Once again the Mormon bashing has begun. As predictable as it is, it's still always disappointing to see otherwise decent individuals, that claim to believe in the founding principles of this nation and profess to be a follower of the Master, engage in behaviors that are so counter to those principles and His teachings.
In an odd way I admire their fire. Spreading the good word of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is important work. Unfortunately in their zeal they take a giant leap away from teaching truth, and instead single out one particular faith with which they disagree and are so extreme as to suggest the followers should be opposed in every aspect of life.
The irony is that in this case they are actually fighting against the very truth they should be seeking.
It's a sad thing to know that one day the words and actions that they use to condemn Mormons will ultimately serve to be their own condemnation.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
History in the making
I love Elder Holland's style. He speaks boldly with unmistakable love. He finds a way to hit us right between the eyes with his message, without making us feel like we've been beaten up.
I've included his talk from the most recent priesthood session of General Conference. It best represents a theme I believe I noticed. As I listened to this talk, and then to Pres. Monson's talk in the same session, my thoughts turned to this often recited quote from the Wentworth Letter: The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.
These talks, considered in context with the new I am a Mormon campaign and other initiatives and uses of modern technologies, make me believe we are witnessing-no, strike that- that we are participating in the 'ramp up' to the literal fulfillment of this amazing prophesy.
What an incredible time in the history of the world to be living. Suit up!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Plan of Happiness
I've been randomly cruising through some of the profiles on Mormon.org. I very much enjoy reading other members' thoughts, stories and testimonies. An oft repeated comment is that members of the Church have found that they are happiest when they are faithfully living the gospel. This is true of course. I like to point out, especially to my children, the underlying doctrine to this truth.
There are actually multiple reasons, but one that seems to often get overlooked or not understood. The obvious answers are a)That when we are obedient we open ourselves up to receiving blessings. "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." D&C 130:20-21 and b) When we're living right we enjoy the company of the Holy Ghost, which by its nature is a blessing that naturally begets additional blessings.
There is an additional reason that keeping the commandments leads to happiness that is, in my estimation, less often considered. It is simply a result of natural law. There are always consequences that accompany choices. We come to understand this concept in other areas of life wherein the consequences are more immediate and easily identified. We learn to make better decisions and call it wisdom. I think much of the world might hear the word "commandments" and think of a God bent on controlling His subjects. Yet He grants us agency. The truth is that EVERY commandment of God has been given for OUR good. Our Heavenly Father is all knowing. And because He wishes us to be happy He gives us counsel designed to lead to our greatest possible happiness.
Most people don't hesitate to seek the advise of experts prior to making important decisions: doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, etc. Why is it so difficult to trust in Him whose wisdom knows no bounds, choosing instead to seek happiness outside the Plan of Happiness?
There are actually multiple reasons, but one that seems to often get overlooked or not understood. The obvious answers are a)That when we are obedient we open ourselves up to receiving blessings. "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." D&C 130:20-21 and b) When we're living right we enjoy the company of the Holy Ghost, which by its nature is a blessing that naturally begets additional blessings.
There is an additional reason that keeping the commandments leads to happiness that is, in my estimation, less often considered. It is simply a result of natural law. There are always consequences that accompany choices. We come to understand this concept in other areas of life wherein the consequences are more immediate and easily identified. We learn to make better decisions and call it wisdom. I think much of the world might hear the word "commandments" and think of a God bent on controlling His subjects. Yet He grants us agency. The truth is that EVERY commandment of God has been given for OUR good. Our Heavenly Father is all knowing. And because He wishes us to be happy He gives us counsel designed to lead to our greatest possible happiness.
Most people don't hesitate to seek the advise of experts prior to making important decisions: doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, etc. Why is it so difficult to trust in Him whose wisdom knows no bounds, choosing instead to seek happiness outside the Plan of Happiness?
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Why "I am a Mormon" ad campaign?
What amazing times we live in. With the proliferation of satellites and the Internet, there is almost no corner of the globe that information cannot reach. While some may believe the purposes for these technologies is for shopping, football, and social networking, may I propose another theory?
The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, and calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God have been accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.
The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, and calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God have been accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.
By their fruits you shall know them
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is about to begin a new media campaign designed to clarify misunderstandings about the Church its members. I am excited for this because there is so much misinformation that needs to be corrected. The ads will be uplifting and have very positive messages. I suspect you will feel good when viewing them.
Unfortunately much of the misinformation is purposeful. There are those who don't want it clarified. Certainly we will witness increased intensity from the haters trying to salvage as much hatred as possible. I suspect these will leave viewers with feelings of darkness.
I suggest you take notice of how your heart and your gut react to the various messages and ask yourself which feeling comes from the Spirit, and which from your adversary.
Unfortunately much of the misinformation is purposeful. There are those who don't want it clarified. Certainly we will witness increased intensity from the haters trying to salvage as much hatred as possible. I suspect these will leave viewers with feelings of darkness.
I suggest you take notice of how your heart and your gut react to the various messages and ask yourself which feeling comes from the Spirit, and which from your adversary.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Latter Day Pharisees
Isn't it fascinating how history repeats itself?
In nearly all arenas; social, political, cultural, discernible patterns repeat themselves with varying cycle lengths.
Spiritual matters are not immune. Throughout the scriptures we find repetition in how Heavenly Father deals with His children, and how Satan seeks to destroy truth. Perhaps this is at least partly due to our apparent unwillingness to learn from the past. It's no wonder one of the most often repeated words in scripture is 'remember'.
During some time recently spent studying the New Testament, and specifically the 4 gospels, I've noticed undeniable parallels between the Scribes and Pharisees that sought to destroy Jesus Christ and the movement He began, and today's self-anointed "Evangelicals" that seek to destroy His restored gospel. Granted this applies to a minority of Christians. I hope.
**Orthodoxy -- During Jesus' ministry the Mosaic Law had gradually been mutated from its original intent. The orthodoxy of the time, defined predominantly by the "experts in the law", the Scribes and Pharisees, had drifted so far from truth that Jesus Christ, the great I AM, even He that was the author and giver of that law was labeled a blasphemer by them.
Predictably, that pattern has repeated. After centuries of misinterpretation and diversion, sprinkled liberally with power broking, Christian orthodoxy also mutated so that many precious truths were lost. Along the way many recognized this drifting and attempted to correct it through Reformation. These attempts were incomplete at best. Alas the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Saints are often told they are not Christians because we don't align with current Christian orthodoxy. But that is exactly the point. In our day, just as in the Master's earthly ministry, it is the orthodoxy that is incorrect. It is a common human weakness to not recognize truth when it doesn't conform to preconceived notions.
**Misinterpretation -- Much of the cause of the mutation of The Law was the misinterpretation of scripture. The Pharisees intently studied the Torah and vehemently fought against any interpretation other than theirs. They could quote the Torah and regularly used passages from it to attempt to prove Jesus a fraud. They were certain they were correct. Clearly Jesus' ministry demonstrated that despite all their study and vehemence, they had missed the point. Latter-Day Pharisees also study the scriptures and are equally certain their interpretation, or Hermeneutics, is correct. They likewise attempt to use select, out of context Bible verses as blunt instrument weapons. If they truly understood the Bible they would be eagerly searching for the restoration of all things foretold therein.
I find it very interesting also how in both cases, people that had long been persecuted became the persecutors. The Jews had been persecuted for centuries. Modern day Christians are victimized all over the world, and even increasingly so in the quickly liberal-moving society in Western cultures. Many even hold their persectutions up as evidence that they are correct. And yet the experience of being persecuted and hated unjustly hasn't prevented the Latter-Day Pharisees from becoming persecutors any more than it stopped them in Jesus' time.
I find these comparisons to be fascinating. I also find them to be testimony that Lucifer's tactics for combatting truth haven't changed.
Hindsight being 20/20 we now know that Jesus of Nazareth IS the promised Messiah and that the Pharisees missed the boat. In time the Latter-Day Pharisees will likewise find themselves regretting.
In nearly all arenas; social, political, cultural, discernible patterns repeat themselves with varying cycle lengths.
Spiritual matters are not immune. Throughout the scriptures we find repetition in how Heavenly Father deals with His children, and how Satan seeks to destroy truth. Perhaps this is at least partly due to our apparent unwillingness to learn from the past. It's no wonder one of the most often repeated words in scripture is 'remember'.
During some time recently spent studying the New Testament, and specifically the 4 gospels, I've noticed undeniable parallels between the Scribes and Pharisees that sought to destroy Jesus Christ and the movement He began, and today's self-anointed "Evangelicals" that seek to destroy His restored gospel. Granted this applies to a minority of Christians. I hope.
**Orthodoxy -- During Jesus' ministry the Mosaic Law had gradually been mutated from its original intent. The orthodoxy of the time, defined predominantly by the "experts in the law", the Scribes and Pharisees, had drifted so far from truth that Jesus Christ, the great I AM, even He that was the author and giver of that law was labeled a blasphemer by them.
Predictably, that pattern has repeated. After centuries of misinterpretation and diversion, sprinkled liberally with power broking, Christian orthodoxy also mutated so that many precious truths were lost. Along the way many recognized this drifting and attempted to correct it through Reformation. These attempts were incomplete at best. Alas the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Saints are often told they are not Christians because we don't align with current Christian orthodoxy. But that is exactly the point. In our day, just as in the Master's earthly ministry, it is the orthodoxy that is incorrect. It is a common human weakness to not recognize truth when it doesn't conform to preconceived notions.
**Misinterpretation -- Much of the cause of the mutation of The Law was the misinterpretation of scripture. The Pharisees intently studied the Torah and vehemently fought against any interpretation other than theirs. They could quote the Torah and regularly used passages from it to attempt to prove Jesus a fraud. They were certain they were correct. Clearly Jesus' ministry demonstrated that despite all their study and vehemence, they had missed the point. Latter-Day Pharisees also study the scriptures and are equally certain their interpretation, or Hermeneutics, is correct. They likewise attempt to use select, out of context Bible verses as blunt instrument weapons. If they truly understood the Bible they would be eagerly searching for the restoration of all things foretold therein.
I find it very interesting also how in both cases, people that had long been persecuted became the persecutors. The Jews had been persecuted for centuries. Modern day Christians are victimized all over the world, and even increasingly so in the quickly liberal-moving society in Western cultures. Many even hold their persectutions up as evidence that they are correct. And yet the experience of being persecuted and hated unjustly hasn't prevented the Latter-Day Pharisees from becoming persecutors any more than it stopped them in Jesus' time.
I find these comparisons to be fascinating. I also find them to be testimony that Lucifer's tactics for combatting truth haven't changed.
Hindsight being 20/20 we now know that Jesus of Nazareth IS the promised Messiah and that the Pharisees missed the boat. In time the Latter-Day Pharisees will likewise find themselves regretting.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Ideas: dangerous economic indicators
With all the economic challenges our nation faces, ie. recession, inflation, debt limits, entitlement spending, excessive regulation, etc., I believe most dangerous and least recognized in the belief system held by the left wing of society.
To borrow from recent headlines, this dogma is well illustrated in comments recently made by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In an angry diatribe against a fellow congressman for supporting the "cut-cap-balance" legislation she stated that the effect would be to "take away" benefits for Medicare and Social Security (wait, I thought they had a 'lock box'), while "giving away" tax cuts to the rich.
The comments, which are all too common today, represent a belief system that I'm afraid this nation may not be able to survive.
It is the belief that the nation's wealth belongs first to government, which then has the moral authority dole it out 'fairly'. Fairly of course means giving it to those that have less.
It ignores the fact that the only reason the government has any funds to give anyone is because politicians confiscate them from the very people they then berate for having too much. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.
The debate over taxation/spending has evolved into a matter of math, with the competing positions arguing over what levels will best serve the economy. Apparently both sides of this debate have conceded that setting tax levels designed to maximize revenues is moral. I make no such concession.
I understand the congress has the legal authority to establish taxes for nearly any activity, including income. But why is the moral authority not in question? At best, presuming the left has the best of intentions, it is the forcible taking of property for the benefit of select others that are selected by the pick-pockets as worthy. More cynically it is legalized theft of wealth for the purpose of purchasing the loyalty (votes) of those that envy and resent the wealthy.
It is a system whose result, even if not its design, is to punish the hard-working, risk-taking, time-investing, forward-looking producers, while rewarding those that, through their own fault or not, produce little. Hence the comparisons to Socialism.
How long can any economy expect to survive such a system?
Take up pen and paper. Draw a circle which gradually spirals inward until in eventually collapses in on itself and disappears. You have just accurately grafted the economic forecast for any nation in which this dangerous belief system gains dominance.
To borrow from recent headlines, this dogma is well illustrated in comments recently made by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In an angry diatribe against a fellow congressman for supporting the "cut-cap-balance" legislation she stated that the effect would be to "take away" benefits for Medicare and Social Security (wait, I thought they had a 'lock box'), while "giving away" tax cuts to the rich.
The comments, which are all too common today, represent a belief system that I'm afraid this nation may not be able to survive.
It is the belief that the nation's wealth belongs first to government, which then has the moral authority dole it out 'fairly'. Fairly of course means giving it to those that have less.
It ignores the fact that the only reason the government has any funds to give anyone is because politicians confiscate them from the very people they then berate for having too much. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.
The debate over taxation/spending has evolved into a matter of math, with the competing positions arguing over what levels will best serve the economy. Apparently both sides of this debate have conceded that setting tax levels designed to maximize revenues is moral. I make no such concession.
I understand the congress has the legal authority to establish taxes for nearly any activity, including income. But why is the moral authority not in question? At best, presuming the left has the best of intentions, it is the forcible taking of property for the benefit of select others that are selected by the pick-pockets as worthy. More cynically it is legalized theft of wealth for the purpose of purchasing the loyalty (votes) of those that envy and resent the wealthy.
It is a system whose result, even if not its design, is to punish the hard-working, risk-taking, time-investing, forward-looking producers, while rewarding those that, through their own fault or not, produce little. Hence the comparisons to Socialism.
How long can any economy expect to survive such a system?
Take up pen and paper. Draw a circle which gradually spirals inward until in eventually collapses in on itself and disappears. You have just accurately grafted the economic forecast for any nation in which this dangerous belief system gains dominance.
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