Internal Memorandum of Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internal Memorandum of Law - Research Paper Example In order to file a case against the appeal to be filed by Debbie Evans and others, and to evaluate the opponent’s chances of success in this endeavor, the bigamy laws of Utah and other relevant legislation, as well as the decided case law, have to be examined. Debbie Evans wanted to marry a married man Aaron, with the consent of his wife, Barb Conway. They had applied for a marriage license, which was denied, and their plea in the trial court for being provided with such a license was rejected. They wanted to file an appeal in the upper court against this order, challenging the State’s power to interfere with their religious freedom and curtailing their right to polygamous marriage, which in accordance with their religious customs. The Mormon Church, openly promoted polygamy, until the year 1890, when it discontinued this practice. This volte-face was occasioned by Utah territory’s attempt to obtain statehood, and as Congress was insistent that the presence of anti-polygamy legislation was essential for admission into the Union. Since that point in time, the Mormon Church has desisted from actively supporting polygamy, amongst its members. In its efforts to prove that it is opposed to the practices of the 30,000 odd polygamists, who reside in various places in the West, the Mormon Church has resorted to the excommunication of its members who practice polygamy (Cosgrove - Mather, 2004). The state of Utah was witness to a polygamy case that attracted considerable attention. This was the case of State of Utah v. Green, wherein the defendant had maintained conjugal relations with several women and had thereby fathered 28 children (the State of Utah v. Thomas Arthur Green, 2004). His conviction by the lower court was upheld in the Supreme Court of Utah.

His Name is Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

His Name is Christ - Essay Example This author stresses that Christ Jesus speaks on a higher level, we may say, about His life, His death, His purpose for coming to earth. Prefixing Jesus with Christ is more than naming him it's telling us who He is, better still, what He encompasses, His whole being - the Messiah. He  had seen the reference to Paul's writings in Romans and read the passage. "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ became, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." He read the passage three times before he saw it. Paul refers to Christ as Christ repeatedly throughout his writings. Christ the name, not Christ the entity for lack of a better phrase. In this one passage Paul is speaking not of the man Christ. He clearly states that he is not speaking of the earthly body when he makes reference to the flesh. Rather, Paul is speaking when he uses the word Christ in this instance to speak of the sovereignty of Christ and the special unbreakable bond expressed in the lineage of Isaac - the seed. He is to that seed the anointed one. He is the one through whom all the children of the seed must go to bridge to the Father. Paul, in his understated eloquence of words which often sound very simple, holds so much that in one verse he conveyed such truth. The reporter outlines that   Paul never knew Christ the man, having already been crucified and ascended before Paul was called. Paul, however, at this moment chose to use Christ here to show the sovereignty of Christ. Paul himself was called not because he was Jew, not because of the promise, but he was called to bring the seed of the promise to Him. This passage demanded that he speak of Christ as the anointed. If he may make a personal aside, he has noted since beginning this essay, Paul, throughout his writings, refers to Christ as Christ in many instances. I see the closeness of Paul to Christ and such a deep understanding of Him expressed in all of Paul's writings. It is difficult to remember at times that they never walked together, at least on the earthly plane, in the flesh. Yet, Paul has, in my opinion, a much deeper understanding and closeness to Christ than, perhaps, those with whom Jesus had actually, in physical form, walked. The second point on which I would like to comment is found on page 81 where reference is made to how John defines the uniqueness of Christ's relationship with God. "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for he is not yet ascended to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." The Second Article states that it is this passage which shows the uniqueness of Christ's relationship with God and "clearly distances the kind of relationship Jesus had with the Father from that of other humans." Undisputable is the fact that, indeed, Christ had a unique relationship with the Father. He is the Father. However, that debate is for another time. That being said, the passage in John which was quoted as evidence of Jesus distancing His relationship with God from that of His believers is not accurate. Looking at the passage in context, Christ appeared before Mary after He was raised from the dead, but not yet ascended.