United States of America 250th Birthday

(1 Samuel 15:22) "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,  by Edward Gibbon is 12 volume series (latest version) is a very long way to tell a very much simpler story. 

Rome like many ancient pagan societies had 2 major problems: 1. Pompeii style sexual immorality and 2. Silk Road style substance abuse (opium, hashish, etc.). In fact these vices were reinforced by false pagan religion.  Sex and drugs (sorcery = pharmakia) is what makes pagan religion pagan. Going to the pagan temple and paying to use psychoactive substances and engage in cult prostitution, actually demonstrated pagan religious piety. 

These destructive practices (worshiping the golden calf) have a major societal consequence.  Sex and drugs generate poverty via eroded family values, increased illigitamacy, poor health, and increased Idleness. Poverty and inequality via sin threatens freedom. 

Secret elites (Venetian Black Nobility) set up the Ceasars to came to power promising Social Justice via welfare reforms (free bread and circus) which only serves to enable the poor and keep them poor.  Government welfare, while it aleviates short-term suffering, fails in the long term because its good at redistributing fish but not teaching people how to fish for themselves (no accountibility). 

According to James true religion in contrast, serves to help rehabilitate and prevent poverty while pagan religion generates it.  Pure religion = charity and virtue.  

(James 1:27) "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world". 

The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world (in spite of our sins of slavery and oppression) because of our overall virtue.  Virtue and equality of opportunity generates increased social capital and trust in a society.  Increased social capital generates greater innovation.

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  --John Adams

Like the US, Rome's economic and political problems were really a false religion problem. Rome's sex and drug problems led to a trade deficit with China (silk road), greater poverty,  crippling social welfare program, and demographic collapse. The economic problems led to a need for empire expansionism (tribute),  and expansionism led to needing to import barbarian mercenaries to serve in the Roman legions (Marian Reforms = Dream Act). 

Eventally Rome was bankrupt, they cut welfare benefits to the Barbarian mercenaries (Foeterati) who revolted, conducted an insurection, assassinated Orestes, deposed Romulus Augustulus and divided the empire. 

Long story short.  If we wish to help our economic and political problems; we really need to address our religious and spiritual problems first.

(Matthew 7:21) "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven". 

Holiness to the Lord

Society is built upon social trust which is quantified as social capital. It's not just the bricks and mortar that brings God or divine preservation into a society but a people's moral virtue. 

Chastity and sobriety (Holiness to the Lord) are upheld by the covenants that must be associated with the true temple or its just a fancy building. 

Immorality (sex and drugs) erodes social capital leading to poverty, leading to demographic collapse, which is the real reason for the fall of Rome and Greece and every other civilization . 

Sex (Pompeii) and Drugs (Silk Road)-->Poverty-->Demographic Collapse-->Tyranny promising Social Justice--> Free Bread and Circus enables Poverty and Idleness-->Taxation, Unregulated Immigration-->Insurrection and Collapse

James 1:27. Pure Religion = Charity and Virtue. 

Charity must be an institution of true religion and not the State because only Religion can give fish while at the same time teach people to fish (virtue). State welfare just enables and keeps people dependent. 

How much charity does your faith or religion perform?  How much moral virtue does your religion or faith expect of you.  True peace, safety, and prosperity only come from a societies' moral virtue revealed by the True God (Holiness) and nothing else.

Have you built up your own tower of Babel in your heart?

This is why Isaiah 2 and the restoration of the institutiom of the Lord's Temple is associated with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  This latter-day temple and more importantly the covenants (Holiness) associated with the temple are what will actually and finally being the world peace safety prosperity equality and good will towards all men. 

^{Isa 2:2} And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

³ And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

⁴ And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Passover Seder Dinner

I attended my first Passover Seder Dinner with Dr. Victor Ludlow at BYU.  Dr. Ludlow used to put on nightly Seder dinners in the Wilkinson Center Sky Room with a breathtaking view of the Provo Temple. Since that time, I have occasionally put on a simplified Seder Dinner with my children and family. My kids enjoy it.  The Church of Jesus Christ has been emphasizing that members increase our Christ-centered traditions and observance during Easter week. 

Employment Theory of the Atonement

There are various theories put forth by scholars to explain how the Atonemeht of Jesus Christ works.  Like the various names of Christ, each one describes a divine aspect or attribute of Christ but no one name necessarily encapsulates the whole of His dininity.  In the same way, each of the various atonement theories describes different aspects of how the Atonement of Christ works, no one theory encompasses the whole (eg Penal Substitution, etc). 

My favorite Atonement Theory is the "Employment Theory". (not one of the clasical 7)  When we accept Christ, we enter into His employment. That means laboring in His vineyard and building His kingdom. God doesn't require perfection but giving our very best efforts. And God pays very well, but a majority of the pay is set aside in our retirement account.

1. Moral Influence Theory

2. Random Theory

3. Christus Victor

4. Satisfaction Theory

5. Penal Substitutionary

6. Government Theory

7. Scapegoat

8. Unfairness Theory (Cleon Skousen)

9. Employment Theory 

Pioneer Trek Reinactment: Women's Pull

In winter 1846, members of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were forced to flee their homes again in Nauvoo, Illinois.  These early Church members were forced to leave the United States due to religious persecution to the safety of the Rocky Mountains.  These vanguard Saints first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley July 24, 1847.

Latter-day youth commemorate the Mormon pioneers by building, pulling, and camping beside handcarts designed like those used by early Church pioneers. Part of this Pioneer Trek reenactment customarily involves what is known as the "women's pull" where only the women pull the carts.  The 'women's pull' usually involves the young women pulling their handcarts alone up a steeper section of the trail without the boys. 

This part of Trek remembers that some of the men died along the way or were conscripted by the US Government to leave their wives and children out on the frontier, and participate in the Mexican-American War.  LDS men were ordered to march from Nebraska to California.  These conscripted soldiers are referred to as the Mormon Bittalion. The consequence of this conscription is many women were forced to drive wagons and pull handcarts on their own.  

It has been hinted by Latter-day Saint prophets that women will again play a major role in the events of the Last Days leading to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  While LDS women may not be literally required to pull handcarts alone as their forebarers did, There is a part of the Book of Mormon involving the people of Limhi where, because of war, there were very few men. Could these events be a type and shadow of events to come?  Yes or no, I have confidence that the faith of the LDS women are up to the challenge, whatever it may entail.