The main undercurrent I detected in this recent General Conference was that we ought to brace ourselves for increases in persecution. This theme cropped up again and again, and I winced (because I hate conflict and strife above almost everything else. I would rather get a root canal than listen to people argue).
I got a taste of it recently.
I was waiting for someone to show up at a restaurant awhile ago, and a man, apparently homeless, was sitting in one of the outdoor chairs. He greeted me by commenting on the music piping through the speakers, proud that he had "lived through" the era from which it came.
While I stood there and waited for someone else, I listened to this man talk. He was a volcano of contempt. He took a stab at Mormons, and then everyone else.
Respect For Agency
D&C 121 contains what I think of as a guide to navigate through the treacherous shoals of others' agency. God holds agency so precious that He will frequently allow mortals to abuse one another rather than intervene. God allows people to harm themselves, too. He expects those who follow him to exhibit similar attitudes (most of the time). Agency is sacrosanct in the plan. Freedom to choose is rule number one in the game of life that He has designed, through which we are passing. (Parents may keep children from running into physical danger; adults managing other accountable adults without invitation are another matter.)
Politics is uncivil now precisely because it is accepted as standard practice to criticize others, and demand that they change their behavior regardless of obtaining their permission to give them orders.
The word "devil" literally means "accuser" (see Rev. 12:10). Jesus gave us the basic rule: Judge not. He qualified the rule in certain circumstances, but when we stray from the basic guidelines, especially those outlined in D&C 121, we immediately lose the Spirit, are under Satan's influence, and begin to exhibit his characteristics. Accusing others (even TRUE accusations) puts us in the role of doing Satan's job for him.
Joseph Smith taught the first members of the Relief Society, "If you do not accuse each other, God will not accuse you. If you have no accuser you will enter heaven, and if you will follow the revelations and instructions which God gives you through me, I will take you into heaven as my back load. If you will not accuse me, I will not accuse you. If you will throw a cloak of charity over my sins, I will over yours—for charity covereth a multitude of sins" (History of the Church, 4:445).
We don't even have to open our mouths in order to lose the Spirit, though:
"...when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God" (D&C 121:37-38). If we begin to assume the role of compelling people to do the right thing (remember, that was Satan's version of the plan of salvation), we begin to experience all the symptoms of his rebellion. We think of abominable acts as the leading characteristic of evil people; the arguments of Satan during the war in heaven were couched in terms of righteousness, self-righteousness (No sin will be allowed; everybody will be saved; etc.).
D&C 121 protects the would-be critic, as well as the intended target of that criticism. The homeless man who assaulted my ears had at least one thing in common with the shadowy overlords who were oppressing him: they both feel entitled to compel other people to do their bidding, to give orders without consent of the ordered.
Yes, people actually are doing bad things, but the mere fact that we have the truth about them does not qualify us to criticize, or accuse them. Yes, people are doing evil things in high places (and plenty in low ones, too), but that does not license us to police the world and compel people to do the right thing.
The Proper Limits of Criticism
One qualification Jesus gave for examining others' flaws was the mote/beam criteria: If you are doing things that are worse than the infractions committed by the person you intend to critique, repent before you attempt to cure them of their sins. Take the telephone pole out of our own eye before we try to remove the splinters from someone else's.
So the arena of political discourse is a slum ruled over by evil feelings and darkness, because the general rules of conduct fall outside the guidelines provided by the Savior.
One of the most beautiful phrases in the scriptures is "without compulsory means." A nursery rhyme provides an evocative visual:
Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn't know where to find them;
Leave them alone and they'll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.
God operates in the same fashion: "All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also..." (D&C 93:30). Occasionally we bump into immovable objects, like the fool who disbelieves in gravity and walks off a cliff; our agency is not being violated, but curtailed by the unavoidable consequences of using it poorly. But for the most part, the wicked, not God, destroy themselves. Those who have made covenants and signed their lives over to Him are more likely to be "chastened" (for education and growth, not for cruelty). There are many things which we see as unacceptable that God views with a more lenient, hands-off eye.
Love Unfeigned and Influence
Anna Leonowens (of King and I fame) had a massive impact on the destiny of the nation of Siam (now Thailand). Many legends have cropped up around her, but the fact remains that the young prince Chulalongkorn she trained became king and abolished the ancient traditions of slavery and compulsory servitude in Siam.
What gave her such great influence? Where did the opportunity come from?
I was not present to witness her experiences, but may I suggest that, perhaps, it came from her willingness to get dressed up and be respectful of other people and their customs. The homeless man who confronted me at the restaurant was embittered by the burden of injustices heaped on US citizens, and the dishonesty that infects our government, as are many, many others in America today. For all his teeth-grinding and vitriol, I fear that this homeless crusader will have very little impact on society. Why? Because he is unwilling to play the game; even to take a bath. How can he sway people or change public opinion if drives people off? If he is not like the people he wants to change, or at least actively exuding love toward them, who will listen to him?
Ammon understood that argument would be fruitless in his missionary labors to the Lamanites—he determined to win their hearts first, THEN preach to them; getting his toe through the door, winning their stubborn hearts, was the beginning of radical political swings in Nephite/Lamanite relationships, and the war chapters hinge on the outcome of his parlay, the truths they accepted from him. Love, not knowledge, was the key to persuading them; the olive branch, not the sword, let him succeed.
Nothing gives us such immense influence over others as unabashed love toward them.
Getting It Right
Before we are allowed to criticize anyone, we must first receive the ACTIVE promptings of the Holy Ghost to do so (no just the absence of being forbidden to do so):
"Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
"That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
"The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever" (D&C 121:43-46).
A good rule of thumb might be: If you don't follow up criticism with an outpouring of love, it probably wasn't inspired.
Our contempt for sin will not do nearly as much to save others as our love for sinners, and our sincere desire to get them to Jesus, who can actually remove sin from their hearts. The only way to destroy evil is to convert it and turn it to good; killing sinners (or even merely criticizing them) just sends them to a different address.
