* This essay is a working progress. I have a lot of notes and scriptures ready to incorporate into this, it just takes time to do so. Since this essay already covers the big ideas, I decided to just put it online anyway.
1 – good vs evil (dualism)
otherwise, people would believe that whatever is most popular must be right, so avoid extremes.
The idea of there being a grand conflict between good and evil encompassing the world is more generally part of the branch of Abrahamic religions and is so pervasive that many may fail to see its connection to religion. However, upon examination, many people outside of Abrahamic religions don’t have this concept, and it can be quite jarring to meet someone who doesn’t hold to this belief. Abrahamic religions of course have this belief because we believe that – in the divine order – there are only two entities – God and Satan – who war each other for control over man, and all other divine beings are subject to either God or Satan (Revelation 12:7-9, Matthew 36-43). We believe that Satan encompasses all evil – there is nothing good about him whatsoever – and likewise God encompasses all good, and that being in the middle is sufficient to attain salvation (Revelation 3:15-16, Luke 9:62). Seeing that the world tends to be evil (John 15:18-19, Matthew 7:13-14, Luke 13:23-24, 3 Nephi 14:13-14), it is better to not be of the world / popular but to rather devote oneself to God (1 John 2:15-17, Galatians 1:10), even if such a path remains unpopular (Romans 12:2). This contrasts with religions that don’t believe in the existence of Gods, believe in a whole pantheon of Gods, or only believe in one God with no Satan figure.
Minus Abrahamic religions, the world has developed an opposite concept: We should strive to avoid extremes and take the middle path. The most popular ideas tend to be right, and any ideas that are seen as “extreme” by the world tend to be wrong. In such a view, all (popular) ideologies of man contain grains of truth that we should try to incorporate. This heuristic very much contradict the bible – which as stated teaches that the wide road leads to destruction and we should not seek the approval of man. While the world puts on a pedestal people who remain in “the middle” on issues, Christianity teaches that the middle path leads eventually to Satan. As non Christian views become increasingly extreme, a new ideology has started to emerge in which there is no such thing as objective truth, or even sides that are objectively right or wrong – and that the main way humans morally deviate is via being intolerant towards the strange. This again is a huge deviation from Biblical understanding which teaches that we shouldn’t entertain even the least degree of tolerance towards sin.
John 8:44 – Jesus discussing the difference between followers of God vs Father of Lies.
2 – the flesh
Just as we believe in a dual polarity divine order, as Christians we also believe that we as individuals also have two polarities – termed the spirit and the flesh (Galatians 5:16-24). Essentially, many of our earthly desires, temptations, and attitudes come from our flesh (1 John 2:16). Our flesh, also known as the natural man (Mosiah 3:19), is naturally inclined towards evil, entices us towards pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and slothfulness (the seven deadly sins).
This attitude contradicts those found in the world – which teach that to attain happiness, we must strive to satisfy our preferences, many of which come from the flesh. Such an attitude starts off by leading to sexual deviance and substance abuse, but finally leads towards unforgiving attitudes and self-centeredness. Non Christians often believe that there is nothing wrong with satisfying the lusts of the flesh as long as it causes no harm. But as Christians, we believe that such acts only defile our god given bodies and ultimately lead to misery. Moreover, we believe that it is our destiny to receive glorified bodies following the resurrection that are immune to such temptations. Seeing that these earthly bodies eventually pass away, we believe that it doesn’t make sense to define our personality by the temptations we receive from our body. Therefore, we should seek for that which is eternal and not sensual. Even in this life, we are taught that as we strive to reject the flesh, God will change our hearts so that we no longer desire after such things (Ezekiel 36:26-27, Psalm 51:10, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Alma 5:14, Mosiah 5:2, Mosiah 27:25-26).
3 – commandments / covenant keeping
To adopt a Christian view is to believe in the necessity of strictly following the commandments taught in the bible (John 14:15, Matthew 19:17, Revelation 22:14, 1 John 2:3-4, Ecclesiastes 12:13, 2 Nephi 31:10, 3 Nephi 12:20). We believe that God gave us commandments for our own happiness, and find that commandment keeping makes a huge positive impact on our lives (Mosiah 2:41, Alma 41:10, Helaman 5:12).
So here are the commandments (in no particular order): We are not to commit adultery or have premarital sex (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, Matthew 5:27-29). The benefits of an entire society following this principal are enormous – children would rarely be raised with only a single parent, and adults would suffer fewer painful divorces. We are to abstain from drinking alcohol (Ephesians 5:18, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:10, Doctrine and Covenants 89:5) – which of course would hugely benefit society, with alcohol being one of the highest causal factors in ruining people’s lives and causing abusive relationships. We are to in fact avoid all addictions (1 Corinthians 6:12-20, 1 Corinthians 9:27, Romans 6:16, Titus 2:11-12) – again, obviously society would be better off with fewer people addicted to drugs and medications. We are to warn others when they are committing sin (Ezekiel 3:17-19, Ezekiel 33:8-9, Acts 20:26-27, Jacob 1:19, Mosiah 2:27-28). The world teaches us to be tolerant towards sin, but unfortunately many sin because they have never been taught not to and they need our help. And finally, we are to be contrite and humble (Isaiah 57:15, Isaiah 66:2, Moroni 7:43-44), and come to god with a broken heart (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17, 2 Nephi 2:7, 3 Nephi 9:20, Ether 4:15). This commandment is of course much more important than all the previous commandments, but also is much more difficult to follow. Sadly, there are many people in this world who are lifted up in their own heart, and make themselves self-appointed teachers to others. They believe that others are being prideful for not accepting their wise council, but can’t see the fact that they themselves are even more arrogant. This definitely is a trait I struggle with lol. But, just imagine, how much more pleasant the world would be if everyone truly strove to be contrite and humble towards those around them!
I have a much longer list of the commandments here.
4 – being led and guided by the spirit
Christians believe that as we strive to follow the directives in the bible, we will begin to receive guidance of the holy spirit (Acts 5:32, John 14:15-18, Mosiah 2:36, Helaman 4:24). This spirit won’t only inspire us to choose correctly in important decisions, but can lead and guide us in all that we do, even helping us find lost objects and warning us of danger (James 1:5, 2 Nephi 32:5, 1 Nephi 4:6, Moroni 10:5). Moreover, we are taught that the holy ghost can help inspire us to say the words (Nehemiah 2:4-5, Matthew 10:19-20), and can comfort us in times of trouble (John 14:26, John 16:7).
5 – agency (as why we are here on earth)
We believe that our purpose is to have the opportunity to choose between good and evil so that we may affirmatively become aligned with the good (2 Nephi 2:11-27, Moses 4:1-4). Consequently, we believe that policies that take away our freedom destroy our purpose on earth. If we are forced to do good by the government, then we never have the opportunity to affirmatively choose to do good on our own. For the same motives, we believe in religious freedom (Alma 30:7–9). These principles may seem universal, but they actually are not – many societies have rejected the idea that people should be free to not give to charity, and sadly even some western countries have begun removing free speech. In our personal lives, the principal of agency can help free ourselves from addictions, in that we believe that, even in our darkest moments, God always provides a way for us to overcome (Deuteronomy 30:19, 2 Nephi 10:23-24, 1 Corinthians 10:13).
6 – the family
The second purpose we believe we have on this earth is to have a family. Families are the primary social unit, they give us opportunities to serve others, help us to receive aide when necessary, and are a primary source of our happiness on this earth. Since most of our lives are spent either providing for our family, preparing to provide for a family, or helping take care of our family, our belief in the foundational importance of the family lends nearly our entire lives purpose. We don’t feel aimless, but feel we are working in all that we do to accomplish a divine mission we have received on earth. This belief in the family can also has relevance to American politics – we believe that all children are entitled to have both a father and a mother, and that strange arrangements that take out these figures from children’s lives are to be avoided. Moreover, we believe that the accomplishment of raising a family is so vital that it should be prioritized over our own personal desires – we should turn our heart away from the flesh towards God by raising a family.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
7 Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator?
37 And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them.
14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.
21 Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.
multiplying and replenishing the earth
7 – hope in trials
As Christians, we are able to maintain a sense peace even during times of great difficulty. This is because our gospel gives us hope that God has a plan for each of us both in this life and the life to come. We hope for a world in which all tears are wiped away and therefore don’t fear death nor lose hope when our loved ones die. Likewise, when faced with injustice, we don’t become preoccupied with revenge seeking because we know that the Lord will right every wrong. Rather than feeling frustrated by trials in this life, we face them with purpose, because as the bible teaches us, we know that these trials serve a purpose – to refine us in the refiners fire (). Moreover, when we find weakness inside of ourselves, we don’t lose our sense of self-worth because we know that God gives us weaknesses on purpose in order to help improve our character and allow God’s glory to be seen in us (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Ether 12:26-28).
God will protect us during our trials: (Psalm 91, John 16:33, Mosiah 24:14, Alma 36:3, Helaman 5:12, Isaiah 40:29-31)
All things for our benefit: (Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:8-18, 2 Nephi 2:2)
God has plan for us in this life: (Psalm 37:23-24, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 45:2, 1 Nephi 3:7)
Refiners fire: (Malachi 3:2-3, Isaiah 48:10, Zechariah 13:9, Job 23:10, Psalm 66:10-12)
Trials are for our Benefit: (James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-4, Isaiah 48:10, Zechariah 13:9)
Hope for a better world: (Isaiah 11:6-9, Isaiah 25:8, Romans 8:18-21, Titus 2:13, Revelation 7:17, Revelation 21:4, Ether 12:4)
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