The Mormon Church is holding its annual pow wow in Salt Lake City. The church's leader is exhorting the faithful to remain steadfast in opposition to the evils of "gay marriage".
"While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not," said Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve. "He designated the purpose of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults, to more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared and nurtured."
Andersen encouraged church members not to buckle under the pressure of a growing movement on social media and elsewhere by advocates who want to make gay marriage legal. He offered the example of a woman who articulated her support for "traditional marriage" on Facebook and refused to take it down despite backlash.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints was founded on a belief in polygamous marriage. That got them hounded out of all the more settled parts of the US. They wound up in the wilderness of Utah in an effort to find a haven for their unpopular beliefs. When Utah reached a population to make them eligible for statehood they faced a major opposition in congress. The church leadership managed to have a divine revelation outlawing polygamy just in time to gain admission. There are still Mormon sects that are not affiliated with the established LDS Church that practice polygamy.
It seems to me seriously ironic that a group of people whose history is steeped in conflict over their efforts to conduct the affairs of their faith and their families according to their beliefs have not only resisted the growing trend toward marriage equality, but have sought a leading role in such battles as the prop 8 campaign. Equality for me, but not for thee.
I suspect that some of their fervor made be related to an effort to court an image of respectability with the prevailing religious establishment. The political ambitions of the Romney family also likely play a part in it as well. A church that can get divine revelations according to political convenience it an organization with very effective communication channels.