Big Love

They were so strong in their beliefs that there came a time when it hardly mattered what exactly those beliefs were; they all fused into a single stubbornness.
~Louise Erdrich

Have you ever heard someone go on about something and when they were done speaking you wondered what the heck it was all about anyway? ( I think sometimes my blog falls under this)I’ve been taking a long hard look at just about every part of my life and accessing its meaning. My beliefs; my goals; my aspirations. What do these all mean and how do they fit into how I am going to live my life?

Let’s take religion for a start. For the longest time how I have lived my faith has been scrutinized. It never measured up and when your very faith is jeopardized by constant attacks it usually trends in one of two directions. It is either lost, out of shear exhaustion or strengthened by a resolve to let no one take it away from you. Luckily for me, the latter is the case but the question is why?

Why, for me, did the constant attack and ridicule just strengthen my resolve to hold closer to the values I cherish and not just give up? If I had the answer, its worth would be priceless.

I have been called many things, a closet Mormon, a cafeteria Mormon, a Jack Mormon, for goodness sakes, I have even been referred to as a Molly Mormon so as you can see, who I am and what I am about when it comes to faith is multi faceted.

I refuse to have my faith dictate the acceptance of others. I refuse to pass judgment on any other human being. I believe the gospel I know and love requires an open and honest mind and that "knowing" the fate of another is only in the hands of the Big Guy, so to pass that judgment is treading on some pretty dangerous waters even when we pass it on those who are the most judgmental against us.

When we as a faith get our gander up we sometimes stop hearing the complaints of others. When we dig ourselves into the trench’s and refuse the opinions of others we lose the grasp of the love the gospel offers all people, regardless of faith or denomination. I feel sometimes that we become so offended that we turn defensive and aggressive in what we want others to know of ourselves. This, in the end, polarizes not only those that believe and think like us but those that don’t will polarize to the opposite viewpoint.

Thus the rage over Prop 8 and the backlash, vis-à-vis, the Big Love Episode. All points taken into consideration, every one feels validated. Is it any wonder that we have been singled out and in turn, what we value most, exposed for prying and ridiculing eyes.

Please don’t misunderstand me. There is no valid point, in my esteem, for Big Love to have aired part of the endowment ceremony. But listen; "in my esteem". But for those whose lives were directly affected by the Prop 8 vote, in their esteem, they had every right because we put on hearts and souls into the ruckus. You enter the fight, you suffer the blows. They hit hard but I am sure, in their esteem, they hit fairly.

So, I suspect you wonder my opinion. Well, since this one directly affected my life as my family is a avid watcher of Big Love and thus, that would require my "two cents" after the episode aired to speak to the portrayal of something I have great reverence for to my daughters I cherish so much, here it goes.

The producers of Big Love hit a low blow. They didn’t have to do what they did. With that being said, they could have done it a ton worse way but even still, too low for my liking. They handled the reverence and importance of it well enough but the portion of the ceremony that they exposed clearly stated their intent, and for that, I am seriously disappointed. I will probably wean myself from the show.

But here’s my opinion on our actions. If you choose to enter the fight be mindful of the consequences and for goodness sakes, do not underestimate your role. That will only fuel the fire and make the battle last much longer than it ever would have in the first place. And above all else, find a peaceful and gospel centered resolve without further fueling the fire. Suggesting removing a subscription to AOL is ludicrous. To follow that logic would be equal to saying we must all remove or cease viewing anything on Youtube, which has much more sacred content on it then Big Love ever showed. Does it make sense?

Here’s the thing. Hardly anyone watched Big Love prior to the controversy and the only reason anyone really knew what was going on is because we put a disclaimer on our web site. It was picked up by the National Press and became a big deal. Even the church in its press release commented that it was to just be let go but by then the momentum had begun.

So, my opinion. Much ado about nothing. The shows aired, did the church crumple and die, are testimonies shaken? Some maybe, mine not. My daughters take on the whole thing; "weird getup Mom and not so bizarre, not as much as I thought".

People, we are in the last days. Get used to having your faith tested and put under trial; over and over again. The reality is that there will always be people who don’t like us, they will undermine us and they will, oh my gosh, maybe even lie but the reality is we aren’t normal. We never have been and probably never will be and demanding others to accept us just isn’t always going to be in the cards.

If we really want to make this work, as a people, we must live our lives without apologies and still maintain the respect that others have that same right. You know the article of faith I am talking about. We must have no judgment, no critics, and no self righteousness. We cannot assert that we have the only answers and everyone else is wrong. Now is not the time to be stubborn and lose our purpose. Open your heart and your mind and strengthen your testimony with a resolve to be peaceful and have an honest and giving heart. Isn’t that really what the Savior’s message is all about?