Have you ever read or listened to a General Conference talk that was from a session you were sure you had attend, but that you are equally sure you have never heard before? For me, this morning, that talk was Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage, by Elder Quentin L. Cook, from the Sunday Afternoon session of the October 2013 General Conference. I know that I was there. I'm sure that I was listening. But I am certain that I don't remember any of this.
God intended that men and women would be free to make choices between good and evil. When evil choices become the dominant characteristic of a culture or nation, there are serious consequences both in this life and the life to come. People can become enslaved or put themselves in bondage not only to harmful, addictive substances but also to harmful, addictive philosophies that detract from righteous living.
Turning from the worship of the true and living God and worshipping false gods like wealth and fame and engaging in immoral and unrighteous conduct result in bondage in all its insidious manifestations. These include spiritual, physical, and intellectual bondage and sometimes bring destruction.
(Subtle word-play intended. "US" can be taken to mean "Us," the pronoun meaning a group of people in which the speaker is included, or it can be taken to mean "U.S." as in "The United States (of America)," the country in which I live.)
Morally, as a nation and as many individuals within this nation, I believe that we are slipping into sin. How do we stop it? We can't stop other people from making bad choices. As Elder Cook noted in the first paragraph above, "God intended that men and women would be free to make choices between good and evil." But he also said, later in his talk, "We should do everything within our power to avoid the sin and rebellion that lead to bondage." Though we cannot force other people to be righteous, we can choose to be righteous ourselves, and the more people choose to be righteous, the more the moral trends of society in general will begin to reverse.
Elder Cook gave us the following specific advice that is directly relevant to the challenges we face in our day (Thank God for modern prophets!) :
This is perhaps the most evil and most powerful form of bondage in our day. Satan has grasped many otherwise good people in chains such as these, and they are difficult to remove. If you are, at this time, free of such bondage, STAY AWAY FROM IT. If you are, at this time, in such bondage, GET OUT OF IT. That's easier said than done, of course. But your Bishop will help you if you turn to him. Your God will help you if you turn to Him. You likely have friends or family members who will help you if you turn to them, and even if you don't (or think you don't), there are support groups for every ailment. You will find help if you seek it, and with that help, you can become free.
*cough cough* Facebook *cough* Youtube *cough* Just to name the two that afflict me most often. There are many, many others. I'm sure we could each name whichever one eats up the most of our time. We've all been told that it's not wise to spend too much time at a computer, yet, ironically, here we are. Granted, there are many good and uplifting things we can do on the internet. We just need to remember to not let it take up too much of our time. Speaking of which, this blog post is already quite lengthy, and I have at least two more points from Elder Cook's talk to go. Moving on.
Some of Christ's doctrines and the doctrines of His true church (which are effectively the same except that some are more universally accepted than the others) are being labelled as prejudiced and intolerant by those who go to great lengths to remain "politically correct," a phrase which here means "popular in the eyes of the masses." In some circles, personal opinions are being taught in the place of moral truths. I, myself, have been guilty of that, on this very blog (which is part of the reason for the recent trend of taking my source material from General Conference talks). Many people believe that everyone should be free to make their own choices, and certainly they are. But it bothers me when actions that are destructive to the souls of those who enact them and to innocents who suffer as a result are treated as common-place and acceptable. There will, unfortunately, be consequences. And the consequences of certain socially-accepted actions can only be avoided by refraining from the actions themselves.
And while we're on the subject of socially-accepted actions that are harmful, in fact, fatal, to innocent human beings... Never mind. I don't really want to talk about it any more than I already have.
The good news is hidden in the definition I used for the phrase "politically correct" in a previous paragraph. Politicians get into power by saying and agreeing with things that are "popular in the eyes of the masses." And who are "the masses"? We are. Or at least, we're part of the masses. My point is that we can change the world by making our opinions heard. Politicians fight for everyone's votes, including ours, and if we tell them they can get our votes by supporting a more morally-responsible society, that's what they'll promise to do. Right now, the majority seems to be rallying under the flags of pro-choice and marriage-equality and other things that sound good, but will ultimately lead to destruction. But when a majority of good people take a firm stand for personal righteousness, I believe that we'll see things starting to change in politics.
Society is just a very large number of individuals. If those individuals, you and I, pledge to be more righteous and support righteous causes, society, or at least that small part of it, will change. If enough individual people change, the world will change.
Much of the world is in bondage; to sin, to time-wasting endeavors, to popular opinions, or political correctness. But as we, as individuals, shake off those chains, those chains will also slip off of parts of the world. I believe that the world will someday shake off those chains and worship God in righteousness and peace. It will take a lot of work on our part, and and act of God on His part, but the world will someday be free from Satan's influence. I just hope that I'll be around to see it.
Elder Cook gave us the following specific advice that is directly relevant to the challenges we face in our day (Thank God for modern prophets!) :
Bondage, subjugation, addictions, and servitude come in many forms. ... I will mention four that are particularly pernicious in today’s culture.
First, addictions that impair agency, contradict moral beliefs, and destroy good health cause bondage. The impact of drugs and alcohol, immorality, pornography, gambling, financial subjugation, and other afflictions imposes on those in bondage and on society a burden of such magnitude that it is almost impossible to quantify.
This is perhaps the most evil and most powerful form of bondage in our day. Satan has grasped many otherwise good people in chains such as these, and they are difficult to remove. If you are, at this time, free of such bondage, STAY AWAY FROM IT. If you are, at this time, in such bondage, GET OUT OF IT. That's easier said than done, of course. But your Bishop will help you if you turn to him. Your God will help you if you turn to Him. You likely have friends or family members who will help you if you turn to them, and even if you don't (or think you don't), there are support groups for every ailment. You will find help if you seek it, and with that help, you can become free.
Second, some addictions or predilections, while not inherently evil, can use up our precious allotment of time which could otherwise be used to accomplish virtuous objectives. These can include excessive use of social media, video and digital games, sports, recreation, and many others.
*cough cough* Facebook *cough* Youtube *cough* Just to name the two that afflict me most often. There are many, many others. I'm sure we could each name whichever one eats up the most of our time. We've all been told that it's not wise to spend too much time at a computer, yet, ironically, here we are. Granted, there are many good and uplifting things we can do on the internet. We just need to remember to not let it take up too much of our time. Speaking of which, this blog post is already quite lengthy, and I have at least two more points from Elder Cook's talk to go. Moving on.
Third, the most universal subjugation in our day, as it has been throughout history, is ideology or political beliefs that are inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Substituting the philosophies of men for gospel truth can lead us away from the simplicity of the Savior’s message. When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he tried to teach of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of this effort we read in Acts, “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing." When the crowd realized the simple religious nature of Paul’s message, which was not new, they rejected it.
Some of Christ's doctrines and the doctrines of His true church (which are effectively the same except that some are more universally accepted than the others) are being labelled as prejudiced and intolerant by those who go to great lengths to remain "politically correct," a phrase which here means "popular in the eyes of the masses." In some circles, personal opinions are being taught in the place of moral truths. I, myself, have been guilty of that, on this very blog (which is part of the reason for the recent trend of taking my source material from General Conference talks). Many people believe that everyone should be free to make their own choices, and certainly they are. But it bothers me when actions that are destructive to the souls of those who enact them and to innocents who suffer as a result are treated as common-place and acceptable. There will, unfortunately, be consequences. And the consequences of certain socially-accepted actions can only be avoided by refraining from the actions themselves.
Fourth, forces that violate sincerely held religious principles can result in bondage. One of the most invidious forms is when righteous people who feel accountable to God for their conduct are forced into activities that violate their conscience—for example, health providers forced to choose between assisting with abortions against their consciences or losing their jobs.
And while we're on the subject of socially-accepted actions that are harmful, in fact, fatal, to innocent human beings... Never mind. I don't really want to talk about it any more than I already have.
The good news is hidden in the definition I used for the phrase "politically correct" in a previous paragraph. Politicians get into power by saying and agreeing with things that are "popular in the eyes of the masses." And who are "the masses"? We are. Or at least, we're part of the masses. My point is that we can change the world by making our opinions heard. Politicians fight for everyone's votes, including ours, and if we tell them they can get our votes by supporting a more morally-responsible society, that's what they'll promise to do. Right now, the majority seems to be rallying under the flags of pro-choice and marriage-equality and other things that sound good, but will ultimately lead to destruction. But when a majority of good people take a firm stand for personal righteousness, I believe that we'll see things starting to change in politics.
Society is just a very large number of individuals. If those individuals, you and I, pledge to be more righteous and support righteous causes, society, or at least that small part of it, will change. If enough individual people change, the world will change.
Much of the world is in bondage; to sin, to time-wasting endeavors, to popular opinions, or political correctness. But as we, as individuals, shake off those chains, those chains will also slip off of parts of the world. I believe that the world will someday shake off those chains and worship God in righteousness and peace. It will take a lot of work on our part, and and act of God on His part, but the world will someday be free from Satan's influence. I just hope that I'll be around to see it.
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