This idea is definitely limited, because there isn’t one side who is truly evil, and one who is truly good. So, keep that in mind with what I have to say.
War in Heaven:
No blood shed
About issues
Difficult to separate the truth from the lies
Some only seek power, others seek to lead us on a better way.
Some make the wrong seem right, by the power of words and selective truths.
Wars in the Book of Mormon:
Wars in the Book of Mormon:
Dissenters—those who had the truth and purposely left, do the most damage
Use flattering words to gain support
Distract us from what is important
Some make the wrong seem right, by the power of words and selective truths.
Some make the wrong seem right, by the power of words and selective truths.
Alma 46:8-9 describes the power of one evil leader: he was incredibly persuasive; he made a lot of sense to a lot of people.
One righteous leader can shake the powers of hell, and it is this kind of leader that I strive to follow.
Political War:
Mosiah 29:26-27 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.
We have the choice to choose a path that follows our God, or turns away from Him. I remembered so strongly today why I have the political opinions I do.
I have so much I want to say on this topic, there is a reason there is such a long list.
Neither major political party nor its members are close to perfect. However, one is much closer with my testimony. Let me bring it back to the War in Heaven. One side believed that there shouldn’t be any question about who gets back to God, everyone should. And they knew how it should be. God would force us back, either by taking away choice or by making our choices not matter. That is one of my favorite discussions, but I’ll save it for another time. It is so strikingly similar to some aspects of politics today. See, no one would say that some people aren’t deserving of God’s love, everyone should be saved, and we want to be with all our loved ones in Heaven, don’t we?
It does matter what we choose though, no one is disputing that. We were not put in equal places in life, given the exact same life course, and the exact same outcome. We each have an experience tailored to our situation, and no, life is not fair and we shouldn’t stop trying to help those we can. In the same way, we should all come back to Christ, but we should come back because that is the kind of person we’ve become, not just because that is the way God’s laws were set up, that everyone gets a free pass.
In today’s world, we are faced with the same underlying questions, shouldn’t we all be given an equal portion? Of course. Do we have a perfect system? No. Should we just have the government make our decisions for us because of their power? Some would say yes, I definitely say no. Why? Because it changes who we become. When we expect, depend, and are always given everything we need or want, our eternal natures are changed.
We are different for a reason. We need to do our best to help those around us, but the government, like God, should not force us to be saints, and it shouldn’t make our efforts worthless because the result of all our actions are the same. We need a better system, we need a righteous leader to help us get back.
Why do we say some children are spoiled? Is it possible for adults, even non-wealthy people, to be spoiled?
Yes.
How? I am spoiled when I just expect everything to be given to me, when I no longer have the internal motivation to help someone else, when I just do what I’m told and I no longer think for myself, when my opinion is lost, when who I am becomes just a cog in a machine.
Who are we becoming when we buy into these ideas? We are not becoming like our Savior.
What are we fighting for? We are not fighting life and mortal death battles here, but everyday battles of eternal significance for who we are becoming. Politics are a big part.
I will just end with this: Choose your vote wisely. Make your choices with care. These things have eternal significance. I know that we will either be led to Christ or away from Him as a country because of politics. Choose wisely, choose actively. Trust God, and remember, the war for our souls is still going, it didn’t end. I can make a difference, even if my candidate isn’t elected. Because of my choice, I am coming to know my God a little better, and see His perfect love for each of His children. And now, I am more motivated to find better solutions and elect better people to help even more of my brothers and sisters.
We have the choice to choose a path that follows our God, or turns away from Him. I remembered so strongly today why I have the political opinions I do.
I have so much I want to say on this topic, there is a reason there is such a long list.
Neither major political party nor its members are close to perfect. However, one is much closer with my testimony. Let me bring it back to the War in Heaven. One side believed that there shouldn’t be any question about who gets back to God, everyone should. And they knew how it should be. God would force us back, either by taking away choice or by making our choices not matter. That is one of my favorite discussions, but I’ll save it for another time. It is so strikingly similar to some aspects of politics today. See, no one would say that some people aren’t deserving of God’s love, everyone should be saved, and we want to be with all our loved ones in Heaven, don’t we?
It does matter what we choose though, no one is disputing that. We were not put in equal places in life, given the exact same life course, and the exact same outcome. We each have an experience tailored to our situation, and no, life is not fair and we shouldn’t stop trying to help those we can. In the same way, we should all come back to Christ, but we should come back because that is the kind of person we’ve become, not just because that is the way God’s laws were set up, that everyone gets a free pass.
In today’s world, we are faced with the same underlying questions, shouldn’t we all be given an equal portion? Of course. Do we have a perfect system? No. Should we just have the government make our decisions for us because of their power? Some would say yes, I definitely say no. Why? Because it changes who we become. When we expect, depend, and are always given everything we need or want, our eternal natures are changed.
We are different for a reason. We need to do our best to help those around us, but the government, like God, should not force us to be saints, and it shouldn’t make our efforts worthless because the result of all our actions are the same. We need a better system, we need a righteous leader to help us get back.
Why do we say some children are spoiled? Is it possible for adults, even non-wealthy people, to be spoiled?
Yes.
How? I am spoiled when I just expect everything to be given to me, when I no longer have the internal motivation to help someone else, when I just do what I’m told and I no longer think for myself, when my opinion is lost, when who I am becomes just a cog in a machine.
Who are we becoming when we buy into these ideas? We are not becoming like our Savior.
What are we fighting for? We are not fighting life and mortal death battles here, but everyday battles of eternal significance for who we are becoming. Politics are a big part.
I will just end with this: Choose your vote wisely. Make your choices with care. These things have eternal significance. I know that we will either be led to Christ or away from Him as a country because of politics. Choose wisely, choose actively. Trust God, and remember, the war for our souls is still going, it didn’t end. I can make a difference, even if my candidate isn’t elected. Because of my choice, I am coming to know my God a little better, and see His perfect love for each of His children. And now, I am more motivated to find better solutions and elect better people to help even more of my brothers and sisters.
I have been bombarded by "entitlement" thoughts today, and why entitlement is such a terrible thing. First thoughts that have been expressed include things like entitlement is the opposite of gratitude, which is why it hurts us so much. The second comment was that entitlement causes our skills/talents to atrophy. I add your comments to the thought-list.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteEntitlement is such a disease...can you imagine walking up to the Savior while he hung on the cross and saying, "I don't know if I should even thank you for what you are doing here. After all, you were the only one who could do this, so in order for you to be a good person you MUST do it. I am entitled to life and the pursuit of happiness, and I simply can't be happy or even live without you, so don't you quit on me now and don't you dare ask anything of me in return. You should feel privileged just to be able to help people, whatever the price, and I can't afford to go around owing my life to you just because you saved it."
ReplyDeleteUuggh...the nerve of some people. Are we really "entitled" to anything? All that we can even think to be grateful for is a gift given out of love.