Virtue

The 13th Article of Faith continues with, “We believe in being . . . virtuous . . .”

Virtuous can be defined as living a morally upright life. It means having moral and ethical values and standards. It can also mean living a chaste and morally clean life.

Remaining virtuous and chaste in today’s society is extremely hard, especially for teenagers. So much peer pressure is placed on our youth to succumb to immoral and unrighteous behavior. Good is called evil and evil is called good. Instead of respecting those who choose to remain chaste, peers taunt, ridicule, and otherwise humiliate them.

My daughter was enrolled in a health class at the high school. She learned valuable information about eating healthy food and about diseases. Of course, the class also included Sex Education. Most of the time was used by Planned Parenthood to push its own agenda. While abstinence was mentioned, it was lip service at best.

In Colorado, state law permits Planned Parenthood to distribute birth control to minors without parental consent. Our previous principal (who was reprimanded, but not fired for downloading and sharing pornography on school computers) instituted a student health center at the high school. While the health center offers physical exams for kids participating in sports and testing for strep throat and other ailments, it also offers pregnancy testing, birth control, and counseling (translation: abortion counseling). To receive regular care from the health center, a parent must sign a permission form, but any student can access the health center one time without parental consent and without informing the parents.

Promiscuity is so rampant that my daughter has only one friend who is not sexually active. In fact, she knows girls who regularly go to Planned Parenthood and even obtain the “morning after pill,” which is a form of abortion. No one thinks anything about it. These teenagers are exchanging partners, participating is lewd acts, and then going to Planned Parenthood to get rid of any child that may be created by their behavior. The worst part is the general acceptance of this behavior.

My daughter did not want to attend Planned Parenthood’s agenda in her health class so she left each day to go to the library. How did her peers react? They called her names, made fun of her, and told her she was being ridiculous and “missing out.” Fortunately, my daughter has stood firm in her decision to retain her virtue.

In my own experience in high school, I was also ridiculed for being virtuous and having morals and standards. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to look at our society and see that it’s ripening for destruction because we have lost our moral compass. Nothing is wrong anymore. We condone homosexuality. We think nothing of teenagers engaged in sexual activities. We allow innocent babies to be sucked from a woman’s womb simply because that baby is inconvenient.

Most of the ills of our society can be traced back to our apathy toward virtue and chastity. What has happened to being virtuous? When did being moral become bad? Why has our society lost the values we once cherished?

An immoral society can’t survive forever. Until we, as a society, once gain embrace virtue and chastity we will suffer the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah.

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Amendment 48

Here is the full text of the proposal for Amendment 48 which will be on Colorado's ballot in November.

Amendment 48

Definition of Person

Ballot Title: An amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term "person"
to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as "person" is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law.

Text of Proposal:
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado:

SECTION 1. Article II of the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended BY THE
ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read:
Section 31. Person defined. AS USED IN SECTIONS 3, 6, AND 25 OF ARTICLE II OF
THE STATE CONSTITUTION, THE TERMS "PERSON" OR "PERSONS" SHALL INCLUDE ANY
HUMAN BEING FROM THE MOMENT OF FERTILIZATION.

From the Colorado State Constitution Article II:

Section 3. Inalienable rights. All persons have certain natural, essential and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; and of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.

Section 6. Equality of justice. Courts of justice shall be open to every person, and a speedy remedy afforded for every injury to person, property or character; and right and justice should be administered without sale, denial or delay.

Section 25. Due process of law. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.

I see nowhere that this amendment will prevent birth control. It is not meant to prevent babies from being created, but rather to protect babies after they have been created. How does this amendment prevent in-vitro fertilization? How does it prevent the birth control pill? How will it allow government to search our homes and our bathrooms to see if a fertilized egg has been cast off during a regular menstrual cycle?

These are all arguments I've read against this amendment. I see the most basic argument against this amendment as limiting women from using abortion as birth control or birth selection. After all, isn't that the whole opposition to this amendment? That women and men will have to take responsiblity for their actions when it creates a child.

If you don't want a baby, practice abstinence. After all, no one has ever died from practicing abstinence, but plenty have died from not practicing it.