Sitting on the Fence

 

Analysis paralysis is not righteousness nor will it produce faith.

Below is an excerpt from a recent family email thread about news media sources. I feel it is fitting with some of what Peterson is writing.

"I naturally, and yes, intentionally seek news and news commentary and opinion from those who appear to share common morals, principles, and ideology as I have. I prefer to see the world through the lens that I believe God has given us. After all, society and nations are formed and built upon beliefs and ideology...so I choose to promote and perpetuate those that I feel best reflect the world that I believe God intends and that I want my posterity to inherit. I am frustrated with a society that believes that all sides are valid and worth considering. Trying to teach my children that there is true evil and wrong in this world is very difficult in a world that teaches them that different isn't wrong, it is just...different. God did not come to the world to unite us all in love and harmony. Agency will not allow that. He will come again to separate the wheat from the chaff. God's plan necessarily divides his children. So I would add that while we must think clearly, it is dangerously easy to let intellect and our ability to think rationally force us into analysis paralysis, or to feel false confidence and security as we sit on the fence endlessly rationalizing and debating all sides of an issue instead of choosing a side and taking a stand. Some issues are so repulsive and full of the stench of evil that no debate or consideration is neceasary. Having firm, God-given principles and standards and morals allows us to spot and quickly dismiss so much of the evil and corruption and lies and falsehoods that we would otherwise spend hours ponering and debating and rationalizing - especially when we seek the guidance and renewal of the of the spirit through prayer and sacrament and righteous living, always with compassion and charity and forgiveness. As I see it, there are only two sides. I do not believe that what we are experiencing now as a nation is foreshadowing some distant, future evil and downfall. We are as much in the thick of it as any nation in the Book of Mormon ever was. I believe that the battle lines have been clearly drawn and that it is obvious to those willing and courageous enough to see it. Where do we stand? What do we stand for? Who among our leaders and what among our laws and policies and ideologies support our stand?

Blantant, oppressive, evil censorship in the media is real...and it is happening on ALL media sites and platforms.

All the conservative sites that were reporting the Dominion software issues have been forced to redact and correct clarify their reporting on Dominion..not because it isn't true or worth investigating or reporting, but because they can't afford the impending lawsuits from Dominion and those in the opposition that fund them. That is censorship

Divided Nation

The first chapter in the book of Helaman is a very interesting read.  It begins with the Nephites in the land of Zarahemla holding an election that caused great division among the people and a power struggle between two candidates (Pahoran and Paanchi) for the highest office of the land.  It ends with a foreign attack from the Lamanites- seizing the capital city and possessing many cities and strongholds, resulting in a great slaughter of both men, women, and children. (Helaman 1:27) The Nephites were able to save their nation at the leadership of Moroni, but not without an exceedingly bloody battle. (Helaman 1:30)

How could this have happened to such a great nation?  

And it came to pass that because of so much contention and so much difficulty in the government, that they had not kept sufficient guards in the land of Zarahemla; for they had supposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the heart of their lands to attack that great city Zarahemla.

(Helaman 1:18)

Are there any foreign powers that would benefit from so much contention and so much difficulty in our American government? 

 

Undoing Creation Covenants

I am taking an online Lectures on Faith class right now, many of the things I may publish on my blog are my attempt to write out and better comprehend what I am learning. I have Glen to thank for many of the insights I will share.  I may quickly jot down ideas on this blog to share with my family, but have no intentions of sharing this with a wide group of people.  

The Hebrew word "binding" and "covenant" are directly related.  The Hebrew creation verbs "create/make/form/bring forth" are linked to the words "binding/covenant" in both sound and meaning.  

So, creation itself is a covenant, the law of nature are bounded and upheld by covenants made by God.  Everything we can see in this natural world, the laws of physics, the rotation of the earth, the coming and passing of seasons, etc... are upheld by God through those covenants because God works through covenants.  

How are covenants upheld? 

Through faith.  When two parties make a binding agreement or covenant, they are placing their faith in that covenant.  In other words, a covenant enables us to have faith because it gives us the surety and confidence that what has been promised will be fulfilled according to the terms of the covenant.  

Faith then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God. Without it, there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence! (Lectures on Faith 1:24) 

Can covenants be broken? How do we break those covenants? Can we lose faith in them and likewise lose their protection and benefits God's covenants offer?  Can we break the covenants that brought about creation?  

I speculate that when we act against the principles on which this world was founded upon, (ie life, liberty), we degrade those covenants and may lose the binding protection we enjoy from them. How does that look on a societal scale?  I think Jerimiah foresaw it as revert to a pre-creation state- waste, and void- because people were only skilled in doing evil. Lets read Jeremiah 4:22–27

For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are foolish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

Do people "know God" today?  Is our society "wise" at justifying evil, yet ignorant in common sense and basic morality? Interesting to note that many of the German that supported Hitler were not uneducated.  Many had college degrees.  What institutions perpetuate twisted ideologies today?  

 

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

Here things are reverting to a pre-creation state.  A time void of life.  

 

I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.

Observe the voting pattern into today election, how polarized things are between urban and rural america.  Where are the fruit? How has the Lord preserved fruit thoughout the rise and fall of past civilazations? 

 

For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

   What does "desolate" mean?  What behaviors produce desloation instead of life?  To engage and support behaviors that produce desloation is to go against the principles of the covenants which creation was made for.  What happened to cities in the scriptures whose cultures value deslolation over life?  Did the Lord not make a full end  to them?  Do we live in culture that relentless attacks the family, the single social unit ordained by God to produce life in this world? Has our culture made deslate behaior and practices a virtue?  

I hope we can awaken to the covenants of God, have faith in them, and fight for what this world was originally created for!  

Be Salt.

Be salt, preserve the world

In the ancient Jewish marriage celebration they would add salt to their oil lamp to make the flame glow brighter. If you want to #LightTheWorld, start by preserving it.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13–16)

The phrase "lost his savour" translate to mórainó, which means to "to be foolish"

to become insipid; figuratively, to make as a simpleton.

When we lose knowledge about the covenants God has made with his people, when society becomes more and more foolish lacking in wisdom,  we lose our ability to preserve the world, to uphold the covenants that sustain life and keep the power of darkness at bay in the nation and in the world.  No amount of gratitude or "feel-good positivity" can reverse the degenerative effects of a lack of truth.   You can't truly light the world without knowing how it is preserved.