For the peaceable followers of The Son of Man, there has and will continue to be much to rejoice over. The fulness of His gospel has been restored to the earth, including the true priesthood of God. His bounteous blessings are available to all who live on earth and seek after them.
We have seen in the past couple decades an ever increasing opening of borders to the Lord's missionary effort. Many more of our Father's children are able to take advantage of The Atonement in mortality.
All people in the nations where His Church is allowed who have faith in The Lord Jesus Christ may repent, be baptized and receive the Gift of The Holy Ghost by the proper authority.
Temples are dotting the earth in numbers that most in our parent's generation would have thought unlikely, and that many in my generation still find amazing. And yet, we have been told this is but the beginning.
Truly, we are witnessing an increase in fulfillment of the prophetic vision of both prophets, Daniel and Joseph Smith, that the stone cut from cut out of the mountain is rolling forth to fill the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-45, Doctrine and Covenants 65).
Through small and simple things are the designs of God brought to pass and the children of men blessed.
Along with the great things we see, and hopefully are being part of, we are seeing an increase and abundance of evil and wickedness. As the prophet Lehi taught, there must be opposition in all things, particularly when it comes to things of righteousness. I don't claim to completely understand why that is, but we all have seen the opposition. This dichotomy of righteousness and wickedness is intrinsic to the fact we have free will and The Father has made us agents unto ourselves from the beginning, before the earth was formed.
It would certainly seem to be desirable and advantageous if there was nothing that countered the joy and happiness of righteous living. But, that is a lie and a deception we should never get entrapped in.
Contrary to the popular thinking and philosophies of our day, which are actually nothing new in the history of mankind, all things are not equal. While it is fact there is righteousness and wickedness, the two are not equal, nor are the two simply polar opposites.
The straw men, red herrings, redefinitions of virtue and wisdom by men and women to suit their various agendas are mere facades when stacked up against the bulwark of eternal truth.
One of Lehi's righteous sons, Jacob -- also a prophet of God, taught us about the great folly of the learned. Read the whole Book of Mormon chapter. But just so there is no mistaking the point I'm making:
28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
So, in order to deceive people into exercising their agency unwisely and choosing wickedness or unknowingly to support wickedness, the thought is planted in the hearts of men and women that somehow they are smarter than others because they are a student of (fill in the blank). They learn to debate, figuring they can show and prove to others that their opinion or philosophy du jour is correct. They will twist things around, take things out of context, redefine to suit needs. Call night day... up down... evil good.
And here is the ironic part of it, this perception of being smart and learned is perpetuated on the very opposite of intelligence or wisdom. It is a symptom of extreme pride. It thrives by keeping individuals uninformed, lacking knowledge, and in the bondage of not having the Holy Spirit's guidance.
One thing in particular I saw today illustrates this irony and deception of being learned without heeding the counsel of God. I was reading comments on an article about a current socio-moral issue. One individual, whose comment I actually agreed with, had quoted the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court regarding the importance the people of the nation had in essentially choosing and upholding righteous men to be the leaders, specifically:
Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.
Someone who disagreed with the point of view expressed by the first commenter was rather snarky and responded with, let me see if I paraphrase it correctly, "I'll see your John Jay and raise a Thomas Jefferson" and then proceeded to quote (without any source to support it):
I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology.
If Jefferson did state this, it is almost clearly taken out of context, to which point I commented. Many people are quick to paint Thomas Jefferson as an agnostic or some sort of early humanist. The fact is that he had a deep belief in Christ, and though fallible like all humans, seems to have tried doing the best he could with the light and knowledge he had. If one reads his writings, one will find that his views on religion were not as complex as some want to make him out to be. He simply had no fondness for the established religious institutions of his day, particularly anything that was derived or related to John Calvin's interpretations of the scriptures.
To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; & believing he never claimed any other.
Letter to Benjamin Rush (12 April 1803)
Religion is a subject on which I have ever been most scrupulously reserved. I have considered it as a matter between every man and his Maker in which no other, and far less the public, had a right to intermeddle.
Letter to Richard Rush (1813)
I can never join Calvin in addressing his god. He was indeed an Atheist, which I can never be; or rather his religion was Daemonism. If ever man worshipped a false god, he did. The being described in his 5 points is not the God whom you and I acknowledge and adore, the Creator and benevolent governor of the world; but a daemon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no god at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin. Indeed I think that every Christian sect gives a great handle to Atheism by their general dogma that, without a revelation, there would not be sufficient proof of the being of a god.
Letter to John Adams (11 April 1823)
Thomas Jefferson, in my opinion, was an individual who knew the fulness of the Gospel was not upon the earth, but who longed for it, and had he lived at a time it was available would have embraced it fully. Mr. Jefferson is documented as having been one of many righteous men who were instrumental in laying the foundations of our nation who appeared to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Temple demanding their temple work be done. (Anecdotal references, merely meaning I haven't actually reviewed them personally -- Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p 603-4; Wilford Woodruff, Conference Report, April 1898, p. 89-90; Journal of Discourses 19:229, September 16, 1877; Wilford Woodruff, Journal 7:367-69; Matthias E Cowley, Wilford Woodruff--His Life and Labors, p. 585-9; Personal journal of James Godson Bleak - Chief Recorder of the St. George Temple)
Where is all this leading? Back to the fact that when one is learned and proud, not hearkening to the counsel of The Lord, the most that one will actually have is a distorted fragment of the big picture. (See 2 Nephi 9:42-43)
While I was doing a little research for this blog entry, I came across the following statement of Thomas Jefferson. It seems very appropriate in condemning the distortion and perversion of the facts perpetrated by the learned who hearken not to God and would have us all list towards and embrace wickedness. I think based on this statement alone, Thomas Jefferson will be one of the famous people I want to meet on the other side of the veil when I'm called home.
"To your request of my opinion of the manner in which a newspaper should be conducted, so as to be most useful, I should answer, "by restraining it to true facts & sound principles only." Yet I fear such a paper would find few subscribers. It is a melancholy truth, that a suppression of the press could not more completely deprive the nation of its benefits, than is done by its abandoned prostitution to falsehood. Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. . . . I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false."
Letter to John Norvell (11 June 1807)
Lately, it has seemed that the forces arrayed against all righteousness have made victories. The Boy Scouts of America "caved" and modified their membership policy to not bar membership to youth who identify as homosexual. A number of states have legalized same sex marriage. The Federal government is hell-bent on forcing everyone to accept and embrace same sex marriage. The Supreme Court of the United States has failed to uphold the sanctity of marriage. The wicked are crowing and breathing out further threatenings against those that oppose them while proclaiming haughtily that what they do is not harming anyone and not undermining the very freedom they claim to seek.
It is only a matter of time before more law suits and other measures are started again to force the BSA to allow homosexual adults to be leaders of the youth in its programs. It is only a matter of time until the states that have refused to embrace same sex marriage become further polarized or embrace it. It is only a matter of time before persecution against opponents of this open wickedness becomes institutionalized in the government. As always, there is the threat to use whatever pressure that can be brought to bear to punish religious bodies for not embracing the wickedness by getting the government to tax them (which is pretty ironic since these same people and groups who are pushing it are also the ones who like to promote the Jeffersonian concept of separation of church and state -- which they misquote and take completely out of context anyway).
And the righteous continue to be very concerned about true liberty and the freedom to practice our religion. We wonder how much longer will we need to endure as wheat amongst the tares. We pray for the end to come soon. We long for the safety of the City of Zion, to gather in under the protection of The Lord while the Gadiantons and wicked die off.
But, just as The Lord spoke about Zion (see Doctrine and Covenants 136:17-18, 100:13, 101:75) to the early members of the Church in this dispensation, so it shall be with us. Things will happen according to His time frame and not ours. It is hard sometimes to not get caught up in the anxiety and bring ourselves to the point we put ourselves through a trial of faith. So, if this is something that could be your Zion's Camp, keep the faith and trust He knows what is going on if the immediate results and actions aren't what you expect them to be. No matter what appears like victories by the wicked, remember what the Prophet Joseph Smith prophesied in 1842 via the spirit of revelation:
“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
We shall have and be secure in Zion in due time if we stay true.
Now, back to Jacob and being learned:
Use this as your litmus test. Where do you stand? If you find you are anywhere but firmly on The Lord's side and the cause of righteousness, for your own sake, repent and come unto Him.
29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.
31 And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish.
32 Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.
33 Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.
34 Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell.
35 Wo unto the murderer who deliberately killeth, for he shall die.
36 Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell.
37 Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.
38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.
39 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.
40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
Those of us who already are for the cause of righteousness, let us press forward in faith with the assurance of "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."
