Today Was the BOM

I have raved about how amazing my Book of Mormon class is this semester. Every single class always blows my mind, enlightens me, and/or gives me such a rich and spiritual experience. My teacher, Brother Allison, is fantastic and super knowledgable. I just wish I could share all the info and experiences with everybody. I love them so much! Then I had a thought... what if I recorded a class? At least part of one since it’s an hour-long class. 

So I didn’t actually film it, I only recorded the audio and then I wrote down the transcript here.

This is the beginning quarter of my lesson today. The topic was Anti-Christs.

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This is one of my favorite paintings when it comes to Satan. There’s not a whole lot of paintings when it comes to Satan, but I actually like this one because it’s Christ casting out Satan. And Carl Bloch was kind of an art aficionado. I don’t have an art degree, but I do enjoy good art. Carl Bloch is probably the painter for the LDS church and he was never LDS. He was over in Denmark and he painted a whole bunch of paintings throughout his lifetime about 300 years ago. 

These are all paintings of Carl Bloch, you recognize them? We probably have more Carl Bloch paintings in LDS temples than any other artist. One of the ones I really like over here is this one 

But we don’t really ever use it probably because the angel has wings. But he’s got a couple versions, he’s actually got three different versions with the angel in Gethsemane with Christ, comforting him. And we learn through latter-day revelation it was who?

Student: Michael.

Yes, Michael, or Adam. Anyway, Carl Bloch has kind of a neat place in the LDS church. 

I need a volunteer to read this. This is probably the best quote we’ll see today. It’s President Benson on... In fact let me give a little background on this... In his talk, he said this: there’s three major purposes in the Book of Mormon. 

This is one of the three. Had I come up with my own list of twenty major purposes in the Book of Mormon, I don’t think I ever would have hit this one. So the fact that the prophet says that it’s one of the three main reasons we have the Book of Mormon catches my interest.

“Second, the Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time.”

So, if you would have just said this (“the Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ”) that would have impressed me. But there’s a lot of meat in this little quote. I just wanted to break it down for a minute and talk about it. So, it fortifies the humble followers against these things. How do you think the Book of Mormon fortifies us against evil designs, strategies, and doctrines? 

Student: Well, a lot of the message of the Anti-Christs we hear in the Book of Mormon is delivered a little bit differently, but a lot of it’s the same concept. I think we know our enemy, we can recognize that. It’s not something that’s going to surprise us.

And he also goes on to say, it’s the same kind of thing we have today, right? So if we can recognize the strategies and the tactics... I mean how helpful is that? If you’re going into a war against an unknown enemy with unknown weapons, that’s a little daunting. But if we can see what the weapons are and what the strategies are in advance, I think that could be very helpful to us.

OK, here’s another thing that captures my attention. This is actually two parts in my mind. We get attacks in the Book of Mormon from apostates. What does that mean, “apostates”?

Student: People who have left the church.

People who are either... they may still be technically members, but they’ve now rejected the teachings of the church basically. Or they may be excommunicated nonmembers. But the attacks all throughout the Book of Mormon, the anti-Christs are who? 

Student: Apostates.

Apostates. Members or former that are attacking the church. Can I just tell you, that is the same today. The ones who do the most damage are the tares. The parable of the wheat and the tares. Remember why we don’t get rid of the tares before they’re all fully grown?

Student: It’ll hurt the wheat.

It’ll hurt the wheat and also they look very similar, it’s hard to detect. President Kimball said of the parable of the wheat and the tares: the tares are members of the church, but are in apostasy. So it’s hard to detect. Who does more damage to the church? Non-Mormons who complain about the church or apostates within the church?

Student: Apostates.

Apostates. 

Student: A lot of them know the church ordinances, temple ordinances, and stuff. And that messes that up for everyone.

Yep. It’s apostates that kind of do the most damage. So it’s the same today, even though the Book of Mormon was 2500 years ago, depending on what time you’re looking at, it’s the same today. We have apostates in the church who can afflict some harm. But also... Now here’s my thought, because I read this quote and really pondered it yesterday as I was putting all this together. I’m not too worried, I hope, about anybody in here being an apostate. I’m going to take for granted that we’re all faithful members of the church and we’re going to stay that way. I hope that’s the case. My bigger concern is the latter part of the quote. Because what else does he say about this then? That we will see the error and know how to combat false education, political-- boy, talk about politics going on right now-- religious, and philosophical concepts. 

I had a talk with Elder Johnson of the First Quorum of the Seventy a while back, and one of the things he said was he is very concerned about is that faithful saints, good members, who ignorantly, because of ignorance are sucked into some of these things in our world and society. They buy into incorrect things, but in ignorance. They don’t mean wrong, they’re not trying to do the wrong thing, but they still get sucked in. So today, I actually want to focus on that a little bit. Because I pondered what to do for the lesson, I thought now that you’ve done the reading and the background for anti-Christs, let’s talk about today some of the things members trip up on, get offended about, or struggle with because of false educational, political, religious, or philosophical concepts. That’s my bigger concern, I think.

Alright, having said that, let’s look at a couple more quotes here. Elder Oaks, this is two parts. I broke it up. Can I have someone read this first part?

Student: “Some say when it comes to moral issues, there are no universally objective right or wrong answers. No inappropriate or appropriate statements, and no reasonable or rational ways to which make moral distinctions that apply every time, in every place, and to every person.”

You do not combat that here on this campus I would hope. In my bachelor’s degree, it was brought up all the time by my professors. That there is no absolute truth. It’s all a matter of opinion. Let me give you a little story about this: I had a teacher that I really liked and took several classes from for my major, but he was an atheist and he made it known that he was an atheist. But I still liked him as a person, I liked the way he taught, he got the class involved, it was a good class. But I heard him say more than once that there’s no absolute truth, it’s all relative. I did a lot of thinking about that. I was a returned missionary and I didn’t believe that. I knew of a talk from President Kimball who was the prophet when I went out on my mission where he said there are absolute truths, the fact that there is a Jesus the Christ. That is an absolute truth, even if most of the world doesn’t believe it, that doesn’t do away with it. He still lived. And so I was kind of aware of that, but I didn’t want to get into a religious debate with my teacher in class, that would be counter-productive. 

So I did some thinking about this and sure enough, he brought it up again. And I raised my hand and said, “Could I talk to you about this?”. He said, “Ah! Taker!”, you know, someone is willing to take the challenge. I said, “Yes.” And he says, “You’re religious, aren’t you?”, and I said, “I am.”. And he said, “OK, go ahead.” I mean, he was just ready to have this religious debate. I mean, can you prove spiritual things? 

Student: No.

So it’s kind of a fruitless endeavor to have a debate like that in class. So I did not go that direction. I said, “I believe tat there is an orb in the sky called the sun. S-U-N. And even if someone’s blind or someone was raised in a cave and doesn’t believe there’s a sun, it doesn’t make it go away. Just because we can’t see it at night doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It’s still there and it’s still real.” 

I could just see on his face the look of confusion. Like, “this is not what I expected”. I think he was ready to argue religious things, but I refused to go there. 

The other example I use was this.. because I’d thought it through and I knew the topic would come up again in class... and I said, “Suppose my friend and I five years out of high school more or less are at college and we see a girl from high school that we hadn’t seen in years on campus. And I look at her and say, “I think she’s pregnant.” My friend says, “No, I think  she’s just put on weight.” “No, I think she’s pregnant.” “No, I think she’s put on weight.” We can debate that all day long, but it doesn’t make her pregnant and non-pregnant back and forth. Let’s, for sake of argument, make her pregnant. The opinion that she’s not pregnant doesn’t make her not pregnant. The absolute truth is that she’s pregnant. An opinion actually has no bearing on that. Same with the sun in the sky. It’s not a matter of opinion. It actually exists whether people believe it or not.” 

He had no clue what to do with that. I stumped my teacher on a topic he was hoping someone would challenge him on. He simply said, “I didn’t think you’d go that direction, let’s move on.” And he just moved on.

Well, I want to bear testimony on the spiritual side of things, there are absolute truths. There is a Heavenly Father, there is a Savior. That doesn’t go away just because some people in the world don’t believe in them. Alright, so very popular topic. I faced it all the time in college. I hope not here though. I hope everyone here has a teacher who has a testimony and understands there are some absolute truths.

Now the second part of the quote: 

Student: “This is the belief applied by many in the popular media in current peer pressure. Break free of the old rules, you will feel good to you, there is no accountability beyond man’s law or public disapproval on those who are caught. Behind such ideas is the assumption that there is no God or if there is He has given no commandments that apply to us today.”

OK, how much does this sound like the world today? The only thing to fear is that there’s no God and so whatever you do just don’t worry about the rules. The only thing to worry about, interestingly enough-- I’ve never thought about it this way until Elder Oaks said it this way-- the only thing we do worry about are those two things: Man’s laws and public disapproval. How big today in our society is being politically correct? How important is that?

Student: Major.

Student: Big time.

Holy cow! It’s everywhere and everything! In fact, I’m going to do something that’s a little... maybe it’s a little... give me a minute... 

So, there’s the commercial. I saw that and I thought, that’s kind of funny, I enjoyed it. But now, this commercial has caused a politically correct fire storm. Have you heard about this? 

Student: Yeah, they’re going nuts.

Student: They are?

“Pro-choice group cries foul”. There’s three things that I’ve heard. Three complaints about this commercial. People are up in arms about this. I’m going to start with the minor ones and get to the major one. One complaint is that it make men look dumb.

*laughter*

Now, when have Doritos commercials ever really made men look really bright? Just saying. I don’t ever really remember people crying foul about that before in previous Doritos commercials. I think every one kind of makes the guy look like a doofus, but it’s funny.

Student: It’s just the one guy. It’s not saying all guys.

Yeah. The other concern, the second concern is that it makes women... It’s saying women are moody.

Student: She’s pregnant!

*laughter*

That is the crying foul about that. But the biggest one is... it’s really taking the internet by storm... is a pro-choice group on this very issue saying this is unfair, they’re trying to humanize the fetus.

*stunned silence*

That’s the big one on the internet. The abortion rights groups especially are up in arms saying “you’re trying to humanize the fetus! That’s unfair!”. 

Student: It’s just reflexes.

I tuned into a morning talk show yesterday. A radio talk show thing. And the talk show host says, “Well what do they expect to find? A duck?”

*laughter*

But there’s three different complaints, three different groups complaining. The man looks dumb, it makes the woman look moody, and we’re trying to humanize the fetus for political advantage. They’re doing that intentionally right now during the presidential campaign year. Trying to go against those who are pro-choice, trying to make the fetus look human. That is one of the real complaints out there.

Going back to [the quote], do we live in a society right now that’s kind of wound up by public disapproval? I wouldn’t have guessed that a Doritos commercial could have caused so much controversy. But it really has.

Student: I really do think that it is a problem that the wife makes fun of the husband in front of the nurse though. I think that’s one of the main problems in marriage.

Well, I think there’s a valid point there because when I came home from school as a kid to watch TV, the shows that were on TV, all the parents were respected. Just to give you an example: The Brady Bunch. Who usually solves the problems? There’s always some problem with the kids. Have you ever seen The Brady Bunch?

Students: Yeah.

Who always solved the problems in the end? The mom and dad always had the answers. The Andy Griffith Show. Andy could always solve any problem he had. Leave It To Beaver. Dad and mom were always super wise. And I could go on and on. How many sitcoms today show the parents as being wise? Parents are always idiots. You could be as bright as could be as a teenager, but once you turn into parenthood as far as TV goes, you become an idiot. So good luck guys, you’re all about that age. But that’s the way media portrays it too often. Not just dad, but mom and dad become kind of bobos when they get married, now they don’t know anything.

Student: What’s funny is that, first of all, it’s just a story. Like, it’s not saying that all people are like that. It’s not saying that all pregnant women do that, all men are dumb, all fetuses... Like the fetus for example was going to have reflexes and it needs nutrients, so it’s making a joke on that. So it’s following the Dorito, it’s just food, it’s not really thinking about it if that’s what they care about.

But it’s three fire storms from three different angles and the big one is about humanizing the fetus which is bizarre to me.

Student: It’s alive.

What do we think is going to be in there? 

Student: It’s not dead.

Soon as it comes out, we would call that thing human. Anyway, down to the last one. This is President Benson as well:

Student: “Today the world is full of alluring and attractive ideas that can lead even the best of our members into the depths of deception. Students at universities are sometimes so filled with the doctrines of the world and begin to question the doctrines of the gospel.”

Pause right there. Remember President Uchtdorf encouraging us not doubt our faith, but to doubt our...

Student: Doubts

Doubts. Doubt our doubts before we doubt our faith. What I think that, I hope not at this university, but at some universities, they come out after four years of worldly indoctrination and they start to doubt their faith. That becomes a concern. Keep going.

Student: “How do you, as a priesthood leader, help fortify the members against such deceptive teachings? The Savior gave the answer in his great discourse on the Mount of Olives when he promised, “whoso treasureth my word shall not be deceived”.”

The iron rod is?

Students: The word of God.

The word of God. I want to testify that as you hold on to the iron rod, the word of God, which is he’s advocating here, you will not be deceived. The word of God is the scriptures, but it’s also the words of the brethren. How many times in the scriptures does it talk about abortion? It doesn’t. But you know we have some excellent talks from the brethren in the latter days on abortion. Same sex marriage, same sex attraction. How much is that talked about? There is some in the bible, but not a whole lot. But you do have some very powerful talks from the brethren on this in the latter days. So it can’t be just the scriptures, we’ve got to plug in to the modern day prophets and understand so they help us from deception.

I want to talk about three of those today. Hot button topics today that the brethren have spoken on. Many members can go back to this. Too many members are unaware of those things and sometimes get sucked into the wrong notions because they are not aware the words of the current brethren or these topics.

Student: What’s interesting is that these studies have been done on BYU, BYU-Idaho, and BYU-Hawaii, different campuses, like how the different campuses make a difference on how someone is going to turn away by the time that they graduate. It’s like this crazy thing. It’s not about the school, it’s about like why you go here. You treasure up the words. You’re not going to turn away from it. If you don’t necessarily treasure up the words and don’t have a testimony, there’s always going to be people like that. It’s not about where you study.

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And that was all I recorded. I didn’t capture the really deep discussion part of the lesson.  We began talking about Anti-Christs' teachings and how we see them today. We discussed how socialism is the downfall of charity and humanity. Brother Allison accidentally, indirectly called Hilary Clinton an Anti-Christ, which was pretty funny. It was after he showed a clip of her declaring that religion is unnecessary and is the reason the country is not progressing. We also watched a clip of a scholar professing an alternate view that the country is in need of religion. In summary, it was a very good lesson.