The Light of Christ and The Way to Judge

There are many in today's world - especially youth, who think that the way to learn good from evil is to go out and do evil things. This is especially common among young latter day saints born into the covenant, who feel that perhaps they have missed an important part of their moral or ethical education by not participating in activities that are frowned upon by the church. We know that this is an erroneous conception, but as I was reading in Moroni chapter 7, I found a verse that proves the point.
Moroni chapter 7 talks a good deal about the way to judge between good and evil. Essentially the way to judge if something is evil is by its fruits and visa versa. After talking about the Light of Christ, Moroni exhorts us to not judge wrongfully. Then he says this, "Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the Light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ." (Moroni 7:19) I think that Moroni's message is pretty explicit. The way to judge between good and evil is done through the Light of Christ and not through it's opposite, through darkness. Just as searching for things and judging things is ineffective in the dark, so is judging without the Light of Christ and relying solely upon our poor night vision.
The Light of Christ is the light that defines what everything is - that is why it is the way to judge. If you think about it, colors, and shapes, and sizes, and most visual things are somewhat relevant because of different lighting conditions. Socrates gave a famous cave analogy in which he determined that people living in a cave their entire life with only the light of a fire would learn to judge things by their shadows until they broke out of the environment they were in and ventured out of the cave into daylight. The Light of Christ has this effect in helping us to know the way to judge when so many live in a cave of moral relativism.
I am so grateful for the Light of Christ as a light and a guide to help me know what is right and wrong and to guide my way on the path of life.

On Debts and Covenants

A day or two ago, Marissa and I were reading in Mosiah chapter 9 where Zeniff leads a group of Nephites to the land of their first inheritance (Nephi), in order to possess the land. There they met a group of Lamanites and Zeniff decided to try and strike up a bargain with the king of the Lamanites to allow them to live there in peace. (remember that the Nephites and Lamanites are perpetually at war with each other). Surprisingly enough, King Laman was more than happy to oblige. In fact, he commanded his people to uproot and leave a part of the land in order to give room for the Nephites. Sound too good to be true? Well, it was. As the Nephites began to be prosperous in the land, the Lamanites started to attack them in an effort to subdue them. In verse 10 it says that "it was the cunning and craftiness of King Laman, to bring my people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might possess it." As Marissa and I were pondering how this could have application to our lives, we decided that King Laman represented the adversary. Zeniff unfortunately, made a deal with the devil, and just like all deals made with the devil, it turned out to be in the devil's favor. He should have known that this was just too good to be true. Sometimes this is how the devil works. Rather than destroying us on the spot like King Laman maybe could have done, he sometimes succors us into a false sense of security and of course he has ulterior motives. To further prove the point, Marissa and I were later reading in the book "Believing Christ." In it, it talked about the difference between a covenant and a 1 way covenant. A covenant is a promise between two people with conditions for both. There is no such thing as a 1 way covenant. He said that a 1 way covenant is simply a debt or slavery (1 person owes something and the other owes nothing). Marissa and I found this very interesting in light of what we had read earlier. Zeniff essentially made a 1 way covenant with King Laman - one that would certainly lead to bondage and slavery. I am so grateful for the lessons the scriptures teach. The devil always has cheap counterfeits that are never good for the person that gets succored into them. I am so grateful to have a Savior who makes a covenant with me where I do not have to worry as long as I am fulfilling my end, whether He will fulfill His.

The Past Few Months

"Validation"

Forgiveness

As I was reading the Book of Mormon this week, I came across Helaman 1:32,33. In Helaman chapter 1 there was a faction in the government and contention over who should be chief judge. This left the Nephites unprepared and vulnerable to an attack from the Lamanites. The Lamanites obviously saw this and took advantage of it. Led by a man named Coriantumr, the Lamanites hacked their way through the Nephite defenses and went straight to the capital city, Zarahemla. There they cut down the guard and took possession of the city. The Lamanites then used Zarahemla as a launching point as they started to cut through the middle of Nephite lands causing great slaughter as they went. To make a long story short, the Lamanites became surrounded (because they were in the very heart of Nephite lands), and they were defeated and captured.
My heart goes out to the Nephites because of the great slaughter that took place among them at that time. The Lamanites were so swift that the Nephites were unable to gather themselves together except in small groups that were easily destroyed. I feel that it might have been a great temptation for them to retaliate in the same way once they had surrounded and captures the Lamanites.
I can't help but think of what the Lamanites were thinking at that time. They had slaughtered many Nephites and had been captured and let go by the Nephites countless times before. Perhaps they were thinking, "well, the Nephites got us again. We have killed many of their people. They have let us go in the past, but because we keep coming against them, they will not let us go this time" But the Nephites did let them go. The Nephites had mastered the technique of "catch and release".
I know that this example in the scriptures that is repeated over and over again, is there to show us the love and forgiveness available to us from the Savior of the world. It is also a model for how we should act toward others. I think that it gives new light to the scripture that we should forgive 70 times 7 times. The Savior will forgive us no matter how many times we make the same dumb mistake and we should do the same. I know that Jesus does have that kind of love for us, and I know that if we pray for it, we can have that kind of love too.

Economics Applied

One of my favorite classes this semester is my class on economics. As I was reading a book entitled "Reinventing the Bazaar" by John McMillan, I came across something very interesting. We had been talking in class about the effects of property rights on an economy. When people actually own things they have incentives to take care of them. When they don't own things, in most cases they don't take care of them like they should. This quote from the book really struck me, "Ownership is the strongest source of incentives. It is a spur to exerting effort, drawing up plans, taking risks. Owning a productive asset gives you the power to control how it is used, plus an assurance that the returns from it will be yours. Ownership motivates you to learn about the asset's best uses, etc" (McMillan 90).
You may be wondering, how on earth does this relate to this guy's religion? This is how. As a member of the Mormon Church, I believe that I and everyone else on earth lived as spirits before coming here to earth. I also believe that there was a plan for our existence that was designed in heaven. We got to a point where the only way we could progress further was by coming to earth and being tested (away from our Heavenly Father, or God). There were 2 options that we could choose from. Satan presented a plan that all of us would come to earth and live our lives. The only implication was that we wouldn't have the ability to choose. Satan would have control over us and would force us to do good so that we could return to heaven where we came from. The other option was presented by Jesus Christ (this is the plan that each of us decided to follow). His plan was that we would each come to earth and have the ability to choose for ourselves. This also meant that there would be lots of good decisions and lots of bad decisions, but we (and God), decided that it was worth it because it would allow us the opportunity to grow and progress.
This is where the principle of ownership comes in. We were given our agency, or ability to choose. Saying that we were given the ability to choose, or our agency implies that it is ours and ours alone. We have sole ownership over it and our choices and decisions are our own property rights.
I also believe that this is one of the ONLY things that is actually mine. I believe that everything I have is a gift from God and is not necessarily my property, but God's. Relating back to the book, it stated that ownership is the strongest source of incentives. It helps exert effort, draw up plans, take risks, control how it is used, and be assured that the future benefits will be kept by the owner. I feel confident that God knew this when He designed us and designed His plan for our existence. He knew that by giving us sole ownership of our lives and our will, we would be motivated to make the most of it, to learn about it, to use it wisely and invest our time, talents, and energy into things that would yield rich returns.
To be give or be given in marriage is also a type of ownership. My wife, Marissa was given to me in marriage and visa versa so in a way, we belong to each other. Of course I want to invest everything I have into the relationship so that it will yield rich returns. I will want to take care of the relationship so that I can enjoy it forever. I'm certain that she feels the same way.
Eventually we will be given children. Although they will still be God's children, we will be given part ownership of them. Because they will be our children, all the same principles will apply. Again, I do not think that this ownership of some of the most important things in this life is mere coincidence. I'm sure that God had an understanding of human nature, and taking that into account, he organized families in this way so that there is ownership in place, divinely designed so that we would take care of these most important possessions.
Finally, a belief I have as a member of the Mormon Church, is that I am a child of God. I believe that all people on earth are children of God. In a sense, this implies that God has ownership of us. Similarly, think of what He, the most powerful being in the universe, will do so that each of us, as His most precious investment, will yield a rich return.
I know that He does love us and that he considers us to be of infinite more worth than a mere investment or a piece of property. He loves us as His children because that is what we are. An evidence of that love is his allowing us to have our agency so that we can do with it as we please and reap the rewards. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

How cool is this! I downloaded the new picasa, and patched the photographer and videographer out!