RIGHT TO LIFE
Latter-day Saints are Among Thousands Standing for "Right To Life" at Biennial March and Rally
“Lucifer has supported abortion and convinced many people in a horrific paradigm shift that children represent lost opportunity and misery instead of joy and happiness.”
2022 Arizona for Life March & Rally: Dee Merrill, a member of the Everton Ward in the Eastmark Stake in Mesa, introduced Dr. Alveda King, pro-life activist and niece of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as the keynote speaker during the Arizona March and Rally for Life Jan. 15 outside the state capitol.
— Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Brigham Young University devotional address, Feb. 17, 2017
By Tony Gutiérrez
A
s thousands gathered outside the Arizona State Capitol Jan. 15, 2022 for the biennial Arizona March and Rally for Life, they were faced with a giant wall of red roses — 13,097 to be exact. The number represents the number of abortions that occurred in Arizona in 2019. Each rose — donated by Latterday Saint family-owned Watson Flower Shops — sold for $10 and went to support area pro-life causes. “We got a rose for every baby to represent each baby that was aborted. It’s really powerful,” said Judene Brown, who organized the rose wall. “I came two years ago and saw the wall, and I wanted to be involved.” “We need to all come together as Christians in this great cause to help women who feel like this is their only choice, to show them that there are so many avenues that are here to help them to get through, and they realize that they don’t have to choose abortion,” added Brown, who attends the Udall Ward in the Mesa Stake. The march and rally are typically an interfaith effort that allows people to unite together in the cause for life. “It provides an event and an opportunity at a specific time and
Photo courtesy Victor Moreno Photography, Arizona Life Coalition
place for all people who believe in the dignity and the sanctity of human life,” said Garrett Riley, executive director of the Arizona Life Coalition since October 2019, and himself a Roman Catholic. “Even though they may have different views or opinions about other things, this event and the march creates this very wonderful opportunity for all people and groups and organizations to come together and be in unity.” Dee Merrill, a member of the Everton Ward in the Eastmark Stake in Mesa, is one of a handful of Latter-day Saints to serve on the event’s planning committee. “We believe that life is eternal, and that we had that life before it started in this world,” she said of her participation. “We know that, and now we can celebrate it here and help to bring that about for these babies.” Just across the street in Wesley Bolin Plaza stands the Pioneer Women’s Memorial, a memorial to the Latter-day Saint pioneer women — among others — who settled the Arizona frontier in 1876. The monument depicts a woman holding a baby, itself an inherently prolife message. “When they came here, [some] buried their children because of making the sacrifice to come here. They knew that they were going to be with
Photo courtesy Victor Moreno Photography, Arizona Life Coalition
During the Arizona March and Rally for Life Jan. 15 outside the state capitol, a wall of 13,097 roses donated by Latter-day Saint family-owned Watson Flower Shops represented the more than 13,000 abortions to take place in Arizona in 2019.
their children forever,” reflected Merrill. “So, the thought that you would abort that birth before it even happened would be something that would just break their hearts. They suffered and buried their children along that way.” During the rally, Merrill introduced keynote speaker Dr. Alveda King, a pro-life activist and the niece of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “A woman has the right to choose what she does with her body, absolutely. However, the baby is not her body,” declared King. “How can the dream
survive if we murder the children?” she asked, referring to her uncle’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, the local Roman Catholic bishop who was among the local dignitaries to meet President Russell M. Nelson during the latter’s historic visit to the Valley in 2019, opened the rally in prayer. “The incomparable worth of every human person is built on the boundless love of God,” he said. “Today’s
ArizonaBeehive.com •
Continued on pg. 13
• 9
