Counterfeit rant

Getting the rant over with first thing:

Has anybody else noticed that many national news sources have commented on the counterfeit families remark excepting the Deseret News which has remained silent? Come on, Deseret News. You are making life hard for Mormon Apologists. There is a story there, and clarification to be made. Make it. What a perfect opportunity for the LDS Church, through it's news entity, to do a little PR. Does the Church mean that any family that is not traditional is fake? NEWS! Don't wait until everyone has put this in the drawer before you have a comment.

I listened to conference. I heard the "counterfeit" comment. In context I didn't have a problem with it. He seemed to be saying that the family was key, central, the core of society. I agree with that ideal with all my heart. He seemed to be saying that we should not accept any substitutes for the family. And I agree there too.

Is a two parent family ideal? Would a child have a better chance with two parents? Yes -- I believe that. (Mormons says that one man, one woman is best.) I know of one-parent families with a dedicated parent that thrive. I also know of families that are so "not-traditional" that it is confusing for me with my little mindset of "this goes here and that goes there".

I am as supportive of them as I am of anything "traditional". Our job -- my job -- is to love people and support my brother and sisters regardless of the decisions they make.

Do I believe that God wants a man and a woman to marry and have children be sealed in the temple and make covenants and keep those covenants? YES

Do I believe that there are those who won't, can't or don’t do that and go about raising their families in a different way? YES

Do I believe that there are those who choose not to participate in families but can still make decisions to be constructive members of society? YES.

Dallin H. Oaks at one time mentioned a system of making decisions: Good, Better, Best.

"We have to forgo some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families."

I know what I want for my life, what I think is best. I make my decisions accordingly, and I believe in allowing others the same. May we all have access to the spirit and make the best decisions we can make.

"We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives."  - Elder Oaks

Post LDS conference and the Semi-annual controversy

My conference experience was a positive thing. I felt renewed, and came up with some plausible goals for the near future. My wife likes it when I come home from priesthood meeting. She says I am nicer and more kind.  
I should think so! Everything I hear is about responsibility, being a good father and a good husband, honoring my priesthood, showing love, caring for others, putting the needs of others before my own needs -- all excellent things.

I said to myself after several of those talks, based on conference, how can anyone say that we are not Christian?

Then I read some research today that shows that the world thinks the Mormon Church is unfriendly towards the LGBT community. It lists the Muslim religion at (84%), the Mormon Church at (83%), the Catholic Church at (79%) and evangelical churches in general (73%) as "unfriendly toward people who are LGBT". 
 *Pew Research Study

Now, I understand that the Church is not running for most popular this year. Still, if there is an element of truth to the matter, and I believe that there is, we have work to do - as a group and as god-fearing individuals.

This is not the church that I know. I know Mormons as caring committed persons who are trying to follow Christian principals and follow the prophet who (we) believe speaks for the Savior. Yes, that Savior. Success rates vary from Mormon to Mormon and I understand that. On the whole we try hard to be fair and kind.  I can disagree with you and you can disagree with me and we can still be kind to each other.

Brother Archuleta 

I was just thinking that it doesn't seem like conference without people being offended at something Elder Packer said. Then, I read that David Archuleta is apologizing for hurting feelings when he quoted a general authority regarding the nature of marriage.

In the first place, Does any one here know David Archuleta  ? Is there a mean bone in the little body? No. There is no "naive" in him. If he offends it is because of a misunderstanding.

I had to go back and look at his post. He was quoting something said at conference. Here it is.

“Romantic love is incomplete. It is a prelude. Love is nourished by the coming of children, who spring from the fountain of love…expressed between a man and a woman in marriage. #PresPacker.”

And here is his response tweeted after many were offended:

I apologize if I have offended anyone with the quote I sent out Saturday. I guess I didn't think about the line “expressed between a man and a woman in marriage” being stressed when the whole quote didn't fit in just 1 tweet. I am sorry my intentions were misunderstood, as my main focus was that too often romance is looked at as the end-all when there is so much more. The bonds that can be there within a family and raising kids, as that is the most valuable thing I have: my family. I do hope however, that whoever may have been offended may know I respect everyone’s freedom to believe and live as they choose. I hope others can respect what I value most in my life as well. Again, I’m sorry and please forgive me if I offended you. David

Now it seems like conference. 

I myself wasn't offended by the comments about marriage being between a man and a woman when I heard them in context (and I did for the most part). That has clearly been the churches stance since, well, since there was the church. 

And the comments about fake families, or counterfeit families didn't mean for me what many are claiming it was supposed to mean. I didn't take it to mean that any unconventional family was counterfeit. I understood it to mean that any group who tried to take its place or that didn't emphasis family was in error.