As a Latter-Day Saint, I believe God is the absolute moral authority in the universe, and that He has given us plenty of reason to believe in Him, to listen and obey Him. When God is removed from the public square, from government, from society, and ultimately from the hearts of the people, the world loses the power to calibrate its moral compass. Sin in general can cause this type of apostasy to occur, but the most insidious one, the sin that really turns a righteous people bad, is widespread acceptance of sexual immorality in all its forms. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that immorality in society will corrupt society's definition of morality. The consequences to society are disastrous yet difficult to foresee until it is forever too late.
The Human Drive to Seek Morality
Human beings are naturally driven to attempt to define morality and then work to hone that definition. Societal norms, rules, "manners", and even our legal system are examples of this at work. The loss of the spiritual power that calibrates our moral compass does not change this. You can live in a society that is up to its gills in sexual immorality, violence and ongoing defiance of God and His commandments, and still have most people believe they are doing what is right. In the Book of Mormon, we see an example of this taking place in Jerusalem. The prophet Lehi "truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations", and yet his sons said, "we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people... our father hath judged them". (see 1 Nephi 1:19, 17:22)
Such a generation existed at the time of king David: "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness." (Proverbs 30:12)
In his letters to Timothy, the apostle Paul foretold that in the latter days the world would be just such a society:
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" (2 Tim 3:1-5)
The Holy Spirit of God - the power to which Paul was referring - guides us to know right from wrong by communicating to us heart-to-heart, without words. Concerning this phenomenon, the Savior said:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)
In the absence of spiritually-driven morality, or in other words, without the spiritual power which Paul called "godliness", most of us will of necessity seek an alternative. Whether or not we have the Spirit of God to guide us, we will seek to "feel" our way along as we work out our definition of morality. Without that divine guidance, the only thing we have left to guide us is the contrast between pleasure and pain - that which comes to us, and that which we might cause others.
Prager University: Where do Good and Evil Come From?
Counterfeit Morality
At face value, this seems like a logical alternative. If you punch somebody in the nose unprovoked, that's generally considered to be wrong - it causes pain. If you comfort and reassure a friend who is having a hard time, that's considered a right thing to do - it makes that person feel good. But, as it always has, life eventually throws us a more complicated set of circumstances - one that this brand of morality cannot deal with accurately.
Lying to the Nazis
Say, for example, it's 1943 in Holland. You've agreed to hide a Jewish family in the basement, to keep them from being taken by the Nazis. When the Gestapo comes to the door asking if you've seen this particular family, do you tell them the truth and obey the law? Or do you tell a great big white lie and prevent the wrongful murder of the innocent? Would it be immoral to expect you to safeguard the family because of what it could cost you? Under normal circumstances, it would be immoral to lie and to break the law. Does this constitute a circumstance that changes that? Is there such a thing as a circumstance that changes that? How do you know when such a circumstance exists? Without spiritually guided morality, there is no way to know.
Abortion
Even the battle to define the morality of abortion is being fought on the battleground of pain versus pleasure. The world believes that a woman should be able to enjoy her pleasures without the inconvenience of accepting the consequence and raising a child to adulthood. The world seems to believe that a man should be able to enjoy his pleasures and not assume responsibility for the care of Mom and the child born as issue thereof. To place such expectations is fast becoming immoral, by society's definition.
In some places, there are laws that require a mother to see an ultrasound of her twitching, kicking baby with its cute little hands and feet and ears and nose before agreeing to an abortion. Why? It gives her a way to understand that abortion causes pain to a living thing - her living thing inside of her! Upon seeing such an ultrasound, the vast majority of women decide against the procedure, because it causes them to connect on a human level with their unborn child, and because they do understand pain.
Yet even when it comes to abortion, pain to the baby doesn't necessarily determine whether it's right or wrong either. What if the pregnancy has put the mother's life in danger? What if the pregnancy was the result of rape? What if early studies of the fetus show the child will live in a comatose or otherwise inhumane state? What is the answer then? Without God to guide us, there is no clear answer as to the right and wrong in any issue. It occurs to me that obedience to the commandment "thou shalt not commit adultery" (or fornication, etc...) would greatly simplify this particular debate - and go a long ways in restoring the operation of the spiritual compass that would empower the people of the world to resolve it.
Ye Shall Not Suffer Yourselves to Be Slain By Your Enemies
These days, the world seeks to weaken the right to self-defense. Increasingly, the authorities and the media seem to believe - and expect the public to believe - that one who uses lethal force in self-defense is as immoral as the attacker. Why? Because killing someone - even if it is in self-defense - is a downright unpleasant thing to do to someone! In the absence of spiritually guided morality, killing in self defense puts the defender at the same moral level as the attacker - both causing pain to each other. This means the Golden Rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" supersedes the right to self-defense, a right which even God has said supersedes the commandment not to kill! Without the guidance provided by God, society, with its corrupted perspective, will eventually allow the Golden Rule to override all of God's other laws and make them "of none effect by [their] tradition".
Religion and The Pain of Swinging Compasses
While serving as a full-time missionary, I noticed the effect I sometimes had on people without saying or doing anything at all. There was a street in one of my areas where people would hang out on the weekends and do their drugs, drink, and commit illicit acts out in the open. To get home to our apartment, my companion and I had to walk down that street. As we did so, we couldn't help but notice that the people seemed to bristle at the sight of us. It was as if our very presence was a reminder to them that the way they were living was wrong, and a part of them inside knew it. Without our saying a word, our presence caused their moral compasses to swing temporarily back to spiritual true north. The resulting sensation that their lives were out of alignment with their most basic sense of right and wrong was a painful one. It didn't help any that the cause of the movement on their compasses was powerful and foreign to them. Religious freedom is being eroded around the world because its presence causes compasses to swing back to spiritual true north. Religion causes the pain of being out of alignment with a sense of right and wrong that is innate to human existence - or at least to those who still permit and heed its operation.
The ancient American prophet Nephi saw his people straying from their moral compasses and warned them about ignoring the pain:
"O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal. O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken." (2 Nephi 9:39-40)
When the Church or other believers in Christ say things that are uncomfortable to hear, sometimes the world accuses us of "hatred". They figure they've been caused pain and it was we who said it, therefore "hate" must be the motivator. They are forgetting that "hate" is a willful, malicious expression of animosity toward others - not the causing of discomfort that results from the expression or observance of moral truth. This disconnect can only occur in a world full of people who have never been introduced to the idea that standing up for what is right and demonstration of love could come from the same source - even in the same gesture.
At the rate we're going, it will not be long before a believer in God can be arrested or otherwise persecuted for causing too many spiritual compasses to swing, whether he himself actually did anything to cause it or not. Why? By society's definition, reminding people of what is right - causing pain - is immoral, whether or not that pain has the potential to be constructive, whether or not doing so is in fact in the better interest of society as a whole.
Of course, it doesn't help when people who profess faith in Christ deliberately antagonize the world in violation of His commandment to "love one another" as they go about teaching His gospel of love in a spirit of hate and intolerance.
Another baker sued for refusing to make anti-gay cake (this one really peeves me because it represents both homosexuals and Christians so poorly)
Pointing Your Moral Compass to Spiritual True North
What too many in the world fail to understand is that, like a weight-lifter enduring the pain of a workout, or a dieter enduring the pain of losing weight, we believers in God frequently endure the pain of realizing our lives have once again slipped out of alignment with our spiritually-driven compass. The reason for this is that we know the work and the pain of realigning with that compass will eventually lead to the most powerful sensation of joy and freedom available to mankind in this life, which is salvation in Christ Jesus.
Paul taught the Hebrews:
"...despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? ...we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." (Hebrews 12:5-13)
The world hates us for the guilt they feel at our preaching. But the reason we preach from our podiums and send out our missionaries is that we consider it deeply, even grotesquely immoral to withhold from our fellow men the opportunity to pay the price to experience this incredible great joy, this great "peaceable fruit of righteousness!"
Joy: The Reason for His Doctrine!
The Savior himself gave us the reasons why He has taught us His commandments:
"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:11)
You could argue that even our religious pursuit of "Mormon" happiness - a happiness of which the world is often envious - is also sought on the playground of pleasure over pain, or, as we would call it, joy over remorse of conscience. But for us, the major difference is that, believe it or not, we also have spiritual power guiding and rewarding our efforts, assuring our faith and bringing us joy as we strive to experience again and again the happiness that comes of being willing to align our lives once more with our spiritually driven compass.
A Turning of Things Upside Down
Those of us who still insist on living by God's laws regardless of any discomfort that may inadvertently cause others will at best be seen as straight-laced or backwards, and at worst be considered criminals and be wrongfully accused of treating others unfairly or interfering with someone's freedom when that is in fact the farthest thing from our intent.
The ungodly will deny the existence of God in a bid for this counterfeit freedom, and they'll shut down their spiritual compasses in the process. With God and his right-guiding laws out of the picture, they will see our decrying immorality, our refusal to sanction it - and even our refusal to participate in it - as immoral, a condescending act, a denying of freedom.
Isaiah saw this phenomenon of rejecting the wisdom of God at work in his own society, and foretold of its happening again in the latter days:
"Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?" (Isaiah 29:16)
Furthermore, he warned his people of the consequences:
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ...which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! ...they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 5:21-24)
In the world today, it seems increasingly that the acceptance and tolerance of every form of sexual immorality is poised to become the catalyst that completes this moral inversion. The world has already long sanctioned illicit heterosexual relations. The homosexual community's bid for freedom and acceptance has caused an already ungodly world to question the morality of anything that can be construed to oppose it - including faith in the very God who has for so long defined most of Western morality.
Deseret News - Oregon Bakery Shuts Down After Gay Rights Attacks
Fox News - Atlanta Fire Chief Fired for Expressing His Christian Faith
The apostle Paul saw sexual immorality put society at odds with God in his time:
"...when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, ...wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves... the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God... not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." (Romans 1:21-32)
As this moral inversion progresses, it places two groups of people into diametric opposition to each other. On the one hand you have people who believe in God and find their greatest joy in Him - a joy that can only be had in conjunction with the freedom from sin which we find with His help. On the other hand, you have a group that seeks the latitude to do with abandon that which not so very long ago was widely understood to be immoral. Those that seek freedom to sin without feeling guilty about it will eventually view the existence of the faithful as an obstruction in their path toward freedom. The fight for freedom is so strong a force that these two groups will lay down their lives defending their respective definitions of it, both believing they are in the right. The scriptures show us that, in the past, unbelievers have sought to silence and then annihilate the believers until either they succeeded and their society disintegrated, or an act of God put a stop to it. We'll discuss examples of this in detail in my articles on the Ten Commandments.
Thus, society begins to persecute people of faith and believes in earnest they are doing right. The Savior himself warned that this time would come:
"...the
time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God
service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not
known the Father, nor me." (John 16:2-3)
It's Already Happening
Some years ago, at the office where I worked, we had a sort of tradition that, whenever someone forgot to lock their computer before leaving their desk, fellow workers were encouraged to put rather pornographic material as their screen saver or desktop image, and then lock their computer for them. When that person returned to his or her desk, it was pretty evident that they'd been had in this manner, as the image was visible all over the office.
Well, not wanting to have anything to do with pornographic material, I'd use alternate images. In most cases, I'd "barbie" people - put up images of Barbie dolls on their computers. One of my co-workers was an LDS bishop. He had a penchant for leaving his computer unlocked, and very much objected to finding pornographic material on his computer upon his return. In an effort to keep up the tradition without offending him in this way, I tried to beat my coworkers to the punch, and what I'd to is "temple" him - I'd put up an image of an LDS temple. He'd know he'd left his computer unlocked, but didn't have to deal with the filth.
One day after doing this, my boss called me on the carpet about it. Some visitor to the office had apparently complained, and he didn't want me putting up images of the temple because it was "offensive". Now don't get me wrong; I loved and respected my boss and I really enjoyed working with him. I don't believe he meant any harm at all, nor do I wish to criticize him. I'm not sure he can be blamed for just trying to do what he felt was in the best interest of the company. But has the turning of things upside down in our once-deeply-religious society advanced to such a degree that religious symbols left out in the open are considered to be offensive, while blatant pornography no longer is?
Regrettably, I feel I have little choice but to conclude that this is the case.
I contrast this with what America was not so very long ago. On Christmas Eve in 1968, from their vantage point in orbit above the moon, the astronauts of Apollo 8 read the first ten verses - the account of the Creation - from the book of Genesis, a distant earthrise for their backdrop. The whole world tuned in to listen. This would never be countenanced in twenty-first-century America. How very far we have since fallen!
History of Apollo 8
It's Already Happening
Some years ago, at the office where I worked, we had a sort of tradition that, whenever someone forgot to lock their computer before leaving their desk, fellow workers were encouraged to put rather pornographic material as their screen saver or desktop image, and then lock their computer for them. When that person returned to his or her desk, it was pretty evident that they'd been had in this manner, as the image was visible all over the office.
Well, not wanting to have anything to do with pornographic material, I'd use alternate images. In most cases, I'd "barbie" people - put up images of Barbie dolls on their computers. One of my co-workers was an LDS bishop. He had a penchant for leaving his computer unlocked, and very much objected to finding pornographic material on his computer upon his return. In an effort to keep up the tradition without offending him in this way, I tried to beat my coworkers to the punch, and what I'd to is "temple" him - I'd put up an image of an LDS temple. He'd know he'd left his computer unlocked, but didn't have to deal with the filth.
One day after doing this, my boss called me on the carpet about it. Some visitor to the office had apparently complained, and he didn't want me putting up images of the temple because it was "offensive". Now don't get me wrong; I loved and respected my boss and I really enjoyed working with him. I don't believe he meant any harm at all, nor do I wish to criticize him. I'm not sure he can be blamed for just trying to do what he felt was in the best interest of the company. But has the turning of things upside down in our once-deeply-religious society advanced to such a degree that religious symbols left out in the open are considered to be offensive, while blatant pornography no longer is?
Regrettably, I feel I have little choice but to conclude that this is the case.
I contrast this with what America was not so very long ago. On Christmas Eve in 1968, from their vantage point in orbit above the moon, the astronauts of Apollo 8 read the first ten verses - the account of the Creation - from the book of Genesis, a distant earthrise for their backdrop. The whole world tuned in to listen. This would never be countenanced in twenty-first-century America. How very far we have since fallen!
History of Apollo 8
I suppose I can draw some consolation from the fact that this phenomenon is nothing if not vindication of my faith in the prophecies of Isaiah who, through the power of the prophetic calling, foresaw this day almost three thousand years ago.
The Law
The other alternative upon which an immoral society heavily leans for moral guidance is its legal system. In a God-fearing society, people determine right and wrong on the basis of moral conscience, and they love God enough to err on the side of sacrificing to obey rather than pushing the boundaries of what society considers acceptable disobedience. I don't know who said it first, but someone once coined the term "adhering to the unenforceable" to describe this approach to right and wrong. A people that adheres to the unenforceable values its freedoms and lives in such a way as to merit their preservation. In contrast, a people that has deviated from its former love of God to the point of committing adultery and fornication will go on to explore other forms of sexual immorality, and the love of God and of fellow men will decrease to the point that moral disorder and violence reign supreme. This sets the stage for the destruction of our freedom.
Absolute Morality and The Law
Without God as our absolute Moral Authority, society turns to the only other means it has to maintain order: the law. An immoral society seeks to use the law to enforce "the unenforceable". All the tiny little bits of common sense and consideration of our fellow beings that once were the fruit of the love of God become the subject of heated legislative debate as we seek to force others to do or not do things that can only truly be motivated within our own selves by the love of God. Everything from handicap parking ordinances to welfare programs to smoke-free zones to affirmative action and equal rights laws are examples of this. People begin to believe the law of the land is the moral definition of right and wrong. The problem with this is that the law is defined by the will of the people - a will that can change at the slightest political whim. The laws of an immoral society are in fact, for lack of disposition toward adherence to moral principle, precluded from being moral.
So long as we refuse to turn back to our God, both the complexity of our legal system and the lawlessness of our people will continue to balloon ever further out of control. No amount of laws or enforcement resources seems to scratch the surface, much less solve the problem. The people of ancient America saw this same legal blight in their own country - a phenomenon that went on to play no small part in the eventual failure of their government.
"...there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers, and many officers." (3 Nephi 8:11)
"For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted. Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction." (Helaman 5:2-3)
Having reverted to the law for their morality, the Jews at the time of Christ had so far corrupted the law of Moses that they made laws governing the minutiae of peoples' lives. Instead of just "thou shalt remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy", they made rules about how far you could walk at a time, which objects you could move in your house on the sabbath, which tasks were considered legitimate observance of the sabbath, and which tasks were not.
Similarly, in our time, we legislate and enforce, and legislate and enforce some more until we've whittled all our freedoms away. Our governments get away with abuses of power that grow ever more Marxist-Leninist in nature, if not downright Orwellian. What's left behind is the government we've entrusted with our legal definition of morality - a government that is at least as immoral as the people who elected it, a government that now has a sickening amount of power to commit utter tyranny, and knows it. We arrive at this state, still believing - falsely - that our government is benevolent, is under our control, is still responsive to the voice of the people. But a dangerous time will eventually present itself - a time when the will of the people and the will of a too-powerful government will oppose each other. This is the death-knell of a nation, the moment when revolution must occur. History has already shown that, absent a revolution, such a society will either be weakened to the point of being conquered by its enemies, or it will plunge headlong into a new dark age. Such is the fate of any society that seeks to silence a spiritually calibrated voice of reason.
The prophet Nephi warned:
"And it came to pass that I saw... the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (1 Nephi 11:36)
It isn't until people begin to turn back to God and His morality on some level that a new age of enlightenment begins, and a new, free nation is established with laws that reflect this "new", timeless morality. (see my articles at the bottom of the page)
Jesus Christ is the Light and the Life
By way of introducing his gospel, the apostle John said of the Savior:
"[He] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not... the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:9-14)
Following His resurrection, hundreds of eyewitnesses saw the Savior ascend into heaven. They were so very amazed at the sight that the angels of heaven said to them, speaking of His return in the latter days:
"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)
Following the destruction of their civilization, the inhabitants of ancient America heard the voice of Christ speaking to them out of heaven:
"O ye people of these great cities which have fallen... how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you. And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings... and ye would not. O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart." (3 Nephi 10:4-6)
After three days of darkness - the sign of the Savior's death - wherein there was "no other light seen", those same people felt God the Father speak out of heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit, introducing His Son.They saw the Son descend out of heaven as a being of light and stand among them:
"...they heard a voice as if
it came out of heaven... it was not a harsh voice,
neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being
a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch
that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake;
yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to
burn... and it said unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him. And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending
out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and
stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were
turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to
another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel
that had appeared unto them. And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world..." (3 Nephi 11:3-11)
Jesus Christ is the light and the life of the world, the author and finisher of our faith - the moral authority in the universe. By the manner of His birth, by His acts, both during and after His mortal life - things which were witnessed by hundreds - He showed us who He was. Coming and going as only a God can do, the Savior came to us in person and told us Himself who He was, and He proved it by His works - a fact which has been written and preserved over the centuries since those events took place. Before His death and subsequent resurrection, Jesus told Lazarus' sister Martha, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live". (John 11:25)
So then, "as He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free!" - free from sin, for it blinds us to the benevolence of our loving Heavenly Father! Though the world, blinded by its own immorality, know Him not, let us know and believe as did they of old. Let us invite Him into our lives; let us ever live spiritually in Christ!
True Followers of Christ, True Friends to the World
The world has hated us believers in Christ for the things we teach, has hated us for reminding them of their guilt.
We've all heard the saying, "friends don't let friends drive drunk". Neither do friends let friends sit outside in the dark, never knowing the light of God's matchless, life-changing love! What kind of friend would be unwilling to take your keys, to make sure you got home safely? What friends would we be to the world if we were unwilling to say things that are hard to say and hard to hear - things that will, if heeded, ultimately guide you and me home safely to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father? What Friend to the world would God be if He were unwilling to do whatever is necessary to bring our attention to bear on our need to change before it grows too late? Such a person is no friend at all! We, the followers of God and our prophets and apostles, have many times throughout history said things that were hard for the world to hear, and we are far from done saying such things. But we do not say these things out of hatred. We say them because we care too much to remain silent! We say them because we want to see you experience the great and very real joys we have known in Christ Jesus, if you are willing!
Also of Interest
Boyd K. Packer, General Conference April 1992 - Our Moral Environment
What's in the Book of Mormon? Salvation From Sin, Not In Sin
Southern Baptist Convention President: The Spiritual State of our Union
A Clear and Present Danger - a talk given at B.Y.U. by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary about the destruction of the family and religious freedom
Orson Scott Card - Religious Tolerance
Orson Scott Card - Keeping Things Civil
Rabbi Steven Pruzanski: Religion in America - why America has changed so much over the last fifty years.
Rabbi Steven Pruzanski: The Freedom of Irreligion - the exercise of religion and social norms
The Moral Liberal: Religion and Morality Sustain Freedom
Religion is the Foundation of Democracy and Prosperity
Chaos in Progress: Christianity being replaced by extremist Islam
Homosexual Mormon perspective on LDS support of LGBT rights
Mormon leaders call for balanced approach in protecting both homosexual rights and religious freedom
Notice the cycle at work in history:
- Persecution of Christians in the New Testament (approx 0-100 A.D.)
- Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire (100-313 A.D.)
- Fall of the Roman Empire (approx 300-500 A.D.)
- The Dark Ages (approx 400-1400 A.D.)
- Protestant Reformation in 1517
- The Renaissance from 14th - 17th century (1500 to 1800 A.D.)
- The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
- Ratification of United States Constitution (1787)
(see also the implementation of other democratic constitutions and their contents) - also consider the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Sigmund Freud's pleasure principle
good pain vs. bad pain in a yoga context (some good thoughts here)
No comments:
Post a Comment