The Promised Land, part 1
I must admit to being more than concerned about the current direction the nation is taking right now, both politically and morally. Lest you think this is just an anti-Obama sentiment, I would have expressed these thoughts even before the election, but I will admit that the acceleration in our movement has noticeably increased since the inauguration.
A few years ago I was starting to get fed up with the mainstream political discussion, so I decided I needed to more deeply investigate my own political philosophies. I decided to explore what the Lord had so say on the subject, and found what I consider to be the main points of political direction that stood out to me in the scriptures:
- The curse of the Promised Land
- The inspired nature of the US Constitution
- The general condemnation of war
In this post, I’d like to talk a little about the Promised land.
The Book of Mormon is the main source of knowledge that we have about the nature of the promised land. In the Book of Mormon, we have the records of two different civilizations being led to this land with promises and covenants. We also have record of the failure of both people to live up to the requirements of residence on this land, and the eventual consequences.
In Ether 2, we find these promises as given to the Jaredites:
8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.
9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
It is interesting to note that the blessing of the promised land is given in the form of a curse. There are 3 instances in these verses where the Lord tells us that the consequence of wickedness in this land is that the people will be “swept off” We see this fulfilled in the stories of both the Nephites and the Jaredites, both of which enjoyed many years of prosperity only to finally reach that level of iniquity that the curse of God came upon them and they were removed from the land.
We need to remember, though, that this book was given for us in our day as a witness and a warning. The next verse says:
11 And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
Mormon then reiterates one more time the nature of this blessing and curse which rest upon the inhabitants of the land.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.
This blessing is a conditional promise. When I read this verse, I see the word if as the most important. We can only claim the blessing of Lord in this land “IF we serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.”
It is important to note that we sometimes only think of these promises as relating to the US, but the promises we are speaking of are not limited to the nation that comprises the Unites States of America, but extends throughout both North and South America. All people in the promised land are under the charge to serve and worship Christ.
Posted by Ben on Sun Jul 19th 2009 at 11:35 AM #
Broad Education and the Gospel
A friend recently shared a blog entry with me that quoted a post by Eric Drexler (how many steps is that?) outlining basically what I would regard as a method to become educated in a broad range of things.
The method is the following:
1. Read and skim journals and textbooks that (at the moment) you only half understand. . Include Science and Nature.
2. Seldom stop to study a single subject with a student’s intensity, as if you had to pass a test on it.
3. Don’t drop a subject because you know you’d fail a test — instead, read other half-understandable journals and textbooks to accumulate vocabulary, perspective, and context.
4. Notice that concepts make more sense when you revisit a topic, and note which topics provide keys to many others.
5. Continue until almost everything you encounter in Science and Nature makes sense as a contribution to a field you know something about.
This is, in my opinion, and ingenious way of going about things. I think that if I would have done a bit more of this in my college days, I would’ve been a much better student. I believe I often lacked the background to fully understand the material that we were covering in depth, which meant I was always a step behind.
It reminded me, also, of a section I read from an article in June’s Ensign magazine by Elder Douglas L. Callister Of the Seventy:
President David O. McKay (1873–1970) was inclined to awaken daily at 4:00 a.m., skim read up to two books, and then commence his labors at 6:00 a.m. He could quote 1,000 poems from memory. He referred to the grand masters of literature as the “minor prophets.” He was a living embodiment of the scriptural admonition to “seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118).
Skimming two books every day goes along nicely with the approach offered by Drexler.
I think there is much wisdom in President McKay’s habit, and Drexler’s approach. By immersing yourself in knowledge, even if unfamiliar at first, you begin to pick up on the language, the general ideas, and general problems of the subjects you study. Immersion in a world of thought is the result.
I believe this can be done also with sacred things, not just secular. A first time reading of the Book of Mormon by an investigator will obviously not produce a complete understanding of the book. There are many places where even long-time members have trouble figuring our what is going on.
I think that too many of us stop there, however. Immersion in study is a life-long experience that must be repeated over and over until we begin to understand the language of the Lord in the scriptures, and the language of the Spirit in our hearts.
Of course we want study in depth to enjoy the richness of the gospel that we have, but to really have a profitable experience in such an endeavor requires at least a basic understanding of sacred things that can only be learned by experience.
We shouldn’t let lack of understanding frustrate our gospel study to the point of abandoning it. We press on, understanding what we can and letting the Lord build us line upon line, and precept upon precept.
Posted by Ben on Mon Jun 1st 2009 at 09:52 PM #
Proclaiming Peace
Another blog, Conner’s Conundrums, has a wonderful post that mirrors my feelings about war, peace, and disciples of Christ.
The idea that the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires a view of life that leaves very little room for war is what prompted my post about Memorial Day yesterday.
I admit that I have not always felt this way about military and war. In the run up to the latest conflict in Iraq, I was generally a reluctant supporter of the action. I thought that perhaps getting Sadaam out of commission, with his stockpiles of WMDs was probably a necessity. I was, however, very bothered by the preemptive nature of the war.
I remember an event held at BYU during this time. An open panel discussion was held with professors from various departments. A Report of this panel can still be found here (this also includes a video link where you can watch the discussion).
Two panelists spoke out against the war, the most forceful of which was a religion professor, Paul Hoskisson, who read scripture after scripture advocating peace, turning the other cheek, etc. I recall a general uncomfortable feeling in the air as he spoke. People seemed to want him to get out of the way, so they could hear from the political experts who would outline reasons FOR the preemptive strike.
This left an impression on me, especially as the war was initiated, and the initial reasons melted away to leave not much justification for the action.
Since then, I have become more and more convinced that my time as a Latter-day Saint is much better spent proclaiming the peace that only comes from the gospel of Christ, not arguing and champion the disorder, blood and conflict of war.
Note:
As I’ve typed this entry, I’ve been listening again to the panel discussion I mentioned earlier. To be frank, the pro-Iraq strike arguments put forth (and the cheers of the crowd of students) make me ill.
Posted by Ben on Wed May 27th 2009 at 10:00 AM #
Memorial Day
I am grateful that in Utah, at least in my family, memorial day celebrations go beyond honoring only military deceased. In my family, it is a tradition to visit all of the graves of close family members who have died, and place flowers on their graves.
I would much prefer to remember all those who went before, not just those that died in military service.
Of course I salute those brave men and women who gave their lives. Sometimes they were actually defending our freedom, sometimes they were aiding another country’s freedom, and sometimes, sadly, they were probably part of an aggression in what could be considered an unjust war. However, I believe the vast majority of our military dead, and veterans, were being true and faithful to the light they had received. I have two grandpas that are veterans and their service was honorable, patriotic and selfless.
Unfortunately, I find too often that days like today tend to set military and war on an undeserved pedestal, glorifying war. I choose to remember the vast number of Americans killed in action as a reminder of the high, high cost of war, which should be avoided in all but the most extreme cases. Peace, diplomacy, patience, long suffering and persuasion are the ways of the Lord. It is the adversary that raises up armies and nations to war one with another
Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children; (D&C 89:16)
So today, I am grateful for the selfless service of my ancestors by putting their lives on the line to serve when their country called. But perhaps I am even more grateful for the myriad of souls who lived out quiet peaceful lives, worked, raised families, and some of whom were able to put their own exposure to the horrors of war behind them to do that which truly makes America great: live in freedom and peace.
Posted by Ben on Mon May 25th 2009 at 05:15 PM #
A few updates
I’ve finally added an rss feed to the site, and have made several other improvements that will allow me to post here more frequently.
Its a long time coming since conference is now almost 2 months away, but I’m happy for the progress.
Posted by Ben on Sun May 17th 2009 at 12:56 AM #
Doing a great work
Last night during the Priesthood Session, Elder Uchtdorf gave a talk that is a perfect summary of the feelings I’ve been having. I set up and began putting this blog together before that talk. It served to confirm the feelings I’ve been having that now is the time to focus on the things that matter most.
I love Elder Uchtdorf, and can’t wait to be able to read a copy of that marvelous address.
Posted by Ben on Sun Apr 5th 2009 at 10:40 AM #
General Conference Weekend
This weekend is again General Conference time. I’ve felt some promptings before now that I needed to start a blog dedicated to gospel themes, and I’m finally heeding the instruction by setting up this new site.
The title of the blog “Of Deep Import,” reflect the thoughts that have been moving through my mind over the past number of months. Perhaps it is the economic problems going on in the world, perhaps other things, but I am more and more convinced that the things of this world are distracting and secondary to the important work of the Lord that goes on all around us every day.
I always look forward to these conference weekends, becaues they seem to refill a sort of spiritual fuel tank. Now I am motivated to keep the motor running more than for just two days every six months.
Posted by Ben on Sat Apr 4th 2009 at 12:40 PM #