Marriage: A Civil or Religious Institution?

The following statement is my opinion. This is not to be confused in any way with the Church's position on any of the matters that I discuss. I realise that this is a controversial topic but I make no apologies for what I write as I believe it to be true.
People may mock me and my beliefs so let me tell you a little about the 'mormons' to start with. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe in it. I live it. I won't bore you with my life in the church as it's not relevant. I challenge anyone to find a more generous, giving people on the earth than the members of our church. These are people that give freely of their time and money in the service of others. Most people that know members of our church respect them. They are recognised as industrious, hard working, and honest people. There are, of course, exceptions to this but that is the fault of individuals, not the church.
In the last week or so there has been a great deal of "news" about our church due to the result of Proposition 8. I have read many articles, blogs, and comments on the matter - most of which have been inaccurate and biased in their "reporting". The things that I don't understand is why are we being targeted for protecting something that we hold sacred? We are called biggots (among more colourful names) for standing up for something we believe in. Yes we voted against gay marriage and, as a result, there are literally thousands (possibly millions) of people claiming that the separation of religion and state is too narrow. This will surprise a lot of people but I couldn't agree more.
Is marriage a state issue or a religious issue? If you answered 'state' you are right - and, through no fault of your own, very, VERY wrong.
How did marriage start? Marriage was not set up by the state, it was not conceived by some government. It began as a religious institution.
Marriage WAS a religious institution but now that government gives married couples certain advantages, such as tax breaks and insurance benefits, the line between church and state no longer exists on this matter. Marriage has been stolen from our religious institutions and given to everyone regardless of their religious leanings. Why? Marriage should not be a legal binding, it should be a religious binding available to only those of a religious pursuasion. The irony of all this is that marriage itself has become a bastard child, not knowing the identity of its true parent.
If you want separation of church and state give marriage back to religion and cancel all the legality of marriage. It is not our fault that governments get involved in religious issues (and they do it frequently). It is not our fault that something that we hold sacred has been taken from religion and given to the masses without any consideration.
If marriage was given back to religious organisations then there would be no added benefit to being married. If a church refused to perform a gay ceremony there would be no more public outcry as the religions would dictate the worthiness and acceptability of those getting married and, in most cases, that would exclude gay couples as homosexuality is against most religions in the world.
Some people have even said that not allowing gays the right to marry is against their human rights. In mariage's current bastardised form, yes that's true. However marriage was never intended for gay couples, it was intended as a religious convenant between man and woman before God. It has been said that marriage is a 'right' much like a right to vote. I can not see how that can be true if marriage is taken in its original context. Not even members of churches have the 'right' to be married if they are in opposition to the church's teachings.
How much more proof do you need of the 'nationalisation' of marriage. People can now get married dressed in fancy dress, they can get married by someone that was 'ordained' over the internet, they can go to vegas and have a drive-through wedding performed by Elvis because he has authority to marry given to him from the Nevada Gaming Commision. What kind of authority is that to marry people? IT'S A COMPLETE JOKE.
If you want separation of church and state then do it, but don't pick and choose which bits of religion you want to keep, and don't blame these good, hard-working, people for voting on something that was theirs until it was stolen by the state.
One of my best friends is gay. I do not persecute him, I do not tell him that he's wrong. He knows my views on the matter and we look for common ground instead. Is he going to run through the Temple doors shouting obscentities if I voted against gay marriage? No, because he is a decent human being for whom I have a lot of respect. People that are heaping persecution upon members of the church and intentionally causing them distress for standing up for something they believe in.
I think that some people think that we are purposely doing this to antagonise homosexuals. I can guarantee you that this is not the case. The church has every right to stand up for something it holds sacred and we'll do it again and again because of this, our religion.