Standing Up to Those Who Take the Lord's Name in Vain


clbent04
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1 minute ago, MormonGator said:

But it does. Like I said, if they escalate the situation, then you've just dug the hole deeper. Sometimes you just have to be a grown up and ignore it. 

 

Nope, it doesn't. Again, your example is if "God commands." If God commands, and you know he commands, it doesn't matter how they respond. Who do you fear more, God or mammon?

You mean like how Nephi was commanded and moved upon by the Spirit toward his brothers and his brothers escalated the situation. What you are saying is that Nephi should have ignored his brothers and been more grown-up -- OK, sure.

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Guest MormonGator
3 minutes ago, Anddenex said:

Nope, it doesn't.

That's where we disagree. It does matter, because if he starts a fight or an argument with you, you've just made the situation worse. The much greater evil is him assaulting you, ramping it up, etc. Sometimes turning the other cheek if more important than bursting out the flaming sword. Sadly though, turning the other cheek may not make us feel as righteous-so we lose the feeling of being morally superior. 

Edited by MormonGator
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1 minute ago, MormonGator said:

That's where we disagree. It does matter, because if he starts a fight or an argument with you, you've just made the situation worse. The much greater evil is him assaulting you, ramping it up, etc. Sometimes turning the other cheek if more important than bursting out the flaming sword. Sadly though, turning the other cheek may not make us feel as righteous, so we have to deal with that too. 

As a clarification, we are discussing two different circumstances. One we agree with. The other we do not.

1) The example you provided is "if" God commands. If God commands it doesn't matter how the person responds. I haven't escalated anything or made any situation worse. The individual who chooses to escalate a situation is the one making the situation worse. There is no "evil" in following the "command" from God, unless of course you are of the mind that God will command "evil"? This has nothing to do with "feeling" righteous, this is obedience -- the first law in heaven.

2) If we are simply talking about a person, who is not commanded by God, then that person may indeed make a situation worse from their own desire. In these cases, we find agreement. Just like in my example I provided in my first response regarding my work experience. Going around and telling everyone to stop cursing isn't going to lead to good experiences.

Circumstance #1, is what your example provided and is what I am responding to, and in that light if God does indeed command and I know it I don't fear mammon and their response. Circumstance #2, is where we agree.

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1 minute ago, Anddenex said:

Circumstance #1, is what your example provided and is what I am responding to, and in that light if God does indeed command and I know it I don't fear mammon and their response. Circumstance #2, is where we agree.

That's a fair assessment, even though I don't really agree on either circumstance. In fact, I think people will misread Gods commandment and just use it as an excuse to admonish someone. 

And in the end, I'm not sure it matters if we agree or not. It matters more if we see where we disagree/why we disagree. 

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14 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

That's a fair assessment, even though I don't really agree on either circumstance. In fact, I think people will misread Gods commandment and just use it as an excuse to admonish someone. 

And in the end, I'm not sure it matters if we agree or not. It matters more if we see where we disagree/why we disagree. 

This actually clarifies your original post, thank you. You have now provided a third circumstance, which was probably your actual meaning of "God commands."  Let me see if I can properly clarify as we all know my "strength" in writing:

1) God commands and I know it (this is how I interpreted your original response). This is a personal command from the Spirit and you know it is from God. Example would be when Alma is kicked out of a city and an angel tells him to go back and preach again in a city that just kicked him out. This isn't a misreading of scripture or a command. This is a direct command from God and you know it.

2) A commandment/duty from God, which is misread (this can lead toward what prophets have warned about - religious hobbies -- or looking beyond the mark). An example of this is a person that personal believes "herbal tea" (not ice-tea) is against the Word of Wisdom and then they go around saying God commanded us to live the Word of Wisdom and you aren't because you drink Herbal Teas. Then at Disneyland or anywhere else they go around telling people we are commanded to not drink Herbal tea, or ice-tea. (I think this is what you were meaning by God commanded)

3) No command, just simply a personal dislike so no matter where you are you tell everyone.

In that light, if I am reading you correctly, we agree with #2 and #3. In these situations we are better to be peacemakers. As to #1, if God commands me and I know it I will obey and let the consequence follow.

Edited by Anddenex
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3 minutes ago, Anddenex said:

This actually clarifies your original post, thank you. You have now provided a third circumstance, which was probably your actual meaning of "God commands."  Let me see if I can properly clarify as we all know my "strength" in writing:

1) God commands and I know it (this is how I interpreted your original response). This is a personal command from the Spirit and you know it is from God. Example would be when Alma is kicked out of a city and an angel tells him to go back and preach again in a city that just kicked him out. This isn't a misreading of scripture or a command. This is a direct command from God and you know it.

2) A commandment/duty from God, which is misread (this can lead toward what prophets have warned about - religious hobbies -- or looking beyond the mark). An example of this is a person that personal believes "herbal tea" (not ice-tea) is against the Word of Wisdom and then they go around saying God commanded us to live the Word of Wisdom and you aren't because you drink Herbal Teas.

3) No command, just simply a personal dislike so no matter where you are you tell everyone.

In that light, if I am reading you correctly, we agree with #2 and #3. In these situations we are better to be peacemakers. As to #1, if God commands me and I know it I will obey and let the consequence follow.

Thanks for the clarification/explanation. I understand where you are coming from 100%. 

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