In an age where powerful elements in society are pushing to do everything from obliterate the very concept of a woman by reducing them to such objectified terms such as “menstruating/birthing person” to trying to normalize exposing children to hypersexualized drag shows in order to desensitize them to sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, and transgenderism, this LDS Classic is one of the best addresses that you’ll ever read. Not only does it pinpoint the heart of darkness, the cause of much hate and danger in society today, but it also shows us how and why the doctrines of Christ can and should give us immense hope for tomorrow.
Tag: President Oaks
Ancient Biblical Anarchy In The Law Of Moses
One of the most common mistakes that people make when reading the scriptures has to do with what they think it says about government. For example, most people read the stories of Saul, David, Solomon, and the succeeding kings of Judah and Ephraim as some divine endorsement of monarchy or, more generally, statism. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. All the kings of the Israelites were absolute disasters and everything after 1 Samuel 8 is the fulfillment of a warning God gives the Israelites that choosing the rule of men over His rule would be nothing but a disaster. The Old Testament is deeply anti-monarchist and anti-statist. This brings up an important question though: If God didn’t endorse kings (or the state more generally) then what kind of government does He support? What does it look like when you have God as your King? Here I answer this question while laying out what modern forms of government most closely match or best allow for God’s government to be established among His people.
President Oaks Taught The Principles of Anarchy at General Conference
This past weekend was General Conference and President Dallin H. Oaks delivered an address where he outlined five inspired principles of government which he taught are what make the U.S. Constitution an inspired document and why Latter-day Saints should feel some special loyalty to the document. Outside of the typical American culturalism in his talk, what really astounded me was that the five principles he outlined are not unique to the U.S. Constitution. They’re not even fully realized in the Constitution because of how the violence of statism limits or altogether prevents these inspired principles from operating to their fullest. But they do in consensual, non-statist government systems such as those found in libertarianism, anarchism, and voluntaryism. In this article I explore each principle individually, demonstrate how they are hobbled in the U.S Constitution, and how they are actually principles of consensual governments like anarchy, libertarianism, and voluntaryism because those forms of government allow these divine principles to operate at their highest and holiest potentials. In teaching these divine principles as the basis for righteous governments, President Oaks has inadvertently made the strongest argument for the rejection of the U.S. Constitution and the embracing of anarchy I have heard from any General Authority.
Christians, Guns, and Killing in Self-Defense
In the United States guns are an inescapable part of everyday life. Depending on what state you live in you could be surrounded by people either carrying a gun secretly or openly. Even outside the USA it is a rare country that doesn’t glorify its military and soldiers as armed heroes of the nation who do the work of fighting and killing which all within the country’s borders. The entertainment of the world is awash with violent heroes whose solutions to the problems of the world is to kill anyone who stands in their way and not even ask questions about it later. They’re just assumed to be right. Everywhere we turn violence is idolized as the ideal and justified in endless ways. But are these ways of the world also the ways of Christ?
The short answer is no, they are not. A Christian should reject killing, even in self-defense, and should instead rely upon the power of God as the only true source of safety one can have in the world. Guns, bullets, and bombs will never keep you safe. They are merely idols whose worship demands human sacrifice – your life or theirs. Instead of of focusing on killing or getting vengeance upon his or her enemy the Christian should be working to forgive and redeem his or her enemy.
What Do You Do When An Apostle Is Wrong?
This is a topic that I think is important to address, yet it is one that we are often afraid to address. Perhaps this is because we feel like that by pointing out or acknowledging where the Brethren are in error that we are questioning the Lord Himself or like we might damage another’s faith. Yet we all know it happens. Apostles are often wrong when citing scriptures and when citing history. And refusing to address the issue creates a very unhealthy aura of infallibility around the Brethren that not only forces more weight upon their shoulders than they already carry but it also creates a very weak and sandy foundation upon which to build our own testimonies. This article is dedicated towards answering this important question in a way that will help the believer maintain and build faith in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Restored Church of Jesus Christ, and His appointed leaders while also acknowledging and understanding their own fallibility, their ability to commit error, and how their doing so should impact our own understanding of the scriptures.