Character, Liberty, and National Survival

Character, Liberty, and National Survival

“Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free.” ~Edmund Burke

An Atheist Tyrant Learns the Secret to Liberty

Once, in ancient Meso-America, there was a king who ruled over many lands, but there was no peace. He and his armies were always fighting with other native American peoples, resulting in much death and destruction.

It came to pass that his son Lamoni was visited by some missionaries from another land. Notwithstanding that the missionary was from an enemy nation, Lamoni became converted to Christianity. One day Lamoni and his missionary friend Ammon were setting out for the land of Middoni, and they met Lamoni’s father, the king of Middoni. The old king was furious with his son for consorting with the enemy, and sought to kill Ammon with his sword. But Ammon bested him with excellent swordsmanship. Fearing for his life, the king promised Ammon anything, up to half his kingdom. All Ammon wanted was for Lamoni to have freedom to worship according to his newfound faith.

The king was so astonished that his anger vanished. He released Ammon’s brother Aaron from prison, and invited him for a visit. “If thou sayest that there is a God, behold I will believe.”

“Behold,” replied Aaron, “assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God.”

Aaron taught the king about the creation of the earth, and the fall of Adam. He explained that the only way to overcome his fallen nature and be saved from death was to stop sinning, or in other words, repent.

“What shall I do,” asked the king, “that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy? Behold, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.”

Aaron told him that if he would repent of all his sins, and call on God in faith, he would receive that hope.

When he heard Aaron’s words, the king knelt down and cried mightily, saying: “O God . . . if there is a God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee.” 

God heard his prayers and the king became a new man. He proclaimed religious liberty throughout all the land, and all the people lived in peace. (Alma 22:6-18) The old king changed his heart because he desired something better than the way he was living. He exchanged his pride for humility, and he became accountable to God, instead of a law unto himself.

World history is a vast chronicle of the rise and fall of nations, according to the good or bad character of their leaders. The fact is that in most nations, democracy does not seem to survive any longer than 50 years, or one generation. Now dictators have come to power in America because of pride and lust for power, threatening our cherished freedom. They want to command and control every aspect of people’s lives, without being accountable to God or to the people who granted them the power.

Governments are a product of the character of their people. The less “internal government” achieved by leaders who cannot control their lust for power, or by people with an entitlement mentality, the more external laws that seem to be required.

“Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free.” ~Edmund Burke

How can we prepare the rising generation for principled leadership in tomorrow’s world? 

Click here.

Ten Commandments and Life Quotes

Dinner Topics for Friday

Ten Commandments and Life Quotes

Our Moral Code

“We have been spending our moral capital with the same reckless abandon that we have been spending our financial capital. …

“There are large parts of [the world] where religion is a thing of the past and there is no counter-voice to the culture of buy it, spend it, wear it, flaunt it, because you’re worth it. The message is that morality is passé, conscience is for wimps, and the single overriding command is ‘Thou shalt not be found out.’”¹~Jonathan Sacks, Britain’s Chief Rabbi

Ten Commandments

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. …

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. …

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. …

“Honour thy father and thy mother. …

“Thou shalt not kill.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.

“Thou shalt not steal.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness. …

“Thou shalt not covet.” ^{(Exodus 20:3-4,7-8,12-17)}

Our code of conduct is definitive; it is not negotiable. It is found not only in the Ten Commandments but also in the Sermon on the Mount, given to us by the Savior when He walked upon the earth. It is found throughout His teachings. It is found in the words of modern revelation. ~Thomas S. Monson

Sociology and Culture

Article by David Brooks, distinguished Notre Dame Sociologist

“The interviewers asked open-ended questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life. In the rambling answers, … you see the young people groping to say anything sensible on these matters. But they just don’t have the categories or vocabulary to do so.

“When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn’t answer the question or described problems that are not moral at all, like whether they could afford to rent a certain apartment or whether they had enough quarters to feed the meter at a parking spot.”

“The default position, which most of them came back to again and again, is that moral choices are just a matter of individual taste. ‘It’s personal,’ the respondents typically said. ‘It’s up to the individual. Who am I to say?’

“Rejecting blind deference to authority, many of the young people have gone off to the other extreme [saying]: ‘I would do what I thought made me happy or how I felt. I have no other way of knowing what to do but how I internally feel.’”

Those who conducted the interviews emphasized that the majority of the young people with whom they spoke had “not been given the resources—by schools, institutions [or] families—to cultivate their moral intuitions.”¹ David Brooks, “If it Feels Right. . .”, New York Times, Sept. 12, 2011, nytimes.com

There is no middle ground. We are followers of Jesus Christ. Our citizenship is in His Church and His gospel, and we should not use a visa to visit Babylon or act like one of its citizens. ~Dallin H. Oaks

Discernment

 30 And again I would exhort you that ye would ^acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good ^bgift, and ^ctouch not the evil gift, nor the ^dunclean thing. Moroni 10:30

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

 18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.

 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the ^alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a ^bchild of Christ. ~ Moroni 7:15-19

Prevention of Sin: A Fable

Dinner Topics for Friday

On preventing sin, rather than being faced with the much more difficult task of curing it.

We may be bucking a strong tide, but we must teach our children that sin is sin.
 

“Put on the whole armour of God,” as Paul admonished [Ephesians 6:11]. With this divine influence and protection, we may be able to discern the adversary’s deceptions in whatever appealing words and rationalizations and we may be “able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” [See Ephesians 6:13.]14

We must not yield to even the smallest temptations.

Serious sin enters into our lives as we yield first to little temptations. Seldom does one enter into deeper transgression without first yielding to lesser ones, which open the door to the greater. Giving an example of one type of sin, someone said, “An honest man doesn’t suddenly become dishonest any more than a clean field suddenly becomes weedy.”

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the devil to enter a door that is closed. He seems to have no keys for locked doors. But if a door is slightly ajar, he gets his toe in, and soon this is followed by his foot, then by his leg and his body and his head, and finally he is in all the way.

This situation is reminiscent of the fable of the camel and his owner who were traveling across the desert sand dunes when a wind storm came up. The traveler quickly set up his tent and moved in, closing the flaps to protect himself from the cutting, grinding sands of the raging storm. The camel was of course left outside, and as the violent wind hurled the sand against his body and into his eyes and nostrils he found it unbearable and finally begged for entrance into the tent.

“There is room only for myself,” said the traveler.

“But may I just get my nose in so I can breathe air not filled with sand?” asked the camel.

“Well, perhaps you could do that,” replied the traveler, and he opened the flap ever so little and the long nose of the camel entered. How comfortable the camel was now! But soon the camel became weary of the smarting sand on his eyes and ears . . .

“The wind-driven sand is like a rasp on my head. Could I put just my head in?”

Again, the traveler rationalized that to acquiesce would do him no damage, for the camel’s head could occupy the space at the top of the tent which he himself was not using. So the camel put his head inside and the beast was satisfied again—but for a short while only.

“Just the front quarters,” he begged, and again the traveler relented and soon the camel’s front shoulders and legs were in the tent. Finally, by the same processes of pleading and of yielding, the camel’s torso, his hind quarters and all were in the tent. But now it was too crowded for the two, and the camel kicked the traveler out into the wind and storm.

Like the camel, Lucifer readily becomes the master when one succumbs to his initial blandishments. Soon then the conscience is stilled completely, the evil power has full sway, and the door to salvation is closed until a thorough repentance opens it again.

The importance of not accommodating temptation in the least degree is underlined by the Savior’s example. Did not he recognize the danger when he was on the mountain with his fallen brother, Lucifer, being sorely tempted by that master tempter? He could have opened the door and flirted with danger by saying, “All right, Satan, I’ll listen to your proposition. I need not succumb, I need not yield, I need not accept—but I’ll listen.”

Christ did not so rationalize. He positively and promptly closed the discussion, and commanded: “Get thee hence, Satan,” meaning, likely, “Get out of my sight—get out of my presence—I will not listen—I will have nothing to do with you.” Then, we read, “the devil leaveth him.” [Matthew 4:10–11.]

This is our proper pattern, if we would prevent sin rather than be faced with the much more difficult task of curing it.


As I study the story of the Redeemer and his temptations, I am certain he spent his energies fortifying himself against temptation rather than battling with it to conquer it.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball,  (2006), 102–13