Leviticus 19:15 “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.”
Our modern society is breeding narcissism and inequality. Groups are living by a different set of rules. The poor are prone to being victim narcissism while the rich are susceptible to grandiose narcissism. In either case, the narcissist feels a sense of entitlement because of their disadvantaged or advantaged circumstance. Narcissists tend to feel like they are a special exception to many rules. These dangerous attitudes are destrctive to a nation built upon the “rule of law” and “social capital”.
THE POOR
President Monson once said (Ensign, July 2013) if we don’t repent, as a nation, of violating the Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom, we will lose our freedoms like Rome and Greece. Annyone can read more about Rome in the 6-volume, “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.
President Monson’s first-presidency message caused me to realize, the complex geopolitics of Rome and America could both be greatly simplified down to a few salient issues. I appreciate our prophet’s laser-like focus.
Rome had 2 damaging influences. 1. The Silk Road: In addition to silks and spices, traders (Venetian Black Nobility = VBN) supplied the Roman Empire with opium and hashish used for both medicinal and recreational purposes. 2. Pompeii: Rome was plagued by rampant promiscuity. These 2 destructive influences generated greater poverty in a society via increased idleness, lost productivity, increased illegitimacy, broken families, increased disease and mental health problems.
Rome began as a republic, but the poverty problem opened the door for the King-men (black nobility) to place a ceasar at the head of the government promising to address the issues of poverty and lack of social justice in the Republic. Rome accepted the purposed socialist solution of “free bread and circus” in exchange for a military dictatorship covertly controlled by the nobility.
[Rome maintained a perpetual trade deficit with Asia (VBN), continually devalued their currency, and instituted Marian reforms promising citizenship to barbarians/foeterati to supply the Legion with soldiers. Continual conquest was required to supply the empire with necessary liquidity via tribute. As the great Ponzi scheme that was Pax Romana reached it’s tipping point, Odoacer led an internal revolt by the foeterati, assassinating Romulus Augustus and dividing up the western empire. The corrupt middle men control trade keeping developing producer nations destabilized and buy cheap goods which they turn around and sell to a first-world consumer economy. eg. Phoenicians, Venetians, East India Trade Co, Walmart]
Poverty in America has allowed a group of globalist conspirators to use the issue of social justice to gain control of our government and econmy, to consolodate economic and political power and errode away and ursurp our individual rights in exchange for solving our poverty problem via socialism and not a necessary “return to virtue”.
Government welfare might prevent short-term suffering, but rarely results in long-term change because socialism is effective at income redistribution but terrible at rehabilitation. In fact, giving welfare without accountability enables the poor and is a positive incentive to stay poor. Thus we create a segment of society that live by different rules and develop a separate and corrupt culture of poverty (ghetto).
James 1:27 teaches that welfare and virtue are the primary business of pure religion. Pure religion is more effective at dealing with poverty because they are more efficient, and can actually deal with the root causes of poverty, and not just treat symptoms. Only religion and other NGO’s can rehabilitate.
In reality, the decline of America rests in the failures of our religious institutions. Churches today provide minimal welfare survives and provide even less accountability and expectation. If a church is involved in activities focusing more on entertainment and money collecting, it isn’t religion. If an NGO provides welfare services while teaching self-reliance, it’s serving as more of a religion than most churches.
The US Constitutional proscribes a sacred separation of Church and State. Socialism wholly violates this separation. Welfare is the very definition of religion. Accordingly, federal individual welfare services are categorically unconstitutional and the Federal government needs to get out of the business of religion.
The ancient church managed the plight of the fatherless and the widow through the institution of the family and not shelters, group homes or orphanages. Sadly, orphanages create more orphans. Marriage and adoption have been and continue to be sacred institutions of religion to care for the individual through the family. Accordingly, federal goverment “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercize thereof”. Again, the federal government needs to get out of the business of religion.
Virtue = “do no harm”. The jurisdiction of the church deals with disciplining those struggling with self-harm via addiction. The brain rewards itself for productive behavior. Stimulating and simulating brain reward centers via artificial and chemical means is an exploit and robs people of motivation, drive, ambition, and potential.
The jurisdiction of the government is over those who do harm to others. There doesn’t need to be an explicit law covering every possible harmful deed (Mos 4:29). Instead the law should only set up an equitable system where by those who have caused harm to others might be tried by a jury of their peers who must determine: 1. has harm been committed 2. is the accused the perpetrator 3. consequence. In our society, the wicked go unpunished because “they broke no law”, or the prosecution “fails to prove ill intent”.
I believe the Millennial Kingdom will preserve the separation of Church and State. Ephraim will rule over the Church and Judah, over the State. Types and shadows of God’s organization can be seen in His creations: Oliblish stands next Kolob, Jachin (God establishes) stands next to Boaz (strength), and the Acra watching over the Ophel. In Zion, the government will protect the Church and religious freedom. And on the other hand, virtuous leaders will be identified and selected based upon the virtue and covenants established though and upheld by the Holy Temple (High Priest anoints the King).
The United Order satisfies both wants and needs; not just needs. The United Order is not based on Ancient Greek Epicureanism or Buddhism where we are expected to extinguish our desires and think, “I don’t really need it, and you know, I don’t really want it”.
D&C59: 17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;
19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.
20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.
The issue in the early LDS church was the federal government only sold land in huge chunks. The Land Ordinance Act of 1785 required individuals to purchse land in increments if 640 acres for $1/acre or 320 acres for $1.25/acre. 320 acres was way more than anyone could ever need or even want. The bishop’s storehouse was established to collect the excess of the Saints for use to care for the poor and needy. It would be a natural inclination of the established land owners to hoard their easily-obtained land, and exploit the newer, poorer immigrating members by charging perpetual rents instead of providing the Saints property right “with a deed and covenant that cannot be broken”.
An equitable welfare system would provide needs but only access to wants. A person's needs would be determined by the Bishop and would be granted more liberally. Wants, on the other hand, would only be made available conditionally. An individual would have to fully earn them through the same labors as anyone else. Thus, an equitable system would help a disadvantaged individual with extra training and tutoring to qualify for something but never selectivelt lower the qualification. However, the bar of qualification wouldn’t be set so high that it purposefully excludes. In this way, a Zion people would live “with all things common” and NOT “with all things [in] common”.
THE RICH
During the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church prohibited the lending of money and the collection of any interest. this over-interpretation of Deut 23:19 stifled most innovation in Europe and created a credit black market. Satan loves to create artificial scarcity so that he can make people serve him out of desperation and fear. Scarcity creates the dilemma of the haves and the have-nots. Yet scripture reveals the truth, that “the earth is full and there is enough and to spare”. (D&C 104:17) The Renaissance coincided with the liberalism of credit and currency (banking).
The Revolutionary War was primarly fought over rights over an independent currency and equitable credit in addition to “taxation without representation”, (thank you masonic tea party for emphasizing the lesser issue via your illegal actions) During the days of the British Empire (Pax Britanica), if someone in America wanted to start a business, he had to go to the British for the money. Three things typically happened: 1. decline, 2. accept with usury (unfair, exploitable terms), 3. steal idea and murder you. If you weren’t part of the their club, you were not supported. Their interests were not altruism, but about preservation of their position and power.
The United States was established based on the principle of the separation of power. All prople were to be equal and prosper according to their labors. There was to be no American aristocracy.
Isa 65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Unfortunately, our current banking system consolidates economic and political power (campaign finance) into the hands of a few. Certain people (robber-barons) have access to huge amounts of credit and capital with which they can use to conduct hostile takeovers, subvert honest elections, and fund revolutions (Cambridge Analytica/SCL Group). These modern-day Gadiantons may throw us a few philanthropistic bones but the potential for corruption is considerable and almost guaranteed. Remember that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
I am of the opinion that money will be used in the Millennium. Money is used in the temple (temple shekel), and is proscribed in the US Constitution. Money is a potentially fair and useful medium of exchange of value and not inherently evil but subject to corruption like most things. Without money, other things would just take its place like reputation or IOU’s.
A more equitable monetary system would regulate the value of the currency to prevent inflation or deflation (Art 1 Sec 8). Also,
an equitable money system would have all currency backed by real assets. Real money can be backed by gold, but also existing and projected minerals, land, houses and buildings. A majority of money is created at loan origination. Money retains its value as long as its created and circulates in the system only as fast and as much as its needed. dM + dV = dP + dG. Simple interest rates can be used to generate government revenue (fee on money usage), and to decrease money supply (borrowing is more expensive).
An equitable credit system would grant loans based on individual and collective credit worthiness. Larger loans would require combining the credit from a community or a corporation. In this way, both risk and rewards are distributed among a larger sector of the populations.
A major economic ussue of the Civil War was over tariffs. The South realized that industrialization was better than slavery. However, the South resented paying high prices for nothern-built machinery and preferred cheeper imported slave-produced goods.
NAFTA and GAD are additional demonstrations we have forgotten the lessons of history and turned our backs on causes for which our forefathers faught and gave their lives. The US is hampered by not having a national rail system (post roads) like we do interstates. Consequently, It is cheaper to import instead of ship goods across the country. Instead of producing cheap, slave-produced goods from overseas, America should be self reliant and decided to produce our things domestically and robotically instead of exploiting the third world to produce our cheap slave-produced Walmart junk (mess of pottage). Here in the US we can mine our own coal (Utah), drill our own natural gas and oil (ANWR), and extract our own rare earth minerals (Limhi Pass, ID).
The third world could have been lifted out of poverty by being able to license US technology, build their own factories to produce the things they both want and need. If inflation was controlled, I think US corporations wouldn’t feel the need to behave imperialistically as they have, ever needing to expand into and dominate new markets. The Amortize mortgage (double death) is a major driver or inflation.
Post-war success in Japan, South Korea, Germany and failures in Italy, Cuba, Argentina reveal that innovation requires 3 ingredients: 1. demographics (educated healthy workers), 2. currency and credit (investment), 3. social capital (freedom, safety, trust yielding cooperation).
Communism vs. Capitalism is a false dichotomy. I believe in a free market is possible without the capitalist. Tariffs result in true price discovery, all products will be produced with heirloom quality (not planned obsolescence), and price will be determined by the quantity and quality of labor required to produce it. An equitable economy will be not be scarcity/fear based (supply and demand) but based on abundance.
The Federal Reserve has never ceased to continue to print money since 2008 (Quantitative Easing). When the current economic system finally implodes, as the children of light, we will be responsible for building a new, more equitable system. We should be ready with ideas on what we want that system should look like or we can expect our enemies who are both the authors of our current system and the engineers of its collapse will be ready with something even worse. Or, said in another way, at some point the Book of Mormon suggests that a some point the more wicked part of the people will be destroyed and when a better system is presented (Adam-ondi-Ahman?) , we should be willing to let go of our current paradigms and conventions and be open to doing things differently.
