All self-sacrificers have to cheat before reaching the final, logical conclusion, and this story did it too.
Because there is an infinite supply of people out there to give to, it doesn't matter how much you give, you can always give more, and it is never enough.
The difference of "Authority and Power" is conceptually different between the world and the Restored Gospel. Authority is the right granted from a person or organization to another to represent or to act in a specified way. Power is the ability to direct the behavior of others. Joseph Smith in Liberty jail described how the Lord's priesthood bearers earn power differently than the world… Not through unrighteous dominion but through gentle persuasion, long suffering, and patient influence.
Power of God is manifested through (lawful) ordinances…Satan always wants to undercut ordinances. If he undercuts ordinances, he undercuts power. No ordinances no power of God. Don't confuse power with salvation…We believe in two types of ordinances both of which convey God's power.
Common consent is not a popular vote, or voice of the people in a democratic sense. It is an agreement to unify with and sustain the person called…Or explain a valid reason why the group should not sustain the person.
For example, consider the 1st amendment which explicitly describes our first 4 "pillar" freedoms. Freedom of Religion The first "pillar freedom" prohibits the government from making laws EITHER establishing religion, OR prohibiting the free exercise of religion. The same rights that protect every other religious belief also protect ours. Freedom of Speech The second "pillar freedom" prohibits the government from cutting off free speech. Freedom of the press The third "pillar freedom" prohibits the government from cutting off a free press. Freedom of peaceable assembly The fourth "pillar freedom" prohibits the government from cutting off the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Other freedoms in the bill of rights include the right to bear arms, the right against unreasonable search and seizures, protection of rights to life, liberty, and property, rights of accused persons, etc.If you are going to actually have freedom of religion, you have to be free to speak, to publish, and assemble…Without those three freedoms there can be no freedom of religion.
The preamble is a single sentence mission statement for the Constitution as a whole. It answers the question "Why the Constitution?" with six reasons. The Constitution is the document that created the United States…Before this time, the United States didn't really exist, but was a loose confederation.
People just want sooooo much for "love" to be unconditional... It is just too much of an emotional blanket for most people to be able give up. As they use the term, it really isn't much different from "free grace". I am surprised at some Church Leaders who still haven't tuned into Pres. Nelson, Elder Christofferson, Elder Bednar etc. who are gently trying to retire the term. Here is the pattern (Socratic Method) I usually follow when discussing this topic: I have learned to ask clarifying questions such as: "What do you mean by love? Do you mean emotional love or actionable love?" The next question is: "Is emotional love worth much if it doesn't involve any action?" ... Then quote Shakespeare: "They do not love who do not show their love." Then (if they have make it this far) I bust out the term "proportional"... As in: God's ACTIONABLE love is proportional to the commandments we keep. Otherwise it is just free grace, and free grace is not a doctrine we believe in.
When we say ordinance and they say ordinance we don't mean the same thing. We believe ordinances are required for salvation. They mostly believe ordinances are symbolic only. “their” ordinance is closer to “our” sacrament
The constitution does not grant freedom. … Based on the Natural Rights definition of justice, freedom is an inalienable right of every individual citizen independent of any government document. The purpose of the Constitution however, is to protect our freedoms.
The 9th and 10th amendments state the government has only the specific powers explicitly granted in the Constitution, and not a blank check to assume more powers.
I realized that life is not about seeking perfection. It is about continually eliminating dysfunction.
Consider the content of The General Welfare Clause. Do you see any potential problems with this? Interpretation The devil is in the details of interpretation of what "General Welfare" means. An originalist interpretation comes from a perspective of a Constitutional Republic, Based on Natural Rights definition of justice, in a limited government with enumerated powers. A statist interpretation usurps power in a way the framers didn't intend, based on an administrative state implementing the social good definition of justice, in an unlimited government with all kinds of implied powers.
Where the perspective of the founders era was to unleash the power of a fair and free market. The perspective of the progressive era is a highly regulated market controlled by the government into socialized institutions such as collectives and unions.
Think about it. If God could create physical bodies just by packing together physical elements like a snowball (or making adobe bricks) then wouldn't that undercut the whole Family Proclamation requiring male-female unions?
Where the perspective of the founders era was to ensure limited, and enumerated powers. The perspective of the progressive era is for the government to assume unlimited bureaucratic powers to become an overly powerful administrative state.
Where the perspective of the founders era was to ensure a constitutional republic. The perspective of the progressive era is gradually consolidate federal power away from the States and the people to an absolute central power
False fear is a destructive emotion. True fear is a rightfully protective emotion. The key is to allow reason to sift out false fear from true fear.
The stump still had more to give. The boy got cold, but had a wood burning stove. So he ground the stump up into pellets … And the wood pellets were happy. And when winter came, the boy burned the pellets. Finally, the tree had no more to give, so its days of happiness were over. As to all things that consistently live a philosophy of self-sacrifice, The Tree no longer existed.
These are dangerous times. We need to stay alert, act according to correct principles, sustain, stand in our place, and do our part, lift where we stand, etc.
The Giving Tree summarizes historical Christianity’s false notion of Christ-like love being self-sacrificial. John 15:13 is a common stumbling block scripture used by historical Christianity to promote self-sacrifice. In other words for duty ethics, it is not the achievement and attainment of values, but rather, the sacrifice of values that is the hallmark of the true saint.
Self-Sacrifice is exactly as the word says "Self Destructive" and Duty Laden (meaning you must do it no matter what you think about it or how it affects you). It means giving up a greater condition to gain a lesser condition.
A Double Minded CIVILIZATION Is Unstable In All ITS Ways
Power to preside is not spread out equally like the separation of powers in our Federal Government. The First Presidency, Quorum of the 12, and Quorum of the Seventy are equal in authority ONLY as it pertains to succession following the death of presiding authority.
HAPPINESS is the reward I receive for adhering to the ... GOOD as a moral code of values needed to guide and benefit my ... SELF as the primary beneficiary of my own morality and actions to thereby sustain my own ... LIFE, the conditions of which constitute my standard of value, being discovered by my ... MIND through the powers of ... OBSERVATION, reduced to a set of principles to govern the life of a rational creature whose ... REASON is their primary tool of survival with a rational faith in an objective ... REALITY that is independent of mind, within the primacy of existence, and in an ... ONTOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK representative of God-inside-the-box. Thereby resting all my hopes of happiness as a reward, ultimately, upon the rock of reality and a set of irreducible, invincible and inescapable ... AXIOMS representative of our philosophical starting points and the bottom of our philosophical barrel: Existence, Consciousness and Identity.
DUTY is an end in itself and is its own reward. It is the moral obligation to do what is ... RIGHT based on a moral code of virtues that direct my conduct regardless of consequences, to bless, serve, and benefit ... OTHERS as the primary beneficiary of my morality and actions out of a charitable ... LOVE as my ideal standard of value, being divinely inspired, touched and moved in my ... HEART through my inner feelings that govern the spiritual life of a believer whose ... REVELATION is founded solely in the Bible as containing all the word of God and whose ... FAITH in God is their primary tool of survival through blind faith and obedience in a transcendent ... GOD that created reality ex nihilo, in the primacy of consciousness, and in an ... ONTOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK representative of God-outside-the-box. Thereby resting any hope of a dutiful reward, ultimately upon their blind obedience and blind faith in a transcendent, incorporeal and incomprehensible God who defies the three ... AXIOMS by creating existence out of nothing, becoming a willful law unto Himself, and performing supernatural miracles that defy the law of identity.
The Holy Spirit is a Divine Substance and the power by which the Godhead operates throughout the immensity of space and by which it is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.
Ordination = Generic Office in the Priesthood (valid anywhere in the world) Setting Apart = Specific Area of Responsibility within a specified area
Worldly Version: “Authority is granted but power is seized.” Latter-Day Saint Version: “Authority is granted but power is earned.”
Where the perspective of the founders era was a free and open market economy facilitating the general welfare of the whole country…The perspective of the progressive era is an oppressive tax system used by the government to redistribute wealth and establish "Social Justice" through expansion of the welfare state.
2. HOPE IS A LIFE ENDURING PRINCIPLE (As Opposed to Despair) Hope Consists In the Joyful, Earnest and Steadfast Anticipation of a Future Expectation which Maketh an Anchor to the Soul both Sure and Steadfast. … not a supernatural theological virtue
Only by knowing the end goal can we know the conditional means to get us there.
Happiness is the ultimate goal. It is a moral need that makes up part of our identity. Moral needs have primacy over Duties (chosen obligations)
Cratylus’ believed that no knowledge is possible, because by the time you attempt to categorize anything it has already changed. Since nothing true can be said of all things that change, words themselves are meaningless. Cratylus advocated giving up speech altogether, only communicating by wiggling his little finger.
When what I think corresponds with the way things are in reality … then I think truly.
Giving the emotional faculty primacy over the rational faculty. Personal feelings take over all five branches of philosophy and become the standard by which we judge: (1) real or unreal; (2) true or false; (3) good or evil; (4) just or unjust (5) beautiful or ugly
Fallacies: Argumentum ad Populum … Appeal to Popular Opinion. Claiming that truth is what the majority believe it to be. Using opinion polls rather than reality as the standard of truth. Thinking wide spread acceptance of a view must make it true. It must be true since so many people believe it. It must be good since so many people want it. It must be right since so many people do it.
VALUE: is that which one acts to gain and, or keep. GOOD-EVIL: Whatever values sustain, promote or otherwise enhance the life of the pansy, (sunshine, minerals, and, or moisture) is the good and “ought” to be pursued. While whatever threatens or is otherwise detrimental to the life of the pansy (weeds, insects, defoliant chemicals) is the evil and “ought” to be avoided.
Natural Rights assumes a social good context. There is no such thing as rights with Robinson Caruso living alone on an island…While he is alone, his rights cannot be violated because there is no one else around that he needs to protect his rights from.
First: Your limited experience within this natural world proves nothing and speaks not at all to the powers and possibilities of a supernatural realm wherein all things are possible to them that just believe. Second: Your rational conclusions based on earthly observations only prove your lack of faith in the greater truths that come through mystical visions, heavenly manifestations, purification rites and supernatural revelations.
Principled thinking means taking a philosophical and theological stand against mixed premises. This means that once we have identified what we stand FOR, we consistently and courageously know what we stand AGAINST.
A VALUE is the GOOD which we desire to gain or keep. A VIRTUE is the RIGHT action by which we gain or keep it. Virtues are right actions that preserve good. Vices are wrong actions that destroy good.
Only by knowing the value of that which is good for us can we know what action is right and wrong to do in order to gain that good.
Only by knowing the end goal can we know the means to get us there.
The tragedy of harboring mixed premises is that one can never really be confident about anything in life. Principled thinking means taking a philosophical and theological stand against mixed premises.
Armed with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is a substance and not a person, much doctrinal confusion around "being born of the spirit" and "baptism of fire" becomes clarified.
Love and Hate are an emotional response to our hierarchy of values.
This horizontal dispersion of powers involves checks and Balances on the three branches of government. The Framers and Ratifiers of the Constitution were so fearful of despotism that they provided for numerous Checks and Balances as additional “structural guarantees” throughout the Federal System. All these various “structural guarantees” is what makes America a Constitutional Republic. The addition of a Bill of Rights or “written guarantee” is simply further evidence of the seriousness of the Founders insistence upon safe-guarding our individual rights and liberties.
The Founding Fathers were well aware that no “written guarantee” or even “structural guarantee” without a moral or “foundational guarantee” underlying the entire superstructure would ever stand.
Our first ever President in his first inaugural address confirmed that any government policy rests upon private morality of the citizens. He also understood that all our liberties rest ultimately on the state of individual citizens. What this means is that our Constitutional Republic and Bill of Rights depend upon the moral character of the American people. Without a moral majority, no society is governable, not matter how many police you put out to enforce things.
Like our Founding Fathers, the Book of Mormon prophets, left us with both a promise and a warning. Notice the Conditional Nature of the promise. The promise is that as long as "We the People" are (1) a virtuous people (2) a vigilant people jealously guarding our liberties (3) a people who continued to revere our standard of liberty (The Constitution) as a divinely inspired document
However, herein lies the warning: Mosiah 29:27 If the time ever came when "We the People" ceased to be: (1) a virtuous people (strike one), (2) ceased to be vigilant (strike two), (3) ceased to revere the Constitution as a divinely inspired document (strike three), then, all would be lost. Ultimately then, a virtuous and principled Moral Majority of American citizens is the “foundational guarantee” upon which all our liberties rest — including our freedom of religion. In fact, the “foundational guarantee” could just as easily have been called “the land of promise guarantee” or the “Book of Mormon guarantee” or even “the Lord’s guarantee,” for it all comes down to the same thing. If the majority of the American people remain righteous, liberty and prosperity are assured, if, however, the majority of the American people are far more wicked than righteous, then we shall perish. * Those who know this are those who will know how best to defend political liberty and religious freedom in the face of an ever growing tyranny, as the best defense is—“the pure and immutable principles of private morality.”
Crumbling nations, will become so bad that people will really only have two choices…Join the wars, or join to Zion. We no longer will have to go them…They will come to us.
Although the propaganda from the communist government shows an optimistic collective might of the working class (hammer and sickle), the reality is the symbol that the rest of the world has come to know…The Gulag The gulag was the acronym for the government agency in charge of the forced-labor camp-system… The word Gulag was not often used in Russian. The official term was, 'corrective labor camp' where petty criminals and those in opposition to the communist government were sent to be 're-educated' which really means taught a lesson about their dependence on the state (if they survived).
There is a philosophical and psychological reason as to why the Positivist, King George III, did not lose his head while the Positivist, King Louis XVI, lost his, and the Positivist Tsar ruler just disappeared. The French Revolution = leveling of all individuals (Egalitarianism), like match sticks where anyone's head that is higher than the rest gets their head cut off. (Similar to the guillotine death of King Louis) The Russian Revolution = disintegration of individuals, like individual match sticks pulverized into collective sawdust. This means loss of individual identity into the collective (similar to the anonymous death of Tsar Nicholas)
Today we risk the danger of civil unrest and conflict over two ideal principles: Social Justice vs Natural Rights The current conflict is between the Social Good and the Natural Right theories of Justice (between Socialists and Naturalists). The left's siren call for social justice appeals to our Latter-day Saint benevolent ideals of brotherly love. The right's conservative cries for justice by securing individual rights, appeals to our Latter-day Saint ideals of Natural Rights. In an earlier module, we showed how the Restored Gospel satisfies both ideals.
The "Founder's Era" occurred from 1776 to approximately 1900…During this timeline, the governing political principle was Liberty With an originalist interpretation of the Constitution, this meant limited government with enumerated powers. The primacy issue is individual "Natural Rights" having primacy over the authority of the State, implemented through a Constitutional Republic. The proper role of government was to "Secure Natural Rights".
So what do most religions attempt to do? Mixed premise solution: Some authority (parent, religious, etc.) preaches their version of God's will and the resulting guilt and damnation that will occur…Of course this leads to a battle of the wills with arguments over who's version of God's will is correct.
How else can we attempt to implement mixed premises to make all of this go away? Gender, Get rid of sex altogether, because it is too metaphysically constricting of a word to define a marriage. Claim that defining a marriage based on the birth certificate sex is discriminatory and coercive. Come up with a better word that allows us to vote on what makes a valid marriage…and disposes of all issues of sexual morality (other than consent). Gender! With the word Gender, marriage is now freed up from the constricting sex listed on the birth certificate. If we can vote on what gender means, and turn it into subjectivism, then there is no need to battle over the meaning of marriage anymore.
What philosophical branches do sex and marriage each belong? In one context, sex is metaphysical. It is part of your eternal identity. Your vote doesn't change your genetics. In this context sex (metaphysical) has primacy over marriage. In another context, sex is Ethical/Political…An interaction between two people. Marriage is a also Political Convention, upon which all Family Law is based (custody, child support, divorce, etc.) In this context marriage has primacy over sex.
The shift to progressivism over time could be considered as a gradual spectrum. But we can roughly divide our history into two parts… The first ~100 years representing the Founder's era, and the last ~100 years representing the progressive era. As many American's were returning from being educated in Europe, they brought back with them the political history and philosophy associated with the traditions of Equality being the governing principle. America then entered into what is called the "Progressive Era" With a "progressive" interpretation of the constitution, this meant unlimited government, operating through implied constitutional powers.
The primacy issue is the authority of the State having primacy over individuals, implemented through collectivism and socialism. The proper role of government under progressivism is to "Impose Social Justice".
On the "Too Weak" side of the scale we have "No Government" or Anarchy. Libertarianism On the complete Libertarian (undershoot) side of the scale we have societal breakdown such as war-torn Somalia, or Rwanda which became "the law of the jungle" Lesser versions of "Too Weak" on the libertarian scale, include tribalism, militants, and the special Interest groups of identity politics. This comes about because as the people get tired of "anything goes" anarchy, they naturally band together forming militant groups, tribes and factions, where "might makes right".
On the "Too Strong" side of the scale we have "Unlimited Government" or Dictatorship. Egalitarianism On the complete Egalitarian (overshoot) side of the scale we have totalitarian governments such as Communist Russia, and Fascist Germany. Lesser versions of "Too Strong" on the egalitarian scale, include everything associated with the welfare state and the forced redistribution of wealth.
The inspired nature of the Constitution consists in the ingenious way the Constitution was structured. Never before had such “a structural guarantee” been devised. So important was this “structural guarantee” to the Framers of the Constitution that they put off the “written guarantee” or Bill of Rights until after the Constitution had been ratified. This Constitutional Republic was no small accomplishment and was an unparalleled achievement well worth our examining.
These two structural guarantees are designed to protect our individual liberties by preventing the centralization of an all-powerful government. The Framers and Ratifiers of the Constitution knew that no Bill of Rights or “written guarantee” would stand in the way of an all-powerful centralized government. So they did everything possible to prevent this potential monopoly of governmental powers from falling into the hands of a despotic and ruling class.
Federalism is the dispersing of overall government power vertically with the States balancing our the Federal government.
Life is the ultimate Good in Value Ethics Why marriage? People can reproduce and create life without being married right? It is not about life as the lowest level, but the good life, an abundant life. In VALUE ETHICS, A good life requires citizenship within a good society.
The plan of salvation is all about creating life, protecting life, nurturing life, and providing salvation to life. The best way to do this in reality, is the Lord's definition of marriage.
Life Promoting Unions = Sex (metaphysics) before Marriage Current Gender Politics is asking the wrong question. It is asking "What about two consenting adults in Love?" instead of asking "What is the best way to birth, and raise future taxpayers."
Life Sustaining Unions = Sex (Ethics/Politics) after marriage. Good Life requires Good Citizenship in a Good Society. Part of that Good Citizenship (a society that endures) involves birthing and rearing future citizens, in a protected and nurturing environment. Getting the primacy order WRONG gets LIFE (parents, children, society) WRONG, which leads to unhappiness. The statistically positive outcomes are very clear for children who grow up in a traditional, heterosexual marriage with two parents who are faithful to each other.
Getting the overall order correct, gets LIFE (parents, children) and SOCIETY correct, which leads to happiness. The combination of covenant making and covenant keeping, promotes happiness both for the individual and society. Children are born into a structure that provides both the protector and nurturer roles until the child is able to take care of itself. Parents are faithful to each other, maintain this structure, and keep the responsibilities they have chosen, by having children. Society is efficient and stable, with future taxpayers being raised to perpetuate the society.
What would it mean to your daughter to apply These Three Deadly Virtues On A Date? Imagine the look and horror on the parents face when their teenage daughter joyfully announces to them that she is going to live up to their Heavenly Ideal of Christian Love and go on a 1) selfless, (2) self-sacrificial and (3) unconditional love date That her one all consuming desire is to be a true victim of his love—to satiate his infinite thirst for love and sacrifice and to give of herself to the Hungry One as his tool or instrument to do with as he pleases, blindly, lovingly, trustingly and without counting the cost. Would any sane parent let their daughter out of the house?
Here is the recipe for how to corrupt love in 3 simple steps Take the words "I Love You." Eliminate the "I" from "I Love You"…How? Introduce Selflessness…Remove the self from the equation. Now let's Eliminate the "You" from "I love You"…How? Introduce Unconditional Love…Unconditional love has nothing to do with anyone.Now let's eliminate the concept of love itself, turning it into sacrificial, duty laden relationship."…How? Introduce Self-Sacrifice…Love is no longer recognizable as love, because it has now become "I sacrifice myself for you". So all 3 taken together… "I Love You" becomes...This unconditional, selfless, self-sacrificial love becomes an all-powerful god in itself. It becomes a universal "get-out-of-jail-free" card for anyone to do anything and get away with it as long as they claim it is love. It takes over everything it touches, becoming a law unto itself thanks to DUTY ETHICS.…
With scriptures full of political declarations, Political neutrality, then, cannot possibly mean anything more than steering clear of partisan politics (red light) or else we Latter-day Saints end up throwing out the political baby (the particular issues and political philosophy) with the partisan bathwater.
Let's apply the 3 Deadly Virtues to the tulips in an existential proof and see what happens: Starting with Selflessness, you must forget about the patch of earth your life requires. You must selflessly invite others to take up your space. But not just any "others". Your Duty is to invite THE MOST NEEDY others…Dandelions (weeds) to come share your space. Next, with Self-Sacrifice, when the rain comes, you must give it all away (remember "give said the little stream"). Duty requires that you give away NO MATER WHAT or WHO the others are (i.e. weeds). Umbrella over tulip…and the weeds grow. Finally, apply Unconditional Love. John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (only…they are not your friends) You must love all these poor Dandelion creatures "NO MATTER WHAT", especially to the point of giving up your life for them. The fact that they have taken over your space, and sucked up all of the water, just gives you all the more chance to prove that your unconditional Love. In the end, the Tulip is gone, the garden has become a patch of overgrown weeds...Worthy of being burned. If the three deadly virtues consistently applied will do that to your garden…What will they do to your life?
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help book and film by Rhonda Byrne. It is based on a claim of a “universal law of attraction”, which states that thoughts can change the world directly. The universal law of attraction claims positive thinking is the key to the universe. What you visualize you materialize, as you create your own reality by what you attract.
Either the Constitution IS a divinely inspired document or it ISN’T. If it ISN’T divinely inspired, then we Latter-day Saints should stop treating it as if it IS, and we should keep such political topics outside of a church setting discussion. If it IS divinely inspired, then we Latter-day Saints should stop treating it as if it ISN’T and it would be “highly inappropriate” NOT to bring it up.
Can the topic be tied directly to Christ? If the topic can be tied directly to Jesus Christ then it clears the bar, and is deemed universally appropriate, and we should feel perfectly comfortable in discussing it in any Church setting. But, if the intended topic cannot be tied directly to Jesus Christ, then it fails to meet the standard or clear the bar, and ought not to be shared in a Church setting. In other words, “Never share a message in church without it being tied directly to Jesus Christ.”
Latter-day Saints are not anarchists, or anti-government. As long as there is a Constitutional path for a redress of our grievances (violations of the rights and privileges) then we are to “importune for redress” to those inauthority. Natural Rights Here Christ declares the purpose … tying Latter-day Saints to the Natural Rights definition of justice. For Everyone The political principles from the Constitution are not just for Americans, but the whole world. Just and Holy If they are just and holy principles—they are eternal political principles. Rights are Required for Agency Constitutional protection of rights is essential to preserve not only our liberty but our moral agency. There can be no individual accountability without individual liberty. Slavery is Evil Slavery—human bondage—robs mankind of liberty as well as moral agency, and is evil.
Can you get any more of a direct tie to Christ than Him personally claiming full responsibility and ownership of the Constitution? Jesus Christ, then, is the ultimate Founding Father and ought to be recognized as such if we are to fully appreciate the divinely inspired nature of the Constitution.
The constitution is not just an American document but is a freedom document that belongs to ALL mankind.
YES, the Constitution of the United States can be tied directly to Jesus Christ, and, therefore, clears the bar of appropriateness in ANY Church setting—including temple dedications and services. With all the political troubles going on today, increasingly there are Latter-day Saints who believe that what is needed today is for a modern-day Captain Moroni to rise up among us and hoist a “title of liberty” in the air for all us to rally behind, (Alma 46:13, 36), This sentiment is an enormous error on our part … our Latter-day Captain Moroni has already arrived, but he was a General … George Washington who was unanimously elected to preside over the Constitutional Convention. The “title of liberty” for our day has already been hoisted and it is called the Constitution of the United States.
By insisting on giving Tier 1 status to Marriage over Sex (to enforce chastity), we're back to "God commanded marriage" so the whole marriage debate is based on the morality of Duty Ethics, and religious views on chastity in the name of saving souls.
Let the debate begin on whose subjective opinion of God you should follow. Marriage having primacy over sex means Male-Male, Female-Female is OK as long as they are first Married right? Marriage is the moral rule to be followed. Same-Sex marriages are fulfilling the moral rule if they are married.
Why does Duty Ethics say this this is morally OK? Because God is in charge…God is love, and he has commanded Marriage, so as long as they love each other it is OK. In Duty Ethics what tells you whom to marry? Your Heart knows what to do. It can't be wrong if they are in Love because Love is always good.
The universe is your personal genie: “Your wish is my command”. The only difficulty is in knowing how to coax the genie out of the bottle. The Trick Is to ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE that you can have ANYTHING … If you do not get what you wished for what is the problem? It is only because you didn’t ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE or weren’t GRATEFUL enough. The Secret ALWAYS works but you don’t ALWAYS comply.
The founding Fathers knew societies change which is exactly why they provided a formal process for altering the constitution. However, there is a deadly practice that has appeared of comparing the Constitution to a living, evolving organism. In other words, if we can change the meaning of the words, we can change the meaning of the Constitution itself, without having to go through the extremely difficult process of formal change.
With Judicial Activism, if we can stack the courts with judges who agree with an "evolving meaning constitution" instead of an "original meaning constitution" the job of social change is even that much more easily accomplished.
So What does the world do to try and fix this problem? Mixed premise solution…pass out birth control instead of teaching abstinence before marriage…Or preach abortion.
In politics our goal should be unity. If there is opposition among us, that necessarily means that one side or both sides is espousing incorrect principles. The degree that there is opposition among us, is the degree that we are on the path to ruin.
...Absolutism of Benevolence … Without justice nothing else works. God could not even have a kingdom without justice being the foundation of it.
Absolutism of Freedom … Saying unlimited or absolute freedom is the same thing as saying "anything goes" including all kinds of unjust and evil actions. Liberty or Freedom is a very valuable good, but must be controlled by justice.
Libertarianism … is just a less extreme version of anarchy… Libertarians see government not as a value, but as a necessary evil, where the more laws we have the more our liberty is constricted. Instead of no government, they desire an extremely limited form of government, with individuals, families, and businesses providing the majority of social governance.
Egalitarianism … Absolutism of Equality .. Unlimited or absolute equality forced upon people who are not equal in native ability, acquired talent, or individual initiative undercuts justice. Justice demands that things that are equal be treated equally, but it also demands that things that are unequal be treated unequally.
Absolutism of Government … This is generally what we call dictatorship. Unlimited governmental power in the hands of an absolute ruler to control all aspects of the individual and society. Q: Does the government grant rights or does the government protect rights?
Absolutism of Society … This is what is called the "greatest good for the greatest number" principle. Individuals are sacrificed to the greater community. This has other names such as communism, or socialism where instead of absolute control given to a single authoritative ruler, the tyranny becomes the tyranny of the majority. …Extreme democracy also falls under this category where the majority can vote unjust restrictions upon theminority.
How would you contrast the difference between the French Revolution and the American Revolution? Q: As a hint, what do you see missing from the French revolution motto? Notice Justice is conspicuously missing, which leads to errors in motive and outcome. Latter-day Saints greatly value Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood…However, none of those can have primacy without inflicting serious contradictions in our political doctrine
Ask yourself how well you are able to exercise your agency in North Korea, or Iran. Our political choices affect our standing before God just as they did in the great conflict in spirit world before we were born. The war in heaven was divided along partisan lines over what does or does not constitute the proper role of government, regarding agency and force. The war in heaven was between two specific political parties (Christianity and Satanity), and we were specifically instructed which political candidate to support.
We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man and are “a positive good” and not, as Thomas Paine proclaimed, “a necessary evil.”
This hints at a principle that separates Latter-day Saint political philosophies from most other religions and countries. The perspective of our founding fathers and Latter-day Saint scripture is that Natural Individual Rights form the basis for any just government. This means that government is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
We also believe in a limited government and not in an all-powerful State, for the State, like the Sabbath, was made for Man and not Man for the State. To be “a positive good” both Church and State must be of a limited nature least they become oppressive and tyrannical.
What kind of society do you want to live in? Christ also answered this question. We all should want to live in a society where people take care of each other. It is not wise to face reality (the box) all by yourself.
Often as individuals and as a people we may have the tendency to walk around thinking we are "Saints living in Zion" when the reality is that we are "Saints living in Babylon".
Zion will be built through a revolution in knowledge, wisdom, feelings, and actions. It will come about by a self-reliant people, who are earnest in their labor. This will all occur through governing priesthood that will separate those who live by correct principles via covenant and those who do not. We are seeing the beginning of this separation even now.
PRESCRIPTIVE TRUTHS… are "IS" facts …They constitute the axioms, metaphysics, and epistemology. These are the cold, hard matter of facts that exist independent of what we think about them.
PRESCRIPTIVE TRUTHS… are "OUGHT" facts…They constitute Ethics, Politics, and Aesthetics. IS facts have Primacy over OUGHT facts.
NATURAL, MORAL RIGHTS: Are based on our human nature. * We have a MORAL right to life, liberty, property ownership, and the pursuit of happiness, because we are human.… These are what we call individual or natural rights.
POLITICS becomes an issue only when you introduce another human LIFE who also has individual rights with the potential to conflict and intrude upon the needs of your life. Once another person enters the scene, mutually protecting individual rights becomes the issue compared to anti-life and anti-rights issues such as theft, slavery, murder, etc. But a Moral Right doesn't necessarily mean a protected Right.
Constitutional Protecting Umbrella …To secure these rights, arbitrate claims, and establish justice, governments are instituted among men. From the Eternalist perspective, our republican constitution is the protecting "umbrella" covering everyone's rights. The same constitution that protects me, also protects you.
LEGAL RIGHTS: Just because all humans equally have the same natural rights, doesn't mean those rights are actually protected. Our Moral rights become legal rights only when protected and enforced through the rule of law.
This compartmentalization of religion and politics into two distinct and totally unrelated spheres—as though our religious lives can some-how be morally disassociated from our political choices—is tantamount to admitting that religion matters whereas politics does not. But nothing could be further from the truth as is evidenced by the fact that within the Kingdom of God there are two spheres (religious and political) as we speak of being ordained priests and kings unto God, (D&C76:56). The fact is we Latter-day Saints, of all people, should take politics seriously, else why speak of becoming PRIESTS AND KINGS?
Partisan politics matter because governments matter; governments matter because safeguarding liberty matters; safeguarding liberty matters because agency matters; and, agency matters because there can be no bringing to pass the immortality or eternal life of man without it, (Moses 1:39; D&C 93:30-31); Partisan politics, governments, liberty and agency, all matter because immortality and eternal life is at stake.
NURTURE = EQUALITY OF CONDITION = CIRCUMSTANTIAL EQUALITY: The voluntary equality or inequality of individual attainment. The second definition of equality is that which is ethically and politically alterable.
In summary there are a few points to wrap up with The conditional nature of the gospel that we learned back in our study of ethics hasn't changed. The primacy of self/others hasn't changed in our study of politics and Zion. We can only expect our own personal prosperity within the Kingdom of God (Zion) and nowhere else. Which such a great work ahead of us, we can expect many new changes as well. Do people generally like change? In the end individuals are the ones who are changed…Becoming ennobled so as to be prepared to associate (without blushing) with others of celestial quality. As we learned previously in our study of ethics, we seek a "crown of glory" not a "crown of thorns".
Failing to differentiate between Equality of Kind and Equality of Condition leads to conflicts of justice. This leads to a destructive philosophy of Egalitarianism which arises from a particular proposal on how one proposes to deal with inequality of condition.
His argument is that if society dropped the context of these natural, unmerited advantages by ignoring them behind a "veil of ignorance" then fairness for the greater society as a whole would ensue. Here is where corrupt primacy issues from lower branches of philosophy, bubble up into politics….Walking the tree from politics back down to the lower branches reveals the problem: Q: What did we learn in Ethics about the primacy issues of Self-Others, and altruism? Q: What did we learn in Epistemology about selective context dropping of facts of reality? Q: What did we learn in Epistemology about the logical fallacies? Can anyone identify this one?
Recognize the some old Primacy of Consciousness attacks on reason, and the false Kantian ideal of Right over Good…The obvious question becomes: Q: By what means do you choose the principles of justice after you have willfully chosen ignorance and abandoned all knowledge?
The theory is to rearrange the economy to benefit those with the least natural or environmental advantages according to what they call the "just savings principle". The question then becomes: Q: Who will be the authority doing this re-arranging? The one who is most ignorant and has abandoned knowledge the most?
Nature (metaphysics) is neither just nor unjust. It is just a fact of reality that some are endowed with greater or lesser capacities.
LADY JUSTICE: is an allegorical personification of the moral force of judicial systems. THE BLINDFOLD: Represents the impartiality of justice being applied without regard to wealth, power, or other status. Blindfolded but not blind … Not ignorant of facts … Just impartial in the weighing of facts. THE SCALES: Represents measuring the relative evidence of a case's support and opposition. THE SWORD: Represents authority conveying the idea that justice can be swift and final.
THREE THEORIES DEFINING JUSTICE (1) POSITIVE LAW: The proper role of government is to establish justice by enforcing the LAWS of the society. (2) SOCIAL GOOD: The proper role of government is to establish justice by promoting the SOCIAL GOOD of society. (3) NATURAL RIGHTS: The proper role of government is to establish justice by securing the NATURAL RIGHTS of the citizens.
According to the positive law theory of justice, justice is conformity to the law. There is a hidden philosophical pitfall in this because it means whatever is legal ... justifies the use of coercive force on the part of the government to enforce the laws. Q: What happens if the legal system makes it legal to disenfranchise part of society (such as the Nuremberg Laws, or Jim crow laws, or the Missouri extermination order)? Q: If the law does it to any one minority segment of society what's to stop it from doing it to anyone else?
Positivist Primacy Issues The primacy issues are State over the Individual, That Laws (regardless if they are good or evil) determine Justice, and Might makes Right. This displays the outlook of absolute dictators who represent the full might of the state invested into a single person.
Divine Right of Kings One form of this theory is "The Divine Right of Kings" which is the idea that the King not only is above the law, but that the “King is the law”. You could substitute any modern absolute dictator in the place of Kings and the idea is the same.
Zion grows in power, wisdom, intelligence and glory. Zion will become a pattern for the rest of the world. That pattern will include political principles related to governing. This pattern has all happened before, in the days of Enoch. How did they deal with it at that time? They dealt with it the same way we are going to deal with it…The world will wag, and we will carry on…God will help fight our battles.
The problem is the "isms"…Utilitarianism, Socialism, Collectivism, Statism which all logically end up requiring brute force for their actual implementation. These "isms" are not compatible with individual natural rights. They all derive from The Primacy of Consciousness. In this case it is the collective consciousness of the overall society.
The Social Good Theory of Justice justifies the use of coercive force on the part of the government based on the notion of utility. This means statistically serving the greatest good for the greatest number irrespective to the cost to any one particular individual. That is, the individual can be and often must be sacrificed to the greater good of the collective. Many horrible things can be and have been done to individuals in the name of the "so called" greater good of society.
Karl Marx was upfront and honest about the cost and means of implementing collectivism. Marx theorized that the only way to create a better, utopian society, was to completely destroy the current corrupt version of selfish capitalist ideals and rebuild society anew from the ashes.
American Patriots during the American Revolutionary War were Naturalists while the American Loyalists were Positivists. The divisive issue was, of course, whether the “The king is the law” or the “The law is king.” The introductory paragraph to the Declaration of Independence is philosophical combat against the ideology of the divine right of kings, justifying in the eyes of the world a revolution based on Natural Rights philosophy.
The founding fathers knew they were going against the whole world at the time who believed that by God's will, "the King is the law". They knew that if they were going to get individuals to join their cause and persuade other nations to accept them as a new nation, they had to have a better theory of justice to justify their revolt. The Declaration of Independence is philosophical warning shot against the whole world. The American Founding Fathers, based the revolution logically on the revolutionary idea that natural law (not the king) gives rise to natural rights and that individual liberties are independent of any other authority.
Unalienable means the majority can't vote them away, individuals cannot contract them away, nor can anyone give the these rights away. Unalienable means "unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor" (Google Dictionary)
Because of the social nature inherent in mankind, we are all entitled to political liberty.
By their nature, infants and the mentally disabled are not capable of exercising some of their natural rights (such as political enfranchisement, liberty, property rights, etc.). As they progress to adulthood however, and gain adult capacity, their increase in capacity is accompanied by an increase in these natural rights. Criminals by their own actions forfeit natural rights. This is their own doing, not the doing of the State. The Natural Right Definition of Justice - justifies the use of coercive force on the part of the government in ensuring, securing, respecting, and protecting to the individual his life, liberty, property and inalienable rights from those who would trample on them.
When the misuse of power has reached a certain stage, mankind has a right to reclaim their rights. This is one reason why without Justice, God would cease to be God. Free agency is a part of the reality within us. It is part of our divine natures. God must uphold it or there are real consequences.
The French Revolution and Russian revolutions both share the motivating principle of equality. Consequently, these Revolutions were not fought on a basis of Natural Rights, and the outcome was very different.
Symbols such as the Guillotine represent the bloody French Revolution. During the "Reign of Terror", 1793–94, an estimated 40,000 were Guillotined. The motto for the French revolution proclaims "liberty, equality and fraternity, (i.e., egalitarianism)" with rights and justice not even mentioned. While the American Revolution gave primacy to Liberty over Equality, the French Revolution gave primacy to Equality over Liberty.
These teachings seem to have a Socialist direction to them. We Latter-day Saints are not heartless nor are we unaware of the plethora of scriptures and gospel teachings to remember the poor and the needy. Q: Are we then to teach our families to believe (as the Socialists) that the ‘proper role of government’ is to promote social justice by redistributing wealth and ensuring that all the basic needs of our fellowman are met from cradle to grave no matter what? Even many Latter-day Saints fall into the deceptive and seductive position of the Socialists who in the name of brotherly love, insist that the ‘proper role of government’ is to impose economic equality in the name of social justice. This ultimately must mean implementation through coercive force. Q: Without force, how do you convince those who have more and who disagree with social justice to redistribute what they have to those who have less?
Taken in isolation, these statements would seem to support the Positive Law Theory. Q: Are we then to teach our families to believe (as the Positivists) that whatever role the government plays, it is the obligation of all faithful Latter-day Saints to dutifully obey? Q: Wouldn't this Positivist interpretation conflict with numerous other gospel teachings and scriptural rebellions in the Book of Mormon where they rebelled against wicked Kings (such as King Noah)? A misunderstanding of the 12th Article of Faith may lead many faithful Latter-day Saints to suppose that we are under an absolute duty to uphold all laws or governments no matter how brutal, ruthless or totalitarian they might be. Obviously Alma and his followers were not adherents of the Positive Law Theory of justice when they rebelled against a wicked and tyrannical king.
On Tier-3 we have the Positivists. The Positivists declare that legality is the governing principle of justice Whatever is legal is just. Positivists deny that there is any such thing as the social good or natural rights.
On Tier-2 we have the Socialists. The Socialists declare that utility is the governing principle of justice. That justice is the "greatest good of the greatest number". Socialists uphold social good and positive law, but deny that there are individual natural rights, outside of control of the collective.
On Tier-1 we have the Naturalists. The Naturalists declare that inherent, individual, natural rights are the governing principle of justice. That justice consists in rendering unto each man his rightful due within the larger society.
Notice that the three primary social virtues of the Positivists, Socialists, and Naturalists, (obedience, benevolence, and justice) are all three social virtues that we Latter-day Saints subscribe to and regularly teach in Church. The previous scriptural references we showed admonish Latter-day Saints to: (1) Obey the laws of the land, but, NOT unconditionally. (2) Promote the social good or general welfare, without sacrificing any individual on the collective altar. (3) Respect the individual rights of our fellowman
The fact that all three of these social virtues are part of our gospel teachings and scriptures however, does not mean that we can pick and choose which theory of justice suits us best at the time. That would be mixed premises. The complexity of the Natural Rights definition of justice is that it encompasses the elements of all three, even though this may be hidden to many Latter-day Saints.
Again, philosophical primacy in three-tier fashion clears up all the fog, and makes the hidden assumptions visible. We Latter-day Saints are scripturally and doctrinally committed to this most complex definition of justice - Natural Rights. The apparent ambiguity in our gospel teachings, comes from not paying attention to the entire context (coherence) of ALL doctrinal statements.
Natural Rights also assumes just laws as the means of protecting rights for all and consequently, ensuring the good and safety of society.
This hidden complexity and primacy is the reason why we Latter-day Saints have struggled to come to a doctrinal consensus over the issue of what does or does not constitute the ‘proper role of government.’ By staying true to the governing principle of individual rights this ambiguity is cleared up, and we get the virtues of all three definitions without the loss of rights inherent in the first two definitions of justice.
Natural Rights Includes All Justice Types: It obliges us to render to each person their natural right, in order to promote the social good, through the means of just laws.
But wait…As Latter-day Saints, isn't our entire political purpose to establish a Kingdom of God? Q: Does this make us all Positivists where the King is the Law? Q: If not, what is our justification for saying so? The answer cannot be solved in politics… The real solution lies in all the way back to our first primacy issue in Metaphysics which set the table for all the other subsequent branches of philosophy. The "Kingdom" question comes down to: Q: Does the "King make the law" or does the "law make the King"?
If Christ's gospel were duty ethics (others over self), wouldn't this have been an excellent time to rebuke Peter by saying "Shame on you Peter! What a selfish question. You should be altruistic and forget about yourself or any reward for your own actions and focus solely on others. It is immoral to expect anything from this. You should do it just because it is your duty." …But that is not what Christ said.
God's help in your life can greatly benefit your life. Doing good things to others of God's children, brings His blessings to you.
If Christ hadn't done it, would he be receiving dominion over all of us and glory? If the story of Christ ended with the cross, then it would indeed be a story about self-sacrifice. However, Christ’s sacrifice is only but an introduction to the eternal nature of His gospel.
It all starts with the Axioms (Existence, Consciousness, Identity)… What we call SELF-EVIDENT FACTS … The axioms are irreducible, inescapable, invincible … They are present in every word you utter, or though you think.
For a God outside the box… The King is law. There is no separation of powers here. He invents the laws, he judges the individuals according to his arbitrary rules, and he executes the punishments for breaking his rules. He is Lawmaker, Law Enforcer, and Executioner all wrapped up into one cosmic dictator.
For a God inside the box. The Law makes Kings. He didn't invent the laws of reality. He judges righteously (as we all should) according to the fixed rules of reality that He didn't invent. Q: Where do the punishments for breaking these laws come from? Nature through natural consequence. God didn't invent justice. Justice is built into reality.
Does anyone know where the term "a house divided" comes from? Matthew 12:25 From the savior himself about avoiding contradictions. This is the scripture Abraham Lincoln referenced in his famous "House Divided" speech regarding the coming civil war over slavery. In our day we are also divided.
How are we divided today over The Constitution? The meaning of three simple words: We The People. Primacy Issues Q: The core question arising from those 3 words is: does government grant rights or does government protect rights? The answer is: It depends on which theory of justice you adhere to, based on primacy of consciousness or primacy of reality.
Eternalism and Latter-day Saint doctrine firmly declares a "We The People" interpretation based on individual Natural Rights, which derives from Primacy of Reality. This means rights are independent of government, or the collective, and the primary role of government is to protect these individual rights.
A primacy of Consciousness interpretation says that the collective consciousness of the people (as a whole) has primacy.
Democratic Constitution vs Republican Constitution. These are philosophical beliefs about the primacy of governments or individual rights. Do not confuse this terminology with the democratic and republican parties. It is not the same thing. In a Democracy, a voting majority has almost unlimited power to make laws. Minorities have few protections from the will of the majority. In a Republic, the people elect representatives to make laws according to the constraints of a constitution.
Rights / Government The democratic version says first comes government before rights are granted. The Republican version says first comes rights then comes government as a servant of the individual to protect those rights.
But isn't the history of America a fight for democracy? Yes, and no. Democratic Elements, doesn't mean a complete Democracy.
DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION Popular sovereignty means rule by the people as a collective. Starts with a collective vision of We the People which in practice can only be the will of the majority. First comes government, then comes individual rights granted by government. “A Democratic Constitution is a living constitution whose meaning evolves to align with contemporary popular desires, so that today's majority is not bound by what is called "the dead hand of the past." The will of yesterday's majority cannot override the will of the majority today.” (Our Republican Constitution, p21)
Much of historical Christianity takes this scripture to the ultimate possible conclusion to promote the false notion that Christ's love was self-sacrificial in not just a mortal life sense, but also in an eternal life sense.
In other words, the ultimate duty ethics required of historical Christianity is to ruin yourself, give up your eternal spiritual advantages, and be cut off from eternal life all for the sake of others.
Also, recall that Jesus Christ Himself, died on the cross for “the joy that was set before him.”
Self-Sacrifice is exactly as the word says "Self Destructive" and Duty Laden (meaning you must do it no matter what you think about it or how it affects you). It means giving up a greater condition to gain a lesser condition
In chess, sacrifice means giving up a piece of lesser value (such as a pawn) in order to capture a piece of greater value (such as a queen). Imagine playing chess from a self-sacrifice perspective. The game would be over in a hurry, with the self-destruction of the self-sacrificer. Likewise, in real life, the self is the greatest value anyone has. consequently, any sacrifice of self, is by definition, self-destructive.
Can you imagine the Pioneers crossing the plains with a Philosophy of Self-Sacrifice? …Only 1 of them (the least self-sacrificial one) would have made it to the Salt Lake Valley as he maintained his life needs, and the rest sacrificed themselves along the way for his benefit.
Is war an example of self-sacrifice? Can you imagine the people’s response to captain Moroni if he had ripped his coat and wrote on it "Self-sacrifice yourself with no thought of reward! … Go give up your life whether it does any good or not, because it is your duty." The story would have turned out very differently. … And that wasn't his sales pitch.
Anim1: Apply Selflessness to the convenience store… Instead of worrying about building a business for the purpose of maintaining your own life and livelihood, you worry only about selfless-service to those who come in. As the owner you stay open 24/7 even if no customers come by. You forget about closing on holidays, family events, etc. and work 24/7 living just to serve others. Next, apply self-sacrifice. It is not enough just to break even, you cannot make a profit. In fact, you must lose money by giving stuff away (give said the little stream), otherwise you are being selfish. Next, to show your unconditional Love, you invite everyone … Friends, thieves, and competitors to come loot your shelves. Remember: worthy or unworthy doesn't matter when it comes to unconditional love. If the three deadly virtues consistently applied will do that to your Convenience Store… What will they do to your life?
REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION Popular sovereignty resides in people as individuals. Starts with the natural and inalienable rights of equal sovereign individuals as preceding the formation of governments. First comes individual rights and then comes government to protect those rights. “Under a Republican Constitution, to ensure that these servants remain within their just powers, this lawmaking power itself must be limited by law. The Republican constitution then provides the law that governs those who govern us … each of whom must swear a solemn oath to obey "this constitution."… In short, under a republican Constitution, the meaning of the written constitution must remain the same until it is properly changed - which is another way of saying that the written constitution must be interpreted according to its original meaning until it is properly amended. (Our Republican Constitution, p24)
The founders had their fill of the turbulence, changeableness, and follies of democracy living under the Articles of Confederation. Democracy under the Articles of Confederation was a disaster. Q: So what is the problem with pure democracy where the collective will of the majority is absolute?
Unchecked democracy is called the tyranny of majority.
Majority will can easily become tyrannical. A succinct metaphor is two wolves and a lamb sitting down to vote on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb exercising its 2nd amendment rights.
Democracy is far too easily hijacked by those who desire to vote themselves into power through irresponsible manipulation of the public treasury. Once direct Democracy (or majoritarianism) is exposed for what it truly is (mob rule), it becomes blatantly outrageous.
Benefiting one group, through the destruction of Natural Rights of another group, is plunder, not benevolence.
This inevitably leads to the unsustainable welfare state.
License = When individuals infringe on the liberty and rights of each other.
Tyranny = When the government infringes on the liberty and rights of its citizens.
Now consider the modern welfare state. If a street thug was to rob you of your money, this act would certainly be considered immoral and criminal. Yet there are those who have no moral problem with the government using taxation, majority rule, and force to confiscate and redistribute wealth. We call this tyranny. Q: Is this not just legalized plunder?
Direct Democracy or "Majoritarianism" is just another name for mob rule.
What is government but a monopoly of force? To ask "What is the proper role of government" is really to ask "What is the proper role of force in restricting excessive liberty (license)".
The founding fathers clearly understood this. James Madison understood that power is liable to abuse, and that the essence of government is power. George Washington agreed that the government it is force that needs to be handled carefully like fire. In the end, legal plunder in the name of redistributing wealth, undermines a civil society.
Existential Proof: Nuclear Power Plant Welcome to your new job offer working for the Value Ethics Power Plant Let's go through your list of employee benefits that will be your compensation for working here. Annual salary: 20% above average salary in the surrounding area due to your specific technical expertise. Annual Bonus: 15% of annual salary as an incentive to keep excellent workers like yourself from leaving to work for competitors. Strong work Ethic by co-workers, high morale, low turnover due to excellent company profit margins and well-defined performance criteria Uncompromising Safety Standards. Rigorous background checks for all Employees. Only Highly Qualified applicants get work here. Great profit margins, great projections for next year. You take the job. In the 1st quarter of the new year, a new governing body “Duty Ethics Inc.” takes over and starts implementing new "ethically ideal" policies. 1st Quarter (Selflessness Policy)…In order to forget about ourselves and put others first, we must sell energy at cost, freeze wages, and remove all employee bonus incentives. Consequently, all expansion plans are no longer feasible. 2nd Quarter (Self-Sacrifice Policy)….In order to show proper sacrificial love to others, we will now sell energy below cost. In order to sustain this effort, we must have a series of layoffs, and wage cuts. … Give away said the little stream. 3rd Quarter (Unconditional Love and Non-Judgmentalism Policy)…Because we must love everyone “no matter what or who” we remove all hiring standards and drop all employee performance measurements for those employees who still remain. We also initiate a "love your enemies” quota of hiring 1 terrorist per 100 employees.
It is the perfect example of mixed premises The secret sets up two contradictory standing orders They begin with what appears like the Primacy of Existence to coax the genie out. Once the genie is out, then it is right back to primacy of consciousness and anything goes. It is a bait and switch scheme claiming the scientific authority of lawfulness, while at the same time presenting the willfulness of wishful thinking. In effect, The Secret has the positive thinking from epistemology, taking metaphysical control of reality, confounding metaphysics and epistemology into a single, contradictory, mystical, concept.
The Secret’s claim is that life is easy, without any problems. If you are not getting everything you wish for, something must be wrong with you personally. This type of “caveat emptor” wherein the purchaser assumes all the risk, is the ultimate “get-out-of-jailfree” sales pitch for anyone peddling this nonsense…
It should not surprise us that those philosophers and theologians who incorrectly give the gospel primacy to love over life, also incorrectly give the gospel primacy to others over self.
Selfishness: The undue regard for the SELF at the expense or exclusion of OTHERS. Victor: Self Victim: Others
Unselfishness: The due regard for SELF and OTHERS at the expense or exclusion of neither SELF nor OTHERS. No Victor No Victim
Selflessness: The undue regard for OTHERS at the expense or exclusion of SELF. Victor: Others Victim: Self
What happens to an unselfish (selfull) stream? It takes and gives, making everything grow and progress. Beautiful, sustainable, and long-lived. Only through “take and give” can a stream, flower, or person live a sustainable, beautiful, long-lived life.
The primacy issue of Man/State or Collective/Individual is an Eternal issue that will be with us forever. This was the essence of the pre-mortal war we all fought in, it is the essence of the war we are still fighting today, and I it will be the essence of future conflicts whenever the plan of salvation is implemented in our own Kingdoms as well.
The idea that an individual, is an end in himself, and that all the religious, social and political institutions ought to be but a means to preserve mankind's individual life, joy and happiness is not "conservatism". It is revolutionary.
The idea that democracy and majority rule can legalize plunder by confiscating and redistributing wealth in the name of benevolence (or the collective good) is a very powerful and deceptive fallacy quite capable of deceiving even the very elect.
As an example of how perceptions can be deceiving., consider this boy who risks his own life to save his fellow villagers’ drowning fawn. Q: We would consider this a benevolent act right? Q: What if the boy had his eye on his neighbors faun for some time and this disaster was the perfect time to take it? Q: What if as we are clapping and cheering, the boy emerges from the flood and quickly runs off into the woods with his newly captured prize? Q: Would this not change the moral character and nature of this seemingly benevolent and heroic act? Once exposed for what it truly is it becomes blatantly outrageous.
Benevolent acts that trample on justice are not actually benevolent. In the history of the world, much looting, including through legislative action, has been deceptively perpetuated in the name of benevolence (or mercy).
The first great separator between the wheat and tares (or sheep and goats) comes down to this political primacy issue. It is not the virtue of benevolence that will separate the two resurrections but the distinction between the just and the unjust. Being just, then is the baseline qualifying characteristic of what it initially means to be “good” or “justified” in the eyes of God rather than “evil” and “un-justified". Justice or Injustice necessarily is based upon NATURAL LAW.
No Glory requires no conditions. … Outer darkness is the only place that is unconditional. Keep no conditions and you go there.
In our relationships with one another, justice gets you the first mile. Justice is an unlimited good. That is, you can never have too much justice. Benevolence gets you the second mile, conditional on having first traveled the first mile. One cannot be benevolent without first being just any more than one can go the second mile without having gone the first. Alma 42:25 is where Alma describes this principle to his son … that Mercy has to come after justice or else God's Kingdom becomes ungovernable. Those spirits who are called to come forth in “the morning of the first resurrection” (in patriarchal blessings) are identified in the spirit world as “the spirits of just men made perfect,” (D&C 129:3). In other words, these individuals are not only just but have added to that initial baseline benevolent virtue, the added sanctifying virtue of benevolence, making them even more perfect.
In this give and take (within a Marriage, within a Family, within a business partnership, etc.) the ground cover is the common courtesies (please, thank you, contracts, covenants, etc.) that make the give and take less grinding.
Mother Teresa and those who hold similar beliefs like hers who take a vow of poverty have an obvious contradiction on their hands.Taking a "virtuous vow of poverty" yet going around saving all the poor from poverty. Why save the poor from something that is so virtuous? Shouldn't the poor be taking a vow of poverty too?
Do these scriptures seem to promote selflessness? It is a fundamental error to take any single statement or scripture (like “charity seeketh not her own”) and run with it, while selectively ignoring overall context. Seekers of truth pay attention to ALL the available evidence.
1 Cor. 13:4-5 Charity ... Seeketh not her own [absolutely … in any way whatsoever]. 1 Cor. 13:4-5 Charity ... Seeketh not her own [if it be at the unjust expense of others].
Philippians 2:3-4 ... but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves [unconditionally]. Look not every man on his own things [ever], but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:3-4 … but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves [self-fully]. Look not every man on [exclusively] his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Notice The Lord explicitly states that all of this around us is his…We are just stewards. Q: Is the WAY we provide really that important? Q: Suppose I had great wealth and decided to just give it away? Isn't it good enough just to provide like that? Notice the language doesn't say "Selfless Giving", "Charitable Giving", "Donating to the Poor", etc. It emphasizes "Providing…In The Lord's Way"
So what is President Young saying? That there not all poor are the same. There are different classifications of poor. This is why the welfare state (socialism, communism, etc) is so destructive…It takes from the willing and able and gives to everyone else making no distinction between honest poor and dishonest poor.
Notice that all other quadrants are dependent on The Lord’s Stewards who are self-reliant. Without the “willing and able” self-reliant, all others perish.
All 3 of the “poor” quadrants are where principles of “Providing in the Lord’s Way” are applicable. Everything the Lord’s Stewards do should have the goal of turning the categories of poor into self-reliant “willing and able”.
Self-Sacrifice = Giving up a greater value to gain a lesser value. Sacrifice = Giving up a lesser value to gain a greater value.
Notice the word Willing which separates the Lord's poor from the Devil's Poor. Notice the affirmation that although the Lord will keep seeking after us, he WILL NOT do things for us that we are ABLE to do for ourselves. This is the nature of Justice and Benevolence having their say.
Ayn Rand succinctly summarized this theory of justice. It doesn't matter which gang is in charge, collectivism is just mob rule.
That is my opinion. Either value ethics is a true facet of reality or it is not. And all of my evidence tells me that value ethics is true. Animals do value ethics naturally because they don't have conceptual abilities to mistakenly implement anti-reality actions such as Duty Ethics. Only we humans, with our conceptual abilities, can get so far out of alignment with reality.
It doesn’t take a rocket genius to point out that there is a logical connection between one’s political philosophy, political policy, and political party.
Print out a copy of the Bill of Rights, fold it up and put it in your pocket. Now purchase a one-way ticket to Iran, Iraq or Syria and let’s see how long you and your folded up Bill of Rights lasts in these hostile lands where such rights are not recognized.
Sexual identity having primacy over Marriage gets Metaphysics correct…Marriage defined as being between a man and a woman which is correct life-giving desires FOR a marriage.
Life sustaining desires within marriage such as Fidelity, Nurturing, Providing, Protecting, etc. Notice the change in language from "Man-Woman" to "Husband-Wife" Sexual activity after marriage gets the Ethics and Politics correct…Correct desires for life-sustaining sexual activity only WITHIN a marriage.
LIFE is the Standard of VALUE for all living organisms not LOVE. It is as if Lucifer’s whole intent today is to divert our attention away from LIFE and DEATH issues and onto issues of LOVE and HATE.
Love is Confused There are definitions of love in Greek: Eros Sexual Passion: “…eros was viewed as a dangerous, fiery and irrational form of love that could take hold of you and possess you…Eros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks.” Philia Friendship: “…showing loyalty to your friends…” Ludius Playful Affection: “…referred to the playful affection between children or young lovers.” Agape Universal Brotherly Love: “This was a love that you extended to all people, whether family members or distant strangers.” Pragma Longstanding Love: “…the deep understanding that developed between long-married couples. It was about making compromises to help the relationship work over time, and showing patience and tolerance.” Philautia Self-Love “…two types ... unhealthy narcissism, where you became self-obsessed … and healthy self-esteem. As Aristotle said, ‘All friendly feelings for others are an extension of man’s feelings for himself.’”
Eternalism’s Alternate Ending: “Once Small figured out there were no conditions or boundaries, Small did whatever Small wanted, whenever Small wanted, without any consequences.”
Identity Politics: "A tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics."
REALITY IS THE 800 lb GORILLA IN THE ROOM THAT CAN’T BE IGNORED
Fallacies: Argumentum ad Verecundiam … Appeal to Authority. A famous person such as an athlete says it is true. A parent says … “It’s true because I said so.” It must be true since my favorite teacher said it was. It must be good since my best friend loves it. It must be right since a popular role model is doing it.
VIRTUE: is the action by which one gains and, or keeps one’s VALUES. RIGHT-WRONG: Whatever actions the pansy takes to ultimately promote its own good (turn toward the sun, dig their roots deeper) are right actions (virtues) and whatever actions are ultimately detrimental to its own good (seedlings landing in a dry gravel pit) are wrong actions (vices).
There is a Gremlin in the room. Prove that there Isn’t! Evidence means nothing to true Gremlin believers. “To him that believes no proof is necessary. To him that does not believe no proof is possible.”
It is true that identifying and eliminating contradictions (mixed premises) can be dangerous especially in theological conversations with others who may have opposite viewpoints. There is only one thing more dangerous than identifying and eliminating contradictions…That is not identifying and eliminating them!
We need to understand that it requires something more than the Bible to guide man to Eternal Life…We need the Comprehensive, Systematic, Principled, Coherent and Axiomatic Philosophy of the Restoration.
Enter the battle of definitions…It is interesting that The Family Proclamation also uses the word "gender" but defines it exactly opposite of how the world now defines it. The Family Proclamation defines "gender" equivalently to the word "sex" (a metaphysical meaning not a political meaning in which we can vote on).
Lucifer’s view of the proper role of government was through improper use of force to impose His will upon everyone else. Notice ALL the political propaganda (true and false) convey the message of holding out their hands to the future, claiming to be upholding the best thing possible for the people. Without a proper understanding of the primacy issues involved, we are likely to be deceived.
We have not talked about Aesthetics yet…But a quick overview is that Aesthetics is a selective representation of reality to celebrate some value you want to put on display.
The pursuit of individual liberty and securing of natural rights are not nearly as perilous as is the pursuit of equality in the name of social justice. Those seeking the common good in the name of social justice are often far more merciless than are those pursing freedom in the name of individual liberty. What one would never consider doing to one’s fellowman (such as the guillotine or the gulag) in the name of individual liberty many would not hesitate to do under the governmental guise of pursing social justice.
Here's where there is no such thing as keeping out of politics. It just doesn't take a genius to "connect the dots" in both directions (forward and back-ward) in a logical connection showing what "voice of the people" means. Political parties (King-men vs Freemen) are tied directly to…Political policies (the policy to establish a King in the land or to continue the current reign of the judges), Which are tied directly to political philosophy (liberty vs. tyranny)
That partisan politics matter and cannot simply be ignored as an "everyone wins" scenario is self-evident. In the case of the Freemen and King-Men political parties, they were not simply engaged in interesting partisan politics but were in a life and death struggle between liberty and tyranny…If tyranny wins then liberty loses. Likewise, if freedom wins then authoritarianism loses.
The principle of freedom (our rights and privileges) depends, on our seeking out, electing, and upholding honest, wise and good men…anything less than this, also, cometh of evil.
Teenagers Version UNDERSHOOTING: Misunderstanding Tier1 status of sex leads to hedonism…The chasing of pleasure while ignoring the underlying pain and problems that arise from ignoring parts of reality.
Parents Version In addition to same sex unions, there are also problems in heterosexual marriages with giving primacy to marriage, which causes incorrect use of sex within the marriage. DUTY: Since Marriage is rule based, instead of reality based, sex within the Marriage is just a duty…Either a necessary evil the spouse must perform when they have to, or only performed when desiring to produce children. Or, as long as the marriage is in place and both consenting partners allow for an open marriage then it is OK to have sex with others outside of the marriage. (enter "swinger parties", STDs, etc.) OVERSHOOTING: So getting Tier1 status of Marriage WRONG invites problems of Same-Sex Unions, Open-Marriage, infidelity problems, etc.
Egalitarians claim an injustice in nature, but attempt to replace it with an even worse injustice…The leveling of mankind to the lowest common denominator.
NATURE = EQUALITY OF KIND = NATURAL EQUALITY: The involuntary native endowment given to all members of the species. The first definition of equality could be called metaphysical equality…This is the unchosen, unalterable, equality that is metaphysically given. Yourself and others are both equally human with the same life requirements, and same basic natural human rights.
These rights are based on "equality of kind" of all human beings…That is: all human beings have the same limited set of very specific needs. It is crucial to distinguish real goods based on universal human needs, compared to "apparent goods" based merely on human wants. Mixing up real needs verses apparent wants is the source of much of modern societies mistaken idea of multiplying rights that aren't really rights.
Consider the American Revolution. It was founded with the motivating principle of Liberty…With a foundation in the Natural Rights definition of Justice. That is: The individual has primacy over the collective, that rights determine justice, and individual liberty has primacy over equality. Symbols such as the Liberty Bell aesthetically represent this revolution. Part of the inscription on the bell reads from Leviticus 25:10 "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof…" The toll of the bell symbolizes the voice of freedom broadcast openly and uninhibited, to all the independent inhabitants of the land. The Bell rang when the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and then again on July 8, 1776, to invite the citizens of Philadelphia for the reading of the Declaration of Independence.
You live in a society (neighborhood, a community, a state, a country, etc.) Others are a part of YOUR life…Life would be lonely and much less meaningful to YOU without others toshare YOUR life with.
Right-Might. God's Kingdom is run on the primacy of Natural Rights…That Right makes Might. Satan's kingdom is run on Political authoritarianism…That Might makes Right. Latter-day Saints get confused about what "The Kingdom of God" means due to confusion regarding these two ontologies, as well as poor historical examples of Kingdoms throughout mortality. When we say Kingdom it is really "parenthood". The politics then, naturally flow from the Metaphysics.
What this comes down to is the source of power…The democratic version is collective will of the majority. The Republican version is the sovereign rights of individuals.
Good luck with that…Satan must be showing the most self-sacrificial love then, losing his eternal life in order to provide temptations for us to overcome and be saved.
There is not a soul in heaven who is asked in the name of Christlike love to surrender or otherwise sacrifice their eternal life for others…Mortal life, YES, but eternal life, NEVER!
Yes…The restored gospel of Jesus Christ believes in the “law of sacrifice”, NOT the “law of self-sacrifice”.
Captain Moroni didn’t make an altruistic, duty ethics appeal. He reminded the people of the values they needed to protect potentially at the cost of their own mortal lives.
Statism. This Latter-day Saint political article of faith is foundational. It is a radical departure from the false traditions, coercive institutions and collective mentality of historical mankind. Statist’s of various stripes would have it—the other way around. Statists give primacy to the State over Man, to the Collective over the Individual. Collectivism is Lucifer's version of mass salvation. Collectivism not only ignores the individual, but oppresses and tyrannizes the individual through force.
1 Cor. 10:24 Let no man seek his own [ever], but every man another’s wealth [always]. 1 Cor. 10:24 Let no man seek his own [at the unjust expense of others], but every man another’s wealth [as part of his own Self-full life].
But wait...Like all people who push self-sacrifice, they cheat and stop before the true logical conclusion. The tree actually can still give more…So here is the story with a properly consistent ending: The stump still had more to give. The boy got cold, but had a wood burning stove. So he ground the stump into pellets … And the wood pellets were happy. And when winter came, the boy burned the pellets. Finally, the tree had nothing more to give, so its days of happiness were over. As to all things that consistently live a destructive philosophy of self-sacrifice, The Tree no longer existed. … REALLY THE END
UNDERSHOOTING THE MARK WORLDLINESS DEADLY VICES Death, Sorrow, Misery Unrestrained Self-Gratification Destroy the Wicked Who Are Not religiously Inclined Self-Indulgence…Ruining yourself by giving into every destructive bodily appetite. ---- THE GOSPEL TARGET Law of Sacrifice CHRIST-LIKE PERFECTION Life, Joy, Happiness Calculated Self-Progression The Gospel Target is the "Law of Sacrifice" … Calculated Self-Progression or "Trading Up" ---- OVERSHOOTING THE MARK A Religious Vow of: Self-sacrifice DEADLY VICES Death, Sorrow, Misery Unrestrained Self-Desertion Destroy the Righteous Who Are Religiously Inclined Self-Sacrifice…Destructively giving away all things to others that you need to further your own life and progression.
The moral justification for the collectivism of social justice comes from the altruism of Duty Ethics. Choosing "Otherism" in ethics, logically leads to collectivist, socialist politics.
Ronald Reagan…His views on welfare seem to align with LDS Principles…Notice that all welfare principles involved in helping these people are to move them up to willing and able if possible. In the political realm we should hold government official accountable for how they use our taxes in implementing welfare principles.
Teleological ethics is the theory of morality that derives duty or moral obligation from what is good or desirable as an end or purpose to be achieved.
"Separation of powers" is the dispersing of Federal government power horizontally.
When we have two separate primacy issues that seem to conflict, combining them into a 3-Tier structure can resolve the conflict and give a more complete picture.
Douglass was no fool. He knew to differentiate between the "greatness" of eternal principles espoused in our political philosophy, and our earned condemnation at failing to live up to those principles in practice.
It would be foolish to think that our standing before God was strictly limited to our individual moral choices, (which affect ourselves and the relatively few within our immediate influence), while our collective political choices (which affect the many and influence society on a far greater scale) are perceived to be but of little or .no account in the eyes of God.
Love loves the unlovable no matter what = Unconditional Love
As you would expect from a Kant based philosophy, Justice is no longer at the individual level based on natural rights, but is now out of Duty to larger society (others).
Those who do not nurture the same effort in developing their talents have no right to the same benefits.
If Happiness is the ultimate end....Then Righteousness is not an END in itself (a Duty), but a MEANS used to achieve eternal happiness. Value Ethics has no "Bait and Switch".
With positive thoughts and strong emotions vibrating out into the Universe, the final thing is to pretend reality is other than it is by irresponsibly acting as though what you wished for is ALREADY so!
So if the second resurrection is of all the unjust, what is the separator between the Telestial and Outer Darkness? Malevolence. The opposite of benevolence = malevolence. These are they who are not merely unjust … out to cheat and hide things here and there…These Malevolent ones are those who are out to consistently and utterly destroy.
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is very much about the individual, not the collective.
Notice also the dependency. Without the self-reliant, everyone else is doomed. Self-Reliance Principles are how the Lord's Stewards maintain their independence.
The moral justification for the individualism of constitutional republicanism comes from Value Ethics. Choosing "Selfulness" in ethics, logically leads to an individualist, natural rights politics.
The just are those who have Righteous Dominion…They uphold agency through Liberty, Justice, and Mercy. The unjust are those who have Unrighteous Dominion. They are at war with agency through Tyranny, Injustice, and Cruelty.
3. CHARITY IS A LIFE GOVERNING PRINCIPLE (As Opposed to Enmity) Charity Consists In the Pure Love of Christ (Holy Spirit) Sanctifying Your Present Disposition While Guiding and Governing Life’s Choices. … not a supernatural theological virtue
Heaven is the least diverse place in existence…When I say "diverse" I do not mean based on race, sex, or any other physical attribute. I mean philosophically they are united. They are one. They abide by the same correct principles.
Values are the things that we must ACT upon to gain or keep. We then sort these things into a hierarchy scale according to the relative amount these are for me, neutral, or against me.
Emotions are Lightning Quick Calculators of What I Perceive to Be “For Me” or “Against Me”
As the world becomes more chaotic, millions will seek out stability…That doesn't mean they are converted to the Gospel however.
God is Love If you Get God Wrong, You’ll Get Love Wrong; If you Get Love Wrong, You’ll Get God Wrong. Should it Surprise Us, then, that Apostate Christianity Gets BOTH God and Love Wrong?
Duties have primacy over wants. As chosen obligations Duties are a necessary means to achieving your Good Life. Happiness is the reward for a life well-Lived.
ALTRUISM = “THE GOSPEL OF OTHERS” = OVERSHOOTING THE MARK
How is it Possible that: Light and truth forsake … But God’s love doesn’t? Holy Ghost will not dwell … But God’s love does? All blessings predicated … But God’s love isn’t? God cannot look upon sin with the least degree … Except when it comes to Love?
FALSE HOPE Wishing Well: A well or pool of water supposed to grant the wish of one who tosses a coin into it. Wishing Well: A well or pool of water supposed to grant the wish of one who tosses a coin into it. Wishing lacks credibility, which is why we do not put much stock (merely pennies, nickels, and dimes) into a wishing well. In short, it is just plain folly. Wishing is based on the primacy of consciousness.
TRUE HOPE Hope Chest: Used to accumulate expensive domestic items in anticipation of future married life. Hope: An attainable desire. To look forward with confidence or expectation. An active desire based on positive evidence. Hope has an earnestness about it. We put our own special and expensive stock into it, with the expectation that at some point in the future it will benefit ourselves, after our actions have been achieved. Hoping is based on Primacy of Reality.
1. FAITH IS A LIFE MOVING PRINCIPLE (As Opposed to Doubt) Faith Consists In Past Assurances and Future Expectations which Incite Us to Act With a Continual Trust and Confidence. … not a supernatural theological virtue