I’m pretty sure this talk was assigned for the purpose of having me, Brother Stern, take yet another step toward becoming a better disciple of Jesus Christ. When the assignment came in from President Bumbaugh to tie our ‘Third Sunday Talks’ in with Dallin H. Oaks’ talk, Love Your Enemies, my thoughts were something like, “Oh, great, this should be fun”, thinking in my sarcasm mode.
Then I remembered the opening scene from, Fiddler
on the Roof, where the rabbi’s son asked if
there was “a proper blessing for the Czar.”
The rabbi responded, “A blessing for the
czar?” He pondered awhile, then
pronounced: “Of course: May God bless and keep the czar — far away from
us.” Amen!”
Interestingly, this was used in Colbert I. King’s Washington Post op-ed piece, “Should you pray for the president?,” as he discussed the current struggle in faith communities over whether to pray for President Trump and his appointees as they have routinely done for others in positions of trust. Mr. King concluded that, “it would be in our country’s best interest for all of us to pray that this president gets the appropriate help he needs”.
I, on the other hand, was thinking how it fit easily with Joe Biden and Kamal Harris. You can see the importance of Elder Oaks’ cautionary words, bear in mind, his talk was given a month prior to the much-contested elections. The Lord’s admonition applies evenly to all, regardless of political leanings.
While sitting in the last Fast and Testimony meeting wondering how to best accomplish putting my thoughts together a curious idea surfaced.
Some of you will have doubts about my sanity as I
share a line from the movie, Cool Hand Luke, when the prison warden
stood, holding a sap slapper in hand, addressed Luke after he’d been
apprehended for attempting yet another escape.
“What we have here is a failure to communicate”, his
slow southern drawl dancing into the air followed by, “You have to get your
mind right”. Luke was then punished by
having to dig a huge hole all day only to have to refill that hole as his
energies were taxed to the limit.
What has this got to do with Elder Oaks’ talk, Love
Your Enemies? He mentioned the
political climate and how it was affecting members; but in reality, Elder Oaks
was talking to me, saying, “Brother Stern, You have to get your mind right”.
“We live in a time of anger and hatred in political
relationships and policies. We felt it this summer when some went beyond
peaceful protests and engaged in destructive behavior. We feel it in some
current campaigns for public offices. Unfortunately, some of this has even
spilled over into political statements and unkind references in our Church
meetings.
{…}
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43–44).
{…}
What revolutionary teachings for personal and political
relationships! But that is still what our Savior commands. In the Book of
Mormon we read, “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of
contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention,
and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).
Loving our enemies and our adversaries is not easy. “Most of us
have not reached that stage of … love and forgiveness,” President
Gordon B. Hinckley observed, adding, “It requires a self-discipline almost
greater than we are capable of.” But it must be essential, for it is part
of the Savior’s two great commandments to “love the Lord thy God” and to “love
thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). And it must be possible, for He also taught, “Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7).”
I found myself at odds with the Lord’s
commandment to Love Thy Neighbor, even those we don’t agree with. I was encouraged to ponder the message found
in James, chapter 3, basically the entire chapter; but more particularly as I
read, starting in verse 8, which identified my shortcomings in greater
detail.
“But the tongue can no man
tame; it is an unruly evil,
full of deadly poison.
Therewith bless we God, even the Father;
and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of
God.
Out of the same mouth proceedeth
blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
At this point is where I borrowed a sobering thought from Dicken’s, <a href="a_christmas_carol__abridged___1_.pdf (weebly.com)"> A Christmas Carol </a>.
Ebenezer Scrooge had been shown his own
failings by the Ghosts who’d visited him. He then is found, pleading as it
were, to make things right.
“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to
which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge.” I remember adding an extended pause between
each thought as he continued…
“But if the courses be departed from… the ends
will change”, (unsure if that was a period or a question mark in the manner of
his speaking) ... “Say it is thus with what you show me!” (Once again, in my mind I wasn’t sure if that
was an exclamation mark or a question mark with emphasis.)
In case you need that
translated…Dickens understood the ability to Repent along with the promise that
anyone, regardless of how long they’ve traveled in the wrong direction…anyone
can alter their path and be forgiven by the Lord.
During that same Fast and
Testimony meeting Sister Dean of the Madisonville Branch shared her definition
of Peace as being in harmony with God.
Oh, how we could all use that feeling of Peace and of being in harmony
with God.
I was looking in the
mirror and didn’t like what I was seeing.
I’d bristled at having to give a talk on a subject which I had yet to
master, in my heart and mind, not really willing to follow the Lord’s
commandment, Love your enemies. Pride
was getting in the way; isn’t that at the heart of our inability to follow the
commandments of the Lord?
To become better disciples,
we must do things the Lord’s way, turning our will over to Him.
Elder Oaks continued,
“The Savior’s teaching not to “contend with anger”
is a good first step. The devil is the father of contention, and it is he who
tempts men to contend with anger. He promotes enmity and hateful relationships
among individuals and within groups. President Thomas S. Monson taught
that anger is “Satan’s tool,” for “to be angry is to yield to the influence of
Satan. No one can make us angry.
It is our choice.” Anger is the way to division and enmity. We move
toward loving our adversaries when we avoid anger and hostility toward those
with whom we disagree. It also helps if we are even willing to learn from
them.”
How are we to take the next step toward
becoming better disciples, being slow to change from our ways to being one in
heart and mind with the Lord?
“The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “it is a time-honored adage
that love begets love. Let us pour forth love—show forth our kindness unto all
mankind.”
President Howard W. Hunter taught: “The world in which we
live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love
of Christ, which is kind, meek, and lowly. It is without envy or pride. … It
seeks nothing in return. … It has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. …
It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of
religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or
culture.”
And President Russell M. Nelson has urged us to “expand our
circle of love to embrace the whole human family.”
Okay, I get it; but what about folks in positions of power forcing
me to pay taxes, using my money to fund abortions, open our borders to anyone
to include those intent on destroying our culture and nation? What about that? Am I supposed to love these folks too?
I got hammered again as Elder Oaks explained:
“An essential part of loving our enemies is to render unto Caesar
by keeping the laws of our various countries. Though Jesus’s teachings were
revolutionary, He did not teach revolution or lawbreaking. He taught a better
way. Modern revelation teaches the same:
“Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the
laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.
“Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:21–22).”
Apparently, once I’ve paid my taxes
according to the laws as set forth, how that money is spent no longer falls
under my responsibility. Those in
government take over and will have to explain to the Lord how they completed
their stewardships. We can do our best
to put individuals of integrity and character in positions of power and then
trust in the Lord who knows the beginning from the end.
I’ll touch on a little bit more of Elder
Oaks’ talk before tying this up.
“At one extreme, some seem to have
forgotten that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees
the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a redress of grievances.” That is the authorized way to raise public
awareness and to focus on injustices in the content or administration of the
laws. And there have been injustices. In public actions and in our personal
attitudes, we have had racism and related grievances. In a persuasive personal
essay, the Reverend Theresa A. Dear of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has reminded us that “racism thrives on
hatred, oppression, collusion, passivity, indifference and silence.” As
citizens and as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we
must do better to help root out racism.
At the other extreme, a minority of participants
and supporters of these protests and the illegal acts that followed them seem
to have forgotten that the protests protected by the Constitution are peaceful protests. Protesters have no right to
destroy, deface, or steal property or to undermine the government’s legitimate
police powers. The Constitution and laws contain no invitation to revolution or
anarchy. All of us—police, protesters, supporters, and spectators—should
understand the limits of our rights and the importance of our duties to stay
within the boundaries of existing law. Abraham Lincoln was right when he said,
“There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.” Redress of grievances by mobs is redress by
illegal means. That is anarchy, a condition that has no effective governance
and no formal police, which undermines rather than protects individual rights.”
{…}
Knowing that we are all children of God gives us
a divine vision of the worth of all others and the will and ability to rise
above prejudice and racism. As I have lived for many years in different places
in this nation, the Lord has taught me that it is possible to obey and seek to
improve our nation’s laws and also to love our adversaries and our enemies.
While not easy, it is possible with the help of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He gave
this command to love, and He promises His help as we seek to obey it. I testify
that we are loved and will be helped by our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus
Christ…”
It is my prayer that
through repentance, doing our best to have our lives in accordance with the
commandments of the Lord, we find that Peace which comes from being in harmony
with God. In the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
