Hey all, this morning as I was reading the scriptures, the following scripture popped out to my attention:
D&C 1:16
They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
I was wondering, does this concept deal only with our collective and individual adherence to God's commandments and in living The Gospel, or does it also have application in the world of politics, political preferences, and political philosophies and interpretations of current events? Do the politics we individually pursue serve the bettering of the public common good, or do those politics serve a special interest that has something other than the public common good in mind? These were the thoughts that came to mind.
Just wondering what you all thought about it. Do you agree or disagree, or a little of both? Feel free to share your reasons. The voting poll itself will close on 9/14/06, but you can comment on this 'til the cows come home...
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
Yes, even I have done that on occasion. It is easy to get caught up in politics, or in a specific issue, and when we do that we move away from God, and the bigger picture.
I voted yes, because I'd say more yes than no. There are many exceptions, and I think the biggest exception is the fact that all major political parties are heavily corrupted (some worse than others) ... but here's why I say yes:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years.
These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” – Anonymous, attributed to Alexander Tytler
I'd say it's our own gods / idols ---> political leanings. This is much like how musical interests ---> clothing fashions.
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Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
- D&C 38:29
