Will We Ever Learn?
The Book of Judges covers an extended period of Israel’s history. The repeated transitions from prosperity to bondage seem almost unbelievable when it is covered in a few pages. However, when you consider the spans of time between these cycles it is not only believable, it is seemingly inevitable. That is why I want to explore the ideas of expected societal degeneration and learn from them.
The circumstances of the ancient Israelites are very different from our own. They had to deal with hostile neighbors who wanted to occupy and enslave them. The plundering of resources was a means of wealth for some, and the control of others. Given those circumstances, you would think that people would be vigilant and careful to maintain cultural integrity and strength. But, something happens to weaken and make soluble the bedrock foundations of a prosperous nation.
The Problem With Time
It is apparent that humans are not proficient at remembering the past and seeing the present for what it is, hence the rise and fall of societies and nations. The future is actually predictable if you have a firm grasp of the patterns of the societal conditions of the past, and superimpose that pattern upon the circumstances of the present. Even though our world changes at an ever-increasing rate, it is still too gradual to notice, and we fail to make course corrections fast enough.
Then there are those who seek to modify history by applying current sentiment and social standards retroactively to the past. It does not work. Modern thinking, in some cases, would have been disastrous in the past. For example, most of us would probably starve to death if we were expected to grow and harvest or hunt and kill to eat. You may think that is a trivial example, but how much time would the average person spend on technology and consuming media if we were starving? What is important in our daily life would be incomprehensible to our ancestors. The point is that we must not accept the conceptual premises that our social norms can be applied to the actions of those in the past.
Familiarizing yourself with the conditions that existed in the past, gives us the context needed to assess the present correctly. Imagine yourself living in the past and what your day-to-day actions would be. This type of conceptualization leads to better understanding. Our fore-bearers experienced anxiety, doubt, and fear when they experienced problems in the same way our issues affect us. This is a case where time can be compressed to improve our understanding.
I think that, in some ways, we have too much time and waste much of it. Consuming trivial, mind-numbing media, especially following the trends of the day, is probably a source of much of today’s contention.
One of the attributes of God is that all things are present with him. We can develop that attribute in ourselves by being present and bringing the past into focus, and this helps us solve the problem with time.
The Problem With Comfort
Prosperity and comfort are precursors to failure. When the Savior said that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”, it implies that we must be willing to strip ourselves of unnecessary possessions. My mother occasionally said: The more stuff you own, the more stuff owns you.
This idea pertains not only to material things, but also to intellectual extravagances. Occasionally, it seems like we think we are more intelligent than God. That usually happens when we dismiss sacred texts as unbelievable in favor of objective reality.
Tangent: The problem of objective reality is that what we know is only a tiny fraction of what is knowable. Science is wrong more than they are right. If you don’t believe me, look it up. I am not saying that scientific exploration and experimentation are without value; it is wonderful and helps us understand the world around us. However, it cannot explain consciousness, choice prioritization, where revelation comes from (but do recognize it happens), intuition, and a slew of other things that make us who we are and what we do. Those are some things that matter most when we consider what is most important to us.
Believing in God can be uncomfortable at times. Keeping the commandments with exactness takes effort and focus, and those things are not easy. Living the gospel forces us to constantly evaluate our actions and continuously change. The only thing harder than living the gospel is not living it. Another saying from my mother: If you want to keep your life uncomplicated, keep the commandments.
So, What?
When we compare our current conditions to the stories of ancient people, we see the need for vigilant effort to succeed as a society. The battles we must engage in are not bloody conquests, but they are ideological in nature. The fact that physical harm or bondage is not the result of these battles does not mean they are insignificant. When we allow institutions to stifle our freedom to think, speak and act for ourselves within the confines of a moral and ethical framework, we will find ourselves in a downward spiral that is hard to reverse.
What worked for ancient Israel? Obedience to the law. Meaningful sacrifices: giving away the good for the better. Reliance on God for deliverance, employing revelation and proper action. The ancient law was needed for the people then and applies to us today. If we add the teachings of the Savior Jesus Christ to the law, not only will we not fail as a society, we will become the people of the Lord, and He will fight our battles. The enemies that we face cannot stand before a people armed with the power of God.
Consider this from Doctrine and Covenants 84:45-54.
45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father. 48 And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world.
49 And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.
50 And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.
51 For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.
52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
53 And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.
54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
We must learn the lessons of the past. We cannot allow the slow creep of destructive and deceptive thinking, the worship of false gods, and the delusions of the world to lull us into the trap of false security.
Enlightenment is at our fingertips. Read good books. Listen to great thinkers, even those with a different perspective. Align your mind with the mind of God by consuming his words and keeping his commandments, and learn.