Our youth....(my bowl of worms)

This post might not be well recepted by my democrat following, but eventhough I fully expected Obama to win, when McCain gave his concession speech a feeling of great sadness washed over me. I honestly am concerned deeply for our nation and our children. Don't play the race card with me either, because it has nothing to do with his race, though I feel his race gave him a major advantage with minorities in this election. It has everything to do with what has been going on in the world for longer than Obama- he is just a definitive model, a beyond a doubt testimony, of the downward spiral of our nation. By that I mean, how can so many vote for the most liberal, radical candidate in all of American history and rejoice? Obama is not what our country needs right now and I think one of the major reasons he was elected was because of the state of our economy and the party being blamed for it (when in reality it was the democrats that got us into this mess). Everyone wants change, I do as well. I don't think McCain was a great candidate either but he was better in certain important areas. I think we most certainly will see change, but I fear it will not be the type of change that righteous Christians will want to see (and NO that does not mean if you support Obama you are not righteous - this is not about you- it is about the collective moral downslide of our society). Considering the House and Senate also increased their democratic seats and hold on the country, we will more than likely see far more than negative moral change. We now need to pray for our judges. One good thing, is that in California and Arizona the propositions on marriage were successful. In Arizona, the ballot measure was to make a state constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman and to ensure Arizona's existing law banning same-sex marriage. This was a pivotal and necessary ammendment and one that will most likely be seen on the ballot in other states in months to come. Our prophet (LDS) and church leaders actively warned us of the dangers and consequences of it not passing and the importance of making sure we all did all we could to pass a Yes for marriage vote. I'm glad to say that it did pass, but the thing that is concerning to me is that it only passed with a 10% lead. The state was almost evenly divided on the issue. The articles I've read state repetitively how the younger voters were more in support of liberal and immoral initiatives. More youth are in support of gay marriage and abortion for example. The polls showed a 2 to 1 support for gay marriage in our rising generation. The general feeling or sentiment I get from those I've talked to or read about is "live, laugh, and be merry" or in other words, do as you please. I have had quite a few conversations of late from the younger generation (teens) that don't believe in a God or consequences for their actions in any eternal sense. They think nothing of pre-marital sex, in fact it is flaunted as a normal way of life in the media and many give the advice "live with someone before you marry." It is quite appalling. The polls also showed that the older a person was, the more conservative they were and more prone to vote for initiatives that were in line with the law of the Lord morally. I'm 35, so not THAT old but I'm considered by these teens, for example, as close-minded, infringing on their rights, boring, restrictive, -to name a few. Am I concerned for my young children? YES! What kind of wickedness will abound when they are trying to raise children? Will gay-marriage be considered a normal part of society and be taught in schools? Will girls be encouraged to live it up and sleep around and then hey, if you get pregnant, you can always abort!? Will Church and State be at war again- I mean an actual civil war? With how liberal our society is going, I have a sincere fear. In my opinion, we that are strong Christians need to make the moral standards a priority in our votes, as the consequences are far reaching. There are of course many other important issues which I know most of my dedicated Christian democratic friends were focusing on, as they also agree with me on the moral issues. I've heard a lot on the topic of poverty and abortion and the link between the two. Well, duh. And of course we need to do our best to decrease poverty, better educate, and provide better opportunites for those in these conditions. Let's go back to basics though shall we? Does poverty cause a woman to become pregnant or does lack of morals and proper teaching cause it? Where is the respect for a woman and her body from men any more as well? There are definite and defined reasons where an abortion is justified, as has been told us from our church leaders - incest, rape, danger to the mother's mortality. I understand and support that. Killing due to inconvenience and a mistake is murder. Many argue that it's not really a life until born or has the characterists of a "normal" baby. I could not disagree more - once that egg is fertilized the life begins and the spirit child has a body. I recently had a 3-month miscarriage and I can testify that eventhough it did not look like a baby yet, it was definitely a life and I knew exactly when that spirit left to go back home. I do not know if the body was sufficient to provide that spirit with what it needed or if it will return but I know it was a life. More and more I see the rising generation not respecting life or rationalizing moral decisions based on what fits their needs or views. Where is the God-fearing values in these youth? Our parents think that my generation were going way out there and look here I am thinking the next generation is going even farther. Obviously, the moral degredation of our society has been going on for a long time. Is our nation ripening in iniquity? I think it is. Personally, I think that no matter who had won this election, the Lord's hand would be over it all carrying out the plan that was already in place and rolling forth. Whether it's to let the people bring about their own destruction or to raise up good men and woman to influence the world for good. I do not claim to know what is right. I have far to go in my own learning. It saddens me to see the latter day prophesies being carried out in this world, but I am also grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel and the hope that it instills in me. A song that often comes to my head when I think on these things is "Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand." I know that the Lord's hand is in all things and as I have been told in blessings and over pulpits (some as recently as last Sunday by President Packer) that many things will come upon this land that will trouble and afflict man; I know that I need not fear as long as I am following the Lord to the best of my ability. Let us pray for our children and our children's children as we look at the stark reality of the decline in morals of our youth. The work of the Lord will go forth regardless of political or social outcomes. I pray that Obama will bring about good changes for our country and world, but I am not hopeful and especially fear for the moral changes and consequences that could come from a dominate democratic and liberal government.
Please forgive me if I offend. This opinion is solely mine and I have no citations, links to higher learning, or scriptural professed credentials and quite frankly I don't care if you do. All opinions and views are valid regardless of how well you can speak or write or the level of your education. And I don't care if you choose to remain anonymous either, as that is your right and I really don't need to know who you are. Finally, there's only one judge I'm concerned with in my life. Oh and Thank you in advance to all my friends who don't blog or facebook and still read my blog and talk to me about these things. I appreciate you all! :)