I recently received this email from my senator, Mike Lee:
"I was honored to join my colleague, Senator Ted Cruz, in an extraordinary effort to bring the voices of the American people to the halls of Congress with one simple purpose: to make DC listen to the American people's concerns with Obamacare. Senator Cruz started speaking at 2:41 p.m. on Tuesday, and he spoke for 21 hours on the Senate Floor. I stayed up with him through the night, and I had several opportunities to share the concerns of the American people from the Senate Floor while also outlining the path Republicans can take to defund Obamacare."
I am bewildered that Mike Lee thinks that attempting to force congress to get rid of Obamacare in exchange for keeping the government running is a good idea.
Do you like to be forced? Do you know anyone who likes to be forced? I sure don't!
Why does Mike Lee think that trying to force anyone to do something is going to bear positive fruit? I am at a loss here.
From where I sit, it appears that the Democratic party in this country is the party taking the clear, thoughtful approach to government while the Republican party increasingly is looking disorganized, drifting, purposeless, and powerless.
Unfortunately, with the GOP traditionally being associated with religious conservatives, I fear that level-headed Democrats may continue to view most/all religious ideas as "bad" (as well as any other idea coming from the GOP) and continue to try to distance the country away from such ideas. This may mean that the moral standard of our country will continue to decline which will be bad for Democrats and Republicans alike.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
More substitutions of God's rules
I just saw this yesterday.
"There is nothing wrong with consenting adults living and loving how they choose." (see here )
This is a great example of the downward spiral that our world is in today as society continues to devalue God's laws in favor of the doctrine that is pleasing to the carnal mind.
I read a neat verse in the Book of Mormon last night which coincidentally talks about this:
"there shall be greatapollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall bebmurders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and itcmattereth not, for the Lord will duphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the egall of bitterness and in the fbonds of iniquity."
Does this sound like the world in which we currently live? Yes, yes, it does.
"There is nothing wrong with consenting adults living and loving how they choose." (see here )
This is a great example of the downward spiral that our world is in today as society continues to devalue God's laws in favor of the doctrine that is pleasing to the carnal mind.
I read a neat verse in the Book of Mormon last night which coincidentally talks about this:
"there shall be greatapollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall bebmurders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and itcmattereth not, for the Lord will duphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the egall of bitterness and in the fbonds of iniquity."
Does this sound like the world in which we currently live? Yes, yes, it does.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
The Gay Marriage Problem
It's time for me to weigh in one of the most controversial issues of our current day: gay marriage.
At first glance, gay marriage seems like a simple issue: Gays have been persecuted, mistreated, bullied, and even killed for as long as anyone can remember and they are actually really nice and harmless people who just want the same respect that everyone else gets. Plus their behavior is their own business and doesn't affect anyone else. Therefore, we should have no problem extending them legal marriage as part of our government in order to put a stop to the abuse they have suffered.
Sounds reasonable, right?
It's actually a lot more complicated than this! And some of what I said above isn't necessarily true (but it sounds good).
I've often felt that the debate about gay marriage should really be a debate about whether God exists. That may surprise you.
God has commanded in no uncertain terms that sexual relations are to practiced exclusively within His definition of marriage (ie traditional marriage). In other words anything designed to cause sexual arousal is to be kept between husband and wife. That means that even commonplace things like sex being used in advertising is contrary to God's commandments. It also means that common relationships such as unmarried boyfriends and girlfriends having sex is contrary to God's commandments (and yeah I know many of my friends are in this category, don't worry, I still think you are good people and still respect you). And yes, it means that all homosexual behavior is contrary to God's commandments (notice I said behavior, not inclination).
Now before you jump on the "hate" bandwagon, realize that God also designed our physical bodies to desire behavior that is contrary to his commandments! That means that most of us are going to have sexual urges that we must not act upon in order to stay in compliance with God's commandments. Some of us are going to have the urge to sleep with as many partners as possible, some of us are going to have same sex attraction, and some of us are even going to be sexually attracted to children (though we don't generally talk about this). There is nothing wrong with feeling this way because this is the way God has designed our bodies. However, God expects us to confine our sexual behavior to His commandments. It's sort of a paradox. Logically, we can therefore conclude that a) God expects us to master our bodies rather than allow our bodies to master us and b) everyone who follows God is going to have to give up something in exchange (for example, the guy whose body wants to sleep with 100 beautiful women is going to have to give that up if he wants to follow God)
In summary, if we want to be truly happy in life, we must bridle our passions.
Now, how does this relate to gay marriage?
First of all, it casts some troubling light upon the "equality" argument. The argument basically feels like it is saying that gay couples have a right to have everyone accept their relationship as if they were following God's standard of sexuality. Or, stated differently, a couple who is not playing by the rules that God has set forth wants to reap the same benefits as a couple who is playing by the rules. This seems a little unfair to me. And it feels like it violates my freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution. I feel like unless I carry on a pretense then I will become subject to intimidation. And it seems to be getting worse.
Second of all, the idea of hate and discrimination is troubling also because it implies that God Himself is participating in the hating and the discrimination. If God says that sexual relations outside His boundaries are wrong, then I don't see how this principle could be considered hateful or discriminatory.
Thirdly, marriage as an institution was created by God; it is not man-made. Therefore, for society to try to redefine marriage is somewhat concerning. L. Tom Perry recently said "Prophets from all dispensations have consistently warned against violations of two of the more serious commandments—the ones relating to murder and adultery. I see a common basis for these two critical commandments—the belief that life itself is the prerogative of God and that our physical bodies, the temples of mortal life, should be created within the bounds God has set. For man to substitute his own rules for the laws of God on either end of life is the height of presumption and the depth of sin." (see citation). This is probably the #1 reason I am concerned about gay marriage, because I don't want to stand before God one day and have to explain to Him why I did not defend the marriage institution that He created.
In conclusion, if God exists, then I feel that gay marriage as the world understands it today, is missing the mark. It is failing to solve the problem it is attempting to solve.
I have a very good friend who considers himself gay who pointed out to me that there may be cases where the government should extend laws to accommodate gay couples. And I agree with him!
If someone (who considers themselves to be gay) wants hospital visitation rights for their partner, or to inherit their partner's social security they've accrued for decades, or to have shared medical insurance, or some other government benefit, I don't really see that as a big deal and probably would not stand in the way of laws of that nature. I consider that type of stuff all man-made, and what one government made, another can modify. Not a big deal.
But let's come up with a different solution for this rather than changing the definition of marriage. If we keep the dialog open and try to see where the other side is coming from, I am confident that we can come up with a better solution than what I see brewing in society today.
At first glance, gay marriage seems like a simple issue: Gays have been persecuted, mistreated, bullied, and even killed for as long as anyone can remember and they are actually really nice and harmless people who just want the same respect that everyone else gets. Plus their behavior is their own business and doesn't affect anyone else. Therefore, we should have no problem extending them legal marriage as part of our government in order to put a stop to the abuse they have suffered.
Sounds reasonable, right?
It's actually a lot more complicated than this! And some of what I said above isn't necessarily true (but it sounds good).
I've often felt that the debate about gay marriage should really be a debate about whether God exists. That may surprise you.
God has commanded in no uncertain terms that sexual relations are to practiced exclusively within His definition of marriage (ie traditional marriage). In other words anything designed to cause sexual arousal is to be kept between husband and wife. That means that even commonplace things like sex being used in advertising is contrary to God's commandments. It also means that common relationships such as unmarried boyfriends and girlfriends having sex is contrary to God's commandments (and yeah I know many of my friends are in this category, don't worry, I still think you are good people and still respect you). And yes, it means that all homosexual behavior is contrary to God's commandments (notice I said behavior, not inclination).
Now before you jump on the "hate" bandwagon, realize that God also designed our physical bodies to desire behavior that is contrary to his commandments! That means that most of us are going to have sexual urges that we must not act upon in order to stay in compliance with God's commandments. Some of us are going to have the urge to sleep with as many partners as possible, some of us are going to have same sex attraction, and some of us are even going to be sexually attracted to children (though we don't generally talk about this). There is nothing wrong with feeling this way because this is the way God has designed our bodies. However, God expects us to confine our sexual behavior to His commandments. It's sort of a paradox. Logically, we can therefore conclude that a) God expects us to master our bodies rather than allow our bodies to master us and b) everyone who follows God is going to have to give up something in exchange (for example, the guy whose body wants to sleep with 100 beautiful women is going to have to give that up if he wants to follow God)
In summary, if we want to be truly happy in life, we must bridle our passions.
Now, how does this relate to gay marriage?
First of all, it casts some troubling light upon the "equality" argument. The argument basically feels like it is saying that gay couples have a right to have everyone accept their relationship as if they were following God's standard of sexuality. Or, stated differently, a couple who is not playing by the rules that God has set forth wants to reap the same benefits as a couple who is playing by the rules. This seems a little unfair to me. And it feels like it violates my freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution. I feel like unless I carry on a pretense then I will become subject to intimidation. And it seems to be getting worse.
Second of all, the idea of hate and discrimination is troubling also because it implies that God Himself is participating in the hating and the discrimination. If God says that sexual relations outside His boundaries are wrong, then I don't see how this principle could be considered hateful or discriminatory.
Thirdly, marriage as an institution was created by God; it is not man-made. Therefore, for society to try to redefine marriage is somewhat concerning. L. Tom Perry recently said "Prophets from all dispensations have consistently warned against violations of two of the more serious commandments—the ones relating to murder and adultery. I see a common basis for these two critical commandments—the belief that life itself is the prerogative of God and that our physical bodies, the temples of mortal life, should be created within the bounds God has set. For man to substitute his own rules for the laws of God on either end of life is the height of presumption and the depth of sin." (see citation). This is probably the #1 reason I am concerned about gay marriage, because I don't want to stand before God one day and have to explain to Him why I did not defend the marriage institution that He created.
In conclusion, if God exists, then I feel that gay marriage as the world understands it today, is missing the mark. It is failing to solve the problem it is attempting to solve.
I have a very good friend who considers himself gay who pointed out to me that there may be cases where the government should extend laws to accommodate gay couples. And I agree with him!
If someone (who considers themselves to be gay) wants hospital visitation rights for their partner, or to inherit their partner's social security they've accrued for decades, or to have shared medical insurance, or some other government benefit, I don't really see that as a big deal and probably would not stand in the way of laws of that nature. I consider that type of stuff all man-made, and what one government made, another can modify. Not a big deal.
But let's come up with a different solution for this rather than changing the definition of marriage. If we keep the dialog open and try to see where the other side is coming from, I am confident that we can come up with a better solution than what I see brewing in society today.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
How Satan can be successful
In my last blog post, I talked about what Satan is trying to accomplish (which I think everyone should be very aware of in order to defend against it). In this post, I will discuss how Satan is able to be successful.
I believe it comes down to two things:
1) that we can't remember our pre-mortal life
2) that we have physical bodies which have built-in self-destructive appetites
"Wherefore, ... reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh" (see citation)
"...I would that ye should look to [Jesus Christ], and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom." (see citation)
I believe it comes down to two things:
1) that we can't remember our pre-mortal life
2) that we have physical bodies which have built-in self-destructive appetites
A verses from the Book of Mormon that support this:
And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom." (see citation)
In other words, our physical bodies are programmed with set of desires which contradicts the will of God, and therefore is in line with the will of Satan. Therefore, Satan is able to tempt us.
This life, therefore, becomes an arena in which we attempt to gain mastery over our own bodies.
This is a very important concept to understand because it helps to clarify which behaviors are good and which are evil.
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