By JENNIFER GARZA, Sacramento Bee

Twenty years later Carmina Salcido still vividly remembers her 4-year-old sister Sofia trying to protect her. She remembers her father's eyes when he came for baby Teresa.

She remembers the deadly silence that followed as he walked away.

"He was in a hurry to do what he was going to do," Carmina Salcido said.

To say that the Rev. Barry Smith is always looking for new sermon ideas is an understatement.

The pastor of Impact Community Church in Elk Grove, Calif., has come up with topics for Sunday messages while on retreat, in the shower or on the treadmill.

Smith preaches 38 weeks a year and says he has original ideas for half. The other half? He finds those on the Internet.

The traditional element of prayer at the presidential inauguration can't seem to find a universal blessing this year.

For some, it was a challenge of seemingly biblical proportions.
In his sermon Sunday, the Rev. Barry Smith called on the married couples in his flock at Impact Community Church to build intimacy by having sex every day for 30 days.
"Ready to have some fun?" Smith asked at the beginning of his talk.

What is traditional marriage?
That question lies beneath the surface of the Proposition 8 debate. The measure that bans same-sex marriage in California, which is now being challenged in court, defines the union as between a man and a woman. This, supporters argue, is as religious precepts and social customs demand. It is traditional.

For the past two weeks, Sacramento, Calif. leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been on high alert.They are hiring extra security to watch over the temple in nearby Folsom, and asking members to drive by church buildings late at night. Mormons in law enforcement are keeping track of Internet chatter to find out where protests will be held.

An estimated 11,000 couples have wed since the California Supreme Court ruled in May that same-sex marriages are legal.Less than two weeks before the election, it's not clear what happens to them if California voters approve Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage. Would the marriages carried out before Proposition 8 still be legal?

Rachel Bird and Gideon Codding have thought of themselves as bride and groom since their August church ceremony.Now the state of California agrees.

A California couple that refused to sign a marriage license because new forms don't use the terms bride and groom are filing a lawsuit claiming their rights have been violated.The Pacific Justice Institute said it would file the suit in Placer Superior Court on behalf of Rachel Bird and Gideon Codding.