Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind

A "Californian Mormon" eloquently describes why his church is wrong for supporting the various marriage protection amendments.

* Pushing these amendments does nothing for the true goals of the church and works against many of them: teaching people about Jesus, bringing in new members, and performing the various rites and sacraments of the faith.
* The push has spawned disinformation (none of the "Consequences of failure" are true) and fueled a spirit of fear. This violates one of the Top Ten (though the Mormon reference is different).
* The campaign has unleashed broader anti-gay sentiments, ones that contradict recent understandings and teachings about gays. These anti-gay sentiments are not doctrinal in the Mormon church. Is it the church's intent to get involved in other cases of denying rights to gays?
* It encourages families to deny their gay children. Some of the most zealous workers in this campaign have gay kids. Is this to mask their own disappointment? They are sacrificing their children, a practice that God told Abraham to abandon.
* Actual families will be harmed by these amendments -- all those gay couples who have gotten married in Calif. since June. Mormons are being asked to undertake a mission of destruction in the name of God. Jonah asked for destruction on Nineveh and was denied by God because God also loves the citizens of Nineveh and also loves gays.
* There is a spirit of zealousness, righteousness, accomplishment, triumphalism, and pride where there should be a spirit of humility.
* The campaign has distracted the church from other issues of morality, such a sexual abuse of children.
* It is driving gays and their allies away from the church as well as those who disagree with the church's position or its strong-arm tactics.
* The campaign has raised $10 million for a narrow political goal. Some of the families who gave tens of thousands had to sacrifice on other things (like their children's college education). The church as a whole is not able to run many needed (in these though economic times) humanitarian efforts.
* Wealth is becoming a factor in determining fitness for church leadership positions.
* The campaign makes sexuality a higher moral issue than such things as disease, starvation, war, and pollution.
* It makes allies with other denominations who are normally antagonistic to the Mormon church, and will be again once the campaign is over. Why try to fight their battles?
* It is unleashing a fresh anti-Mormon sentiment among people who are usually quite tolerant of other religions and groups, leading to boycotts and discrimination. That discrimination will also hit those Mormons who oppose the marriage amendments.