"Wicked", H8, Heartsick, but Hopeful

Okay, Erin, this is for you. You want to know what's going through my head so here it is:

First of all, I can't stop singing the songs for "Wicked". It's haunting! The show was very fun, very impressive, a good date with T. I was pleasantly surprised about the ending since I only knew the music, not the complete story. SPOILER ALERT: I was so happy that Elpheba never did turn wicked, that she didn't die, and that she had a happily ever after with Fiyero. I suspected the Wizard was her father. I thought that the show might explore some of the deeper concepts hinted in the music, but it was really just fun. Then a friend lent me her CD and Couscous has been playing it nonstop. The music is now running through my head every moment so I'll have to ban the CD from her before I go crazy.

Second. Gosh I am just stunned by the post-election reaction to the passage of Prop 8. For at least a week, in every media source I turned to, I heard about the hateful, bigoted people who had passed it, about the hateful "Mormons" who made it all happen. Now of course I couldn't vote for it, but if I could have, I would have. But those "hateful" descriptions don't ring true to me at all. I know myself. Hate was never the motive for me. My friends in California who voted for Prop 8 didn't do it out of hate either. So I've been just feeling so stunned by the media being unable to come up with another explanation of why the proposition passed. Like maybe people just believe in their hearts that it's right, regardless of what is PC. It's weird to hear and see a lie accepted as truth everywhere I turn.

To add to the accusations of hate, have come the hateful behavior aimed toward some who supported Prop 8. ""It's easier to attack a minority religion, especially one that frankly isn't very well understood, than to protest because 70 percent of African American voters also supported Proposition 8," says Mike Ottermeyer, a somewhat exasperated LDS church spokesman. "It's a tactical thing. It makes it easier for them to vent their anger and frustration. But to vandalize chapels, vandalize temples, put graffiti on our buildings, protest outside our temples ... It's completely unreasonable. People have the right to protest. But this is way over the top." The illegal protests without a permit to harrass worshippers and the stories of individuals who because of their personal opinions are being forced out of their jobs. A rash of graffiti, arsons, vandalism, the anthrax scare at Catholic Buildings and LDS Temples. There is no evidence at this point that there is a link between Prop 8 and the arsons, vandalism, and anthrax scare ("Correlation is not Causation") but it is quite a coincidence. All these things have been disturbing, sickening, and extremely ironic.

For awhile I kept looking to different media sources to see what the latest attack was, but that didn't help my peace of mind. I finally realized that this is a case of the Iron Rod and the Great and Spacious Building. In the story, those holding to the Iron Rod are trying to go forward to eat of the sweet fruit representing the love of Christ, and they are using the word of God as their guide As they go forward, they hear very smart and beautiful people mocking them from the Great and Spacious Building. The Great and Spacious Building is the world with it's pride and wisdom. Ezra Taft Benson said about scriptural pride, "The central feature of pride is enmity -enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen....We pit our will against God's....The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives."

As I think about the media--entertainment media with it's fashion and beauty, and news media with it's human intellect--I see the Great and Spacious Building. And yes they are mocking aren't they? But here's where I found the answer for peace: "And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not....For as many as heeded them, had fallen away."

So, *poof*, off goes NPR. Entertainment media that supports the ideal of gay marriage? Nada. Delete goes the email forwards meant to enrage. I'm not listening.

And I have found amazing comfort in reading the most recent General Conference talks. They are almost all about being peaceful and optimistic in times of trial. It's almost as if they were... prophetic!