Before I forget, next week we go to the temple on Tuesday. First of all, YESSS!!! And second of all, it will be my P-day, so I´ll write on Tuesday, not Monday.
So we had changes this week. Elder Largosta, my local, went back to his house, and I´m training again! I´m with an Elder Faas from San Diego. He´s awesome, he´s just a really good guy. We´ll get along well and he works really hard. Speaks pretty good Spanish already as well, so thank goodness I don´t have to train him in that!! Next changes are the 2nd or 3rd week of November, so I´ll be here until then unless I get special changed. Which I don´t anticipate happening. I´m way excited to see how this change is going to go.
Ok, out of time, on to Article of Faith number 12.
"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
This one is rather interesting to me. One might think that religion and government are two seperate things, and that a religious body would not have any specific beliefs about governments because it´s all about God. Well we believe that governments are instituted of God. One of the General Authorities gave a talk this weekend in General Conference about religious principles in public society and it explains really well about why religion has everything to do with social and civil life.
Doctrine and Covenants has a section - section 134 - that addresses the topic of governments. Because they are instituted of God, it is no surprise that we have holy scripture that talks about them. I will cite only a few points from that section.
So we had changes this week. Elder Largosta, my local, went back to his house, and I´m training again! I´m with an Elder Faas from San Diego. He´s awesome, he´s just a really good guy. We´ll get along well and he works really hard. Speaks pretty good Spanish already as well, so thank goodness I don´t have to train him in that!! Next changes are the 2nd or 3rd week of November, so I´ll be here until then unless I get special changed. Which I don´t anticipate happening. I´m way excited to see how this change is going to go.
Ok, out of time, on to Article of Faith number 12.
"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
This one is rather interesting to me. One might think that religion and government are two seperate things, and that a religious body would not have any specific beliefs about governments because it´s all about God. Well we believe that governments are instituted of God. One of the General Authorities gave a talk this weekend in General Conference about religious principles in public society and it explains really well about why religion has everything to do with social and civil life.
Doctrine and Covenants has a section - section 134 - that addresses the topic of governments. Because they are instituted of God, it is no surprise that we have holy scripture that talks about them. I will cite only a few points from that section.
"We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them."
"We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life."
"...justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign."
"...civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul."
"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside...and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly."
"(Governments are) placed for the protection of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty; and that to the laws all men show respect and deference, as wihtout them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror."
"We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual priviliges, an dthe individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied."
"We believe it just to preach the gospel to the nations of the earth, and warn the righteous to save themselves from the corruption of the world."
Wow, writing about this really makes me want to write a book about it haha. Perhaps that will be something I do when I get home, the roles of religion in government in the world and how it should be. Sorry I don´t have time to explain or expound, but take it for what you will. Read and pray about Doctrine and Covenants 134 if you´d like to know more. Love and miss you all!
-Elder Moore
No comments:
Post a Comment