Black and White

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Steve
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Re: Black and White

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People do, however, leave this Church, but they leave it because they get into darkness, and the very day they conclude that there should be a democratic vote, or in other words, that we should have two candidates for the presiding Priesthood in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, they conclude to be apostates. There is no such thing as confusion, division, strife, animosity, hatred, malice, or two sides to the question in the house of God; there is but one side to the question there (DBY, 85).

(President Brigham Young, DBY, 85)
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Steve
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Re: Black and White

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People say, “You should be true to your beliefs.” While that is true, you cannot be better than what you know. Most of us act based on our beliefs, especially what we believe to be in our self-­interest. The problem is, we are sometimes wrong.

Someone may believe in God and that pornography is wrong and yet still click on a site wrongly believing that he will be happier if he does or he can’t help but not click or it isn’t hurting anyone else and it is not that bad. He is just wrong.

Someone may believe it is wrong to lie and yet lie on occasion, wrongly believing he will be better off if the truth is not known. He is just wrong.

Someone may believe and even know that Jesus is the Christ and still deny Him not once but three times because of the mistaken belief that he would be better off appeasing the crowd. Peter wasn’t evil. I am not even sure he was weak. He was just wrong.

When you act badly, you may think you are bad, when in truth you are usually mistaken. You are just wrong. The challenge is not so much closing the gap between our actions and our beliefs; rather, the challenge is closing the gap between our beliefs and the truth. That is the challenge.

(Elder Lawrence Corbridge, Stand For Ever, January 2019)
 
This talk is outstanding, by the way, and will likely spark additional discussion going forward. I highly recommend it!
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Tuly
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Re: Black and White

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I have listened to Elder Corbridge's talk a couple of times. I do appreciate his clarity on sound doctrine that if allowed in our lives can strengthen us through our trials. I know this from personal experience.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Ian
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Re: Black and White

Post by Ian »

this is a great talk. thank you steve for sharing.
so let it be written... so let it be done.
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Ian
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Re: Black and White

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from general conference a few days ago:
There is a careful way and a casual way to do everything, including living the gospel. As we consider our commitment to the Savior, are we careful or casual? Because of our mortal nature, don’t we sometimes rationalize our behavior, at times referring to our actions as being in the gray, or mixing good with something that’s not so good? Anytime we say, “however,” “except,” or “but” when it applies to following the counsel of our prophet leaders or living the gospel carefully, we are in fact saying, “That counsel does not apply to me.” We can rationalize all we want, but the fact is, there is not a right way to do the wrong thing!

Becky Craven, Careful versus Casual, April 2019 General Conference
so let it be written... so let it be done.
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Tuly
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Re: Black and White

Post by Tuly »

Thank you, i loved this talk by sister Craven. I am grateful that she reminds us about the Atonement of Jesus Christ to get us back on track.
As I reflect upon obtaining lasting happiness, I realize that sometimes we do find ourselves in the gray. Mists of darkness are inevitable as we journey along the covenant path. Temptation and casualness can cause us to subtly divert our course into the darkness of the world and away from the covenant path. For the times when this might happen, our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has urged us to get back on the covenant path and to do so quickly. How grateful I am for the gift of repentance and for the power of our Savior’s Atonement.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Steve
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Re: Black and White

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We live in stressful times. ... We also have the challenge of living in a godless and increasingly amoral generation. More and more publicized voices deny or doubt the existence of God. More and more support the idea that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made and can be accepted or rejected as one chooses, each person being free to decide for himself or herself what is right and wrong.

Along with these challenges—and caused by them—we are confronted by a culture of evil and personal wickedness in the world. This includes:
 
  • Dishonesty
  • Pornography
  • Perversions
  • The diminishing of marriage and childbearing
  • The increasing frequency and power of the culture and phenomenon of lesbian, gay, and transgender lifestyles and values
Finally, you live in a culture that focuses on individual rights and desires rather than the responsibilities and cooperative efforts that have built our societies.

A major cause of these cultural deteriorations is the loss of belief in absolutes. A century ago, private and public morality—the sense of moderation and restraint necessary to the survival of a free society—were universally understood to rest on the reality of absolute right and wrong, decreed by God and ultimately enforced in a final judgment. Then, as this faith was undercut, public morality sagged into the safety net of ethics, a set of rules based on philosophy, pragmatism, or legalities, which rely on enforcement by individual self-interest or imperfect bureaucracies.

Removed from their foundation of an absolute right and wrong, ethics and legalities have been unable to hold back the tide of immoral conduct that now threatens to engulf us. People have cast off conventional morality and old-fashioned restraints. Our society is now in peril from increasing dishonesty, frightening increases in personal violence and other crimes, and shocking increases in public dependency attributable to deterioration in the solidarity of the family.

(President Dallin H. Oaks, Anxiety in Stressful Times, June 11, 2019, emphasis added)
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Steve
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Re: Black and White

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Some things are simply true. The arbiter of truth is God—not your favorite social media news feed, not Google, and certainly not those who are disaffected from the Church.

President Spencer W. Kimball taught that absolute truth cannot be “altered by the opinions of men. . . . If men are really humble, they will realize that they discover, but do not create, truth.”

Many now claim that truth is relative and that there is no such thing as divine law or a divine plan. Such a claim is simply not true. There is a difference between right and wrong. Truth is based upon the laws God has established for the dependability, protection, and nurturing of His children. Eternal laws operate in and affect each of our lives, whether we believe them or not.

(President Russell M. Nelson, The Love and Laws of God, September 17, 2019)
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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