Revisiting: A Standard of Our Own

The classic Book of Mormon icon, Captain Moroni raises the Title of Liberty to rally his followers.

In the October 2015 General Conference, President Monson delivered two messages.  Unless we read in context, at least superficially some of his counsel seems contradictory.  At the Priesthood Session, President Monson counselled in his address "Keep the Commandments"...

The Apostle Paul lists six attributes of a believer, attributes that will allow our lights to shine. Let us look at each one...

I mention the first two attributes together—being an example in word and in conversation. The words we use can lift and inspire, or they can harm and demean.

But then a stern warning...

We read in 1 Corinthians: “There are … so many kinds of voices in the world.”  We are surrounded by persuasive voices, beguiling voices, belittling voices, sophisticated voices, and confusing voices. I might add that these are LOUD voices.

I admonish you to turn the volume down and to be influenced instead by that still, small voice which will guide you to safety.

Disregard for the commandments has opened the way for what I consider to be the plagues of our day. They include the plague of permissiveness, the plague of pornography, the plague of drugs, the plague of immorality, and the plague of abortion, to name just a few. The scriptures tell us that the adversary is “the founder of all these things.”  We know that he is “the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men.”

The emphasis in his comments was that instead of heeding the noise of many different loud voices, we must heed the still small voice, promptings of the Holy Spirit. 

Then in his opening address on Sunday, his counsel...

Let us speak to others with love and respect, ever keeping our language clean and avoiding words or comments that would wound or offend. May we follow the example of the Savior, who spoke with tolerance and kindness throughout His ministry.

The apparent contradiction comes with the worldly definition for "comments that would wound or offend".  Many of the sources of the LOUD voices take occasion to be "offended" by almost every word we might say.  They claim to be "wounded" by any mention of the doctrines of Christ.

President Monson cites Jesus Christ as the example of the example of tolerance and kindness, but even Jesus spoke harsh criticisms of those who merited strong criticism.

He did not shrink from harsh condemnation of those who deserved it.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 

Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?  (Matthew 23:14-17)

President Monson certainly understands the intent and message of these scriptures, so his counsel is fully intended to be interpreted from that context. 

We need to continue to promote standards of our own, not compromise our values to speak kindly to soften our words in behalf of those who merit more severe criticism.  It is not a kindness to withhold appropriate sternness from those who try to advocate compromising the commandments of God.  It is not loving to fail to warn those who sin and embrace evil, bringing sorrow and ruin along with them, into the lives of everyone who is touched by their influence.

President Monson's example sets the standard for this.  He does not tone down his rhetoric out of concern that it might possibly offend the LOUD voices.  The guilty will always use the "he offends me" complaint.  They would likely feign offense and bleeding hearts even if he said nothing at all.

Instead, while condemning the sources of evil and ill will with no equivocation, he refrains from employing extra derogatory or hyperbolic characterizations.  Right is right, wrong is wrong, good is good, and evil is evil - it requires no further elaboration or nuance.

An example of making our own voices understood against the competing background was expressed in the April 2015 General Conference by Elder L. Tom Perry...

We want our voice to be heard against all of the counterfeit and alternative lifestyles that try to replace the family organization that God Himself established.

On the following Wednesday, the Salt Lake Tribune published a reaction from a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, advocating to promote homosexual behavior, expressing "deep disappointment" in Perry's comments, which it believes "disparage LGBT families and children as 'counterfeit.' "

HRC asserts families which promote homosexual lifestyles "are not counterfeit — they are real and beautiful.  We encourage Mr. Perry and his fellow apostles to embrace the diversity that already exists within their own church, and reject the language and practice of intolerance."

This is exactly what President Monson refers to as "the plague of permissiveness" and "the plague of immorality."

Then there was a more recent incident of an group of atheists demanding that teaching of LDS Institute Classes at the University of Utah must be stopped, claiming that it is a violation of the Constitutional Establishment Clause.  More belittling and confusing voices.

In the words of the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah,

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.  (Isaiah 5:20)

The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.  (Isaiah 29:19-21)

When dissidents and detractors insist that Prophets who speak for God must restrain themselves from speaking offensive words which contradict their own LOUD voices, they are living by the popular standard Isaiah described so long ago.

Our Prophet of today, President Monson, in his two General Conference addresses, sets the example for us all.  Keep the commandments, and be an example and a light.  Not that any softening of God's commandments or any less condemnation of sin is warranted.

The Days of Our Probation

Heavenly Father will see us safely through, if we keep the commandments

But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.  (Helaman 13:32-38)

And except those days should be shortened, there should none of their flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake, according to the covenant, those days shall be shortened.  (Matthew 24:20)

God’s commandments are not given to frustrate us or to become obstacles to our happiness. Just the opposite is true. He who created us and who loves us perfectly knows just how we need to live our lives in order to obtain the greatest happiness possible. He has provided us with guidelines which, if we follow them, will see us safely through this often treacherous mortal journey.  (Keep the Commandments)

Obedience

Some have the mistaken idea that the commandments of God constrict freedom and personal growth.  Not so.  God gives commandments for our benefit. They are loving instructions for our happiness and for our physical and spiritual well-being.

Jesus counselled his disciples to be obedient:

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?  (Luke 6:46)

If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10)

Joseph Smith taught about obedience:

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21)

In a recent conference address, President Monson taught:

A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God. (President Thomas S. Monson, Obedience Brings Blessings)

President Uchtdorf counsels to be aware of the beautiful blessings that blossom and grow out of obedience:

Let us not walk the path of discipleship with our eyes on the ground, thinking only of the tasks and obligations before us. Let us not walk unaware of the beauty of the glorious earthly and spiritual landscapes that surround us.

The “what” and “how” of obedience mark the way and keep us on the right path. The “why” of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration. (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Forget Me Not)

This illustration of the cycle of obedience models the result of observing the commandments of God.   Obedience brings blessings to us, which makes us happier and motivates further obedience.

Despite the popular confusion of this idea, there has never been the slightest ambiguity.  Obedience is always positive.  God has never commanded us to disobey any of his commandments.

Cecil B. DeMille, producer of the epic The Ten Commandments, dramatizing the life of Moses the Lawgiver, spoke at a BYU commencement in 1957.  He made these observations:

We are too inclined to think of law as something merely restrictive—something hemming us in.  We sometimes think of law as the opposite of liberty.  But that is a false conception. That is not the way that God’s inspired prophets and lawgivers looked upon the law. Law has a twofold purpose.  It is meant to govern and it is also meant to educate...

 ...We cannot break the Ten Commandments.  We can only break ourselves against them—or else, by keeping them, rise through them to the fullness of freedom under God.  God means us to be free. With divine daring, He gave us the power of choice.  (Cecil B. DeMille, BYU Commencement Address)

Jesus taught his disciples, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."(John 14:15)

During the Last Supper, Jesus Christ taught His disciples how they could show their love for Him.

We manifest our love for the Lord by keeping His commandments.

Divine Love

In the February 2003 Ensign, Elder Russel M. Nelson presents an exposition on "Divine Love".

In the article, Elder Nelson explains the nature of divine love, a frequently misunderstood and mistakenly characterized idea.  "While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional."

  He offers unambiguous scriptural references to conditional promises that the Lord has offered through time.   The nature of divine conditional love is expressed in specific language that characterizes such scriptures.

It is equally evident that certain blessings come from a loving Lord only if required conditions are met. Examples include:

“If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, … then I will lengthen thy days.^"  (1 Kings 3:14)

“If thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments … ; then will I perform my word with thee.” (1 Kings 6:12)

“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

“When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21)

“Unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:38)

Elder Nelson explains, "Understanding that divine love and blessings are not truly “unconditional” can defend us against common fallacies..."

“Since God’s love is unconditional, He will love me regardless …”; or 

“Since ‘God is love,’  He will love me unconditionally, regardless …”

These are popular ideas today, but they are as mistaken as the false teachings of Nehor in the Book of Mormon, 

...he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life. (Alma 1:4)

Does this mean that Jesus has no love for unbelievers and sinners?  No, it means that the Lord gives us our agency, and we choose the extent to which we receive the Lord's blessings.

Elder Nelson quotes from Brigham Young:

“Every blessing the Lord proffers to his people is on conditions. These conditions are: ‘Obey my law, keep my commandments, walk in my ordinances, observe my statutes, love mercy, … keep yourselves pure in the law, and then you are entitled to these blessings, and not until then.’” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), 454)

Jesus asked us to love one another as He has loved us.  The pure love of Christ is granted to all who seek and qualify for it.   Such love requires our obedience to the conditions and laws upon which it is based.

Wickedness never was happiness

In discussion elsewhere, someone asserted that acts of sexual transgression bring them a measure of joy. In reply, it was responded that this "free love" argument is invalid, as there are acts we agree bring some people "joy", yet are unequivocally wrong.

This is such an obvious point that it is pointless to belabor. Those who are offended by the idea that "wickedness never was happiness" cannot allow themselves to see this vital point without accepting that they are responsible and accountable for their own acts, and their own reconciliation with God. So often, they seek to find someone or something else to blame for their unhappiness. Thus the popular claim from these "victims" that the church excludes or punishes those guilty of sexual transgression.

It is also obvious that only overtly sexual behavior is proscribed by commandment, and that such behavior is largely irrelevant to the most significant acts of true love. We are not compelled to copulate with everyone or everything we have real feelings of love for -- everyone recognizes that this would be simply a ridiculous caricature of real love. By divine commandment, the biological components of sexual behavior are only appropriate within narrow boundaries. Otherwise they become a vehicle for the perversion and betrayal of real love.

This is not specific to advocates for normalizing perverted behavior -- it applies to everyone. God is truly no respecter of persons. Those of us who don't fit the cookie-cutter Mormon stereotype know this from personal experience, and we bear our own burdens in this regard. It is entirely specious to argue that the rules are unfair simply because some feel strongly compelled to break them.