As I'm sure pretty much all of you know I am a Mormon and this year I've had the privilege of taking as US history class which covers the years 1815-1850, or in other words the same era the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was founded.
It is a fascinating class. It is amazing to see how much of my beliefs are really a product of early 19th century America.
For those unfamiliar with the origins of Mormonism here is basically Mormon history (as told by a Mormon) in a nutshell:
In 1820 the effects of religious freedom were in full swing. Many were coming to believe that all the answers of truth were to be found in the bible, and that anyone could read the bible and learn the truth for themselves.
The result was the democratizing of religion. Many Christian churches started during this time period. As different religious groups began to form they began to quarrel amongst themselves as to who had the truth.
The Smith family, who lived in Palmyra New York, was caught in the midst of this war of words. Neither the father, Joseph Smith, nor the Mother, Lucy Mack Smith were staunch converts of any particular sect. But Lucy Mack did attend the Presbyterian sect pretty frequently.
One of their children, Joseph Jr., was particularly concerned over which church he should join. Joseph was in his early teens and attended meetings when he had the time. He also did what most people across the United States were doing at that time... reading the bible to find the truth.
But Joseph found that “the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.”
But one day Joseph Smith Jr. stumbled across James 1:5 which reads, " If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God" (Italics added)
He later wrote of that moment, "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did."
Joseph then decided to go into the woods near his house and prays to find which out which church the true church was. As he prayed he saw a light above his head and in the light he beheld two people: God the Father and Jesus Christ.
He asked which church he should join and was told none of them, but that he would be used to restore the true church of Christ.
He was fourteen when his first vision took place. He did not receive another vision for three years when an angel appeared to him in his room and told him about an ancient book hidden in a nearby hill. The angel showed him where that book was in a vision.
The next day Joseph climbed the hill and found the record which was written on plates made of gold. The angel, appeared and informed Joseph that he was not yet ready to receive the plates, but to come back once a year for the next four years. Joseph followed the instructions and four years later was given the ancient record more commonly known as simply the gold plates.
Joseph was then given a gift from God to be able to interpret the book, because it was written in an ancient language. This book is called The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ as is a book of Holy Scripture equal to the bible. During the translation of the Book of Mormon God sent John the Baptist as well as Peter, James and John to give Joseph Smith the power and authority from God known as the Priesthood.
And though there is certainly more that is sufficient for me to go back to my original point. As anyone who has studied US history in the early 19th century knows it was not uncommon for young boys to say that they had seen God. There was a lot of talk of visions and spiritualism in that day and age.
But it should be noticed that there were differences between Joseph and his contemporaries and this is what I thought was so interesting.
In several different papers we read in class on early evangelicalism it noted that among other things the Mormon Church was different because it claimed direct authority from God and the Book of Mormon. And even secular historians who may not say that the Book of Mormon is Holy Scripture do credit the Mormon Church’s success to that book.
Historians say one reason why the Book was so successful is because it played right along with the anti-elitist movement going around the US at the time. Most people considered themselves judicious enough to tell truth from error and did not need verification from an expert.
So a historian would say that the Book of Mormon was so successful because at the time it was introduced it played right into the culture of the early 19th century.
Though that is certainly true in part it begs the question “well than why is the Book of Mormon such a convincing missionary tool almost 200 years later?”
The answer, I think, lies in one of my favorite scriptures in the New Testament. “For this is life eternal, to know thee the one true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”
I know that God can be known to anyone, and he wants us all to know him. It’s not merely something which 19th century Americans thought they could do. It’s something which men and women of all ages and ethnicity can do.
I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I have seen many people have similar experiences as my own as they have read the Book of Mormon and prayed about its message. It is something which they experienced for themselves, and which I have experienced for myself.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
What the Heck Have I Been Up To?
TO MY MILLIONS OF UNDYING, OBSSESIVE, and WONDERFUL FANS:
Great question. I've been busy with school and work and... well many things. I wrote this between everything and submitted it to the BYU political review. So we'll see if they publish it. (When I submited the Car Czar article which is my favorite they said they liked it and would publish it and then just "forgot" I suppose. Oh well, the publishers of the BYU political review try to make it more of an intellectual read, so I wasn't sure my Car Czar article really fit in anyway.)
The Libertarian’s Manifesto
As I speak with people about libertarianism the first thing they say is something like, “You mean the people who want to legalize drugs and do away with taxes?” This and similar comments tend to define a general philosophy by a faction of its' supporters
Libertarianism, like any philosophy, has many different factions. Many people instinctively associate a libertarian with an anarcho-capitalist as is the case above. Although there is certainly an anarcho-capitalist wing of libertarianism, there are many other factions like the socialist wing of libertarianism as articulated by intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky.
But, most likely if someone says they’re a libertarian they aren’t an anarchist, anarcho-capitalist or communist. They probably fall in the school classic liberalism.
Classical liberalism, unlike most other forms of libertarianism, believes that government is necessary to preserve freedom of conscience and choice, as well as protect property and life.
That these rights precede and supersede the state.
Although the state is necessary, strict limitations must be placed on its powers so that the autonomy of individuals and their rights are respected.
Although I could imagine exceptions in which an emergency would require emergency powers to be given to the government, that scenario would be just that: a rare exception.
If you believe the following then you are probably a libertarian:
The right of privacy is essential in a free society. No person, group of people, or government has the right or the authority to enter your home without your permission. Whether that entrance be physical, or via wiretap, surveillance or hacking into your computer etc.
In extreme threats to security or to maintain law and order unauthorized searches, seizers and even wiretapping are ok…as long as you have a warrant. If we accept that bureaucracies can wiretap without any supervision… but only to catch bad people like criminals and terrorists, how do we verify if the government is really only ease dropping on “the bad guys?” Warrants protect us from the police state.
No one runs my life better than I do. I know my circumstances, challenges, weaknesses and strengths better than any government. My success is up to me and failure is my mentor and teacher to success.
Everyone has the right to free speech and no one is unpatriotic for questioning the government. Everyone gains from decent because it allows us to see weaknesses and imperfections in the status quo.
Taxes are necessary and to a degree good. How else do we pay for roads, education, military? However, the purpose of taxation should be to pay for necessary government functions and not redistribute wealth.
And ideally taxes should be as low, simple, and flat as possible. When the guy technically in charge of the IRS can’t properly file his taxes you know there is a problem. The US tax code unnecessarily horrifies many Americans and makes a criminal out of people who are otherwise law abiding citizens.
The treasury is not a goody chest and the President of the United States is not Santa Clause.
To maintain liberty a strong military is needed to keep the peace. However, the strategy should be peace through strength, not peace through conquest. Ronald Reagan summed it best when he said, “The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor. We maintain our strength in order to deter and defend against aggression — to preserve freedom and peace.”
Religious freedom is precious. Everyone has the right to worship (or not worship) God according to their own conscience, so long as those practices don’t cause any direct harm. Religious organizations should not get any money from the government in order to maintain the separation of church and state.
America’s borders should be as open as possible for those who wish to work and study here. As we became a nation which turned away the tired the poor and the huddled masses yearning for freedom we also turned away the adventurer, the brilliant and the visionary who also yearned for that same freedom.
Americans are not defined by race, ethnicity, religion, or even place of birth. Throughout this nation’s history people of different nationalities, races, ideologies and religions have gathered to live and defend the ideals of liberty as established by the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the teachings of our founding fathers.
We are all libertarians in one way or another. Everyone cherishes their own liberty as something sacred and precious and that’s because it is.
Liberty is God’s greatest gift to us next to life itself. And to maintain our liberty we will “bear any burden, meet any hardship…”
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Great question. I've been busy with school and work and... well many things. I wrote this between everything and submitted it to the BYU political review. So we'll see if they publish it. (When I submited the Car Czar article which is my favorite they said they liked it and would publish it and then just "forgot" I suppose. Oh well, the publishers of the BYU political review try to make it more of an intellectual read, so I wasn't sure my Car Czar article really fit in anyway.)
The Libertarian’s Manifesto
As I speak with people about libertarianism the first thing they say is something like, “You mean the people who want to legalize drugs and do away with taxes?” This and similar comments tend to define a general philosophy by a faction of its' supporters
Libertarianism, like any philosophy, has many different factions. Many people instinctively associate a libertarian with an anarcho-capitalist as is the case above. Although there is certainly an anarcho-capitalist wing of libertarianism, there are many other factions like the socialist wing of libertarianism as articulated by intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky.
But, most likely if someone says they’re a libertarian they aren’t an anarchist, anarcho-capitalist or communist. They probably fall in the school classic liberalism.
Classical liberalism, unlike most other forms of libertarianism, believes that government is necessary to preserve freedom of conscience and choice, as well as protect property and life.
That these rights precede and supersede the state.
Although the state is necessary, strict limitations must be placed on its powers so that the autonomy of individuals and their rights are respected.
Although I could imagine exceptions in which an emergency would require emergency powers to be given to the government, that scenario would be just that: a rare exception.
If you believe the following then you are probably a libertarian:
The right of privacy is essential in a free society. No person, group of people, or government has the right or the authority to enter your home without your permission. Whether that entrance be physical, or via wiretap, surveillance or hacking into your computer etc.
In extreme threats to security or to maintain law and order unauthorized searches, seizers and even wiretapping are ok…as long as you have a warrant. If we accept that bureaucracies can wiretap without any supervision… but only to catch bad people like criminals and terrorists, how do we verify if the government is really only ease dropping on “the bad guys?” Warrants protect us from the police state.
No one runs my life better than I do. I know my circumstances, challenges, weaknesses and strengths better than any government. My success is up to me and failure is my mentor and teacher to success.
Everyone has the right to free speech and no one is unpatriotic for questioning the government. Everyone gains from decent because it allows us to see weaknesses and imperfections in the status quo.
Taxes are necessary and to a degree good. How else do we pay for roads, education, military? However, the purpose of taxation should be to pay for necessary government functions and not redistribute wealth.
And ideally taxes should be as low, simple, and flat as possible. When the guy technically in charge of the IRS can’t properly file his taxes you know there is a problem. The US tax code unnecessarily horrifies many Americans and makes a criminal out of people who are otherwise law abiding citizens.
The treasury is not a goody chest and the President of the United States is not Santa Clause.
To maintain liberty a strong military is needed to keep the peace. However, the strategy should be peace through strength, not peace through conquest. Ronald Reagan summed it best when he said, “The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor. We maintain our strength in order to deter and defend against aggression — to preserve freedom and peace.”
Religious freedom is precious. Everyone has the right to worship (or not worship) God according to their own conscience, so long as those practices don’t cause any direct harm. Religious organizations should not get any money from the government in order to maintain the separation of church and state.
America’s borders should be as open as possible for those who wish to work and study here. As we became a nation which turned away the tired the poor and the huddled masses yearning for freedom we also turned away the adventurer, the brilliant and the visionary who also yearned for that same freedom.
Americans are not defined by race, ethnicity, religion, or even place of birth. Throughout this nation’s history people of different nationalities, races, ideologies and religions have gathered to live and defend the ideals of liberty as established by the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the teachings of our founding fathers.
We are all libertarians in one way or another. Everyone cherishes their own liberty as something sacred and precious and that’s because it is.
Liberty is God’s greatest gift to us next to life itself. And to maintain our liberty we will “bear any burden, meet any hardship…”
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Knowing The One True God
Perhaps my favorite scripture is John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
It has always seemed logical to me that the first principle of the gospel was that one must come to know God. How can one that God exists? And if one came to knowledge of the existence of God wouldn't that be an acquaintance? Perhaps not an intimate acquaintance, but at this point this individual could say, "I don't know God well, but I know he exists."
In other words I know of him. But even after God's existence is confirmed why do we need to believe in him? How are we any better off knowing that there is a God than we were when did not believe or uncertain in our belief of God?
Most answers fail to answer the great importance of this question. A few include:
1. If people didn't believe in God there would be no morality.
This argument is easily disprovable. After all, I know a lot of people who one day decided they didn't believe in God and they didn't go haywire and start wacking people that same day. People don't turn into animals the minute the reject the idea of a God. (I would argue because they are spiritually his children and that whether they acknowledge him or not it is that heritage which separates us from the animals. But choosing not to believe does not take that heritage from us.)
2. If people don't believe in God then life has not meaning.
Though knowing God has added meaning to my life, once again, just because someone doesn't believe in God doesn't mean that their lives are meaningless. And just because someone believes in God doesn't give their life meaning. Meaning is, after all, a choice. Our lives mean what we choose them to mean.
Since I'm running out of time I'll make the rest of this snappy. One cannot nor should not believe in something which they themselves have not come to know through either reason or experience. And the same goes with God.
If I don't know God I have no reason to believe in him anymore than I have to believe in the boogey man.
But as I come to know God, not only to know he exists but know who he is my perspective on life changes.
Mormons believe that truth is knowledge of things as they are were and are to come. I believe that joy in life comes from finding, learning, knowing, loving and living life in accordance to truth. When I learned for myself that there was a God a lot of things changed. As I came to know who he was I came to learn who I was.
And as I learned who I was and who he is that changed the meaning of my life. Though people can be moral and have meaningful lives without knowing God, in my experience coming to know the one true God has only increased my strength to live a good and moral life and given life deeper purpose.
Where I had questions before, I now have perspective. I used to feel alone, now I know I have a constant companion. And truly one of the most important experiences in my life has been my gradual and slow acquaintance with the only true God and Jesus Christ who he sent.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
It has always seemed logical to me that the first principle of the gospel was that one must come to know God. How can one that God exists? And if one came to knowledge of the existence of God wouldn't that be an acquaintance? Perhaps not an intimate acquaintance, but at this point this individual could say, "I don't know God well, but I know he exists."
In other words I know of him. But even after God's existence is confirmed why do we need to believe in him? How are we any better off knowing that there is a God than we were when did not believe or uncertain in our belief of God?
Most answers fail to answer the great importance of this question. A few include:
1. If people didn't believe in God there would be no morality.
This argument is easily disprovable. After all, I know a lot of people who one day decided they didn't believe in God and they didn't go haywire and start wacking people that same day. People don't turn into animals the minute the reject the idea of a God. (I would argue because they are spiritually his children and that whether they acknowledge him or not it is that heritage which separates us from the animals. But choosing not to believe does not take that heritage from us.)
2. If people don't believe in God then life has not meaning.
Though knowing God has added meaning to my life, once again, just because someone doesn't believe in God doesn't mean that their lives are meaningless. And just because someone believes in God doesn't give their life meaning. Meaning is, after all, a choice. Our lives mean what we choose them to mean.
Since I'm running out of time I'll make the rest of this snappy. One cannot nor should not believe in something which they themselves have not come to know through either reason or experience. And the same goes with God.
If I don't know God I have no reason to believe in him anymore than I have to believe in the boogey man.
But as I come to know God, not only to know he exists but know who he is my perspective on life changes.
Mormons believe that truth is knowledge of things as they are were and are to come. I believe that joy in life comes from finding, learning, knowing, loving and living life in accordance to truth. When I learned for myself that there was a God a lot of things changed. As I came to know who he was I came to learn who I was.
And as I learned who I was and who he is that changed the meaning of my life. Though people can be moral and have meaningful lives without knowing God, in my experience coming to know the one true God has only increased my strength to live a good and moral life and given life deeper purpose.
Where I had questions before, I now have perspective. I used to feel alone, now I know I have a constant companion. And truly one of the most important experiences in my life has been my gradual and slow acquaintance with the only true God and Jesus Christ who he sent.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Power of Faith
One reason why I am a Mormon is becuase as a church we don't necessarily see a gulf between faith and reason; but believe that both are necessary in order to achieve knowledge. After all, would reason alone have permitted the Wright brothers to invent the air plane? Or would reason and thinking alone have aloud Edison to invent and array of inventions which radically changed the world?
In fact, Edison could be one of the greatest examples of why faith and reason are essesnsial for true genius. Certainly had Edison not had reasonable ideas, or done ridiculous things on the premise that, "hey I have faith that's all I need," none of these events would have been brought forth.
By equal measure, Edison could have spent his whole life reasoning if it were possible to light a room with electric light, however, without the faith to percieve the unseen and to dare to try, and try and try as Edison did until he achieved success, the world would still be dark.
It is in this context which I, just a punk kid (i.e. I'm no biblical scholar) that I've always understood Heb 11:3 when Paul said, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
Many use this scripture to argue that the "stuff" that this world was made of was non-existent and God spoke and poof! However, in the context of my Edison example, the way I understand this verses is that when God looked over the universe and saw raw elements and space, he took the elements and made worlds so beatiful that we couldn't have comprehended them before. He percieved in his mind what he wanted and what could be achieved, though the end of his goal was unseen.
And like wise the Book of Mormon and other scritptures teaches that God can do like wise in our lives if we have faith in his son Jesus Christ. Though our lives may be miserable and painful today, we are able to look forward with a steadfastness of hope, knowing that God is able to the wilderness into a garden, and replace our sorrow with great joy.
And as we see the fruits of our faith, we have all the more reason to believe.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
In fact, Edison could be one of the greatest examples of why faith and reason are essesnsial for true genius. Certainly had Edison not had reasonable ideas, or done ridiculous things on the premise that, "hey I have faith that's all I need," none of these events would have been brought forth.
By equal measure, Edison could have spent his whole life reasoning if it were possible to light a room with electric light, however, without the faith to percieve the unseen and to dare to try, and try and try as Edison did until he achieved success, the world would still be dark.
It is in this context which I, just a punk kid (i.e. I'm no biblical scholar) that I've always understood Heb 11:3 when Paul said, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
Many use this scripture to argue that the "stuff" that this world was made of was non-existent and God spoke and poof! However, in the context of my Edison example, the way I understand this verses is that when God looked over the universe and saw raw elements and space, he took the elements and made worlds so beatiful that we couldn't have comprehended them before. He percieved in his mind what he wanted and what could be achieved, though the end of his goal was unseen.
And like wise the Book of Mormon and other scritptures teaches that God can do like wise in our lives if we have faith in his son Jesus Christ. Though our lives may be miserable and painful today, we are able to look forward with a steadfastness of hope, knowing that God is able to the wilderness into a garden, and replace our sorrow with great joy.
And as we see the fruits of our faith, we have all the more reason to believe.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Solid Ground
(If it seems random to some of you that I am posting thoughts from the Book of Mormon lately, it was because of a recommendation of one of my Proffesor's or religion at BYU)
This week was particularly busy week for me. There seemed to be more homework then I had time, and I just had from one thing to the next to the next. And beyond the stress of going to school and work, there is another stress which everyone is probably feeling right now and that is the stress of uncertainty.
Where will the economy be in a year? Will I have a job? What does the future hold for me, my family and my community?
When confronted with such questions, some choose to think upon and look to happier days and thoughts. They may distract themselves with more trivial desires like movies, sports, shopping, anything to keep their mind off of these and many more unanswered questions.
However, the day comes when these questions are answered. And sometimes to our disliking. This week as I was reading through the Book of Mormon I read through one of my personal favorite chapters in the book of Heleman.
In this particular chapter there is a lot of corruption in society. The head of state, who in the Book of Mormon is the Chief Judge, is a righteous man and a prophet of God. However, even he, this great prophet, becomes concerned for what the future holds for his people. He knows that if the people continue in their corrupt ways they will not be able to be governed by law and will fall in to total chaos or if they were governed by the law it would be to their own destruction.
In this trying moment this prophet remembered something that his father told him as a child. His father said, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
I know that if we wish to have a sure future and foundation we must build that foundation on our Redeemer and his teachings. Without that foundation nothing in life is certain, with it, few things are certain. But one of those few things is that we can know for certain is that if we hold true to the teachings and doctrine of Christ that despite chaos, confusion, storms, trails and a myriad of other things that we will not fall.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
This week was particularly busy week for me. There seemed to be more homework then I had time, and I just had from one thing to the next to the next. And beyond the stress of going to school and work, there is another stress which everyone is probably feeling right now and that is the stress of uncertainty.
Where will the economy be in a year? Will I have a job? What does the future hold for me, my family and my community?
When confronted with such questions, some choose to think upon and look to happier days and thoughts. They may distract themselves with more trivial desires like movies, sports, shopping, anything to keep their mind off of these and many more unanswered questions.
However, the day comes when these questions are answered. And sometimes to our disliking. This week as I was reading through the Book of Mormon I read through one of my personal favorite chapters in the book of Heleman.
In this particular chapter there is a lot of corruption in society. The head of state, who in the Book of Mormon is the Chief Judge, is a righteous man and a prophet of God. However, even he, this great prophet, becomes concerned for what the future holds for his people. He knows that if the people continue in their corrupt ways they will not be able to be governed by law and will fall in to total chaos or if they were governed by the law it would be to their own destruction.
In this trying moment this prophet remembered something that his father told him as a child. His father said, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
I know that if we wish to have a sure future and foundation we must build that foundation on our Redeemer and his teachings. Without that foundation nothing in life is certain, with it, few things are certain. But one of those few things is that we can know for certain is that if we hold true to the teachings and doctrine of Christ that despite chaos, confusion, storms, trails and a myriad of other things that we will not fall.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Some Thoughts from Alma 30
Since there are very few who come onto my blog consistently, I will presume that all of you know that I'm Mormon. For those who didn't you know now. One of my favorite books to read is actually the Book of Mormon. I like the book for many different reason.
The first and most important is the spiritual power which the book gives me. The second would be the spiritual insights and answers. However, somewhere, probably just below those top two answers are the philosophical and ethical answers and insights which the Book of Mormon provides.
I was recently reading Alma chapter 30. It is a narrative of a man who is anti-Christ, or seeks to destroy the testimony of Christ amongst the people. He preaches doctrines like no man can know the future and therefore no one can know that a savior of the world would come. That a man can't know that which he cannot see and that there is no life after death.
In the end, however, he gets in a debate with the prophet Alma, who testifies of the existence of God. Afterwards, Korihor is cursed by God and is struck dumb and becomes a beggar. Korihor in the end is trampled by horses as he is begging one day in the street.
The reason why this chapter has always fascinated me is because it addresses greatly the issue of free speech. The narrator of the story is the historian/prophet Mormon. He begins by explaining that the people of Nephi had been living in peace for quite some time. However, Korihor began to contend against the doctrine of Christ and went about the land trying to destroy the faith of those who believed.
At this point in the history of Korihor Mormon takes a brief pause to explain something very important.
“Now there was no law against a man's belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds.”
What does Mormon mean by putting people on unequal grounds? He continues three verses later, "For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man’s belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equal grounds."
So men were "equal" in there standing before the law. Being Christian, or atheist, shouldn't put men on unequal grounds or that's to say the law should not be used to favor one group above the other.
I've always enjoyed this chapter because it shows that over two-thousand years ago there was a civilization that valued speech as much as I do today. It also shows that freedom can be a messy thing. The same freedom which ensures that prophets like Alma can teach good and uplifting things also ensures people like Korihor could mislead people.
As President Thomas S. Monson once said, "The power to lead is the power to mislead and the power to mislead is the power to destroy."
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
The first and most important is the spiritual power which the book gives me. The second would be the spiritual insights and answers. However, somewhere, probably just below those top two answers are the philosophical and ethical answers and insights which the Book of Mormon provides.
I was recently reading Alma chapter 30. It is a narrative of a man who is anti-Christ, or seeks to destroy the testimony of Christ amongst the people. He preaches doctrines like no man can know the future and therefore no one can know that a savior of the world would come. That a man can't know that which he cannot see and that there is no life after death.
In the end, however, he gets in a debate with the prophet Alma, who testifies of the existence of God. Afterwards, Korihor is cursed by God and is struck dumb and becomes a beggar. Korihor in the end is trampled by horses as he is begging one day in the street.
The reason why this chapter has always fascinated me is because it addresses greatly the issue of free speech. The narrator of the story is the historian/prophet Mormon. He begins by explaining that the people of Nephi had been living in peace for quite some time. However, Korihor began to contend against the doctrine of Christ and went about the land trying to destroy the faith of those who believed.
At this point in the history of Korihor Mormon takes a brief pause to explain something very important.
“Now there was no law against a man's belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds.”
What does Mormon mean by putting people on unequal grounds? He continues three verses later, "For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man’s belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equal grounds."
So men were "equal" in there standing before the law. Being Christian, or atheist, shouldn't put men on unequal grounds or that's to say the law should not be used to favor one group above the other.
I've always enjoyed this chapter because it shows that over two-thousand years ago there was a civilization that valued speech as much as I do today. It also shows that freedom can be a messy thing. The same freedom which ensures that prophets like Alma can teach good and uplifting things also ensures people like Korihor could mislead people.
As President Thomas S. Monson once said, "The power to lead is the power to mislead and the power to mislead is the power to destroy."
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Trying to Walk Forward While Facing Backwards
When the UK telegraph says that Obama's inaugural speech was bad, you know it was real bad. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/alex_spillius/blog/2009/01/20/barack_obama_inauguration_his_worst_speech
As Alex Spillius wrote on the UK telegraph blog, "The delivery, as ever, was first class, but the message wasn't clear enough and the language not insufficiently inspiring," he continues on to write, "Obama seemed weighed down by the past, and failed to seize the moment."
That last sentence describes the problem of this entire election cycle.
Obama's speech didn't an awful lot of talking about history, but didn't amount to anything that would make it. Writing a memorable inauguration address is difficult. There have been some articulate presidents whose inaugurations are well forgotten.
Lincoln, a very articulate man, is better known for his second inaugural. And does anyone know anything about inaugural addresses given by Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, or even Bill Clinton? It really does take a lot to make a historic address.
However, Obama had all the material to make his address historic. He is coming in during a war, and economic crisis and he's the first black to hold the office of President of the United States. He can't blame the press either, as they spent to whole week talking up this moment and history, and the whole afternoon after the speech proclaiming that Obama's words would be etched in stone.
But does anyone really believe that?
No, Obama's speech fell short of what it ought to have hit. And Alex Spillius hit the nose right on the head; Obama was stuck in history and didn't seize the moment.
President Obama has spent the last four months saying that he's JFK, no he's FDR, no no, he's Abraham Lincoln... combined! Obama has the JFK Hollywood image, he's going to rebuild our infrastructure like FDR, and he came from Illinois and rode a train to Washington DC just like Abraham Lincoln. You see the problem with Obama's speech really started before he ever gave it.
It surely says something of our generation that we're always looking back, and although generations past have looked back to learn from history, they were always able to seize the moment.
Abe Lincoln wasn't impersonating anyone when he took his train to New York, FDR, though basically copying and pasting many of the Hoover administration’s policy in the infrastructure building, tried to make it sound like his own, and John Kennedy was being John Kennedy. Although each of these men must have had their role model, they were able to rise up and seize the moment by themselves.
Obama is not the only recent politian with this problem. Early in the Republican race Mitt Romney had to compare everything he did to Ronald Reagan. Mitt, I love Reagan, but two things buddy. First, you're no Reagan, and two, you're you.
And so although Obama's inaugural may not have been as good as the hype it did serve to demonstrate the dilemma that will decide the future of this nation: Are we a nation who looks back to the past nostalgically or do we have leaders living now capable of taking the moment and succeeding.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
As Alex Spillius wrote on the UK telegraph blog, "The delivery, as ever, was first class, but the message wasn't clear enough and the language not insufficiently inspiring," he continues on to write, "Obama seemed weighed down by the past, and failed to seize the moment."
That last sentence describes the problem of this entire election cycle.
Obama's speech didn't an awful lot of talking about history, but didn't amount to anything that would make it. Writing a memorable inauguration address is difficult. There have been some articulate presidents whose inaugurations are well forgotten.
Lincoln, a very articulate man, is better known for his second inaugural. And does anyone know anything about inaugural addresses given by Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, or even Bill Clinton? It really does take a lot to make a historic address.
However, Obama had all the material to make his address historic. He is coming in during a war, and economic crisis and he's the first black to hold the office of President of the United States. He can't blame the press either, as they spent to whole week talking up this moment and history, and the whole afternoon after the speech proclaiming that Obama's words would be etched in stone.
But does anyone really believe that?
No, Obama's speech fell short of what it ought to have hit. And Alex Spillius hit the nose right on the head; Obama was stuck in history and didn't seize the moment.
President Obama has spent the last four months saying that he's JFK, no he's FDR, no no, he's Abraham Lincoln... combined! Obama has the JFK Hollywood image, he's going to rebuild our infrastructure like FDR, and he came from Illinois and rode a train to Washington DC just like Abraham Lincoln. You see the problem with Obama's speech really started before he ever gave it.
It surely says something of our generation that we're always looking back, and although generations past have looked back to learn from history, they were always able to seize the moment.
Abe Lincoln wasn't impersonating anyone when he took his train to New York, FDR, though basically copying and pasting many of the Hoover administration’s policy in the infrastructure building, tried to make it sound like his own, and John Kennedy was being John Kennedy. Although each of these men must have had their role model, they were able to rise up and seize the moment by themselves.
Obama is not the only recent politian with this problem. Early in the Republican race Mitt Romney had to compare everything he did to Ronald Reagan. Mitt, I love Reagan, but two things buddy. First, you're no Reagan, and two, you're you.
And so although Obama's inaugural may not have been as good as the hype it did serve to demonstrate the dilemma that will decide the future of this nation: Are we a nation who looks back to the past nostalgically or do we have leaders living now capable of taking the moment and succeeding.
Jason Bentley is just a punk college kid who is attending Brigham Young University.
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