The Gum Tree for 2006 July 7

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.