Saturday, September 1, 2012
Glenn Beck- a wolf in sheep's clothing- March 2010
Also from March 2010- another response to a friend who is also a Glenn fan
I fully understand what Glenn is saying regarding “charity vs. forced distribution of wealth”. I understand the point. I just don’t agree with it.
Have I watched the Glenn Beck show? Yes, once…. Yesterday… for 20 minutes. And I am REALLY glad I did because he said this: “Go ask your friends ‘what if I am right’?” I loved that, because I have done this exercise and here is where it landed me:
If Glenn is right and Health Care Reform/Education Reform/Global Warming/Emigration Law change is all a change being made in secret combinations and secret societies to take our country towards socialism and then Marxism and Communism (which is exactly what he was preaching at that moment I watched) then MY life and the lives of my kids and future generations will all be much different than what we have known in the past. I have roughly 45- 50 mortal years left on this earth and IF he is right I suspect that the wealth and opportunities that have been available to me in the past will diminish.
If Glenn is wrong and Jesus speaks His mind on the issue on Judgement Day and says something to the effect of “the poor were cared for, whether by charity or their government, it matters not to me, the result is the same”, where will this leave Glenn and those who tried to reject this plan? My fear is that He will say “Did you learn nothing from what I taught you? The Nephite communities were destroyed over and over again because of their pride.” (Read 3 Nephi 6- it spoke very loudly to me this week. Especially verses 10-13)
"The Constitution Hanging on a Thread and the Elders of the Church will save it/"
You are referring to the White Horse Prophecy. In January 2010 the First Presidency stated that this account can not be substantiated and it is NOT church doctrine. I got this directly from the Church website Newsroom. (This whole issue is highly alarming to me. Are there Elders in the Church who think that they have been called to do this? Does this mean that they are preparing for a revolution? Am I going to see a news storyabout an Elder’s Quorum in some ward who is headed to the White House to take over? Is this where this is headed?)
Church Statement on "White Horse Prophecy" and Political Neutrality
Posted By Lyman Kirkland
Two weeks ago The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement regarding the so-called "White Horse prophecy" in response to news inquires regarding comments made by an Idaho politician. The matter has received additional coverage in the news media of late and so we reiterate that statement here: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is politically neutral and does not endorse or promote any candidate, party or platform. Accordingly, we hope that the campaign practices of political candidates would not suggest that their candidacy is supported by or connected to the church."The so-called 'White Horse Prophecy' is based on accounts that have not been substantiated by historical research and is not embraced as Church doctrine."
[quoting friend] “I always wondered how the scriptures concerning the last day about "neighbor against neighbor, family member against family member (not a dirrect quote) would come to pass. But I am now beginning to see how it can happen.”
On this I agree. In fact, if I have ANY concern or discomfort in all that is going on politically it is MY fear that there are some who are seeking to divide the righteous. If I may be frank. Glenn Beck was able to put me in “Satan’s Camp” in less than 20 minutes on his show today, simply because I don’t agree with him that we are headed for Communism. I refer again to 3 Nephi 6. It is the dividing of the righteous that will ruin this country. I can speak with confidence when I tell you that there are MANY righteous and VERY good people (lds and non) who are not joining the Tea Party movement. It is MY concern that this is where the danger lies. It’s an extreme radicalism and it’s dangerous.
[quoting friend] "You are an intelligent person, and I just want you to get your facts straight. Where you are getting your information.? You refuse you watch FOX network -- the most watched network on TV. (There must be a reason for that.) "
Oh… there are so many things I could say here. But I will not. I will simply refer back to what was written above. I get my information from the news sources I stated above, scripture study, pondering and prayer.
[quoting friend] "The pilgrims or the pioneers of this country would never have made it if they would not have carried their own load. An able bodyied person could not have passed their responsibilities on for someone else in the wagon train or on the ship, while they sat around doing nothing, and have them all reap the same benefits. Everyone is expected to carry on their own load. Is life fair?"
I know. And it is freaking me out that I heard him [Glenn Beck] say it and now you are quoting it. And in rebuttal I could offer this. As preparation for our Pioneer Trek this June I have read four histories and journals in the last month of the handcart pioneers. Sure, one could say they carried their own load. Or… you could consider this. The Perpetual Emigration Fund. Can I just rehash how it worked? Saints who had ARRIVED in the Salt Lake Valley contributed to a Perpetual Emigration Fund whereby Saints in England, Denmark and other European Countries could have their ship passage, train passage and handcart paid for. Upon arriving in the valley the Saint was to return what ever funds they received to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. It worked for many. One may call this a subsidy or a distribution of wealth? In 1880 $337,000 of the outstanding debt was forgiven to those who John Taylor deemed were too poor to ever be able to pay it back. In 1887 just before it was dissolved there were over 30,000 saints who had not repaid this fund. So, did they really come on their own? Hmmmm… or was there some help from those who were asked to contribute to the fund.
Today we have the Perpetual Education Fund. In theory it works exactly the same. (I know… voluntary, not forced… I get that. But that point holds no value to me.)
Furthermore, do we not as a basic tenet of this gospel believe that ALL that we have… ALL THAT WE HAVE… we have because it has been given to us?
So does he (Glenn), do you, really believe they did it all on their own?
[quote from friend] "We want FREEDOM! We do not want the government telling us what we can and cannot do - and that is exactly what is happening."
Ok, I know you don’t really mean this, because I don’t think I have to argue the reason we have laws in order to live together in a society.
[quote from friend] "We worried about 'the Russians coming.' The Russians were communists, and the US was so worried about communism that we had 'bomb' drills in school as often as we had fire drills.Do you know what marxism or communism is? That is where Obama and his Czars (who have to answer to no one) are taking us."
This is one of those areas that your life experience is going to affect you. The fear of those bomb drills must have been terrifying. I am sure that it has left an impression upon your generation that is not upon mine.
And this brings me to my final reason why I feel that I have found the right answer for me. I have no fear- partially because I didn’t have the bomb scares in the 50s. But mostly because I believe that my prophet would tell me… he would tell me at General Conference (where I intent to listen closely) if this were a REAL fear for our country. He WOULD NOT tell me thru a man named Glenn Beck on a Cable News Channel. This is not how the Lord works.
Until I am given a reason from my PROPHET to fear that we are headed towards communism I will refer to the lessons to be learned in the scriptures. That lesson is that despite the things in our society that go on around me that are evil and wrong and seek to destroy the peace of the righteous, if I remain strong and steadfast in my faith and testimony… I have no reason to fear.
If I may quote Glenn Beck “What if I am right?”
That I Might Know for Myself- How it all Started- March 2010
Another response to a friend about how I got to where I am.
March 2010
I can’t tell you when this started for me, perhaps I was a bit of a late bloomer as I did not have the high school or college rebellion that many youth do. But at some point in my mid 20s I realized that I had adopted much of the thinking of the home I was raised in, and didn’t really have the “umpf” and knowledge behind it to support it. I am not saying this was a bad thing. It was and is, a very good thing to have been raised with the values of my home. But I began to wonder “what do I think?” I think most teenagers start to question their parents and their viewpoints… it just came to me much later. As I am now a parent of teens and an almost young adult, I believe that it is our responsibility to raise our kids WITH our opinions and viewpoints but to also encourage them to find their own way and know things for themselves. It was during this time that I pretty much decided that the things I KNEW I believed (the gospel mainly) didn’t need to be questioned. But as I finally started to grow up… huh… I finally started to think and study things out on my own.
The Political Party
I remember being 18 years old and going to Judy M.'s home and registering to vote. She said “you are a Republican right?” I was 18 and (see above) I answered “well of course!” Five years later in the 1992 presidential election, I remember being enthralled with Ross Perot. He made SENSE to me. I followed the campaign and he got my vote. And since then, I make decisions in ALL aspects of my life based on ONE important principle…
BALANCE
Balance really governs everything I do and everything I say and everything I think. I see everything, and I do mean everything, in shades of grey. There is very little black and white in this world. I scrutinize every decision I must make, every consequence that follows. I seek balance in all things. I know that there are very few definitive right answers and very few definitive wrong answers. It makes the world a very cloudy and confusing place at times which is why I seek…
The Peace of the Gospel
When I needed to know where to place my allegiance in this last election the answer was of course grey (see above.) There was not a candidate that represented ME and where I stood on all the issues. Therefore, I needed to turn to the issues that are important to me at this time in my life and find the closest balance. Originally I followed Mitt Romney and he would have had my vote had he won the primary. To say I was disgusted by McCain in the primaries would be putting it very lightly. He offended me deeply. Furthermore, I was disgusted by the LDS who would have supported Romney and then out of a matter of allegiance to the beloved Republican Party, they became McCain fans overnight. It turned my stomach. Sarah Palin did not increase my confidence. So yes, I voted for Obama. He spoke of change and at that time (and even at this time) change is something this country DOES need.
I don’t watch television but I read the news every day. I read the Hartford Courant, TIME, CNN, the Deseret News, the Church News and Google News (google collects top stories from all sources). I listen to the political chatter and I do all of this concurrent with the most serious study of our Standard Works that I have ever embarked on. I am in my third year as a seminary teacher. Doing so not only requires a daily study of the scriptures but some serious pondering on how to apply them to our lives. Every day I sit with 15 teenagers and I discuss with them not only WHAT Jesus said, but WHY it matters and what my responsibilities as a Christian are. I think it would be accurate to say that I spend 10-20 hours a week in scripture study. Now, this may sound self righteous and I don’t intend it to. But I have to bring this in to the equation as I KNOW it has influenced me. I attended seminary in high school, I did the 14 hours of religious credits needed to graduate from BYU. But I can tell you with all honesty that these last 2.5 years is WHEN I have learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have heard it said from the pulpit and I can now bear testimony to the fact that while there are very real lessons there to be learned and at times words would literally jump off the page to me…. The greater blessing from MY time in the scriptures has been a greater peace and calm and confidence in knowing that I am living the best life I can be living right now. Being immersed in the life of Christ on a daily basis has caused a change in me that could have happened in no other way. I have an intense desire to live the life He wants me to live. I take my concerns about my family, my ward, my friends, my community and my country to the Lord in prayer. I feel the peace of the gospel. And that provides me with….
Confidence in my Decisions
I have heard your viewpoint and I know we disagree. I understand WHAT you are saying, I just don’t agree with it. My OWN personal journey has brought me to this:
1. Our President is our elected official. He is not a terrorist. He has a difficult job and seeks to find the balance just like I do, on very important decisions. He is not perfect and he is going to make a lot of mistakes. He needs our constant prayers and support.
2. Our country is NOT headed towards Communism. If it were, our religious freedoms would be at stake and our Prophet would be warning us. He has not. If he does, I will react as the Prophet guides.
3. Our Lord and Savior taught us that the second greatest commandment was to love our neighbor. The New Testament and His life are nothing but examples of loving those that are the hardest to love. My personal belief is that God holds a nation (even this nation) to the same standard that he holds an individual. Yes, this country, this promised land, has a responsibility to care for it’s people.
4. I would rather support a gov’t program that runs the risk of being abused by those who will never become self reliant than continue to live in a country that does not care for it’s poor and where the opportunity is NOT the same for all Americans
That is it in a nutshell… a BIG nutshell. I hope that if nothing else, what you will get from this is that I don’t treat these things lightly. I feel very strongly and my belief is very strongly tied to my understanding of the scriptures. You can imagine how frustrating it is for me when my views are challenged by those who have access to the same scriptures. I don’t expect others to believe as I do, only to respect my decisions.
March 2010
I can’t tell you when this started for me, perhaps I was a bit of a late bloomer as I did not have the high school or college rebellion that many youth do. But at some point in my mid 20s I realized that I had adopted much of the thinking of the home I was raised in, and didn’t really have the “umpf” and knowledge behind it to support it. I am not saying this was a bad thing. It was and is, a very good thing to have been raised with the values of my home. But I began to wonder “what do I think?” I think most teenagers start to question their parents and their viewpoints… it just came to me much later. As I am now a parent of teens and an almost young adult, I believe that it is our responsibility to raise our kids WITH our opinions and viewpoints but to also encourage them to find their own way and know things for themselves. It was during this time that I pretty much decided that the things I KNEW I believed (the gospel mainly) didn’t need to be questioned. But as I finally started to grow up… huh… I finally started to think and study things out on my own.
The Political Party
I remember being 18 years old and going to Judy M.'s home and registering to vote. She said “you are a Republican right?” I was 18 and (see above) I answered “well of course!” Five years later in the 1992 presidential election, I remember being enthralled with Ross Perot. He made SENSE to me. I followed the campaign and he got my vote. And since then, I make decisions in ALL aspects of my life based on ONE important principle…
BALANCE
Balance really governs everything I do and everything I say and everything I think. I see everything, and I do mean everything, in shades of grey. There is very little black and white in this world. I scrutinize every decision I must make, every consequence that follows. I seek balance in all things. I know that there are very few definitive right answers and very few definitive wrong answers. It makes the world a very cloudy and confusing place at times which is why I seek…
The Peace of the Gospel
When I needed to know where to place my allegiance in this last election the answer was of course grey (see above.) There was not a candidate that represented ME and where I stood on all the issues. Therefore, I needed to turn to the issues that are important to me at this time in my life and find the closest balance. Originally I followed Mitt Romney and he would have had my vote had he won the primary. To say I was disgusted by McCain in the primaries would be putting it very lightly. He offended me deeply. Furthermore, I was disgusted by the LDS who would have supported Romney and then out of a matter of allegiance to the beloved Republican Party, they became McCain fans overnight. It turned my stomach. Sarah Palin did not increase my confidence. So yes, I voted for Obama. He spoke of change and at that time (and even at this time) change is something this country DOES need.
I don’t watch television but I read the news every day. I read the Hartford Courant, TIME, CNN, the Deseret News, the Church News and Google News (google collects top stories from all sources). I listen to the political chatter and I do all of this concurrent with the most serious study of our Standard Works that I have ever embarked on. I am in my third year as a seminary teacher. Doing so not only requires a daily study of the scriptures but some serious pondering on how to apply them to our lives. Every day I sit with 15 teenagers and I discuss with them not only WHAT Jesus said, but WHY it matters and what my responsibilities as a Christian are. I think it would be accurate to say that I spend 10-20 hours a week in scripture study. Now, this may sound self righteous and I don’t intend it to. But I have to bring this in to the equation as I KNOW it has influenced me. I attended seminary in high school, I did the 14 hours of religious credits needed to graduate from BYU. But I can tell you with all honesty that these last 2.5 years is WHEN I have learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have heard it said from the pulpit and I can now bear testimony to the fact that while there are very real lessons there to be learned and at times words would literally jump off the page to me…. The greater blessing from MY time in the scriptures has been a greater peace and calm and confidence in knowing that I am living the best life I can be living right now. Being immersed in the life of Christ on a daily basis has caused a change in me that could have happened in no other way. I have an intense desire to live the life He wants me to live. I take my concerns about my family, my ward, my friends, my community and my country to the Lord in prayer. I feel the peace of the gospel. And that provides me with….
Confidence in my Decisions
I have heard your viewpoint and I know we disagree. I understand WHAT you are saying, I just don’t agree with it. My OWN personal journey has brought me to this:
1. Our President is our elected official. He is not a terrorist. He has a difficult job and seeks to find the balance just like I do, on very important decisions. He is not perfect and he is going to make a lot of mistakes. He needs our constant prayers and support.
2. Our country is NOT headed towards Communism. If it were, our religious freedoms would be at stake and our Prophet would be warning us. He has not. If he does, I will react as the Prophet guides.
3. Our Lord and Savior taught us that the second greatest commandment was to love our neighbor. The New Testament and His life are nothing but examples of loving those that are the hardest to love. My personal belief is that God holds a nation (even this nation) to the same standard that he holds an individual. Yes, this country, this promised land, has a responsibility to care for it’s people.
4. I would rather support a gov’t program that runs the risk of being abused by those who will never become self reliant than continue to live in a country that does not care for it’s poor and where the opportunity is NOT the same for all Americans
That is it in a nutshell… a BIG nutshell. I hope that if nothing else, what you will get from this is that I don’t treat these things lightly. I feel very strongly and my belief is very strongly tied to my understanding of the scriptures. You can imagine how frustrating it is for me when my views are challenged by those who have access to the same scriptures. I don’t expect others to believe as I do, only to respect my decisions.
Safety [from the media] for the Soul- March 2010
This is more of an email conversation I had with a friend regarding Obama, Glenn Beck, Communism, The White Horse Prophesy etc.
In Relief Society that day we had a lesson on Elder Holland's talk from the October 2009 Conference called Safety for the Soul. I thought so much of it applied to my current conversation with her.
March 2010
I heard this talk in October conference and reading it today it sounded brand new to me. There are two things that stood out the most to me in this talk:
1. (second paragraph) “Think of the heart as a figurative center of our faith, the poetic location of our loyalties and our values, then consider Jesus’s declaration that in the last days ‘men’s hearts [shall fail] them.”
What this says to me is that despite the earthquakes and floods, economic and political upheavals, the greatest destruction to mankind will be spiritual destruction that will come thru lack of faith. The question is then… Where do we place our faith? How do we know if our heart and our daily efforts are centered on the right things that allow us to KEEP our faith?
I return to what I said in an earlier email. If one feels calm and comforted in tumultuous times, you know you have placed your heart in the right place. If you feel fear and anger you are being subjected to one of Satan’s greatest tools. He uses fear to make us feel indecisive and lack confidence in the things that have sustained us in the past.
2. (fifth paragraph) In reference to Lehi’s dream: “It is imperative to note that this mist of darkness descends on ALL of the travelers- the faithful and the determined ones (the elect, we might even say) as well as the weaker and ungrounded ones. The principal point of this story is that the successful travelers resist all distractions, including the lure of forbidden paths and leering taunts from the vain and proud who have taken those paths.”
This caused me to think. We in the church like to think that we are all holding to the rod (the word of God) by attending Church, paying our tithes, living a Christ like life. And yet the mist creates darkness and confusion for EVERYONE. It isn’t wrong that you and me would be confused by the events of the last few months in our country. It IS confusing. I thought for a few moments about these “distractions” that could cause one to let go of the rod. How could a “distraction” be SO CONVINCING that it would cause one who is HOLDING on to ACTUALLY LET GO? HOW does that happen? How? I think the answer is that it’s not obvious. If the distraction came right up in to your face and said “I am pride, follow me.” Or “I am pornography, follow me.” Or “I am Satan, follow me.” It would be EASY to say “hey, wait a second, I have been warned of you! Mr. Pride, Ms. Pornography. I KNOW who you are. I am NOT letting go of the rod.” But that is NOT what we are talking about here. President Holland calls them “distractions”. In the most general definition a “distraction” is something that “divides our attention or causes us to lose concentration thru it’s amusement”.
Clearly there are many things in this life that seem more amusing and entertaining that studying the word of God all the time. I know I am often guilty of this.
I do feel that the media (and I am NOT just pointing finger at Glenn Beck- the media in general is guilty) is a huge distractor. It can be easy to justify that in order to be a good citizen we need to be educated and knowledgeable on current events. But our media is slanted and it’s sole purpose is to make money. ( I will pick on Glenn when I tell you that he doesn’t’ care if you know the truth about history… he just wants to make sure that he makes some money in your effort to learn it. )And when we have lost our balance (my core value) we are distracted and it becomes harder and harder to distinguish between the word of God (which we read for a few minutes a day as part of our scripture study, and an hour or so a week on a lesson prep, and a couple of hours in Sunday worship) and the word of man (that infuses our house constantly if we let it.)
In Relief Society that day we had a lesson on Elder Holland's talk from the October 2009 Conference called Safety for the Soul. I thought so much of it applied to my current conversation with her.
March 2010
I heard this talk in October conference and reading it today it sounded brand new to me. There are two things that stood out the most to me in this talk:
1. (second paragraph) “Think of the heart as a figurative center of our faith, the poetic location of our loyalties and our values, then consider Jesus’s declaration that in the last days ‘men’s hearts [shall fail] them.”
What this says to me is that despite the earthquakes and floods, economic and political upheavals, the greatest destruction to mankind will be spiritual destruction that will come thru lack of faith. The question is then… Where do we place our faith? How do we know if our heart and our daily efforts are centered on the right things that allow us to KEEP our faith?
I return to what I said in an earlier email. If one feels calm and comforted in tumultuous times, you know you have placed your heart in the right place. If you feel fear and anger you are being subjected to one of Satan’s greatest tools. He uses fear to make us feel indecisive and lack confidence in the things that have sustained us in the past.
2. (fifth paragraph) In reference to Lehi’s dream: “It is imperative to note that this mist of darkness descends on ALL of the travelers- the faithful and the determined ones (the elect, we might even say) as well as the weaker and ungrounded ones. The principal point of this story is that the successful travelers resist all distractions, including the lure of forbidden paths and leering taunts from the vain and proud who have taken those paths.”
This caused me to think. We in the church like to think that we are all holding to the rod (the word of God) by attending Church, paying our tithes, living a Christ like life. And yet the mist creates darkness and confusion for EVERYONE. It isn’t wrong that you and me would be confused by the events of the last few months in our country. It IS confusing. I thought for a few moments about these “distractions” that could cause one to let go of the rod. How could a “distraction” be SO CONVINCING that it would cause one who is HOLDING on to ACTUALLY LET GO? HOW does that happen? How? I think the answer is that it’s not obvious. If the distraction came right up in to your face and said “I am pride, follow me.” Or “I am pornography, follow me.” Or “I am Satan, follow me.” It would be EASY to say “hey, wait a second, I have been warned of you! Mr. Pride, Ms. Pornography. I KNOW who you are. I am NOT letting go of the rod.” But that is NOT what we are talking about here. President Holland calls them “distractions”. In the most general definition a “distraction” is something that “divides our attention or causes us to lose concentration thru it’s amusement”.
Clearly there are many things in this life that seem more amusing and entertaining that studying the word of God all the time. I know I am often guilty of this.
I do feel that the media (and I am NOT just pointing finger at Glenn Beck- the media in general is guilty) is a huge distractor. It can be easy to justify that in order to be a good citizen we need to be educated and knowledgeable on current events. But our media is slanted and it’s sole purpose is to make money. ( I will pick on Glenn when I tell you that he doesn’t’ care if you know the truth about history… he just wants to make sure that he makes some money in your effort to learn it. )And when we have lost our balance (my core value) we are distracted and it becomes harder and harder to distinguish between the word of God (which we read for a few minutes a day as part of our scripture study, and an hour or so a week on a lesson prep, and a couple of hours in Sunday worship) and the word of man (that infuses our house constantly if we let it.)
Agency and Obama and Will our Prophet Lead us?- March 2011
I am moving over some posts from an older blog- so the dates are going to be out of order. This is actually from March 2011.
This particular one is an edited version of my response to an acquaintance about a whole myriad of Anti-Obama sentiment coming my way.
Our Prophet and our Church is not going to side with a political party.
But the Church has a history, even very recently, of being POLITICAL. (ERA, abortion, Prop 8 etc.) When there is a real danger in social issues- the Church speaks up- LOUDLY. There is a HUGE difference in talking about/warning of POLITICAL issues and siding with a political party.
Past prophets (though Ezra T. Benson gave his warnings against communism BEFORE he was a prophet) that you mentioned did indeed speak out against socialism and communism. Communism would threaten our ability to practice our faith as we do. It would be a HUGE concern to our leaders. I am telling you- it's not on their radar because if it were- they would be warning of it. President Monson wouldn't have to say republican or democrat, tea party or Obama if he wanted to talk about communism. And yet he hasn't. Not once. Holland and Oaks have given some recent talks on BYU campuses in the last couple of years regarding the constitution, but that is as close as any prophet or apostle speaking about any of Glenn's [Beck] "issues".
I must ask myself why this is. Instead President Monson has repeatedly advised us to be more compassionate and caring, to take better care of each other and serve more. Instead, President Monson added a FOURTH mission of the Church- to care for the poor and needy- and NOT just those that are members of our Church.
The other thing I was going to address was from your initial message... regarding agency. I believe this argument about Obama taking away our agency being like Satan's plan is FULL of flaws. Did you feel your agency was reduced when your government decided to fight a war in the middle east and fund it with taxpayer money? (This was not Obama.) Should I feel that my agency is reduced when my town increases property taxes to pay for our public schools? Is my First Selectman in cahoots with Satan to take away my "agency"? Why was this whole matter of "agency" and Satan's plan not an issue until it involved reformed healthcare for the poor? Does that not seem ironic to you? Wouldn't it be Satan who would encourage us to NOT care for others? (Especially since it is in DIRECT opposition to what our prophet has said at every General Conference?)
This "agency/Satan" argument I believe is attributed to Skousen. Are you aware the that the Church made an official statement in 1979 to advise that Skousen/The Freeman Institute did NOT represent the views of the Church?
Wanna know what Hugh Nibley (albeit not an apostle or a prophet, but an acclaimed LDS scriptural scholar) said about it? In referring to "work ethic" one of the "talking points of weathly":
"...the work ethic which is being so strenuously advocated in our day [1973]... is one of those neat magician's tricks in which all of our attention is focused on one hand while the other hand does the manipulating. Implicit in the work ethic are the ideas 1) that because one must work to acquire wealth,work equals wealth, and 2) that that is the whole equation. With these go the corollaries that anyone who has wealth must have earned it by hard work and is, therefore, beyond criticism; that anyone who doesn't have it deserves to suffer- thus penalizing anyone who doesn't work for money; and (since you have a right to all you earn) the only real work is for one's self; and, finally, any limit set to the amount of wealth an individual may acquire is a satanic device to deprive men of their free agency- thus making a mockery of the Council in Heaven. These editorial syllogisms we have heard a thousand times [and now they are back!], but you will not find them in the scriptures."
("What is Zion- a Distant View" Hugh Nibley. Given as a talk entitled "Waiting for Zion" at BYU on 25 Feb 1973)
The RNC and Coming to Terms with Mitt
Biggest winner and my vote for GOP nominee in 2016 is Sister
Oparowski. She cracked me up. What a hilarious couple. Loved
them.
Second best of the three nights goes to the wonderfully produced
and highly persuasive video of Mitt. It was lacking in a few areas (uhm,
why was he coming home after being gone for a long time? Insert- LDS
mission. Why did his parents live in Mexico when he was born?
Uh-just say polygamists. I get why they were left out, it was just weird
to understand it all and realize that others would just see it as huge gaps and
wonder these things.) That being said, it was really well done and made
me like Mitt a lot more. (don’t stop reading here- you have
to know the full story.)
Biggest loser- Clint Eastwood- what the crap was that?
Embarrassing.
Second biggest loser- Santorum. I won’t bother you with
the details of why I consider him to be one ginormous Pharisee… unless you want
to know. But you probably don’t.
My heart ached a bit for Ann- twice. First, during her
speech I felt she just wasn’t comfortable. It just doesn’t seem like this
is her thing. I thought she did a great job overall. Critics have
called her a Stepford Wife but I think that when you combine an attractive
woman who is well polished and put together and then add in a nervous laugh and
somewhat stiff performance- that is what you get. But I don’t know that
she asked for this. I don’t think it’s by design that she is not talking
policy or politics. It’s not her thing, so it’s better that she
not. But I just get the feeling that it’s SO NOT her thing that it kind
of makes me feel bad for her. In fact, last night as Romney walked in and
was shaking hands and made his way to the front, CNN cameras kept going to
her. She looked sad. If she wasn’t sad, she wasn’t happy.
Maybe she was just tired. But for a second I thought I could hear her,
“for years he was a Bishop and I sat alone, for years he was a Stake President
and I attended our ward alone, and now he may become President of the US and I
will be alone for the next four years. There were many who hated his
decisions as a Bishop, but half the US is going to hate his policies as
President.” I just get the feeling that she would rather just be hanging
out in their home in NH with the grandkids and not have Mitt going around
looking for all this responsibility. Anyway- maybe I am wrong.
And Mitt. Hmmm… Here is the thing- he still hasn’t
told us what he is going to do SPECIFICALLY about the debt- which is where he
is putting all his eggs. We know he intends to continue to spend on the
military. He says he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (did
you catch that- Replace? Replace with what? His health care
plan? Is it somehow a tremendous savings?) He isn’t going to touch
Medicare or Social Security. He isn’t going to increase taxes of
corporations, the wealthy or the middle class. (He didn’t mention taxes for
the poor either way, but I doubt that is his plan.) It’s like me and
Scott telling our kids we are bankrupt and have to make some BIG changes, some
BIG sacrifices- but we are keeping the house and the utility bills (including
cell phones and cable), keeping the cars, keeping our retirement plans, keeping
our medical insurance etc- which are all very good things to keep. And
our BIG change is switching from Skippy to Jiff peanut butter to save
money. Okay- slightly exaggerated, but HOW exactly is he going to do all
this and keep the commitments to these programs and our current tax
structure? Somewhere in there is an answer- and only Mitt knows it- it
concerns me that he isn’t sharing it. I hope it comes out in the debates.
Lastly, it became very clear to me this week why the GOP bothers
me so greatly. I hold the GOP to a higher standard than the Dems.
Why? Because the GOP has wrapped their platform around religion, faith
and morality. That’s all fine and dandy- but if you are going to do that-
then you need to go all the way. You need to have integrity.
I will fully admit there are lies and devious and deceitful things said on both
sides- but only the Right does it in the name of Christianity and that bothers
me to my absolute core. I have been a fence sitter regarding Mitt- giving
him the benefit of the doubt for a long time. He lost my vote when he
selected Paul Ryan- but that’s another story for another time. My
disappointment in Mitt came this week when more than once he repeated the lie
that Obama waived the work requirement for welfare. Obama did not.
What he DID do, was grant the States the ability to submit their own State
policies for the work requirement. Of the 21 states that requested this
waiver, Utah and Nevada were two of them. Also, while Mitt was Governor
of MA- he requested the same thing. So it’s not like he was unfamiliar
with how it works. He knows the truth and he CHOSE to repeat a lie. Not only
that, but giving the option to the States falls in line with the mantra of the GOP- “small
government, more agency!" So Obama does just that and then has it twisted in to
a lie about welfare reform. It’s a small thing really in the larger
spectrum of issues. But for me, it was huge. He knowingly lied to
the public- I have a problem with that.
Redistribution of Wealth
A Commandment or a
Sin? (or neither)
Health Care Reform was signed in to law in March 2010 despite those conservative members of congress who were opposed. The United States ranks last among developed countries in overall healthcare for its citizens. Health Care Reform is an attempt to improve the care available to all in the US. How this is done exactly, or the efficiency of the plan is beyond the scope my understanding, I am just going to be honest about that- it's a big document with a lot of number crunching and medical legal talk that bores me. However, it is assumed that it does come at a cost to its citizens- and that cost will be paid by a 3.8% tax on the “unearned income” of “high earners”.
Agency is a gospel principle. President David O. McKay stated: “Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct our lives is God’s greatest gift to man. Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man. It is a divine gift to every normal being. … To man is given a special endowment, not bestowed upon any other living thing. God gave to him the power of choice. Only to the human being did the Creator say, ‘… thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; …” (Moses 3:17). Without this divine power to choose, humanity cannot progress” (“Man’s Free Agency—An Eternal Principle of Progress,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1965, 1073).
We make a big deal of agency, and rightly so. But I believe that applying the principle of agency to “redistribution of wealth” is a poor application at best.
It is God given and cannot be taken by another. I think too often in the Church we use the words agency, freedom and liberty interchangeably. This is not correct. Personal freedoms and liberties can be limited by another individual, the environment in which we live or as a consequence to choices we have made in the past. Agency cannot. Agency is by its very nature and definition eternally linked with our spirits. Synonymous with agency would be our conscious and the Light of Christ.
“This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 62).
Therefore, this whole argument that I keep hearing from LDS Conservatives- that “new laws and taxes are Evil because they take away our (God Given and Eternal) Agency”- is completely erroneous. It is such a misapplication of the Gospel Principle of Agency that I have to wonder if the Lord finds it offensive. Would he not be offended that his covenanted Saints believe someone or something can take from them His Eternal Gift?
Is imposing a tax that presumably has consequences if not paid, a sin? I suppose it depends on the purpose of the tax. Here is where many will differ in their opinions of what things have value and are righteous as opposed to what things are not only a waste but a sin. However, we are commanded in D&C to obey and honor the law of the land.
Truth
We have to know how to apply TRUTH to our decisions. D&C 93:24- "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come..." God's Truths are eternal. If we understand what these eternal truths are, they can be applied to anything.
8 June 2012
Over the last couple of years I have often heard LDS
Conservatives speak of the “redistribution of wealth” in a derogatory manner
and I have been baffled by their argument that it is part of “Satan’s
plan”. The present day issue that has
stirred such talk is Obama’s Health Care Reform.
Health Care Reform was signed in to law in March 2010 despite those conservative members of congress who were opposed. The United States ranks last among developed countries in overall healthcare for its citizens. Health Care Reform is an attempt to improve the care available to all in the US. How this is done exactly, or the efficiency of the plan is beyond the scope my understanding, I am just going to be honest about that- it's a big document with a lot of number crunching and medical legal talk that bores me. However, it is assumed that it does come at a cost to its citizens- and that cost will be paid by a 3.8% tax on the “unearned income” of “high earners”.
High
earners are being defined as: Those whose tax filing status is “single”
will be subject to the new unearned income taxes if they have Adjusted Gross
Income (AGI) of more than $200,000. Married couples filing a joint return with
AGI of more than $250,000 will also be subject to the new tax.
Unearned income is the
income that an individual derives from investing his/her capital. It includes
capital gains, rents, dividends and interest income. It also comes from some
investments in active businesses if the investor is not an active participant
in the business. The portion of unearned income that is subject both to income
tax and the new Medicare tax is the amount of income derived from these
sources, reduced by any expenses associated with earning that income. (Hence
the term “net” investment income.)
Conservatives are calling this a “redistribution of wealth”-
taking from the rich (“high earners”) and giving to the poor (the under insured
and unemployed). Perhaps it is.
However, LDS Conservatives are also calling it “part of Satan’s
plan”. Heavenly Father’s plan in
pre-mortality was to allow each of His children to continue to use the gift of
Agency. Thereby coming to earth and gaining a body we
could make choices- for good or for evil- but ultimately to be agents unto
ourselves- responsible eternally for the choices we make on our own
behalf. Satan offered salvation for all
without choices being necessary- promising that no one would “fail” as there
would be no choices to make, and asked in return for all the honor to go to
him.
Agency is a Gospel Principle
Agency is a gospel principle. President David O. McKay stated: “Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct our lives is God’s greatest gift to man. Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man. It is a divine gift to every normal being. … To man is given a special endowment, not bestowed upon any other living thing. God gave to him the power of choice. Only to the human being did the Creator say, ‘… thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; …” (Moses 3:17). Without this divine power to choose, humanity cannot progress” (“Man’s Free Agency—An Eternal Principle of Progress,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1965, 1073).
We make a big deal of agency, and rightly so. But I believe that applying the principle of agency to “redistribution of wealth” is a poor application at best.
Agency is an Eternal Law
It is God given and cannot be taken by another. I think too often in the Church we use the words agency, freedom and liberty interchangeably. This is not correct. Personal freedoms and liberties can be limited by another individual, the environment in which we live or as a consequence to choices we have made in the past. Agency cannot. Agency is by its very nature and definition eternally linked with our spirits. Synonymous with agency would be our conscious and the Light of Christ.
“This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 62).
Therefore, this whole argument that I keep hearing from LDS Conservatives- that “new laws and taxes are Evil because they take away our (God Given and Eternal) Agency”- is completely erroneous. It is such a misapplication of the Gospel Principle of Agency that I have to wonder if the Lord finds it offensive. Would he not be offended that his covenanted Saints believe someone or something can take from them His Eternal Gift?
Is the taking of Freedoms a Sin?
Possibly, but I suppose this would depend on the motive for
which the freedom is taken. Most would
agree that loss of freedoms is an appropriate consequence for those who have
maliciously harmed another. Furthermore,
one’s choices are often limited in life because of poor choices they had made
before. (I cannot be a school teacher if
I have a criminal record. I cannot serve
a mission if there are certain transgressions in my past.)
Is imposing a tax that presumably has consequences if not paid, a sin? I suppose it depends on the purpose of the tax. Here is where many will differ in their opinions of what things have value and are righteous as opposed to what things are not only a waste but a sin. However, we are commanded in D&C to obey and honor the law of the land.
However, as stated above, the tax increase has not caused a
loss of agency, in fact- quite the opposite- one’s choices just became greater-
will I pay the tax, or will I not (and thereby suffer the consequences)?
Seeking Answers thru Gospel Principles
When I was teaching seminary, I often found myself telling
my class of basically good, righteous LDS teens “the challenge of your lifetime
as far as the Gospel is concerned, is going to be sorting through and making
the BEST choices”. I would try to explain
to them that as they get older and are faced with life’s toughest decisions the
waters are going to become more and more murky.
The line between right and wrong, good and evil, will be harder and
harder to decipher.
Truth
We have to know how to apply TRUTH to our decisions. D&C 93:24- "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come..." God's Truths are eternal. If we understand what these eternal truths are, they can be applied to anything.
Conflicting Gospel Truths
So what does one do when one feels there are conflicting
truths? This has happened since the
beginning of mortality. Adam and Eve
were told to multiply and replenish the earth, yet they were also told to not
partake of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In order to live one commandment, it was
clear that they needed to break another. Traditional Christianity has translated the Adam and Eve
story as a the Original Sin- The Fall of Man, for which we are all held
responsible. LDS see the Fall of Adam as
one of the greatest choice ever made.
How do we “prioritize” gospel truths when faced with this issue?
How do we “prioritize” gospel truths when faced with this issue?
Which is the Greater Commandment?
In this case, the answer is clear for me. In Mark 12:28-31 a scribe asks Jesus what the
greatest commandment is. Jesus responds,
“thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind, and with all they strength: this is the first
commandment. And the second is like,
namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these.” This makes it pretty clear. Love the Lord and love others. There is no other commandment greater than
these-none.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Charity and Self Reliance- Love your Neighbor or Stay your Hand?
I often hear well-meaning people state that while they know
we are commanded to love our neighbor and to care for the poor and needy- there
comes a point where we MUST stop doing so, because otherwise people will never
learn to care for themselves, to be self-reliant.
I suspect that this line of thinking (which is very popular
in the LDS culture) comes from believing that we have two contradicting
commandments- love your neighbor (and your enemy) and be hard working, industrious
and become self-reliant. My guess is
that in an attempt to “balance” these two commandments we logically assume that
we should first, be charitable. We offer
our care and concern and temporal help once, twice, three or four times. But at some point we feel like we are being
taken advantage of if the need is ever present.
And so we “stay our hand” and justify our action (or lack of action) by “balancing
the scale”- and tell ourselves, “I will no longer help this person, they need
to learn to be self-reliant!”
I believe this is NOT how the Lord intends us to apply these commandments.
I believe this is NOT how the Lord intends us to apply these commandments.
The Greatest Commandments
The Lord tells us that the second Greatest Commandment (second
only to loving the Lord) is to love our neighbor. [Mark 12: 30-31] He even emphasizes how to PRIORITIZE the
commandments when he says in verse 31 “There is none other commandment greater
than these.”
30) And thow shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31) And the second is like,
namely this, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these.
Who is my Neighbor?
When the Pharisee asks “Who is our neighbor?” The Lord tells the parable of the Good
Samaritan and the extreme measure he went to, to care for a man lying injured
and weak on the side of the road. He tell us to “go and do likewise”. [Luke 10:29-37]
Love your Enemy
In Matthew 5 we learn that we also need to love our
enemy. Who is our enemy? One of the definitions of an “enemy” that the
Savior gives is those that “despitefully use you”. He admonishes us to remember that by only
loving those who “love us back” we gain no reward.
43) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44) But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and
pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45) That ye may be the children
of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46) For if ye love them which
love you, what reward have ye?
When Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive our
enemy- the Lord told him “seventy times seven”.
[Matt 18:22]. This is not to be
taken literally as 490 times, but an infinite amount of times.
Do not Judge those whom you Serve
In Mosiah 4:16-19 we receive further instruction from King
Benjamin. King Benjamin understands the
natural man. He states,
17)
Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore
I will stay my hand, and I will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto
him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just-
King Benjamin tells us that THIS is something that we need
to repent of. Once we decide to “stay
our hand” because we feel that he has “earned” his situation, we are judging
the person.
18) But I say unto you, O man,
whosoever doeth this the same has great cause to repent; and except he
repenteth of that which he hath done, he perisheth forever, and hath no
interest in the kingdom of God.
He then reminds us that we ALL depend on God for everything
that we have. He has provided it ALL. It ALL belongs to Him and He has commanded us
to impart of our substance that we have
unto one another.
19) For behold, are we not all
beggars? Do we not all depend on the
same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and
raiment, and for gold and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of
every kind?
20) And behold, even at this
time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your
sins. And has suffered that ye have
begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out
his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hears should be filled with joy,
and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find
utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
21) And now, if God, who has
created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have
and are, doth grant unto you unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in
faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of
the substance that ye have one to another.
Verse 21 makes it pretty clear to me that it is offensive to
God for us to ask for blessings for ourselves- whether they be health, healing
or temporal items, if we are not imparting FREELY of all that we have to those
who are in need.
Lastly, King Benjamin teaches us that if we are going to judge
our neighbor and “stay our hand”, how much more will be our condemnation.
22) And if ye judge the man who putteth up
his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how
much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance,
which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and
yet he put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
23) I say unto you, wo be unto
that man, for his substance shall perish with him…
What
about Self- Reliance?
Latter
Day Saints have a long heritage of being industrious, hard-working and self-reliant. This is a very good thing, but I believe it’s
value and proper application gets erroneously applied when it comes to caring for the sick, hungry and poor.
In 1936 the First Presidency outlined a
welfare plan for the Church. They said: “Our primary purpose was to set up … a
system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of
a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once
more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the
people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle
of the lives of our Church membership” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1936, 3). [Handbook 2: Administering the Church; Purpose of Church
Welfare]
It is important to note that the above paragraph above is in regards to the purpose of the
Church’s Welfare Plan. The purpose
of the plan IS to help make people more self-reliant in both spiritual and
temporal matters. The Bishop and Stake
President are stewards over the Bishops’ Storehouse and have access to Fast
Offering funds. They are charged with
being a Judge in Israel to dispense of these items as they are guided and
directed by the Spirit. They are also charged with helping others become self reliant.
Furthermore in the Section
of Handbook 2- Purposes of Church Welfare- under the topic of Self Reliance-
Self-reliance is the
ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and temporal
necessities of life for self and family. As members become self-reliant, they
are also better able to serve and care for others.
Church members are
responsible for their own spiritual and temporal well-being. Blessed with the
gift of agency, they have the privilege and duty to set their own course, solve
their own problems, and strive to become self-reliant. Members do this under
the inspiration of the Lord and with the labor of their own hands.
This Section of Handbook 2
goes on-
Members’ Efforts to Care
for the Poor and Needy and Give Service
Through His Church,
the Lord has provided a way to care for the poor and needy. He has asked Church
members to give generously according to what they have received from
Him. He has also asked His people to “visit the poor and the needy and administer
to their relief” (D&C 44:6).
Church members are encouraged to give personal compassionate service to those
in need. They should be “anxiously engaged in a good cause,” serving without being
asked or assigned (see D&C 58:26–27). Members can also help the poor and needy of
all faiths throughout the world by contributing to the Church’s humanitarian
efforts. Providing in the Lord’s way humbles the rich, exalts the poor, and
sanctifies both (see D&C 104:15–18).
President J. Reuben Clark Jr. taught: “The real long term
objective of the Welfare Plan is the building of character in the members of
the Church, givers and receivers, rescuing all that is finest down deep inside
of them, and bringing to flower and fruitage the latent richness of the spirit,
which after all is the mission and purpose and reason for being of this Church”
(in special meeting of stake presidents, Oct. 2, 1936).
Self
Reliance is a Charge to US- we are NOT to use it to JUDGE another
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)