The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement today regarding the decisions announced by the United States Supreme Court on cases involving marriage:

"By ruling that supporters of Proposition 8 lacked standing to bring this case to court, the Supreme Court has highlighted troubling questions about how our democratic and judicial system operates. Many Californians will wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong when their government will not defend or protect a popular vote that reflects the views of a majority of their citizens.

"In addition, the effect of the ruling is to raise further complex jurisdictional issues that will need to be resolved.

"Regardless of the court decision, the Church remains irrevocably committed to strengthening traditional marriage between a man and a woman, which for thousands of years has proven to be the best environment for nurturing children. Notably, the court decision does not change the definition of marriage in nearly three-fourths of the states."

I have a problem with this.

A HUGE, HUGE problem.

Not because I believe in marriage equality, even though I do. Not because the church is upholding its support of traditional marriage. Not for any of those reasons.

But because it is petty and immature and feels like someone lashing out in anger rather than responding in a calm, rational way. 

Let me explain.

I have repeatedly been taught by this same church that the men who founded our government were inspired by God to do so to pave the way for religious freedom. These inspired men included a set of checks and balances built into the very fabric of the government - a way to make sure no one's rights are being infringe on, and that the government (and the people) aren't acting in a way that is inappropriate. This judicial check on popular opinion might have had an effect on, I don't know, pre WWII Germany? Where a majority of the people thought Jews were the scourge of society?

It's there so a majority vote that is unconstitutional can be overturned. Such as the majority vote to make a group of people not qualify for a list of civil rights based on sexual orientation.

So I find it troubling that the church is suggesting to its members that the built-in checks and balances we have are the enemy when something doesn't go our way.

I also find it troubling to have a petty little final line about how this MONUMENTAL and HISTORY CHANGING decisions really has done almost nothing to deter OUR goals.

In short, this statement is a perfect example of the reason I can believe that while the men who run the church are good men, they may not be receiving inspiration all the time. The voice behind this statement is not what I know the voice of God to sound like or look like. 

And here are some quotes by those inspired founding fathers: