So, social media is aflame this weekend with video of the lewd and
tawdry coming out of the mouth of a presidential candidate when he spoke
about interacting with daughters of God. This video clip was not too
much a shocking revelation to me, but, I've got to say, the public
reaction has been.
We have seen politicians, movie
stars and others weighing in, telling us that this behavior is exactly
what one expects from men and that we are being too hard on the
candidate. But it was this ditty from a woman that especially bothered
me:
"I am a woman and I proudly support
(the candidate). I don't care what (he) said about women. If there is a
male out there who has never made a vulgar statement about a woman in a
private conversation with another male, then congratulations....you
should enter the priesthood." (1) And even more
shocking to me was the string of women whole-heatedly agreeing, "Yes. Yes", "My thoughts exactly", and even,
"I just wish I had written this".
Hold on World!
Women
don't care about men's vulgarity? Yes, we do. Dirty men, hurt women.
Please care about that. All men are course? Oh, please, please don't
believe this damaging view. Men are NOT
inherently raw and crass. We should not be callously expecting it of
them. A man who is filthy has chosen to be filthy. And men could,
instead, choose to be moral and refined.
I think that this misunderstanding deserves a little dive into God's doctrines....
In
the first place, we are children of Deity. The soul of man is born of
God. Our spiritual heritage is that of loving truth and good. Even
though we are living away from Him now, yearnings to follow God are
"still deep in our souls". (2)
God's perfect plan was
for us, His spirit children, to come to earth and receive a physical
body. This body of ours is a wonderful gift. It is the temple of our
eternal spirit come from God. Some believe that a body is a liability
and that we bow to its desires, but this is not true. Because we have a physical body, we are MORE like our Heavenly Father, not less. (3)
The
Fall brought us into a world that is "natural"-- meaning that there is
opposition from an adversary who hates God's plan and covets our
bodies. Because of this antagonism, there are opportunities for us to
sin, but don't forget, also boundless opportunity for good. While
temptation makes our bodies vulnerable to or subject to temptations of
the flesh, that vulnerability does not define children of God.
I
am uncomfortable with the erroneous idea that our trial in life is to
be ever-taming and keeping at bay what some say are inborn desires of
our physical bodies. That sounds like the description of an animal, not a child of God.
We must remember that "Jesus was also a Being of flesh and spirit, but yielded not to temptation." (4) It was never designed that man should
naturally do and love evil. (5) Instead, it is natural for the
child of God to be influenced by the Spirit of God. (6)
Our
bodies are not some force ruling over us
that we can't beat-- there is always choice. We are agents unto
ourselves. (7) We can decide how to respond to temptations and
inclinations. A boorish man has nurtured and coddled the raw and unworthy. But, the polite and respectful man has cultured what is clean. "It is
just as easy to keep the commandments of God as it is to break them."
(8) "The natural man is the earthy man who has allowed rude animal passions
to overshadow his spiritual inclinations." (9) "The natural man is a man
who is functioning without the Spirit or the Holy Ghost". (10)
Our bodies are so precious that they were bought with a
price-- the sinless suffering and death of Jesus Christ. (11) And "...every appetite, desire, propensity, and impulse
of the natural man may be overcome by and through the His Atonement." (12)
Every single one.
So there. It is worse than misguided to just accept that men talk this way and act this way.
Men of God do not.
So that begs a look at one more response to the candidate and his video-- "Hey, He apologized. Everyone makes mistakes".
For
which I respond with all sorts of grateful knowing, "Yes. We do make
mistakes", and I am grateful to know that because of the precious
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, woman and men can change. And I am thankful
that who we were, doesn't have to be who we are. (13)
Let God engage in the repentance process of
individuals and, Him alone, be the judge of ultimate salvation. But,
I do have a responsibility. And that is to judge the things around me
everyday so that I know how to act. (14) When entering the polls to choose the leader
of the
free world, I have to ask myself to consider the character of
someone who has
those kinds of unrefined and immoral thoughts and words.
(1) Jan Morgan
(2) Jeffrey Holland, "Christ and the New Covenant", pg 205-7
(3) "The Sanctity of the Body", Susan Tanner, GC Oct 2005
(4) DTodd Christofferson, "That They May Be One in Us". GC Apr 2002 (Mosiah 15:5)
(5) Brigham Young, J of D, 9:305
(6) Brigham Young, J of D
6:330
(7) D and C 58:28
(8) Joseph Fielding Smith, New Era, July 1972, page 23
(9) Spencer W Kimball, "Ocean Currents and
Family Influences", Ensign, June 1984
(10) Spencer W Kimball, "Ocean Currents and
Family Influences", Ensign, June 1984
(11) 1 Corinthians 6:20
(12) We Believe In Being Chaste", DAB, GC Apr 2013
(13) Elder Renlund, April 2015 GC talk, "Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying"
(14) Dallin Oaks, "Judge Not and Judging,
Mar 1998, BYU Devotional
