Letter -- Debating California's Proposition 8 and Gay Rights

Regarding Stephen Stromberg's Nov. 24 op-ed column, "Mormons' Uneasy Victory":

Since when does defending the traditional family (in which one man is married to one woman and they raise their children together) mean being "outside the mainstream"? Where I live, that is the mainstream.

Maybe that's why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn't appreciate all the "credit" it's being given for the victory of Proposition 8, the California ballot measure amending the state constitution to define marriage as strictly a union between one man and one woman.

In spite of what their vocal and powerful advocates want us to believe, gay men and lesbians are the ones who are outside the mainstream. They make up a small minority of our population, and they claim for themselves rights that don't exist.

As members of the LDS Church, we believe that our leaders are inspired, are able to foresee alarming trends in our culture and offer wise counsel for troubled times. For instance, those of us who followed our leaders' admonitions to avoid debt and live within our means are grateful that our financial houses are in order during the current economic downturn.

Our leaders also advise us to stay physically healthy, to be chaste, to serve in our communities, to take care of our extended families and our neighbors, and to embrace all that is good and uplifting.

If that is outside the mainstream, I'm happy to be there.

AMY HENDERSON

Leonardtown

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