Fine! I'll Admit It!

My whole life I have been pretty liberal. I have always been for making improvements and being modern and cutting edge, especially in my politics. I was known in jr high and high school as that really annoying loud girl who didn't care what the hell anyone else thought, and just did my own thing. Anyone who knew anything about me knew that I supported gay marriage. I have always taken pride in being the girl who sewed buttons into her hand, and wore bright neon colors and two different earrings. I loved being a Nature Based Wiccan (and I still miss it once in a while) and getting tattoos and swearing all the time! It was a time where I felt care free, independent, and different.

Then I moved out of my parents house, did some soul searching, went through some experiences and I grew up. I learned that it's not healthy to be care-free your whole life, and if God wanted us to be independent we would all be asexual. There is a reason that men and women have different parts and are attracted to each other. We need a partner. Even God has one. And we aren't supposed to be striving to be different, we are striving to be more like Christ.

I also got married. Weird right? I am married now! It's still kind of weird for me to think that I'm not just living with this wonderful man but I am married to him! I mean don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier, but it's a little freaky. I have had a few friends comment on how different I am now compared to back then, more mellow, more mature. I had one friend say "it's weird, because we are the same age, but there is a whole level of maturity that you now have that just comes with being married." 

I think the two biggest changes I have made are joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and getting married to my best friend Matthew Woodward. But some of these changes I am in so much denial about! I have been struggling and fighting with my inner rebel (who has gone from this powerful ray shooting out of me, to this suppressed glimmer inside of my soul) and my heart. I hate loosing who I used to be. I am proud of who I once was. But I am more proud of the journey I have gone through to become who I am. And yesterday I said it out loud, for the first time ever to my husband.... I have become something I never thought I would be. Something nobody who knew me back then ever thought I would become. something I never wanted to be. But it's time to just face the facts and say it out loud. I am... 


I'm a....


far right conservative republican


.

AHHHH! Can you believe it? Me! I am! Yikes! I slowly started changing views on everything from health care to abortion to even gay rights, and now I am conservative! I just kind of came into the realization of it a few days ago! So now you all know.

The purpose of me saying this is that I have a few more political issues that I have not addressed on this blog (especially not with my newer views) that I would like to. Today I am going to post about Gay Rights and DOMA. But in the (probably near) future I am going to be posting about other things.

I am LDS, and that is the basis of my views on this. If you are not LDS you are going to heavily disagree with all of my points and that is okay. But here is my blog policy on political debate. I, Angela Woodward, think we all have reasons to believe whatever it is that we do. I have my opinions, you have yours. I don't think you are uneducated or immature for believing differently than I do. If you take this personally that is your choice, not mine. I welcome any comments that state a difference in opinion, but I don't do 'debate'. Don't ask me to "prove you wrong" because I will not oblige. And if you post a comment that belittles, makes fun of, or puts down myself or people with an opinion that differs from yours I will promptly delete that comment. Now with all of that being said I will proceed.

First of all I support Gay Rights! What is a right though? A right is something that every person is entitled to just because they are human, regardless of their race, sexuality, education, gender, ect. A right is something that everyone should have. I believe that all gays are entitled to their human rights. I however do not believe that marriage is one of those rights. I believe that marriage should stay between a man and a woman, and that homosexuals are not entitled to be married just because they are human. I am pro gay rights, but I am anti gay marriage. 

When Obama first announced that he wanted to repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act I was so happy! I was very against DOMA and I was open about it. My stances then are as depicted in my blog post "Another Post About Gay Rights". My husband and I debated tirelessly but we had different opinions and that was fine. That night while I was praying, not even thinking about gay marriage at all, I had a "slap in the face" moment. I got off my knees after I was done conversing with the lord and told my husband that I no longer supported gay marriage. He was shocked. I had a conversation with Christ in that moment where he told me "you don't have to understand it this time Angela, it's okay. I want marriage to be between a man and a woman. I do. So support me in that. Just do it." And I said okay.

I later had a really good friend of mine who was a fence sitter herself tell me that she finally decided against supporting gay marriage. She told me to read The Family: A Proclamation to the World, published by the LDS church in 1995. Gordon B. Hinckley said that it was revelation from God, that means that it is scripture. Just like the words ancient prophets have written down, so are these. In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It says that the sacredness of marriage between a man and woman is the foundation of the family, which is "the center of the Creator's plan for eternal destiny of His children." Then at the end it warns others that the disintegration of marriage being between a man and a woman and thus the family "will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." 

Now I ask a question to my LDS friends. Why would God ask our prophet to make a "Proclamation to the World" saying that gay marriage does not fit into the plan of our Heavenly Father, if he in turn wanted us to support gay marriage? And I guess after asking myself all of these questions I had to say "because he doesn't." So in my personal opinion if I know this (which I do in my heart) and then I say "but just because I don't support gay people doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to get married if they want to!" and I support the side that is for gay marriage, guess who's side I am no longer on? And I want to be on God's side. And I guess it feels a little wrong to say that we know better than the lord. 

Frankly supporting DOMA has been slightly uncomfortable for me. I am not one hundred percent sure why God cares, why the word "marriage" has to be so sacred to him. But it is. So I do. A hymn comes to mind when I think about doing something uncomfortable and unfamiliar to me for the sake of the Lord's will. 

"Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly.
Who's on the Lord's Side? Who? 
We wage no common war,
We cope with no common foe,
The enemy's awake; 
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?"

All of the members of the LDS church have many things that are not in common. Different education, ages, conversion stories, life styles, and more. But although we may have uncommon foes, wars, thoughts and feelings we know what God wants. We know what side he's on. So are you with him?

Final Words ♥: I am not calling names or pointing fingers. I want you to ponder these questions in your heart. If you are not with him, are you against him? Which side is Satan on? Have you really knelt down and prayed about this issue and where He stands? Because if you haven't, you need to. Stop telling yourself you don't need to, you do. So do it.