Love One Another

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." --John 13:34, KJV.

The entire world has become a battle. No one is exempt, everyone must take a side. If you don't actively take a stance you are assigned to one, or assumed to support one or the other. Any stance you do take immediately assigns you to five other labels related.

 Allow me to give a few hypothetical examples:

Gertrude stays politically neutral on social media, but frequently posts pictures of her six-month baby. She expresses her gratitude for her child and is one of those over-happy Instagram mommies. Gertrude's friend, Penelope, assumes that Gertrude doesn't care about women's rights because she is obviously pro-life, or anti-choice. She is so happy about her baby she can't possibly support abortion.

Charlie's friend Fred came out as gay on social media. He "liked" the post, and immediately was attacked by a conservative friend. He was asked if he was also gay, and if he had evaluated his morals lately.

Bob is white. Bob posts a #bluelivesmatter on his Facebook to support the policemen in his area. Immediately he is attacked, called a racist and a hater. Because he supports police, he cannot support black people. He must be a white supremacist or a secret KKK supporter.

These may seem extreme, but it's a real thing happening today. The media has made everything divided, a definite line in the middle of every single debate, and that has made it so all of us assign labels to different opinions, whether we mean to or not.

One of the biggest enhancers of these divisions comes in the form of political correctness. Dallin H. Oaks in his talk "No Other Gods" from October 2013's General Conference, calls political correctness a modern form of "idol worship", or putting something before God. Not that we should be rude or insulting to those around us--Jesus commanded us to "love one another" without any stipulations. However, denying the existence of sin in an effort to make everybody happy is putting our comfort before God and His commandments.

Please enjoy this comedic sketch about the perils of political correctness. (It is a joke, I promise.)

I know this sketch is humorous and, again, an example taken to the utmost extreme, but it serves a point: When does the un-defining of terms stop? Anymore, "man" and "woman" are very ambiguous terms. And yet, that does not stop the battle. Instead of a battle between men and women it has become a battle between supporting transgenderism and maintaining the integrity of birth gender.

The most puzzling thing to me is that while "man" and "woman" are quickly becoming meaningless words, "black" and "white" are becoming increasingly emphasized. While gender doesn't matter, black lives do, but not "all lives matter", because that's offensive. Black lives do matter, but is it wrong for me to say my son's life doesn't because he will be white? (If you've met me and my husband, we'll be lucky if he tans at all and doesn't glow in the dark, we both come from such good Irish stock.) It's not his fault both his parents are paler than pale, and yet if I say his white life matters I'm a bigot, a racist, putting down the lives of black people.

Let me make something clear: I have opinions. I do. I love and respect policemen, though that does not mean I want them killing black people. I don't want anyone killing any people. I support marriage between a man and a woman, and I have my issues with open-gender bathrooms. However, that doesn't mean I think transgender people are bad people, or that people in homosexual relationships are evil. I just know what I believe is true and how I want my son's world to be.

I believe that God has decreed certain things and that going against those commandments is a sin. However, no one is perfect. I cannot condemn the transgender community because God loves them just as much as He loves me, and I have just as many sins to overcome as they do. We all do, they are just different sins. Our repentance and obedience is between us and God. I will do what I believe is right--and that includes loving everyone.

God is the judge. We are not. We are entitled to our beliefs, morals, and opinions, but not to shame or judge others for theirs. Someone who supports Trump is not entitled to call a Clinton supporter an idiot, and vice versa. There are lines in the sand on every conceivable issue, but that doesn't mean everyone on the other side of the line is evil or stupid or bigoted or even ignorant. Showing love toward everyone doesn't mean folding over and not standing up for what we believe, but it also doesn't mean shouting down everyone else's opinions.

When we remember that we are all brothers and sisters, children of a loving and perfect Heavenly Father who sees us all as children, struggling to learn and obey and grow, maybe then we will be more loving, more charitable, and more forgiving. That is what the world needs more of today: charity and forgiveness. Let's start that today, and maybe the defining lines in the world's battles will become a little less important than loving others.

Nephites and Lamanites

In the earliest chapters of the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel are shown to ignore the commandments of God and hate their brother Nephi. This eventually causes the separation of the Nephites and the Lamanites. 

In 2 Nephi 5:20-24, when the Nephites and Lamanites first separate, it is explained that the Lord put a curse on the Lamanites:

"Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence.

"And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

"And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

 "And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.

 "And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey."

This doesn't seem fair for the Lamanites, does it? They were cursed because of the sins of their fathers. Aren't we taught that God punishes us for our own sins, and not those of our ancestors? Article of Faith #2 says, "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." Shouldn't this apply to the Lamanites as well?

I propose that there is a difference between consequences for our parents choices and consequences for our own choices. The Lamanites for generations after Laman and Lemuel, the original dissenters, died were cursed with dark skin and lived with no knowledge of God. However, I do not believe that in the eternal scheme of things they will be judged by those same things that caused them to be cursed. 

Just before he died, Lehi taught and blessed each of his sons, including Laman and Lemuel. The following is from 2 Nephi 4: 3-7,9.

 "...he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my firstborn, I would that ye should give ear unto my words.

 "For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

 "But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save I should leave a blessing upon you; for behold, I know that if ye are brought up in the way ye should go ye will not depart from it.

"Wherefore, if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the heads of your parents.

"Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will not suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be merciful unto you and unto your seed forever.

" ...wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed."

The children of Laman and Lemuel lived with the consequences of the teachings of their fathers. They did not know God, and they were constantly at war with the Nephites. However, this was temporal. Those sins that they committed because of their upbringing were answered upon the heads of Laman, Lemuel, and their wives. Just because a Lamanite was born, lived, and died with no chance to hear the word of God and repent does not mean they will go to hell. 

God loves all His children, Nephite and Lamanite, and does not cast out souls on a whim. While we may live with the consequences of our parents's decisions, we will be judged by our own decisions in the circumstances we were in. 

This still applies to us today. A child can be labeled a never-do-well because of their parentage or the area where they live. This deeply influences how they perform. God knows their circumstances and what they are capable of. He does not see them as a never-do-well. If they choose to truly be a never-do-well and cheat, lie, or steal, that's different. They chose that path, and that is a consequence for their own actions, not for their upbringing. 

So often in our society we see this struggle today. Are kids in the ghetto are more likely to get shot or to shoot someone because they're bad or because of their environment? Are white people innately racist, or are they being punished because of what members of my race did a hundred years ago? Are we punishing the children of same-sex couples by not letting them get baptized until they are 18, or is it to help them live what they covenanted without turning against their parents? 

God is the perfect judge, because he knows everything: Our hearts, our minds, our desires, our upbringing, our fears, our struggles, and our triumphs. I cannot judge a single Lamanite in the Book of Mormon, but God can. He can judge every single one. Everyone, Nephites and Lamanites, Jew and Gentile, believer and atheist, will stand before God and know that He knows them. We don't have to worry about God being biased or racist or misunderstanding. Our decisions are our decisions, and He knows every one. He loves us. That is why we should love each other and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Not all white people are racist. Not all atheists hate Christians. Not all ghetto kids flunk high school. Not all Nephites were righteous. Not all Lamanites were wicked. If we do our best to become the most Christ-like we can, that will get us to heaven. That is how we show God we want to live with Him again. The other things don't really matter.