Hope, Politics, and the Last Days

 I read this article last night, "Can Religion be a Healing Force in Society?" by Peter Wehner, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in DC, and it is just so, so good.

https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=3&article=1069&context=clarkmemorandum&type=additional

It coincided with a lot of thoughts I have had in the last couple of years regarding hope, the Gospel, and how we interact with the world in politics and everyday life in these last days. In our current ward especially, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on how bad the world around us is, how everything is getting worse, and how we need to prepare for terrible things ahead. And I realize that wickedness is increasing in many ways and that many have lost a clear sense of morality, but I also feel that this focus centers us on half the picture. Why is wickedness increasing in the world? Because light is increasing! There is more light in the world now than there ever was previously! We have an ongoing Restoration where we are growing in light and knowledge and truth and will keep doing so until we come to the measure of the fulness of Christ and His coming. So much wickedness and evil and suffering has been defeated worldwide. In the US, prosperity has grown and so has agency as the horrible injustices and inequalities of the past have been confronted and steps taken to rectify them. 

I think that part of this focus problem is that we neglect the essential role of hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hope means that we look forward to a better world, not hunker down and wait for a worse one. And when we hope for that world, we take action and work for it. I love that Wehner said:

"Followers of Jesus need to light candles instead of simply curse the darkness..." 

I have read that line a dozen times and it still bears repeating. I should embroider it and put it on my wall. I want to be a candle-lighter!

He then goes on to describe how we can use our faith to strengthen and heal society instead of condemning it or fighting over it. I won't restate the whole address but I highly recommend it.

Be a Man

Sometimes I come across a talk or piece of literature and think, "This needs to be on my boys' required reading list when they are older." Today another blogger posted this talk, and it is one of those.

From Carlos B. Away, in April 1992 Priesthood Session:

There is a lie—a vicious lie—circulating among the Latter-day Saints and taking its toll among the young. And it is that a “balanced man” is one who deliberately guards against becoming too righteous. This lie would have you believe that it is possible to live successfully and happily as a “double-minded man” with one foot in Babylon and one foot in Zion. (See James 1:8.)

. . .

Can a man be too righteous? Too Christlike? Impossible! Can the so-called “balanced man” walk successfully the beam between good and evil? No. Each step is shaky, and eventually he will teeter and fall and break himself against the commandments of God.

I have come across this attitude plenty in life, but it was most pronounced in college; from the guy that told my friend that going to do weekly baptisms for the dead was "a bit much" (FYI not a good way to impress a girl who goes to do weekly baptisms for the dead.), to people who called me "Molly Mormon" for not wanting to see certain movies, listen to certain music, or hang around certain places. If I am going to live the Gospel, I want to be all in! There are enough things I struggle with on a daily basis, why not discard things that are easily identifiable as being without merit for me?

I was very blessed with a strong group of friends who supported each other and never tore others down for striving to be their best selves, and that was one of the things that drew me to John as I got to know him. I hope that my children are blessed in that way, and that our family culture can be one where they support each other in righteousness. They will be up against a great deal of pressure to follow the ways of the world, and it is sometimes hardest when those who should be on our side add to that pressure.