Moral Law

The further we go down the path of the latter days, the more convoluted the differing messages in society become concerning morality and law. But the serious nature of the topic makes me want to say a few words about the it. I sincerely hope not to offend anyone, and I recognize that I am as prone to imperfection as the next person. Anyway, it helps me to wright my thoughts down, and I hope that it helps you to read them.

Many people take issue with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because from time to time the Church takes a stance on a certain politically charged topic of the day. They get angry with Mormons, or with Christians or Catholics, saying, "they are always trying to legislate their morals and beliefs on the rest of us." They feel that it is not right to force people to abide certain morals through passing laws that contain moral positions. "Who are you to tell me what morals I should have and what I can and can't do?", they say. "I get to choose what is right or wrong for me. Not you." What do you say in response to this? I can certainly understand why they might feel this way. Here are a few ideas of how I would respond.

Image from tcapologetics.org

Laws, for the most part, all have some moral component to them. That is the nature of law. Take murder, for example; pretty easy to see the moral component there. Let's look at a less obvious example or two. How about speeding? Speeding laws exist because we have a moral obligation to try to keep people safe from harm. False advertising laws exist because we have a moral obligation not to take advantage of another person. It's not honest or fair, both of which are moral concepts. Tax evasion laws exist because we have a moral obligation to all contribute to the infrastructure that we benefit from each day. It's not fair to take advantage of those who do pay taxes by using those amenities without contributing. Again, fairness is a moral concept.



So, let's apply the "you can't legislate morality" mentality to all of these examples.

• Murder: "Why am I in jail for killing him? My belief system tells me that there is nothing wrong with killing someone that has shamed my family. You have no right to tell me what is right and wrong. That is my decision."
• Speeding: "I get to decide how fast I can go, because you can't dictate my morals to me and tell me that I should care about your safety."
• False Advertising: "Who are you to tell me I can't make false claims in my ads? I get to choose my morals, and taking advantage of someone or lying doesn't seem wrong to me; if it gets me ahead. It's survival of the fittest out there. That's natural law."
• Tax Evasion: "Why should I be punished for not paying my taxes? It's my money. I get to spend it how I want. Why should I care that you pay taxes? I never payed up for gas on road trips in college. So, why should I care about putting in now. Contributing to the group means nothing in my morality."

Some then change the subject from morality to rights. They say that these laws are all about protecting people's rights and not morality. That doesn't work either, for a few reasons. First, you can't dictate to me the moral obligation to care about your rights. Second, rights either come from the state or from God. If they come from the state, then you have no real claim over them anyway. They are on loan to you from the state and can be taken away or infringed upon at any time. If rights come from God, then they are drenched from head to toe in morality. Third, the whole concept of rights is that there are certain privileges that everyone is entitled to. And it is right for them to have those privileges and wrong to take them away. But when the concept of right and wrong enters the picture, with it comes morality.

The truth is that morality has been legislated in civilized government since forever.  Legislating moral laws has never taken away people's God-given agency, just attached civil consequences to their choices. They can still choose to murder, to speed, to lie, and to freeload. And just because someone promotes a law with a certain moral foundation, it does not mean that he or she hates those that choose a different moral stance. So, the question is not, Can or should we have laws with moral foundations? but What do we as a society want our morals to be? And when the majority of society chooses morals that are contrary to "the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ," that is the day we loose the protection of Heaven (Ether 2:7-12). Thus, above all other things in our country we should be promoting and pushing for Judeo-Christian morals, for they are the only thing that keeps us free.

What's with the horse and all the metal?

So, over the past several weeks I have seen this meme on Facebook that has bothered me a little about Disney's movie Frozen. The meme says something along the lines of, "Frozen, the first Disney movie to teach that a princess doesn't need a prince to save her." (Now, before all you fervent frozen fans give me the cold shoulder, let me tell you that I like the movie. In fact, my kids watch frozen movie clips on the Roku almost every day, they ask me to sing "Let it go" at night before going to bed, and my 4 year old knows most of the words to the songs.) Back to the meme. First of all, whoever made it must not have seen Mulan, who actually saved the prince, TWICE, and her group of soldiers, and the emperor, and China. So...

Second of all, I'm not sure I understand the rancor that people feel towards princes and the whole saving the princess thing. I grew up watching Disney movies. I watched those princes save the princesses over and over again. I never remember thinking that because they needed saving that it meant the princesses were somehow weak, helpless, or inferior in some way. On the contrary, I always held the princesses in high esteem, because they were always the moral champions. Even when oppressed, hurt, and held captive by evil queens, step mothers, or other nefarious characters, they never let their suffering make them full of hatred, vengeance, or selfishness. Rather, kindness, gentleness, and an unyielding commitment to do the right thing were always their hallmark. So, for me, I never felt like the image of the prince saving the princess was meant to teach the princesses of the world something. Instead, I felt like it was meant to teach the princes something.

Image from www.huffingtonpost.com

Men and boys have always needed heroes to look up to and follow. Whether it was the white knight, Superman, the Magnificent Seven, or someone else, boys have dreamed of riding with the good guy in the story to stand against evil and bravely come to the rescue. Boys need to feel needed as much as girls do, though in different ways. They need to feel like they are someone's hero; like they are admired. Boys need to feel that if they weren't there trying to save the day, bad things would certainly happen. This is why guys, when their mom, sister, girlfriend, or wife talks to them about a problem they are facing, they run off to get the tool box to fix it, instead of just listening and being sympathetic. It's not because we think that the girl can't solve the problem on her own or that we don't care about how they feel, but because we innately want to be admired as the hero. We can't help it. It's hard wired into us.

Because it is part of our nature, sad things often happen when princes feel like their services as a hero are not needed, or even not wanted. Some will stop bothering to exhibit the characteristics of a prince. If a superhero is not needed why bother putting on the cape and all the spandex? Most of the time they will seek for that need to be met in other ways. They may try to be admired by the wrong group of people by engaging in behavior that they otherwise would not have done. They may turn to the virtual world to try to fulfill that need, either through gaming or pornography. They may be tempted to look to another woman who he feels may admire him as the hero he wants to be. Its like in the Disney/Pixar movie The Incredibles, since we're talking about Disney movies, when Mr. Incredible finds himself as "a super" living in a world that no longer wants to have supers around. The society is angry at them for their mistakes and feels that their work as supers is no longer needed. Slowly the need to be a hero boils up inside Mr. Incredible, until he starts sneaking out to listen to police scanners and moonlighting on his family to do work as a super for someone who sees him as a super and who expects him to be one. Unfortunately, this happens all the time to princes today, in one way or another. Their moonlighting may take different forms, but its the same story.

So, I think that the image of the white knight riding in to save the day is intended more for the princes of the world than it is the princesses. It is a reminder that behaving like a prince is still needed. It reminds them that the princesses of the world are something to strive to be worthy of, so that when the time comes that you are called to fight a dragon for them, you'll be ready. I see this in young men and adults alike. If they don't feel admired or needed as a hero, they stop behaving like one. So, for the sake of all of the princes out there, help them to feel that you still need them to come to the rescue. Help them to see that a white horse and armor suits them well. Help them know that the princesses of the world will forever hope to see them on the horizon.

The Original Gender Bender

On September 23rd, 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley, then President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" in a talk he gave in the General Relief Society Meeting. It was written by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as a warning to the world about the consequences of the disintegration of the family, both religiously and as a society. That document, written almost 20 years ago now, has proven to be prophetic in every sense of that word.

As you read the Proclamation you get the feeling of wading waist deep in truth. Every line is loaded from one end to the other with the Lord's teachings about His plan for the human family. It's like being in a hyperbaric chamber of pure doctrine, refreshing and saturating our souls with the principles of happiness. In the Proclamation there is one statement that often doesn't get as much attention as some of the others. It states, "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." I would just like to say a few words about this topic.

As an integral part of his war against mankind (Revelation 12), Satan is attacking the family with as much fury and hatred as ever. He does so because he knows the family is at the very heart of God's plan for the happiness and eternal progress of His children. Gender sits squarely in Satan's cross-hairs as he fights to disassemble the family. Satan understands that if he can blur the lines between the genders for people, he will dramatically reduce the likelihood of them forming righteous and strong family relationships, and thus dramatically increasing their likelihood of misery (2 Nephi 2:27).

How does Satan, the original gender bender, blur the gender lines? Well, there is the obvious way of trying to confuse people about which gender they are. Now, God alone knows fully the truth of what each person experiences in this life, and I am confident that a perfectly just and merciful Jesus will iron out all of the mortal wrinkles set in the souls of men and women at no fault of their own. But until such time as we can see through clearer eyes, I will view gender confusion as being a product of the great Deceiver. In no way does it decrease the worth of the person struggling with their identity, nor does it impact their right to being accepted and loved by anyone who claims to follow Jesus.

A second and much more widespread blurring of gender lines is found in trying to convince people that gender is meaningless. There is a great force in society today trying to sell people on the idea that men and women are essentially the same, and therefore have no real need for each other. Thus, there is no role that one gender can play that the other can't do, and maybe even do better. Relationships with the other gender then become all about meeting one's selfish desires, with no thought nor care about the other person really, since each will just return back to their totally independent life, devoid of any need for the other beyond satisfying appetites.

Image obtained from lds.org

The truth, however, is that we need each other, desperately. We are not the same. God always intended for men and women to be together, for "it is not good that the man [or the woman] should be alone" (Gen 2:18, Moses 3:18, Abraham 5:14) It is a vital part of God's plan that we work together to love, shape, and lift each other in ways neither gender could do alone. The Proclamation even teaches about the need for each gender, if at all possible, to fulfill traditional roles in the family. This is by design, not because one gender isn't strong enough, smart enough, sensitive enough, or anything else enough to be able to carry out the responsibilities of the other, but rather because those specific roles help each gender to become their best and eternal selves. They are designed to help us acquire the attributes of our Heavenly Parents, to which happiness is inextricably tied.

We are not the same. We never have been and we never will be. Lehi taught that there needs to be "an opposition in all things." If not, "all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead...Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose to the end of [their] creation' (2 Nephi 2:11-12). This is everlastingly true for men and women, masculine in opposition to feminine. Both are invaluable, and each can only be exalted in the company of the other (1 Cor 11:11, D&C 131:2).

Comforted in Earnest

Everyday we each set our hand to certain tasks, hoping to be successful and to accomplish some desired end. These tasks can be of our own choosing or placed upon us as part of the conditions of life on earth. Regardless of the origin of our circumstances, we approach the events of each day in the hopes of being equal to the things required of us.

As we work to accomplish the outcomes we desire, we often crave some form of feedback to know how we're doing. It means that much more to us when it comes from someone we hold in high regard. I have played the guitar and written music since ninth grade, trying to be like my dad and my older brother. In college I played one of my songs at a concert for a songwriting class. I remember my dad coming up to me after the concert with tears in his eyes. He hugged me and I knew that he was proud of me and that he thought that my song was truly good. That meant the world to me and gave me confidence moving forward.

The need for feedback on how we're doing is especially keen regarding our efforts to follow Jesus in learning eternal life. Most of us feel from time to time some measure of fear or worry as to our standing before God. We feel a degree of anxiety as we wonder whether or not we are measuring up to the rigors of discipleship. Often we compare ourselves to others in a desperate attempt to get a feel for where we are on the road to Righteousness. Such comparisons are done myopically and almost always lead to "hands which hang down" (Heb 12:12). In great mercy, however, our Heavenly Father has prepared for us a powerful and perfect medium of feedback that truly can give "rest unto [our] souls" (Matt 11:29). The key lies in both being able to 1) recognize it and 2) believe it when it comes.

In two of his epistles, one to the saints in Ephesus and one to those in Corinth, Paul teaches of one of the least understood and most unappreciated functions of the Holy Ghost in the lives of the "humble seeker(s) of happiness" (Alma 27:18) who follow Jesus. These people, imperfect as they are, give an honest effort to love others, keep their promises, and lead people to Christ. They love light rather than darkness (John 3:19) and piece their way along, slowly but surely, "from grace to grace" (D&C 93:13). Paul teaches that to these saints a kind Father in Heaven sends something that he refers to as "the earnest of the Spirit in [their] hearts" (2 Cor 1:22).

Earnest money in business and real estate deals is a payment made to show the true intent of the parties involved and the surety of the contract's conditions being met in full. Thus, God sends us the Holy Ghost to testify to our souls that His promises to us are fully intact and that He is bound to keep them (D&C 82:10). That is why the Holy Ghost is referred to as "the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph 1:13, D&C 76:53), He serves as a witness that God's promise to grant us eternal life is in full force and bound to come to be if we continue on our current course (Eph 1:14, D&C 88:4). Think of that! Never again do you have to guess as to your standing before the Lord! If you feel the Spirit on a regular basis, it means that your covenants with Him are binding and you are on course to obtain that "greatest of all the gifts of God" (D&C 14:7). It means that He is pleased with you and your efforts to do what is right. It is that moment with my father after the concert! This knowledge gives us confidence that if we were to be called home to His presence now, we would be ready (D&C 121:45, 1 John 4:17-18). This is perhaps the greatest reason that the Holy Ghost is known as The Comforter.

To The Unknown God

Prayer is such an interesting thing. For some, it is an absolutely vital part of their day to day experience, and they can't imagine how they would survive without it. For others, even many that believe in God, it is utterly meaningless. Many don't pray, nor do they have any interest in it. Others feel they should pray, but they either don't know how or something else stops them. Some pray, but their words are empty, devoid of any real thought or sincerity. And there are some for whom prayer is nearly always true communion with God, filling them with both peace and power. If you are like me, however, you may have spent a little time in all of these groups throughout your life and you often find yourself phasing in and out periods of meaningful prayer and prayers that seem to bounce right back off the ceiling.

In praying I sometimes feel a bit like the moon, ever running in circles, trying desperately to shine a little light on the dark areas of this mortal experience, but spending most of the time not getting the angle quite right. There are times when I stand in just the right place and I feel the full splendor of the sun rushing across my face, giving both form and familiarity where there had previously been only blackness. Then shortly after that moment of celestial clarity, the "co-motion" (D&C 88:91) of me and my target sends me whirling again through space, hoping to catch just a few more brightly beams of Our Father's mercy.

I often ask, is it possible to break free from whatever gravity keeps me in this never ending orbit, cycling in and out of powerful prayer? If it is possible, how? What do I need? Though there are likely to be multiple things that I need, the older I get the more I feel that a real belief in the true characteristics of God is a vital part of breaking orbit. Here are just a few of His traits that have helped change my prayers for the better:

• Truly believing that God is our Father and that He loves us with a perfect love.
• Believing that He has the past, present, and future continually before him (D&C 130:7, Moses 1:6).
• Believing that He really is the Almighty, having power to do whatever is necessary.
• Believing that He truly does have perfect wisdom and that His timing will always be right.
• Believing that He really can make "all things work together for [our] good" (Romans 8:28, D&C 98:3).
• Truly believing that He has the ability to hear our prayers among all His other children and that He will answer you at the perfect time and in the perfect way.

Having been taught that God has these traits is one thing, really believing it is something very different. But it is the true belief in these traits, taking them at face value, that makes all the difference in the world in how we approach prayer. That is why Moroni counsels that, before we pray, we should ponder on "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down to the time that" we kneel at our bedside, or sit in the car after work, or wait up at night for a child to come home.

Paul taught the people of Athens the true characteristics of the "UNKNOWN GOD" that they ignorantly worshiped (Acts 17:22-29). Moroni taught that miracles cease, including the miracle of powerful prayer, when people "know not the God in whom they should trust" (Mormon 9:20). May we seek to know our Father's character and truly believe in Him as we try to improve our prayers. I am confident that as we do this we will spend more time in the light of the Son.

A thought on the purpose of LDS Temples

Ether 6:3

"And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness"

(Read the whole story from Ether 1-6 in The Book of Mormon)