We have settled a bit since our move from Missouri/Utah. It feels good to have some order in our new apartment, and it is always good to be together. Except, Louise is away this week at one of her NFB conventions in Dallas. She is having fun, though, and it is a good way to stay in a nice hotel cheaply.
Meanwhile I am left at home to study cancer genes. I am being mentored by Charles Keller who studies soft tissue cancers here at the Childrens Cancer Research Institute. I am enjoying it, but it is a little challenging, but I enjoy it. I am amazed at the knowledge we are collecting about our DNA and what it codes for.
In a month I will start the task of going through medical school, and I hope all goes well. I am excited about it, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn medicine.
In preparation for school I bought a bunch of Classical music through allofmp3.com to help me study. I also learned the difference between a concerto and a symphony. Now with a few Hot Pockets, I should be ready to go.
(4) Thu Jul 06 22:24:34 MST Patch, Slug and Puma:
I feel compelled to publish my feelings—which have swirled about recently; almost franticly, and you may well decide that my writings are the product of a frenzied mind. After reading this you will find that a decision is unavoidable.
Last 4th of July I was happy to go and eat dinner at Mom’s house. When I arrived there was a boy there with Lorna. I didn’t really want to know his name. I felt a bit angry and frustrated. I wondered why Mom and Ben allowed this kid to visit and be in a room with Lorna alone, and why Ben (who makes me walk around and open the door for my wife when we are getting in the car) would allow this obvious suitor to spend time with Lorna. (I also may not know the whole story--maby he was family). I say this at the risk of being branded a Victorian or a Puritan.
I am also grieved that Michelle is dating somebody who isn’t worthy to take her to the temple, and that Michelle has willingly razed herself to his standard. I wonder if she will ever feel the depth of feeling and commitment that Louise and I feel for each other, and I am forced to answer that without the gospel of repentance, that depth of commitment and joy cannot exist.
My wife and I have spent long hours in discussion about the meaning of love and virtue; especially in light of recent controversy over legislation for which we were supporting. This tired old world has had to support some great wickedness, but I am afraid that it is becoming almost unbearable.
The whole problem stems from a false idea of love.
As I look back on my experience, I have to admit that the most important relationships that I have formed here on the earth are with 1) My family, and 2) Friends who are members of the Church; especially those friends who I helped bring into the church. High school friends were great, but the meaningful relationships were with those who cherished the same things as I. Similarly, my relationship with my wife is worth more to me than countless other relationships. That is because we have covenanted with each other in a relationship that is firmly rooted in the right. It is on the solid ground of the gospel. The gospel which gives our lives such abundance is founded on principles of morality, but to paraphrase Neal A Maxwell; you cannot have a meaningful morality that is made out of the play-dough of permissiveness. I grieve that so many members of the church (including my parents) have slipped at least somewhat into the intellectual permissiveness of which I will speak further.
Now, I stand in a minority. I will remain unmoved in my convictions of the truth. The majority will call me intolerant, uncaring, bigoted, and some may even call me emotionally disturbed (ALMA 30:16--i.e. frenzied mind) as a result of my “dogmatism, inflexibility, and being extremely religious” (Ellis, “Psychotherapy and Religious Values,” Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology 48 [1980]: 635). It is true that even my own family has accused me so.
Our society has allowed itself to fall into a pattern that is not easy to escape. We are proving that we are no better than those who lived in the times of Rome, Egypt, Babylon and so forth. The one saving grace is the restoration of the gospel which stands as a fixed anchor in these turbulent waters. Said Pascal:
“When everything is moving at once, nothing appears to be moving, as on board ship. When everyone is moving towards depravity, no one seems to be moving, but if someone stops, he shows up the others who are rushing on, by acting as a fixed point.”
Fifty years ago pornography portrayed fat women with missing teeth. A hundred years ago it was called by some of the Muscular Christians of the day the “White Slave Trade.” Today it presents glossy pictures of beautifully tanned young women with strait white teeth, college degrees, and who care about the environment. Sixty years ago this year, the “liberated” woman began to wear the now ubiquitous bikini. I think that it is appropriate that the bikini was named after an Island where the H-bomb was being tested. The evil one has advanced from bows, arrows, slings stones and swords. Now his arsenal resembles more the modern bombs of addiction, tanks of public opinion, and the common soldier of pride.
His main objective is to convince us that love is cheap, and even free. The sixties was a time where all you needed to do to promote peace is stop sending soldiers to war. Love was a free for all, as well as economic prosperity, and no holds were barred. The Book of Mormon foretold of this assault by the adversary by saying that in the last days many will say “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” And more significantly “if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”
The evil one has beguiled even strong members of the church into thinking that the love of God will be liberally granted unto all—regardless of our personal worthiness or obedience to receive. To be clear, the Love of God is offered to all without respect to persons, but it is offered upon conditions of righteousness. The adversary has convinced us that we will be accepted regardless of our personal worthiness, but the truth is that we all need to repent, and without that crucial step, no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of heaven. Children don’t need to repent and therefore are blessed with a full measure of God’s universal love, and so are we when we repent. God has offered the gift of His love (which is the atonement—the gift of His only begotten Son) and he has commanded us not to deny those gifts (Moroni 10:8), and to touch not the evil gift or the unclean thing (Moroni 10:30). If we don’t learn to fast (a spirit of thanksgiving and joy in the gifts of God—to be used neither by extortion nor excess [e.g. homosexuality]) then we will not fully appreciate the gifts of God. And that is the difference between our pioneer forbearers, who being consecrated to the work, gave up everything—even sacrificing their lives to live the gospel. While on the other hand some the descendants of the pioneers, and those who inherited their legacy, refuse to pay the admission price of repentance to enter the Kingdom. The result is that they will sink themselves down to Hell, having denied themselves the love of God.
I want to be clear that I am not denying the gifts of God to anyone. I can only try to forgive and repent myself, and then exhort all others to do the same. When they return from the chains of pornography, addiction, homosexuality, etc, then I hope to be there when they are accepted into the kingdom with a robe, a ring, and a fatted calf. I sincerely hope they chose to repent and learn the value of fasting (ie no extortion or excess) in order to also return to an abundant life. That is because I know the power of the atonement to save. These are not just platitudes in my life; they are real and have proven efficacious to my soul. I believe that Kristen also knows these things—which are only obtained through deep and sincere repentance. I can tell that Kristen knows, as I know, the savior—not just as a friend, master, teacher, or brother, but as her redeemer. I pray that everybody may come to know the same thing before they are abruptly brought to know at that day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Christ is the Lord.
Fri Jul 07 18:03:00 MST Ruminations: The Cost of Dicipleship:
From my readings today I found some prescient and timely words:
Neal A. Maxwell:
A few members of the Church end up “looking beyond the mark” missing the already obvious (Jacob 4:14). These few individuals let their minds run far ahead of their confirming behavior. For them, exiting exploration is preferred to plodding implementation. Speculation and argumentation are more fun than consecration for these individuals. Some even try to soften hard doctrines. What happens, however, is that by not obeying, they lack knowing. Thus, since they cannot defend the faith, a few of them become critics instead of defenders (John 7:17).
Furthermore:
Orthodoxy is required to keep all these truths in essential balance. In orthodoxy lies real safety and real felicity! Flowing from orthodoxy is not only correctness but happiness. Orthodoxy is especially vital in a time of raging relativism and belching sensualism. The world’s morality is constantly being improvised. Some views are politically correct one day, but not another.
Sat Jul 08 13:54:21 MST Maxwell and "The Inexhaustible Gospel":
I will not go further in outlining my moral objections to homosexuality that are founded in my spiritual (no I didn't say religious although religion did play a role in developing my understanding of spiritual truth--solid, valid, and eternal); as I was saying, I will not go further except to say that if you still have doubts as to what you should be supporting in the political realm then read the words of the prophet: “Any other sexual relations, including those between persons of the same gender, undermine the divinely created institution of the family” and furthermore “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” The word of wisdom was a counsel to the “weakest of the saints” and not a commandment—ever, but you cannot get into the temple if you don’t abide by the word of wisdom. Similarly ask yourself if you can honestly answer affirmatively to the temple recommend question regarding sustaining your leaders if you oppose their efforts to pass constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.
Having said that, I will now outline the social and political reasons why I oppose homosexual marriage (or anything like unto it). “Those measures” in my mind includes the criminalization of such behavior. That is right. Call me intolerant and a bigot. I think that pornographers should also be criminalized. I think that people who violate legal contracts (e.g. marriage) by committing adultery should be punished by the strong arm of the government in order to protect the institution of the family. I also think that people who produce literature that gives pointers as to how to molest children should be locked up (honestly, I think people like that [child predators] should be discretely whipped because there is only one way to get to such people—through their skin—and if you think that is harsh just remember what the Savior said about the punishment those people deserve. And he was so loving and kind to those publicans and sinners!). Finally, I think that homosexuality is a menace to society; to quote Brigham Young. The act should be condemned and punished, and in a righteous society it would be punished.
READ THIS PLEASE: I am not advocating vigil ante action, or hatred of anybody. I have respect for all people—even murderers and adulterers. I also respect their right to a fair trial. I also believe in being subject to laws, magistrates, rulers and so forth. I also believe that the voice of the people have the right to implement those measures which ensure the rights of people to live free from harmful and detrimental influences, and to restrict behavior that has a negative social cost. As a person who values life, I argue that the government has a duty to restrict such actions that are concerned with either the taking away of life or the giving of life. The power to give life, if misused, will plagued society with ills that are numberless.
I cite Jeffery R Holland—who as an American History and Literature graduate of Yale can contribute to this public discussion:
“No man [or woman], however brilliant or well-informed, can … safely … dismiss … the wisdom of [lessons learned] in the laboratory of history. A youth boiling with hormones will wonder why he should not give full freedom to his sexual desires; [but] if he is unchecked by custom, morals, or laws, he may ruin his life before he … understand[s] that sex is a river of fire that must be banked and cooled by a hundred restraints if it is not to consume in chaos both the individual and the group.”
I am sorry if my philosophy hurts my relationship with others. I was warned that the gospel would sometimes force me to choose between it and Father, Mother, Sister and Brother. I believe that we can agree to disagree agreeably, but if it is between my popularity and personal relationships or the denial of my faith (which is not the same as values, religion, or belief--BTW) then I am forced to choose the latter. The gospel is the most important gift that I have obtained in my life.
That is my public policy debate. I don’t have time to cite social science articles, but I think that the effects of sexual sin are sufficiently obvious to those who care to look.
Sun Jul 09 17:44:29 MST Menace to Society :
One who uses the God-given body of another without divine sanction abuses the very soul of that individual, abuses the central purpose and processes of life.
--Jeffery R. Holland
Sun Jul 09 18:07:55 MST Quotable Quotables:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.