The Miller Memoirs

BEACH, TEMPLE, & HOME

November 9, 2008

Our last day was bittersweet...we were all excited to get back to Jakey, but we were also sad to leave the good times we were having in California.

We decided to start off our last day by going to the beach for one last stroll in the sand. (Our hotel was right on this beach...it was amazing!) We had so much fun burying each other, and building sandcastles.

Bryan buried Hailey and I clear up to our waists. Hailey was able to get out with no problems, but it took me a second to wiggle free. We had so much fun burying one another, and seeing how difficult it was to get out of the sand after we were buried.

This picture is of all three of us girls building sandcastles. Amber was not interested in getting buried, but she sure had fun building!

Ever since we planned our trip to California, we planned on visiting both the San Diego Temple, and the Las Angelas Temple. When we arrived at the San Diego Temple, there were protesters everywhere, and police officers trying to keep the peace. Proposition 8 had passed the week prior, which stated that marriage was only legal between a man and a women. Some people were angry with the LDS religion because of our view point on the subject, and they were still protesting even after the voting was over. Bryan and I had no idea that there would be protesters surrounding the temple. Instead of this being a spiritual experience for our family, it was a sad experience. The thing that made it particularly hard was the fact that Hailey could read (some of the signs depicted strong feelings). No matter how many times we tried to explain to her the subject matter, she still couldn't understand why there was so much hate and frustration.
The thing that was most frustrating to me about this situation was the feelings of contention in a place that should hold peace. I believe that two people can hold different view points on the same topic without it meaning that they should hate one another. This is something that really shouldn't be such a huge revelation; however, some of the signs outside the San Diego Temple said otherwise. Some of the signs depicted LDS people as haters, and non-Christians. It was hard for me to see lies depicted on those posters. I wish that differences of opinion did not lead to such hate and desecration. I believe it is my duty as a citizen to vote for what I believe to be right and true. Does that mean that I hate those people who choose the opposite, and who believe differently? No...it just means we have a difference of opinion.
Because of the feelings we felt while visiting the San Diego Temple, we did not go to the L.A. Temple afterall.