Misunderstandings

WARNING:  this is a SOAP BOX on comments made regarding the church's view of homosexuals.... I seriously was SO done with this topic until a comment I heard tonight that made me sad there are so many MISUNDERSTANDINGS on what the DOCTRINE of the church is.

I wish I wouldn't have, but I started watching the Oscars tonight.  I found the comments made by the screen writer of "Milk" very interesting.  He talked about growing up in a conservative Mormon home, and how he found hope when his family moved to California where he felt more accepted as a homosexual.  He thanked those who continued to love him despite the pressure not to (from churches or society), and also told the homosexuals listening to know that God loves them no matter what some churches are saying, or what others may think.

Perhaps he wasn't directly talking about the Mormon church; however, it seemed implied that Mormons teach and are being taught, hate, discrimination, and that only those living as "we" think they should are children of God.

Maybe some Mormons feel that way, and if so, it is too bad that they too have misunderstood the doctrine.  Discrimination and hate is not what the doctrine of the church supports or what I have been taught in my Sunday meetings, conferences, or scriptures. 

This is what I KNOW to be true, and what I have been taught by conservative Mormon leaders.

Every person who has every lived, or will ever live on this earth is a child of God, regardless of race, orientation, etc.  He loves each one of us and has a plan to help us achieve happiness in this life and the life to come.  Keeping the commandments is the path that leads back to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father and how we can obtain the greatest blessings available.  Back in the presence of God is where we obtain everlasting joy, and happiness.  Every child of God will experience temptations in this life.  Homosexuality is one of the most difficult temptations one can face, and one of the most difficult to overcome.  It is not considered sin until those feelings are acted upon.  Through Jesus Christ's atonement, we can overcome and be healed from temptation, sin, or weakness.

Family relations are some of the greatest sources of happiness we can experience in this life and in the life to come, and is part of Gods plan for his children.  Knowing this, Satan is attacking the family more than ever.  Marriage between a man an women is ordained by God and important for the spiritual nurturing and growth of his children.  The everlasting happiness of a family is dependent upon marriage between a man and women that have been sealed by the power and authority of the priesthood.  It is also dependent upon the husband and wife keeping the covenants they have made.  This is a truth that has been revealed in every dispensation that the gospel has been on the earth.  

From what I have been taught, it makes sense that the commandment to love one another applies to all of Gods children (without exception).   Because the mission of the church is to help bring all of Gods children unto Christ through his atonement, and back to the presence of God, our brothers and sisters who are tempted by homosexual feelings need love and help.  Are we taught to hate homosexuals?  NO... Jesus taught to hate the sin, but love the sinner.  We do not support gay marriage because it supports living in sin, and keeps or brothers and sisters from being worthy to receive the greatest happiness and blessings God has prepared for all of his children.  It is not to take away rights, or because we see them as something less than children of God.  

It is too bad that many people choose to hate, and sadly, even some within the church.  It is very unfortunate that there are many misunderstanding as to what the doctrine of the church is.  I feel that if people better understood the doctrine, they would understand why choosing not to support gay marriage is not an act of hate or discrimination, but rather an act of love.  WE  love them and want them to receive all the blessings prepared for them. 

Valentines day miracle

Aaron and I had plans to eat at Brandy's for Valentines day.  It is a cute local restaurant in town.  Even though I have eaten lunch there a million times, I never became obsessed until our good friends Jill and Kevin took us there for dinner.  They have AMAZING dinners that make you want to lick your plate (no matter who you're with)!  The best part of the meal is the dessert... coconut mango cake!  

Because of an ugly test I have tomorrow, I needed to spend most of the day studying.  We decided to beat the crowd and go to Brandy's for lunch.  For some reason I assumed we would still be able to order off of the dinner menu.  Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed when our waitress informed us we would have to come back at 5:00PM if we wanted dinner.  WE COULDN'T EVEN GET THE CAKE.  My poor husband had to suffer through Valentines lunch with a mopey wife who despite trying to have a good attitude, could not get over the fact that the one thing she looked forward to that day was spending time with her husband eating coconut mango cake.

I got back to work as soon as we got home.  Because I was so stressed, Aaron ran to the store to pick up some treats for my primary kids.  When he came back, he informed me that he would make dinner.  This was such a relief since I had SO much to do, and a quick errand to run.  When I got back from my errand, Aaron greeted me at the door and escorted me to a beautifully decorated dinning-room table, where he poured me a glass of Martinelli.  We listened to Frank Sinatra while eating an amazing pasta and Brandy's COCONUT MANGO CAKE!!!!  That is right, he went back to Brandy's and got me the cake.

I am so grateful for such a thoughtful and loving husband.  He is so patient with me, and so selfless.  As good as the cake was, the best part of Valentines day getting was to spend time with him.

Birthday fun!

It was definitely NOT the Disney Land trip we were hoping for, but spending the day in Sedona with my sweetheart was the perfect birthday gift.  You would think that we would spend more time there--living so close and all--but to be honest, this was the first time I've ever actually gone TO Sedona.  I have driven through several times, and made stops in the outskirts to play in the creek, but I have never gone to town to hang out.  Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.  Enjoy....

Birthday cake at Chile's thanks to Susie Valdez...yum!

Some goofy UFO citing museum.  Who knew there were so many weird things in Sedona!

Check out the "fog machine" under the UFO.  Apparently, this is the real thing.

 

HAIR CUT!!

I have had long hair for far too long and am ready for something new.  This is a really scary thought when looking at my "new haircut" history.  Everybody has their fair share of bad hair cuts, right?  I am certainly no exception. For me--and probably many of you--it all started at age 3 with the MUSHROOM-CUT.  After years of recovery, I kept my hair long until the 9th grade when I adventurously decided to chop it to my chin.  Since my hair is super thick, my head looked like a giant PYRAMID (this was before layering and texturizing was common). 

Once my hair began to grow out, the painful memories started to fade, exposing me to false confidence in extreme hair styles.  This is when I made the biggest haircutting mistake of my life... I WENT TO MY MOM'S STYLIST!!!  Are you asking yourself why this was a mistake?   Let me explain.  At the time of the tragedy, my mom STILL had the mushroom-cut (by the way, this was in 2005).  When we walked through the doors of the salon I knew I was in trouble.  Standing in front of me was Andre, my new stylist, who was ALSO displaying the same mushroom-cut he had given my mother!!!  The only thing running through my head was a piece of advise my sister gave me after my last haircut tragedy, "Never get your hair cut by a stylist if you don't like their haircut."  The last time I saw the mushroom cut on a boy was in preschool, I never dreamed that a full-grown man would do this to himself.  I quickly decided that today was not the day to try something new.  I told him I wouldn't mind some layers since my hair was too thick.  AND LAYERS HE DID.  We are not talking about normal layers.  I walked into the salon with long strait hair and left with the one haircut I swore I would never have.... a MULLET!!!!  

After that experience I never thought I would be able to gain up enough courage to try anything new again... but lately I have been thinking about going short.  I have been saying this for 2 years, but I really mean it this time....  what do you guys think about the picture at the top of this post?

Sunday dinner

Can I just say, my parents are amazing people!  It has been such a blessing for Aaron and I to live at home these past 3 months.  Not only are we staying out of debt, but splitting household duties between four people leaves me with plenty of time to get homework done.  Cooking has to be my biggest struggle.  My wonderful mother cooks for us Monday-Thursday--yup, you read that right--FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK!!!  Aaron and I take Saturday and Sunday.  I was asking my husband what he wanted for dinner yesterday and he kindly volunteered to cook!  Have I mentioned that cooking is not really my thing?  Here are a couple of pictures of the chef.  I tried to get him to put an apron on.  He didn't like that idea at all as you can tell from the stop-taking-pictures-of-me-and-let-me-get-back-to-cooking face.  

2 years!

I can't believe it has already been two years since Aaron and I started dating! This is a picture of our first date (the girls ask guys dance at the institute). Aaron recently bought he's Dad's DJ business and got asked to DJ the same dance last week. I loved helping him, even though it was not quite as magical this time around (I had to bring my homework...blah).  Still, it was fun to watch the couples and reminisce about our first date.

Halloween

How cute is Noah in his "Superman PJs". He was too afraid to wear the spider costume Em bought. They had to call the Superman costume PJs to get him to wear it!

This is how Aaron spent his Halloween. It's hard to tell from the picture but he went as Edward the vampire