Why I Will Not "Leave Well Enough Alone"

Before I tackle this weighty subject matter I should establish some fundamentals:

Beliefs

1) I am an active, practicing, faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, sometimes referred to as the "Mormon" church.

2) I believe the the Book of Mormon is the word of God as well as the Bible. I also believe in continuing revelation through living prophets and apostles.

3) I believe in the eleventh Article of Faith which states: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may" (emphasis added).

Overview

I will not be addressing specific arguments for, or against, matters such as abortion, same-sex marriage, legalization of recreational marijuana, gender "reassignment," etc. I will instead be addressing this pressing question:
"Even if you believe that ________ is wrong, why must you force that belief on everyone else legally by voting and campaigning against it? Why can't you just leave well enough alone and let people make their own choices?"

I've heard this question rephrased many different ways and asked by many different people from all walks of life. Even members of the church ask that of each other: "Why must we oppose _________? Of course we won't participate in that, but can't we just let people chose for themselves what they're going to do?" It's a fair question. The LDS Church has taken very strong stances in political matters in times past such as Proposition 8 in California and in some other circumstances as well.

Why the strong stance on the political scene if we believe so much in personal responsibility?

The "Voice of the People"

In the time of the Book of Mormon there was a government established much like our current government today. There was a "chief judge" and system of "lesser judges" to keep the power in check. Everything was established by the "voice of the people."

Mosiah the prophet-king who established this system of government gave this warning to the people: "And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land." (Mosiah 29:27, emphasis added)

Now, we have to make an important distinction between the "voice of the people" and the individual choices of people. Every time "voice of the people" is mentioned in scripture it refers specifically to voting, such as electing officials, establishing laws, establishing policies, military actions, petitions, and trials. Therefore, a very clear and important distinction is drawn as to what people vote for and what actions they make personally.

I want to reemphasize the warning given by Mosiah, in that if the voice of the people chooses iniquity (sin), destruction and judgments of God will fall upon the land. If I then, vote to legalize something I know to be iniquitous then I have aligned my political "voice" to something which will bring down destruction and the judgements of God on this nation and country. 

There are those who chose to not vote on issues such as this. Perhaps they wish, as Pilate did, to "wash their hands" of the matter and sit comfortably in their arm chairs, choosing not to intervene as the "voice of the people" releases Barabbas and crucifies Jesus. I have many things to say about these types of people, but I'll say merely this: Choosing to not vote, or otherwise contribute your political voice, does not abstain you from the responsibility and the consequences of decisions you might have influenced.

This is why I choose, on a legal and political level, to oppose those things which I know are "wrong." This is not very popular in a time where anything other than complete tolerance, no, complete acceptance, of every opposing value and belief system is practically forced upon us. I do this because I want myself, and most of all my future children, to live in a nation not condemned to destruction and the judgements of God.

I fully realize this concept might be very uncomfortable, and perhaps offensive, to those reading this. How dare I imply that by merely voting for one thing or another has the potential to bring our entire nation under condemnation? First of all, it wasn't implied, it was stated. Second, it wasn't me. I believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God to us in these latter-days as a type and shadow of what is to come. I'm just quoting His word.

Click here to read the full text.

In addition to politically opposing certain movements we have this stern warning from our modern prophets about sustaining the sanctity and importance of families: "We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets" (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph 8).

Again, in order to protect our nations and communities from the disasters prophesied we must take a stand politically, not just lie down and "let what may happen happen." The warning and call is for us as responsible citizens to "promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society" (The Family, paragraph 9).

Enough shrugging shoulders and occasional comment about how "the world's going downhill" while doing nothing about it. Enough thinking that we can have no influence on the outcome of political issues! Enough standing idly by as the vocal minority tells us what will be in our country! Or, gosh, even if the opposing view is the vocal majority! We already know that the numbers of those supporting Christ will be few, outnumbered by far by those who oppose us! But we will be given power if we are worthy of it.

"And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few... nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth... And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." (1 Nephi 14:12-14)

We will receive great power from the Lord to combat the evils of our day, but we will not be given this power until we prove ourselves worthy of it by taking a stand today. Here. Now.

The Elected

When was the last time you went and voted on an issue? Like went and voted on what should be done on certain matters. Probably never. Or at least very seldomly. With the structure of government we have in the USA we mostly vote on elected officials, and then let them vote on specific issues. While this has a lot of upsides, there are also some significant difficulties that arise.

The most obvious problem here is that if we choose to elect someone to office whose policies we
don't really know. In this day of easily digestible headlines and caring more about celebs than our representatives it's easy to follow the "fluff" advertizing and elect someone based on their charisma rather than their morals.

Don't let advertisements provide the
basis of your political knowledge.

When we let the smiling eyes of candidates dictate our political voice we are ignorantly allowing ourselves to be deceived. The time quickly comes when those elected officials begin to enact policies contrary to our beliefs. We might aloofly condemn their decisions and "wash our hands" of them all with the sickening feeling in our stomachs telling us that if we had listened more to our hearts and less with our eyes we wouldn't have supported them into office in the first place.

The other problem we might face is the possibility of those officials changing where they stand on issues after being elected into office. This is on them and they will face the consequences of misrepresenting their constituents, hopefully sooner rather than later. We should fight against this kind of deceit so as to ensure that those elected officials correctly represent our ideals.

This is a unique time when the presidential election begins to come onto the national scene. The speeches and tours begin, the clouds of advertizing des
cend, and everyone is talking about their "favorite" candidates... Or so you'd think.

I recently asked a few handfuls of people I've come in contact with (people my own age, early 20s) about which candidates they support and why. Only three of them could even name more than two current presidential candidates, much less specific stances candidates take on certain issues.

That's sad. Like really sad. Is my generation really just going to give up their agency and right to representation that easily? If Satan can keep us ignorantly in the dark concerning politics and national issues then he doesn't have to even fight another battle there! Wake up saints! All is not well in Zion. The world is in turmoil and our ignorance and apathy will be our downfall. We must get informed, and make a stand for what we know is morally right, and oppose what is morally wrong.

Love

"Tolerance" has been preached and stretched to the point of unrecognition. I won't speak of tolerance, I'll speak rather of love.

There is a saying "You can't please everyone" and it's more than true. There will always be people who oppose you no matter where you stand on any given issue. The thing we must do is be able to love them without condoning those actions which are wrong.

Christ gave us the commandment to love one another. As well we should. But let us not take this commandment out of context either from the Lord who physically cast the moneychangers out of the temple. No one would say that Christ loved those merchants any less, but it was their actions and their desecration of something sacred that caused the Lord's actions against their craft.

Steering into this topic of how to appropriately show love and acceptance of people without accepting and/or condoning their beliefs or life choices is not the purpose of this particular article. Perhaps another day I can address that topic, but for the time being I'll leave it to your personal study and pondering.

Purpose

Let me clarify a little bit on the "fire and brimstone" destruction bit as well as the purpose behind this article.

I don't mean to be a doomsdayer here. I don't want anyone reading this to walk away thinking the world is minutes away from armageddon. I also don't want anyone to think I'm telling them what to vote for and threatening them with destruction if they don't.

I tried to state very clearly at the beginning of the article what question I was here to answer. I am not here to side with one issue or another. This is not the venue for individual political battles. I have tried to keep this blog as free from those as possible, spending time devoted to the scriptures and words of living prophets and church leaders.

Conclusion

So here's what I hope you get from this:

- Understanding of why I, and others like me, oppose so adamantly legalization of things which I/we see to be wrong.

- Motivation to get involved and informed politically.

- Courage to stand for your beliefs and to vote accordingly. Not to believe one thing and vote/support another. This includes electing officials that represent your beliefs.

- Seeking and anticipating the power promised you of God as you make a stand in what and whom to support.

We live in unique and challenging times. The temptation is to curl up and not share our opinion for fear of being ridiculed or lashed out at. Well the time for apathy is past. You will find, as you make a stand, that there are those on both sides of the veil who are ready and willing to support you and stand by you. But first you must stand.

Keep Pushing On

Andrew

Weakness.

It's been a long time since I last wrote on this blog.

A lot has happened.

I've been through some exciting and amazing times. I've also experienced some of the most difficult and emotionally trying experiences I have ever been asked to endure.

I thought a few times about writing. Topics such as "hope," "not murmuring" and "forgiveness." But finally today I was able to piece together some thoughts. They stem from one of my very favorite scriptures:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Ether 12:27

Let's talk about it shall we? But instead of picking apart the entire verse, my focus will be almost entirely on the first line. It's kind of thought provoking if you think of what it's actually telling us...

If Men Come Unto Me

...Is that even necessary? When you really think about it does the first sentence in that verse throw anyone else for a loop? Really. Is it entirely necessary to have that line in there? "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness." The first step is coming to God so He can show us our weakness? Like we don't already know them?

I mean I can only speak for myself, but my weaknesses stick out quite painfully in my mind. I don't think I need an angel popping up one night and being like "Well Andrew, God's made a list of your weaknesses! Congrats! Sorry it took so long, haha it's quite a list! Let's see, you tend to bury your emotions instead of talking about them, you handle a basketball like a three-legged rhinoceros, you spend too much time on Netflix..." Seriously though, I can figure out those (and a lot more!) just fine without the heavenly manifestation.

But the statement stands and the invitation is issued. "If men come unto me." There are no specific qualifications; no call for only the prideful or the morally dead of society to come to God to have their weakness illuminated. This tells me two things:
     First: There is weakness in all of us. I'll spend some time talking about weakness later, but understand that weakness is different than "sin."
     Second: The weakness of which the Lord is speaking is something we do not recognize, or at least not fully recognize, in ourselves until we come to Him and it is shown to us.

This concept is actually something that exists more in scripture than I thought it did: "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace... that we have power..." (Jacob 4:7). So Jacob provides a second witness to us that our weakness will be shown us of God (footnotes in Jacob lead us to a third example in the D&C).

If this is true, that we must be shown our weakness by God, then that helps us quite a bit with determining what is meant by "weakness."

Weakness

Singular. Not plural. I know the popular reading for this verse is to throw in the plural "weaknesses" instead of the actual word "weakness" written in the verse. It's not just a typo or a singular occurrence either. "Weakness" in its singular form appears twice in Ether 12:27 (above), once in Jacob, and in one instance, by Nephi.

Now, I had my own theories about the meaning of weakness. From my research "weakness" was referring to moral and character flaws inherent in all of us as part of mortality and the "natural man." But I decided to look elsewhere in scripture and related content to lend some more insight.

In the Church official Guide to the Scriptures it says this under the heading Weakness: "The condition of being mortal...Weakness is a state of being." This is supported very well by Nephi when he states "because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh" (1 Ne 19:6)

Weakness then, refers to flaws in our character, blemishes on our interactions with others, and rough spots in our morals. Things to which we personally are blind. Think of it, if God's work and glory are to help us to heaven, then the weakness He will show us is not temporal, but spiritual. The things which only He can illuminate. The weakness we must come to Him in humility to strengthen are those deepest recesses of our souls where we hide our vices and our "favorite" flaws. The things we don't, or won't, see for ourselves.

That weakness is much harder to admit to ourselves than a mere difficulty with a sport or school subject.

*Please don't misunderstand. God can help us with every problem and trial in our lives. He is all powerful and can aid us with running a faster mile just as He can help us repent of sins. God has helped me in so many ways in my life I don't want anyone to ever doubt His enabling power in any of our lives. Perhaps the reason behind this distinction of what types of weakness to which this verse is referring is because weaknesses of character and spirit have a much greater impact on the eternal destination of our souls than weaknesses of a more temporal nature.*

Application

It should be no surprise to anyone that this scripture has no end point for us. We will never reach a point in our lives where the invitation to again approach the Lord and be shown our weakness will no longer apply. We will all have weaknesses the Lord can show us till the end of our mortal lives. We must start now then! There's no time to waste if we are to prepare ourselves to meet Him. How can we approach Him at the bar and expect to be welcomed in when we never let Him show us what might be holding us back.

Approach Him, and let Him show you.

Not too long ago I had this experience myself. I was brought before the Lord in the depths of humility. I freely admit I was compelled to be humble, rather than choosing humility. The Lord showed me in stark contrast my weakness. My soul was probed and tried, and I came up lacking. I will be frank that it was an unpleasant experience. I don't think anyone likes to have criticism directed toward them, or flaws or weaknesses pointed out in their work, much less their character. But "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" and I felt very loved.

As hard as that and subsequent experiences of the same nature have been I don't know what or where I would be without them. Because of the perspective I gained I was able to start making changes in areas where previously I hadn't even seen a problem. I felt more self confident, more self aware, somehow more at peace with who I was and where I was headed with my life. I am still making changes and striving to allow the Lord to convert my weaknesses into strengths. Frankly, I have a long way to go. I think that's probably how it goes with this type of weakness. It's not a quick fix. But it sure feels good to be working on it.

It's hard to look at oneself in that kind of contrasting light and see in HD the imperfections of our souls. "The first step is admitting there's a problem" is a phrase I hear tossed around occasionally in jest and humor, but truly enough it is indeed the first step. That's why God put it first in the verse. He invites us to draw ourselves towards Him and let His light show us things that were previously hidden in the darkness.

As uncomfortable as this experience can be the Lord offers us the sweetest promise. "If they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Weakness into Strength

It's beautiful that the Lord says that He will change our weakness into strength. But notice He doesn't say it exactly that way. He says it in such a way that lets us know that it will be one weak thing at a time. "Then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Not the comprehensive "weakness into strength" but rather one weak thing at a time as we go through the process of letting Him show us some weak thing in ourselves, humbling ourselves before him, and exercising faith in Him. Then we repeat the process.

(Consider perhaps how prayer, humility, and faith are required for our "weak things" to be made strong.)

Conclusion

Of course I'm going to ask you to try it. What else would I say at this point? Approach God and let Him show you what He wants you to work on. Then put faith in His promise that by exercising humility and faith that He will make that weak think strong for you.

Please, I beg you. Let Him work in you.

Keep Pushing On

-Andrew