the government to promote the rights of the family therefore the government is free to endorse it as they see fit and promote what the world believes should be the rights of the family.
In the original Constitution as inspired by God it was never a right or duty for the government to be involved in civil marriages. It was a separate, religious matter. We can see over the course of 200 years how subtle the workings of Satan is upon the hearts of men, altering the constitution line upon line to get his end eventual goal. Teaching the philosophies of men mingled with scripture.
Before I get to the last point.
Compulsion or Coercion.
Anytime you see someone or something use compulsion, force, coercion, upon the souls of men you can know by that sign it is not of God.
...it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. (D&C 121:39 )
The priesthood,
may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. (vs 37)So we can see that almost all men who claim priestly authority do not actually hold priesthood like they claim because they cannot learn this one lesson.
the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. (vs 36)The priesthood is not given to control. Anyone who claims it is used to control, does not understand its true purpose. CANNOT be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. NOT upon the principles of righteousness. No POWER or INFLUENCE CAN OR OUGHT to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood. That is not its purpose.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;The Lords dominion is "without compulsory means" (vs 46) or other-wards they choose freely, according to their desires, to be one with Him and to be part of His family. They do not in return use compulsion upon the souls of men or force them to think, believe, act, in a certain way. Thus retaining their free agency. The Lord does not compel them. He allows them to wonder as the prodigal son for as long as they need to learn where true happiness is found and we should accept any and all to do the same without judgment or hypocrisy.
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
I would rather treat it as something that I need to use persuasion, long-suffering, and patience to deal with. Not as something that needs the coercive power of government to criminalize.
When Pres. Packer's comments about homosexuality as sinful behavior in a general conference talk are edited before they appear in the conference issue of the Ensign, you can know there is a great deal of internal discussion underway. Editing Bro. Poelman's talk is one thing, but editing a talk given by the President of the Quorum of the Twelve is altogether another...
When Marlin Jensen's mind goes from a question about troubling history and tolerance of differing views of our past, immediately to tolerance of homosexuality, that is not so bizarre a jump as you might think. It is a reflection of the current discussion underway at the very top of the church.
Public opinion is shifting. Particularly among the younger Americans. The trends all suggest that acceptance of homosexual conduct as normal will be shared by the majority of Americans. Those holding contrary views are aging and dying, and those who hold the more open and accepting view are replacing them. Unless opinions change this is the inevitable result.
Any organization that is sensitive to survey's and polling to determine public opinion on the topic of homosexuality will discover growing demographic evidence of inevitable majority acceptance. Therefore, if you are going to make decisions on the basis of public opinions, you are going to respond to this shifting view.
Abomination of Desolation: Final Thoughts
Things as they appear may not be fulfilled as they may seem. Prophecies can be fulfilled on a spiritual level or a physical level. So when the Lord says for example a plague will sweep the earth he may not just be talking about a physical plague but something spiritual, for all things are spiritual first. Therefore the Lord can conceal the events until they happen only to give us the information in hindsight that he knew before hand even though we did not understand it yet.
It will be interesting to watch this issue unfold. For those who believe the practice of homosexuality is wrong because it frustrates the Divine order, and is desolating to humanity because it ends the continuation of family life through the union of the sexes, the idea of church approval for such relations is unthinkable. For more socially progressive Mormons who wish to be aligned with popular opinion, it is a relief to have another divisive issue excised from the principles of Mormon religion.
When an abomination that renders sexual relations desolate (they don't produce offspring) occurs in the holy place, you can know the promised destruction is soon at hand. Christ said those living in that day would live to see the end of the world. (See JS-M 1: 32-36.) The way to decide when the virtue of tolerance becomes the wickedness of permissiveness can only be done by those who treasure up His (Christ's) words. (JS-M 1: 37.) For those few willing to do so, the Lord will send angels to gather them. (Id., see also D&C 77: 11.)
Some say it is good to be popular. It is better to not care. It is best to have an eye single to the word of the Lord.(ibid)Zion: (Denver Snuffer, Thursday, February 23, 2012)
In the Mark 13 text, the repeated "and then" language of the KJV is not chronological or sequential. It is referring to the generation living at the time it starts, who will live to see it all occur. Meaning "in that day" or more precisely, "among the generation then living."
When there is an abomination that renders desolate in the Temple, you will also see afflictions. You will see those who claim they are Christ, or they are Christ's true living prophet-- though they are not. You will see signs and wonders, including great building projects and the astonishing ability to speak in every language across the world in a single time, but that will not deceive those who take the Holy Spirit for their guide. They will be able to distinguish between the truth and error. Heaven will be shaken. Angels will gather those who follow Christ rather than trust the arm of flesh, and ultimately Christ will return and the world will be wasted at His coming. Though there will be some fragment, like the days of Noah, there will be those who have been gathered by the angels. Those few will be preserved.The prophecies are being fulfilled before our eyes.