Intellectual and Moral Integrity

 We live in a day of conflict, of choosing up sides, of dehumanizing people other than our kind.  These are circumstances that deeply trouble me.  We commonly have our biases and seem so very comfortable sitting snugly and smugly in our various comfort zones.

Years ago, while watching a TV program called Finding Your Roots, with Henry Louis Gates Jr. I had a major paradigm shift.  He was working with the renown lawyer Alan Dershowitz.  My political views at the time, so differed from those Dershowitz espoused that I almost turned it off.  Thankfully, I didn’t.  As, Dr. Gates examined Alan’s family history and helped him understand his roots, I came to a new understanding as well.  As I remember the episode, Alan told a story of coming home excitedly proclaiming that the Yankees won the Pennant!  To which his Grandmother replied, “Vat does dat mean for da Jews?”  Having just heard of their oppression in Eastern Europe and their difficult journey to America, I suddenly had an epiphany.  I realized in no uncertain terms that had I been raised in the family and environment Dershowitz had, I’d most certainly, be in a much more similar frame of mind to his.’’Suddenly, I realized that my own upbringing had a profound effect on my own thinking, opinions and in particular my bias, or the frame of mind with which I view the world.  I knew that day that I had to begin the process of examining those views with the hope of at least seeing both sides of an issue, but also with the view of discovering and adopting the truth!

Another great influence at that particular time came in the form of the biography of Sir Isaac Newton called Never at Rest by Richard S. Westfall.  In it the author explains that Newton wrote more on religion than he ever did on Mathematics and Physics.  Newton was indeed a scientist first, but as his interests turned toward religion he found that much seemed amiss having been confused by wild imaginings and indeed, bias, or personal opinion.  As Newton approached his examination of biblical prophecy, particularly in Daniel and the Book of Revelations he realized that in order to avoid the same pitfalls he found in other writers on the subject that he must establish and apply 15 rules to his study and conclusions, to be certain that his own training didn’t interfere with the discovery of the truth.  To give you a glimpse into Newton’s conclusions, he declared that there had been a general apostasy and that a restoration would happen some two centuries after his time.  He believed that the restoration would come with the sounding of a trump.  He whole heartedly rejected the Trinity Doctrine, believing that the Father and the Son were, indeed resurrected and corporeal beings with bodies of flesh and bone.  He believed that the authentic Priesthood of God was no longer upon the earth.  These views held such sway with him, that when he was offered a professorship at Cambridge, he declined because with the position, came the requirement of ordination to the priesthood of the Church of England.  Such an ordination he felt to be an affront to God and he would not do it.  A group of friends eventually persuaded the King to create the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge with the stipulation that it might be filled with one who was not ordained.  Newton accepted that chair.

I tell you this because it struck me as vital, that I too, establish some rules for the examination of the world’s barrage of information.  I did not then, nor do I now, want to be influenced by my own bias, or anyone else’s.

My list of rules has evolved over the years.  Here it is as it now stands:

1. Simplicity (I drew this one from Newton’s list. Repeatedly, “God delights in plainness. The more complicated things become, the more I need to boil them down to simple basic principles.
2. Open Mindedness (I need to be willing to look at an issue, circumstance or organization from all sides.)
3. Glean  (Most approaches, opinions, platforms and dogmas have both correct and incorrect ideas, I don’t have to swallow the fish bones as well as the meat, neither do I have to throw the baby out with the bath water.}
4. Prove (Get the actual facts.  This is getting ever more difficult to do, but there is another factor to prove that is significant here. In Malachi we are invited to “prove Me now herewith..” In other words, make application of the principle and “see if I will not open the windows of Heaven…”. In other words test it.  This can be done by application and also often as a simple, intentional thought experiment - pondering)
5. Source (This is another I obtained from Newton.  Rather than rely on the analysis of others, he went directly to the scripture for his examination of prophecy.  Too often I have fallen victim to the ease of just taking someone’s word for what happened, or for someone’s position, or deed.  It will not do to seek the opinions only of the detractors.  There must be merit to the views of those who affiliate as well as those who reject.”
6.  Solid Ground (Stand on the solid ground you have already gained.  If you have thoroughly examined this or that and followed all the rules, then I say you’ve obtained some solid ground.  There is no need to fuss over that any further.  Now it is a matter of fitting that which is not so sure to that which is!  And if you’ve done it right it will attach naturally, harmoniously to your anchoring  place.
7. God is the Source of all Truth  (Whether you accept this or not the rule applies.  I already know this from experience.  It is really quite simple.  Either God exists or He doesn’t.  It is the most fundamental thing, to approach God and ask.  My experience has been undeniable, over and over.  He has and continues to confirm truth to me.  It is not usually a question of handing me the truth as it is a question of confirming truth I have settled on and asked Him to confirm.  Many times He has not confirmed something I had eagerly accepted.  There is a subservient rule that applies to this one.  The thing, organization, person or principle that I feel to strongly embrace, must be in compliance with truth already established.  In other words, it must conform to that which God has already revealed.  Sort of goes back to rule 6.)
8. Rule of Thumb. (Deception in any form casts doubt on the source.  Let me give you a few examples.  I saw a recent political add that shows footage of a candidate saying something quite heinous.  Further, examination, though, proved that the ad makers had edited the video such that it completely misrepresented what was actually said.  Why would I ever trust that source again?  Recently, someone claimed to my wife that The Book of Mormon was plagiarized from another book written at the time.  My wife read the ostensibly sourced book and found that in no way did the books have more than one similarity and that the differences in the similarity were profound.  There is no way that an accusation of plagiarism would hold up in court.  Hence, another source that cannot be trusted.)

• Quit Choosing Sides (We, especially in America, have fallen prey to an us versus them mentality.  If we don’t like something the Democrats stand for, we tend to hate Democrats and everything the stand for.  Of course the same sentiment tends to apply in the opposite direction.  I cannot understand the mentality that our side is right and their’s is wrong!  Certainly, there are good as well as elements to each side, the Prophet has repeatedly said so.  So, the notion that because this candidate represents our side, so he, despite his faults is right and the other despite his qualities is wrong, is utterly ridiculous!  I know so many people on either side of the aisle who adamantly despise the other, for no other reason than that’s where their fathers stood and their fathers before them.  This polarized view of the future of our Republic, to me is way more dangerous than many of the policies and platform of either side.  This same feeling applies in other arenas as well.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is actively addressing this issue by attempting and often succeeding in building bridges where chasms have been.  A couple in my own Stake have a Church calling to attend, serve and worship with other congregations in our community who are not of our faith.  A Bishop in a nearby town offered space in the Chapel in which his Ward meets to a Muslim friend of mine so he could have space in which to worship Allah.  We will all be happier if we start building bridges instead of entrenching ourselves in our ever more isolated bunkers!)

Well, the question remains, do we have intellectual and moral integrity?  I think Isaac Newton did.  I’m not asking you use or accept my rules, but I am suggesting that we establish some.  Rules that will require of us a good hard look at what we believe, accept, embrace and encourage.  It stands to reason, that we cannot all be right at once.  It also stands to reason that we won’t any of us recover from our biases and prejudices in one quantum leap.  These things take time and effort.  I just hope we will start now to embark further on that path.

Some Thoughts on Jacob Chapter Five

 Every time I read the fifth Chapter of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, I can’t help but wonder about all the stories of grafting and where they took place.  It seems quite clear that the graft that took place in finest part of the vineyard was that of the Nephites and the Lamanites and that the branch that died was the Nephites, but what about the branch that was planted in the poorest part of the Vineyard?  Might that have been Tibet?  Or Siberia?  How I long to hear those stories, though I doubt if they’ll be entirely different than the ones we know.  All of the “promised land” stores have tales of hardship, deprivation, as well as faith and triumph.  I don’t expect the others to be any different.

Clearly the allegory is the tale of the House of Israel and of it’s scattering across the globe or Vineyard.  The main tree remained in Palestine, but so many others were grafted on to the tree.  I think this chapter uses planting and grafting interchangeably it is possible to start a new olive tree from cuttings from an old one, so I’d like the thoughts of others on my surmise.  If I am correct though, and all of the “planting” was actually a graft, it would most certainly mean that the America’s were already populated when Lehi and his family were grafted on to an existing tree, or population.  The apparent population explosion recorded in the Book of Mormon seems to bear this out.  Though it seems that the new comers, must have immediately and strongly influenced, even dominated, the existing population.

I find it very interesting that China for example has had a very strong Christian presence, most certainly as early as the third Century.  In fact one source says that at the time of Marco Polo, there were more Christians in China, than in any other region of the globe, including Europe.  I think it quite likely that there were earlier dispersions of Israel that arrived and thrived in the Far East as early as, if not earlier than the people of Lehi arrived in America.  Like America, those people could have continued bearing good fruit on into the “Christian Era.”  As prophesied, their records, will one day be available to us.  What an exciting day that will be!

On a side note, about ten years ago, I met a young Sister Missionary on Temple Square from the People’s Republic of China.  Their name tags bear the flag of their country of origin.  I asked her how long she’d been affiliated with the Church?  Her reply astounded me!  She’d been part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints her entire life.  She went on to report that there are 30,000 Latter-day Saints in China! That the Government likes the Church because, “we obey the rules.”  She bore testimony of the 12th Article of Faith and of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as reasons why the Chinese Government and the Church have an amicable relationship.  Some of this number were converted abroad and returned home to China, but many have learned of the gospel from friends and neighbors.  She counted it a miracle that Hong Kong came under Chinese rule, because they can make day trips to the Temple without special permission. She also told me that they’d probably have even more freedom to worship if the Jehovah’s Witnesses would stop breaking the rules.

I found myself thinking that it seems quite certain that the portion of the allegory that tells of returning the branches to the mother tree, represents the Latter-day gathering.  What a joy it is to be part of that!  When I see what The Book of Mormon represents to many Indigenous People across the Americas, I can’t help but anticipate the joy of natives of China, Japan, the Philippines, Africa and everywhere else across the globe receive records of their own ancestor’s interactions with God and his Prophets!

This time through Chapter 5 gave me another perspective.  I found myself thinking of who I really am, the me who once lived in the presence of God.  At birth, I lost track of that and as mortality wore on, I began to bear wild fruit and also had need of pruning and grafting.  Naturally, being an enemy of God, I also required dunging and digging about.  I can see in this allegory many times when I went wild, or got too lofty and needed pruning.  The grafting in of my dear wife and children, and many dear friends have made a profound change in me.  The trimming off of this sin, or that tendency has been much needed.  The laborers in the Vineyard have labored diligently with me.  I just hope in this tree’s old age, there may be still a few young and tender branches, that can shoot forth and bear good fruit.

Emotional Resilience

 Back in January 2021 I was invited to participate in a then new Self Reliance Course sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to which I belong.  The new course was called Emotional Resilience for Self-Reliance.  Currently it is called Finding Strength in the Lord - Emotional Resilience.  Almost immediately I felt a pressing need to participate.  I was 70 years old and keenly aware that if ever there was a time in my life that I might need emotional resilience it would be in my near future.  The next decade or two are bound to present me with drastic changes in my life.  During that time my wife or I could lose our health, become invalid and at some point actually die.  I found myself wondering if I was prepared to deal with those changes?  Could I actually cope with both the unknown of it, as well as the inevitability of it.  I signed up for the course.

I am so grateful that I did and that I took it seriously.  I’ve been through a lot in my life and I have coped well enough, with what has happened, still I felt somewhat unprepared and found the course beneficial in every respect.  Further, I made friendships that I expect to last for the balance of my life!  It was so worth my while!

I write this now, from the perspective of having dealt with some of the changes I anticipated.  I had hardly finished the course when I was called to serve in the Bishopric, a bullet I had thought I had dodged.  It was a blessing in so many many ways, but was also quite a challenge.  My health had begun to decline and keeping up with the Deacon’s Quorum was mostly accomplished, but really quite difficult.  Then came the big change.  In February of 2022 I was beset with debilitating Rheumatoid Arthritis.  It began in my feet and legs making it difficult to walk.  Gradually, it moved up to my hips and shoulders and most recently to my wrists and hands.  I went to see my Doctor in late February and he referred me to a Rheumatologisst, but he couldn’t see me until the 24th of May.  I was miserable and missing Church and my other assignments quite frequently.  I had two weeks of respite during the long wait, when my Doctor gave me two week long breaks by giving me steroids.  I’m still amazed at the complete relief those would give me.  Another respite came when our Ward boundaries were changed and I was moved out of the Ward and thus released from the Bishopric.

At first this affliction knocked me for a loop, but one day, reviewing what I’d learned in Emotional Resilience class, I began to consider what was real and what was not, how much of my suffering was imagined and how much was actual.  I realized in that process that I’d been living like a man with no future.  I decided to imagine a future and pursue it.  I must say that the steroids helped.  I took those two weeks, which were each a month apart, and did loads of yard work including planting a vegetable garden. I don’t think there is any greater benefit to gardening that the faith it represents as we anticipate the growth and yield of a vegetable garden.  It is the perfect example of expecting a future.

Reviewing what I’d learned in the class also helped me to deal in realities, such as the since proven fact that the Rheumatologist wasn’t going to fix me over night.  Here I am, two and a half month’s later with pitifully little progress as yet.  In fact the meds they are giving me add constant nausea to my ongoing complaints.

Best of all for me, was the assistance I received in identifying what I CAN do, rather than dwelling on what I cannot.  For some inexplicable reason, Arthritis has not effected my ability to type in the least.  My fingers are stiff and sore and I sometimes can’t open pill bottles or pull up the covers in bed, but for reason’s known only to God, I suffer not pain or restriction at all to sit here and type this.  Go figure. That realization has given me a great deal of pleasure and returned me to writing even more.  I’ve been working on a book that has long since been simmering on the back burner.  My journal keeping has not faltered and now, here I am blogging again.

I must say that while I’ve been discouraged, while it is quite apparent that my garden yield is going to be pathetic, while the weeds have taken over and the lawn has only been mowed by generous neighbors all summer, I am happy, content and optimistic through all of this.

A year and a half ago I had no idea this would happen, but God did, and in His kindness, not only prepared a resource to help me, but prompted me to make use of it.  It is ever more plain to me that the new name of the course most certainly applies, I have and continue to find strength in the Lord.

There remains an even more tender and poignant change in all of this for me.  During this same period of adjustment several close and valued loved ones have chosen to leave the Church.  This has been a devastating blow for me.  It has not diminished my love for them, but has given me cause for concern on their behalf.  Again the things I learned in the Emotional Resilience course has been so helpful.  Here too, I find strength in the Lord!  He loves them even more than I.  He is still watching over them, as am I.  I am not appointed to be God’s Sherriff as Elder Stevenson so wonderfully put in this Conference past.  I am appointed to Love, as I have always done, to share as I have always tried to do, and to invite as I intend to continue doing. While the Lord prophesied that even the very elect would be deceived, and while He has admonished us to beware, lest we be deceived, I have yet to find a place in the scripture that condemns the deceived, only the deceiver.  Hope and faith, and trust in the Lord remain.