by

Please let’s not make the faithful perspective be that this protects children. Please let’s stop saying that these policies will protect children from feeling the cognitive dissonance that occurs when one’s parents disagree or do not adhere to the ideal mortal journey taught in their faith. No one protected me from this as a Primary child whose parents were not married in the temple. No one shielded me from the way that my family did not fully represent the ideal or even the obedient. I still sang “Families Can Be Together Forever” with the hope and faith that all would work out in the end—that God loved the individuals in my family more than I could ever imagine. And I do not struggle to honor my atheist father in spite of how he will never appear on an Ensign magazine cover. I was still blessed by his imperfect, loving hand. I am so grateful that I was blessed as a baby by my bishop, and that at the age of accountability I was baptized. I’m grateful that I was able to serve a mission and marry in the temple. I’m grateful that my father wrote to me during my mission and waited for me outside of the temple on my wedding day, in spite of our different views. The church shaped me and formed me and led me to light. To deny a child of Christ’s gospel and ordinances is not a protection. Let’s stop calling it that.

Instead, let’s make the faithful perspective one of patience and kindness and hope. Let’s have faith in the ability for the Light of Christ to penetrate every home of all families and people—all families, and all people—even those without the full gospel blessings, who are currently ineligible for them, whose children are currently ineligible for them. Let’s have faith that God can watch over and protect even these. Let’s have faith that God can help us and save us. Let’s have faith that we can understand each other, and that, regardless of our leanings, we can continue to reach out and mourn with those that mourn rather than trying to chastise each other for feeling too much or feeling the wrong thing. A lot of us are just feeling everything. We are raw to touch. We do not understand. Let’s make the faithful perspective to seek understanding, rather than assume we already understand. Let’s have the faith that God is aware of all His sheep, and that He continues to attend to the fallen sparrow. Let our faithful perspective be one that says, “I don’t understand these things. But I know that He loves His children—all of His children. Especially the children.”