I really loved this post. It made me crack up cause it so reminds me of conversations that I have with my husband. I never let him win either. I think I might be a feminist too :)

Interesting. I'm from slc and you're one of the few Mormons I know that support gay marriage. Especially with what the the lds church did in California with the constitutional amendment. Does that ever bother you that so many people of your faith would argue against that?
P.s. How do you define feminist? :) good post.

I know, there is a lot of prop 8 hate. It's become a huge battle of the religions.
I feel like, since God gave us free agency to make our own choices, whether we chose good/bad/or what have you, that we should try not to judge each other. I know it's human nature to be judgemental, so this is difficult.
I'm not gay, but I know a lot of men and women who consider themselves very spiritual who are gay. Many are in committed relationships.
While I'm not homosexual, I can't step into that person's shoes to see what their life might be like. Perhaps it is quite difficult to deny something like this - I can't argue them for that. It's between them and God in the end. As for politics, I do believe we should all be able to join in some sort of matrimony whether it be an amendment or on the state level. That's just equal rights. I think the spirituality of it is great and all, but what people do in their bedroom is their business, so let God deal with that in the end. If we want to be non-judgemental Christian's I do believe we should vote for either union or marriage. It's become too confusing to give it and take it away and does mimic what happened with women's rights. Now we look back and see that women should have had these rights all along. Note here that I didn't say I even think homosexuality is right, however, who am I to deny their equality. What I think or even what the bible says doesn't mean people won't try to do it somehow someway and so there must be some form of equality here in a legal sense. Even athiests marry, so the argument that spirituality is a part of marriage and same sex marriages would take the spirituality out of marriage may be correct for spiritual people but does that mean then that athiests shouldn't be allowed to marry either? They aren't spiritual, but they still get to marry. So why can't gay people?
That's sort of how I feel in a nutshell. I live my life a certain way, but I hope that I am not too judgemental along the way. Of course, I'm not perfect and I AM judging sometimes. Working on that as I grow.
Some of the "Glen Beck-ish" attitudes do get to me from time to time. Putting down people like our president, taking cheap shots, this all seems un-Christian to me in the end. Sometimes I feel that there is a sense of righteousness among LDS people that so long as they are republican they'll be okay, yet some of the things they say about others or our country and our leaders are terrible. This does bother me. Some get high and mighty about the "common sense" factor. Well, yeah, people SHOULD have common sense. But there will ALWAYS be those that don't have common sense. I feel like some republicans stick to the common sense factor, not wanting to factor in or help anyone that doesn't have common sense. (gun control is a good example. SURE - people should be allowed to bear arms and have permits, etc. THOSE SHOULD be the "normal" people that won't hurt others. But factor in the OTHER group of dummies...that's where the democrats come in with their ideas that common sense is not one size fits all).
A little tangent there, but gives you an idea of how this does bother me a bit, from any religion, but yes, a little more so from Mormons because it is my faith as well. I do, however, know many, many mormons who are democrats and who believe similarly.

Dood... we watched Jurrasic Park a couple weeks ago and I thought the SAME thing. Strange.

I am probably an anti-feminist. Or maybe I am the new progressive type of feminist. I believe that women have all the power. They just have to choose to harness it properly to get what they want. I do simple things like cook meals, do laundry, and provide nookie (ahahahaha I just said nookie) and in return I get whatever I want. But I am pretty low maintainence and want very little. See... I am an anti-feminist. LOL

BTW-I never send out thank you cards. I am a terrible human.

I agree with much of what you say, however, much of it seems to address the question of being homosexual and not the question do homosexuals have equal rights? Agreed, what you think about homosexuality is up to your religion, but I believe that has nothing to do with their rights. The problem is this: the government is responsible for religions. That proposition is, on its face, absurd. Why is the government in charge of marriage? They shouldn't be. You can look all over the world and find many different religions with many different definitions of marriage. The government should NOT be in the business of getting near marriage. Each religion has a different definition of marriage, therefore, let each religion mandate what marriage is within their flock. The government should be involved with the legal aspects of partnership, such as visiting rights in hospitals, benefits, etc. As of now, a civil union encompasses all those things. The government should ONLY be involved in civil unions. All couples, straight or gay, should receive civil unions. They can't discriminate against homosexuals. Marriages should be left up to the churches. Obviously, if I was homosexual, I wouldn't go to the LDS church and ask to be married. Additionally, they are free to discriminate in this manner because they are a private organization. Each church should define marriage for its own members. Marriage is a religious concept and must be left to the churches.

And yes, I am aware there are many LDS democrats. But I live in Utah :) the mormons, and thus the republicans, run this state. By far, the majority of mormons are republican. It's interesting. We already passed the amendment banning gay marriage by a landslide (don't blame me though lol). I just think it would bother me that the majority of members of my faith enacted a discriminatory amendment. But I'm not mormon, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Finally, (sorry for a long post but rights are one size fits all. The Bill of Rights protects the rights of ALL citizens, smart and stupid. I am a huge fan of the Constitution, which is why I don't believe in gun control as advocated by many democrats. Permits, etc are fine. But we all have the right to bear arms. Does this mean some people will get hurt? Eventually, yes. But that's the price of freedom. Same with free speech. When everyone can express their opinion are people going to be hurt and offended? Of course. But that's the price of freedom, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

P.S. thank you thank you thank you for not pulling out the "well, gays now, but animals and kids next!" argument. i get that from many mormons :) it is perhaps the saddest argument against gay marriage I've ever heard lol

P.P.S. how do you define feminist gabrielle? haha you say it like its a bad thing

I agree with what you say here. We're walking out the door now, but there is enough here to make a whole new post - I think I will. I'll answer your feminist question in that! =)

Great post! How do you manage to be hilarious/insightful/thoughtful all at the same time?

Kelly - It's the diet pepsi. Don't tell anyone.

Steve - coming back to this now that things have settled down this evening - regarding the feminist question - I always hear the word "feminist" and think of it as a thing that men think of in a joking way - oh she's a FEMINIST - better steer clear of her! So I guess that's why I made it sound like a bad thing. Mr V. and I joke that way. He'll say "you feminist!" or something like that. To much of society, a feminist is a woman...but I know there are male feminists as well. I think it's funny that the word is called "feminist" because it automatically makes it sound like it's a "woman" thing. So, to pick on men who pick on women, I suppose, is why I made it sound like a funny/bad thing. Even though Mr. V only picks on me in a loving way when he says "you feminist". That's probably, too, because we are more opposite in our views than the average couple but we still get a long just fine. I like that I am allowed to have an opinion in the marriage. If I take my own joking definitions out of it, I define a feminist more seriously as someone who fights for equality and believes each person is unique and deserving of their opinions, men, women, no matter the race or sexuality. I kind of wish it were called something different - like Malinist. Or Unisexinist.

Happy anniversary! I hope you and your husand were able to have at least a few moments to celebrate your strong lives together. I just finished reading through all your posts...and you strike me as a very strong, amazing woman and mom with a ton of courage. I love how you speak your mind and tell it like it is, I really admire that.

I agree, think the word "feminist" started with a positive connotation, and now has ended up with a negative one. I would call myself a feminist in that I feel women deserve rights equal to men. Women aren't inherently worse than men in any way. They're not less intelligent or less capable leaders or anything. Obviously, in regards to athletics, men are superior. It's just genetics. That's why the best men will always have faster times/higher jumps/further throws etc. than the best women in athletic events. That still doesn't mean men are better than women, we just have different genetics in regards to athletic potential. I would not, however, call myself a feminist if that means women are better than men inherently, men are the cause of all problems, etc. I can't think of anything men can do better than women, or vice versa (Athletics excluded). haha well and I guess in your case apparently the priesthood.

And yes I realize you and your husband joke around with the word :) dont worry.