Historical Event

We are at a very significant time in our history. On Tuesday, April 28th the Supreme Court of the Unites States of America will hear arguments on the institution of marriage and how it should be defined. The determination will be made on whether or not the states within our nation have the constitutional right to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

I know there is a lot of confusion out there on this issue. Many of you probably have had conversations with colleagues, friends or family members on what this could mean. Some of you may have been able to explain why you believe it is important for marriage to continue to be defined as between a man and a woman while others may be on the fence and not sure why it really matters. We see this division even among members of our own faith.

There is a man I greatly respect by the name of Richard Wilkins. He was a lawyer, a professor at the J. Reuben Clark Law School and the Assistant Solicitor General of the United States under Rex E. Lee. During this position he argued eight cases before the Supreme Court. This man did many things to defend the family and the importance of marriage but one thing he said years ago at a international conference on the family in Istanbul is something I feel we all need to hear right now, just a few days before very important dialogue goes before the Supreme Court.

Wilkins said, "the family is where little boys and little girls learn to love one another, to serve one another, and to take responsibility for one another. It is where they learn to be strong and caring men and women, where they learn to be contributing citizens. Be careful, he told them, before you discard thousands of years of tradition. Do not do it quickly or without great care. The family is the basic unit of society. It is central to our communities. If our problems are to be solved, they are to be solved in the families of the world. Do not adopt policies that will lead to the disintegration of the families. We must, instead, strengthen them."

I do not need to go into the statistics right now on societies being stronger when children are raised by a mother and father. Right now I will quote the last part of The Family: A Proclamation To The World,

"We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

I can only hope and pray at this time that the Supreme Court will hear the arguments on the importance of the institution of marriage being defined as between one man and one woman. I am not willing to gamble with destroying the one thing that has kept societies throughout the world continuing on for thousands of years. Civilizations have survived diseases, wars and all sorts of natural disasters but never has a society survived the total breakdown of the family. This is not something to gamble with. I urge all of us to come together in prayer, no matter what our faith, to pray that the institution of the family can be protected a little longer.