by Steve Farrell
The Moral Liberal, Volume I, No. 8
In the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ instructs a band of ancient American Christians regarding the nature of contention:
[V]erily, 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.
Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. (3 Nephi 2: 29-30)
What a tell it like it is moment!
If I were to apply this to the hot debate that currently defines everything political in The United States, I would ask each and every political player, whether on the national stage or in the trenches to seriously consider the following: If the Spirit of God is to be with us; if God is to be at the helm guiding our efforts; if Divine Providence will once again be on the side of a saving and full restoration of the Constitution Heaven raised up through our inspired forefathers; don’t we need to set a higher standard of conduct? Don’t we need to be the one who, who no matter what, sticks to the issues, sticks to a exploration of fundamental principles, sticks to the best in moral and intellectual persuasion, and who likewise, at every turn, rejects the cheap and easy work of tearing the other guy down, of the cruel and low business of name calling, saber rattling, and character assassination?
I think we do. For so far as know, not only is the spirit of contention of the devil, but the command to “love thy neighbor as thyself” is without proviso. We are all neighbors.
And so one last question: If we follow the Savior’s command, will not God bless and prosper us? Will we not then be among those who truly makes a difference because we know how to win a point without losing a friend, a fellow son or daughter of God?
I think we all know the answer. We just need to exercise our faith and raise the bar of our political involvement. Those who do can expect miracles.
Steve Farrell is President of the Latter-day Center for Moral Liberalism, one of the original pundits at Silver Eddy Award Winner, NewsMax.com (1999-2008), a mentor at George Wythe University, and the author of the highly praised inspirational novel, Dark Rose.
