Sunday, November 15, 2015

The Church's New Policies Honor Parental Rights

Facebook Post from Friday, November 13, 2015

This past week has seen a massive wave of news items and social media posts regarding changes in my church's policy regarding baptism for minors. Sorry if your newsfeed has been bogged down with it and your ties to the LDS Church have never gone beyond having Mormon friends! Whew. It's been overwhelming for everyone, I think. One good thing to take away is that it is clear that Mormons are not a bunch of blind sheep. We are thinking, feeling, passionate-about-our-faith people who represent a very wide range of perspectives and experiences. Hurray! I think that is something to be glad about. Minus the bickering.
Some time ago ... here comes a personal story ... one of my children was singled out by an adult of a different church and was told that our church was wrong and The Book of Mormon, another book of scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ, was false. Woah. I was not present. And when my child, 8 or 9 years old at the time, finally told me about it the following day, he was clearly disturbed and confused. At that tender age, pretty much every adult looks like an authority figure. He wondered if I'd been lying to him or if I was just plain wrong. Of course, I was TICKED. And would've tracked this person down and let him know he'd crossed a line. But I didn't because I love people in his congregation and didn't want to cause trouble in our friendships. Instead, I talked with my son and reiterated what our beliefs are and why. He was consoled and I was still TICKED. That man had interfered in my sacred right as a parent to teach my child according to my own conscience, heart, mind, experience, and beliefs!
So, this is why I support my church's position to postpone baptism (which includes an affirmation of and commitment to all of the doctrine of the Church) for children of same-sex couples until they are of legal age (18 years old, rather than the customary 8). I do believe my church leaders are honoring that right and privilege for parents to teach their children their own values and tenets, even if those teachings are contrary to core Church doctrine.
Yes, there is a great deal of hurt anyway, but I believe the motive is to support families and not tear them apart.

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