Call Center

Thursday evening I got to work at a phone bank for YESforMarriage (you should check out their website), which is promoting Proposition 102 in Arizona. I made over 100 calls to do research for the group. I noticed all the calls we made were to registered Republicans, which means I didn't deal with as many angry people as I think I would have had I been calling people of other political parties. I called people, read the proposition to them, which states "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state," and then asked them if they would support the amendment. Basically, YESforMarriage is figuring out who to send information to. If I understood correctly, only the people who were undecided will receive more information. Most of the people I called didn't answer their phone, so I left many messages. I think one of my favorite parts of the evening was when people asked, "Wait - so if I vote 'Yes,' what does that mean?" and being able to explain it to them. Some of them then decided that they supported it, and some of them decided that they definitely did not support it. I believe that people should understand what they are voting for, so I was glad to help clarify the amendment for them, even for those who will not vote like I will on the issue. Additionally, I believe in being an active citizen, but I have not walked that walk before, so it was nice to finally do something.

Moving away from civic matters, I attended the Relief Society General Meeting last night. It was great, of course. I especially enjoyed Pres. Uchtdorf's talk. He spoke about our need to be creative (as in, create things) and compassionate, as our Father in Heaven is. I was also impressed by the non-profit group our stake donated various items to. It's called "The Giving Tree." It is an organization that offers aid to the local homeless population - particularly to homeless children. I was brought to tears several times as the founder spoke, and I want to get involved and volunteer a little. It was neat to see my church and a Christian group working together because non-denominational groups usually don't seem to like Latter-Day Saints very much. The founder has had a really good experience with an LDS family from around Salt Lake that, rather than exchange presents at Christmas, comes down each year for two weeks to give service with "The Giving Tree." The founder is amazing! She wanted kids badly, but went through a number of miscarriages (she has had two biological children), so God sent her other children, she says. She and her husband have taken care of many, many homeless kids. They now have five homes, and I am hoping to volunteer at one of them. She said they need people to rock the kids, read to them, etc. I can do that. I just need to commit to it. Well, I guess my post is ending on another civic note, but that's not a bad thing. It's good to think about how we can contribute - and better to actually do something.