Improving on God?

Altar piece, Karjalohja Church
by Alexandra Såltin
(Ufinne attribution. below at *)

Recently a friend referred to a TED talk¹ that questioned the “Golden Rule”² thus:

“So often what we're told is this idea of the 'Golden Rule,' that we should treat other people the way we want to be treated. But the problem with that is that it assumes that we are the standard for other people, and we're not. We need to treat other people the way they want to be treated, which means we had to ask” (Tiq Milan & Kim Milan, 2016 at 2:01; bold emphasis added).

BUT does the Golden Rule really assume that “we are the standard for other people”? Or are we the ones who have made a false assumption—taking the essence of God's words and pulling them down (from God's cosmic mind and intent) into a mortal, egoic perspective, declaring the Rule to be flawed for our sophisticated day and age of “high evolution and consciousness”?

If we read the Golden Rule within the context of Christ's teachings, what was His most likely intent when He said: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (New Testament | Matthew 7:12)?

Did He not teach us to be:

charitable?	just?	respectful?
compassionate?	kind?	teachable?
empathetic?	long-suffering?	trustworthy?
equitable?	loving?	understanding?
forgiving?	merciful?	& so forth?
hospitable?	patient?

Aren't these some of the universal be-attitudes that God asks us to apply in our relationships? even to strangers?³ Aren't these the very attitudes that Tiq and Kim so passionately defend (as if their universal appeal were superior to an assumed egocentric Golden Rule)?

Don't we all want compassion, forgiveness, mercy, patience, understanding, etc., etc., extended to us?

Do we need to ask people if they want these principles and virtues applied to them?

Perhaps the Golden Rule is about developing cosmic virtues, so we can be open to asking the nitty-gritty questions—questions that respectfully explore personal stuff, like feelings, preferences, likes, dislikes, fears, insecurities, needs, wants, dreams, etc., etc. of the other. Isn't the Golden Rule the vehicle for making the personal stuff accessible—to breaking free of social, cultural, and gender-limiting paradigms that frustrate missions, purposes, and relationships?

Nevertheless, as I pondered the presenters' interpretations and appealing presentation, I also wondered if we were witnessing a déjà vu from the war in heaven,⁴ and from every single day of human history.⁵ Indeed, what day has not passed when one of us mortals has not presented a concept, perspective, or plan as being superior to God's for our life or society? or blamed God for things that originate (to His sorrow⁶) with the Natural Man? Are we not all guilty to some degree or other despite God's caution:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts  (Old Testament | Isaiah 55:8-9)?

Thus, a few words to and about the scientists, CEOs, and masterminds of hidden agendas that have brought so much suffering and dysphoria in these last days:

How often has God heard these or similar words by others inventing or imagining something superior to God's thoughts and ways, plans and purposes?

» “my own intention”
» “my own design”
» “creating new ways of existing”
» “live on [my/] their own terms”
» “creating a world that we have literally never seen before”
» “create entirely new languages of love”
» “reinventing time, love, and institutions”
» “creating a future of multiplicity”
» “imaging ourselves into existence”

Somehow, we seem to be forever re-litigating the war in heaven—wanting to re-imagine and reinvent life—so like the “days of Noah.”⁷ (If we only knew the hidden realities!) Yet, for the time being, in these days of gender fluidity, we continue to access and/or tweak God's design for procreation (using surrogates or donated egg / sperm or adoption) in order to create children and families for barren couples while scientists work (often secretly) on genetic technologies to improve upon God's plan. But what if all the “design flaws” we blame on God are really outcomes for choices, poisons, toxins, etc. made or misapplied by mankind in ignorance and/or arrogance? Yes, I think God expects us to be creative and to use our resources and gifts for His high purposes (of developing faith, hope, and charity?), but do we suppose that our agency is without consequence? that the adversary of all good is not at work trying to destroy creation⁸ in ways we cannot even begin to imagine?

Somehow, we also seem oblivious to cause and effect—perhaps too afraid of exploring why birth gender is being rejected by so many in these end times. (And please note: I am not referring to the rejection of culture-based restraints, expectations, and impositions, most of which are probably no where near God's plans and purposes.)

If only we knew how much is and has been hidden from us by secretive powers that believe in their own superiority. We truly are, in many instances, the blind leading / following the blind as we navigate the programming, controls, and propaganda of this fallen world. At some point, all hidden things will be revealed and we shall weep uncontrollably.

In the meantime, let us follow the Golden Rule within the cosmic context of Christ's teachings and extend its truths wherever we can, to everyone we can.

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1. https://www.ted.com/talks/tiq_milan_and_kim_katrin_milan_a_queer_vision_of_love_and_marriage (Time 17:07)
2. "The Golden Rule or law of reciprocity is the principle of treating others as one would wish to be treated oneself. It is a maxim of altruism seen in many human religions and human cultures."(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule)
New Testament | Matthew 7:12 ~ Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
New Testament | Luke 6:31 ~ And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Old Testament | Leviticus 19:18, 34 ~ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. ... But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (See also: New Testament | Luke 10:25-28)
3. Old Testament | Leviticus 19:34 ~ But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
New Testament | Matthew 22:35-40 ~ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
4. New Testament | Revelation 12:7 ~ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1–4 ~ AND I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
5. God's Lament: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/01/gods-lament.html
6. Pearl of Great Price | Moses 7:29-37
7. Days of Noah: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/11/as-days-of-noah.html
8. Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:3-4,6 ~ Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;  And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. ... wherefore he sought to destroy the world.

*Picture Attribution: By Ufinne (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons  ||  File:Karjalohjan kirkko 009-1.jpg from Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository  ||  File URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Karjalohjan_kirkko_009-1.jpg

Evolution?

Do Mormons believe in evolution? One would probably get a mix of answers from both the authorities and the rank and file, because there are a mix of definitions. But there is an "evolution concept" in Mormonism that consistently stirs the antagonism of many fellow Christians. And having recently begun watching "Fires of Faith: The Coming Forth of the King James Bible" one is reminded of the historical predilection toward charges of heresy when beliefs and actions do not conform to the accepted norm.

Also, while researching on the WWWeb, one is unpleasantly reminded that such a predilection is not just historical. The internet is full of pronouncements of disdain for perceived ideological opponents—not only in religious circles, but in most every field of knowledge.

How déjà vu is this (from a recent publication by Sam Harris¹)?

Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them. This may seem an extraordinary claim, but it merely enunciates an ordinary fact about the world in which we live. Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of every peaceful means of persuasion, while inspiring them to commit acts of extraordinary violence against others. There is, in fact, no talking to some people. If they cannot be captured, and they often cannot, otherwise tolerant people may be justified in killing them in self-defense. This is what the United States attempted in Afghanistan, and it is what we and other Western powers are bound to attempt, at an even greater cost to ourselves and to innocents abroad, elsewhere in the Muslim world. We will continue to spill blood in what is, at bottom, a war of ideas.

And how déjà vu is Richard Dawkins² loathing of alternative theorists?

Have we not evolved to the point where we can

claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God [or not] according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. (Pearl of Great Price Articles of Faith 1:11)?

The militant atheists are certainly right about the many crimes perpetuated in the name of religion, but it is amazing to hear these "men of [still advancing] science" espouse "old time" solutions as they pursue an agenda to eradicate the "God delusion" (that they believe, but cannot prove).

So what do Mormons believe about evolution? Well, frankly, it seems to be evolving: as knowledge increases; as man's ability to comprehend the incomprehensible increases; as his obedience to law opens up greater vistas. But for the inquiring mind, here are four fascinating explorations:

▪ John A. Widtsoe, Rational Theology (published 1915; Free Kindle download)^[3]

▪ Robert P. Burton and Bruce F. Webster, "Some Thoughts on Higher-dimensional Realms," BYU Studies 20, no. 3 (Spring 1980): 281-296 ^[4]

▪ Eugene England, "Perfection and Progression: Two Complementary Ways to Talk about God," BYU Studies 29, no.3 (Summer 1989): 31–47^[5]

▪ James R. Harris, "Eternal Progression and the Foreknowledge of God," BYU Studies 8, no.1 (Autumn 1967)^[6]

If these ideas are heretical in your mind, how can you be sure? As sure as 16th Century England was in burning her Bible translators and smugglers? As sure as every other soul who has killed for the sake of an idea or opinion? How about live and let live!

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1) http://www.antitheists.co.uk/resources/Sam%20Harris%20-%20The%20End%20of%20Faith.pdf ; see page 28.
2) http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_on_militant_atheism.html ; e.g.: "attack religion as a whole" and to eradicate it for its past, present (and future) crimes against humanity; find at minute 8:00 ~ "attack religion as a whole"; at 28:00 ~ "secretly despise religion as much as I do"
[3] http://www.amazon.com/Rational-Theology-Taught-Latter-day-ebook/dp/B004TSA4P0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358191597&sr=8-2&keywords=%22rational+theology%22
[4] https://byustudies.byu.edu/showtitle.aspx?title=5426 (click "Download Article Free")
[5] http://eugeneengland.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/1989_e_001.pdf
[6] https://byustudies.byu.edu/showtitle.aspx?title=4754 (click "Download Article Free")

Suffering in Silence

Where is the tipping point between silence and open questioning?

In listening to a recent TED talk* (“Dare to Disagree”), I wondered about our churches. I wondered whether the faithful (on all levels, in all faiths) do a disservice to themselves and their congregations by silent acceptance and obedience to things/decisions/practices that distress their spirit. How many faithful have found continued affiliation so painful or dissonant that their only recourse seemed to be to withdraw? If we spoke our concerns, would we find them shared? Would it make a difference?

In the 30s A.D., were there faithful Scribes, Sadducees, Pharisees (and common folk, too) who kept silent because potential conflict was to untenable in their culture of hierarchy and submission? Was Nicodemus one of those?** Is the choice between silence and conflict one of the persistent déjà vus of this life experience? What choices are we making? Are they for the best?

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* http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_dare_to_disagree.html
** Like Joseph of Arimathaea (New Testament John 19:38; see also 12:42)