The purpose of the gospel is to transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change.
Dallin H. OaksRead
I'm not in this just to change the law. It's about changing society. I want gay kids to grow up believing that they can get married, that they can join the Scouts, that they can choose the life they want to live.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of societal change along with legal reform, especially regarding LGBTQ+ rights.
Evan Wolfson's quote articulates the vision of not merely enacting laws for the sake of legality but fostering a cultural environment where LGBTQ+ youth feel empowered and accepted. It highlights the aspiration for a society where individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, can pursue their dreams and live authentically without fear of judgment or exclusion.
In practice
In a speech addressing LGBTQ+ rights, one could incorporate this quote to highlight the need for societal acceptance alongside legal changes.
The purpose of the gospel is to transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change.
Drug reformers get seduced by politicians who co-opt our language but who make no meaningful change. And when we don't hold politicians accountable, we contribute to harm.
What makes a lot of sense is that, while people are incarcerated, give them the tools they need to be able to have a productive, lucrative living when they leave so they can provide for their families and break that cycle of recidivism.
If we can forgive what’s been done to us... If we can forgive what we’ve done to others... If we can leave all of our stories behind. Our being villains or victims. Only then can we maybe rescue the world.
It can be scary to find out you've been wrong about something but we can't be afraid to change our minds, to accept that things are different, that they'll never be the same, for better or for worse. We have to be willing to give up what we used to believe. The more we're willing to accept what is and not what we thought, we'll find ourselves exactly where we belong.
What happened after Katrina is that people were stirred to action; there were an enormous number of contributions by people trying to make a difference. But then we forget. We've forgotten Katrina victims, we've forgotten the face of poverty.
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