During it’s transport once, the ox pulling the cart carrying it, stumbled. Fearing the Ark could be damaged from being shaken or falling off of the cart, Uzzah reached back from the driver’s seat to steady it (2 Sam. 6:6-7). Despite his good intentions, he violated God's commandment against touching it and was immediately struck dead. This shows that even priesthood leaders can’t second guess the Lord and ignore His words, even if "bad outcomes" appear to be inevitable. The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:8,9) and sometimes we don’t understand why things are so. We should instead emulate Adam who obeyed the Lord despite not understanding ("..I know not, save the Lord commanded me"). The essence of walking by faith is trusting in the guidance of the Lord, rather than in our own understanding.

Likewise, Satan wanted to “steady the ark” in the pre-existence claiming that the Father’s plan was dangerous since under it, many of God's children would not return to Him. God's children, like the ark, would be harmed unless they too were prevented from falling. Agency however, like the ark, can’t be touched, even if "bad outcomes" may result. God knew that He would lose a third of His spirit children but He stuck by the ideal of Agency, in spite of many "bad outcomes" for those one third as well as for those here on Earth due to sin. Uzzah and Satan quickly learned that the revealed word of God cannot be violated, despite the best of intentions (real or feigned).

The concept of "ark steadying" is unfortunately alive and well today. People look at the "stumbling oxen" in today's society and try to steady the load. We, like Uzzah, "steady the ark" because we want to avoid the "bad outcomes" that we believe may happen if we don't act quickly. We opt to "steady the ark" when we let our "religious opinions prompt (us) to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others...” (D&C 134:4a). Instead, we should be doing what is right, letting the consequence follow by obeying scripture and allowing people to exercise their Agency, even if "bad outcomes" may occur. The Father lets us have Agency despite the "bad outcomes" we face due to sin. We are wrong to emulate Satan by forcing righteousness on others to prevent these supposed "bad outcomes". James Talmage commented on Satan's plan of forced righteousness - "Satan's plan of compulsion, whereby all would be safely conducted through the career of mortality, bereft of freedom to act and agency to choose, so circumscribed that they would be compelled to do right—that one soul would not be lost—was rejected;" (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], 8.) We too must avoid letting our "religious opinions prompt (us) to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others...”.."that they would be compelled to do right".

Leaders proposing ideas that violate scripture also exert a form of unrighteous dominion by attempting to persuade people to "steady the ark" by claiming that adhering to scripture may result in "bad outcomes" and therefore scripture needs to be ignored. Again, this was Uzzah's logic. We must instead hold to the iron rod, the official teachings of God (the scriptures), and reject those ideas which contradict them. Only personal revelation via the Spirit, as occurred with Nephi regarding Laban, can supersede established scripture.

The bottom line is that to avoid "steadying the ark", we need to be well grounded in the scriptures and have the conviction, faith and courage to do what is right and letting the consequence follow, even if they negatively impact us, our family, and even society as a whole.

What does this have to do with Civil Same-Sex Marriage?

The essay about what we are proposing talks about "rendering unto Caesar" that which belongs to Caesar. Please refer back to that opening essay for more details.

In keeping with the scriptural concept of "rendering unto Caesar" and not letting our "religious opinions prompt (us) to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others...”, we believe that promoting laws that withhold the legal benefits of marriage from gays otherwise offered by Caesar violates these scriptural concepts and is a classic example of "steadying the ark" condemned in scripture.

All efforts opposing Civil Same-Sex Marriage come down to imposing one's religious/moral beliefs on others. This is condemned in scripture, as shown above. Opponents may try to justify their opposition by raising other issues ("it's harmful to kids", "it affects the moral fabric of society", etc...) saying that if the "ark" isn't "steadied" that "bad outcomes" may occur (yet those assertions are easily refuted, as you will see in other sections of this site). This is classic "ark steadying". Attempts to outlaw Civil Same-Sex Marriage are clearly contrary to the teachings of the scriptures, both ancient and modern. The scriptures are superior to the teachings of all leaders, including the president of the Church. Opposing Civil Same-Sex Marriage is contrary to the official teachings of the Church. Those doing so are guilty of "steadying the ark" and are clearly violating the teachings of the scriptures and are therefore in need of repentance.