Does this statement seem like an unnecessary distraction on the supreme courts decision on marriage to any body else?
http://ldsmag.com/is-gay-marriage-a-smoke-screen/
Is Gay Marriage a Smoke Screen?
By Richard and Linda Eyre · July 29, 2015
It was about the twentieth time this year that I (Richard) had been drawn into a discussion about same sex marriage—at least the tenth time since the Supreme Court ruling—and I was getting tired of it.
Once, just once I thought, I would like to hear people discussing the much broader issue of why marriage is now thought of as irrelevant and even undesirable by most heterosexual couples.
Which is the bigger issue?
If we measure by the number of people directly affected, it is no contest. Estimates of the percentage of the U.S. population that is gay range between 2 and 4%. This leaves 96 to 98% heterosexuals, most of whom, seem to be devaluing or completely disregarding the value of marriage.
The largest threat to our society and to our economy is not the way people define marriage but how enthusiastically and committedly they participate in it. Sadly, particularly among the Millennial generation, fewer and fewer get married while more and more choose the lower-commitment option of cohabitation.
And that huge threat it is being largely obscured and ignored because of the smoke screen of Gay Marriage.
The big irony of course, if you judge by the headlines and the public dialogue, is that gays seem to be the only ones valuing, desiring, and jubilating in marriage.
As heterosexual marriage declines and cohabitation increases, children are the losers, and society is weakened. One paragraph from our recent book The Turning states:
“Cohabitation without marriage produces disastrous statistical results. Cohabiting relationships tend to be fragile and relatively short in duration; less than half of cohabiting relationships last five or more years and the divorce rates of women who cohabit are nearly 80 percent higher than those who do not. The major problem with cohabitation is that it is a tentative arrangement that lacks stability; no one can depend upon the relationship — not the partners, not the children, not the community, nor the society. In Europe, eight in ten people say they approve of unmarried cohabitation. In Scandinavia, 82% of firstborn children are born outside marriage.”
The justifications we often hear for the cohabitation option amount to tired old clichés like “You wouldn’t buy a car until you’d driven it,” or “Well, we plan to make the commitment of marriage after we are sure it is going to work.”
The problem with this logic is that what makes a marriage work is the commitment. Commitment is the start of a relationship that lasts, not the culmination of it. And the commitment of marriage is what lends security both to husband and wife and to the children that join them.
But back to the point of the smoke screen: If defenders of traditional marriage are consumed and preoccupied in fighting against same sex marriage, they are like a sports team that tries to shut down the opposing team but does not score any points for itself. People vigorously fighting gay marriage but doing little or nothing to advocate or promote heterosexual marriage are like a defense with no offense.
The best offense and the best way to make a difference is to celebrate commitment—the commitment of marriage.
The debate over gay marriage will go on, just as the abortion debate goes on. A Supreme Court ruling does not put an end to either issue. Society may still be divided over gay marriage in 50 years, just as we are still divided now on the abortion issue nearly 50 years after Roe v Wade.
The most extreme defenders say that gay marriage will destroy our culture and our economy and the future of our children. But in fact, what will have the greater adverse effect on all of these is the erosion of marriage among the other 96%
As opposed to this - August 2014 BYU Commencement address by Elder Russell M. Nelson -
Disciples of Jesus Christ–Defenders of Marriage - which is also in the August 2015 Ensign
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/russell- ... -marriage/
In short, as disciples, each of us will be put to the test. At any hour of any day we have the privilege of choosing between right and wrong. This is an age-old battle that started in a premortal realm. And that battle is becoming more intense every day. Your individual strength of character is needed now more than ever before.
The day is gone when you can be a quiet and comfortable Christian. Your religion is not just about showing up for church on Sunday. It is about showing up as a true disciple from Sunday morning through Saturday night—24/7! There is no such thing as a “part-time” disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus invited anyone who wants to be His disciple to take up His cross and follow Him. Are you ready to join the ranks?
Or will you be ashamed of the gospel? Will you be ashamed of your Lord and His plan? Will you yield to voices of those who would have you join them on the popular side of contemporary history?
No! The youth of Zion will not falter! I believe you will be courageous and proclaim God’s truth with clarity and kindness, even when His truth is politically unpopular! Paul set that pattern when he declared:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.
Disciples of the Lord are defenders of marriage. We cannot yield. History is not our judge. A secular society is not our judge. God is our judge! For each of us, Judgment Day will be held in God’s own way and time.
The future of marriage and of countless human lives will be determined by your willingness to bear solemn witness of the Lord and live according to His gospel. Great protection is available to us as we enter the waters of baptism and take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31