Pardon me while I nerd out for a minute. I've been trying to make sense of some world events lately and find a way to make sense of the world around me. I've had a hard time for a long time pinning down why I feel the way I do about certain topics like patriotism, immigration, globalism, environmentalism, etc. I'm certainly not an expert in any of these areas, so articulating a defense for my positions has not always been easy. But then tonight it finally clicked. I finally found the fundamental principle that guides my thinking on all of these topics: the family and it's ultimate counterfeits.
Believing that the family is in reality the fundamental (primary, necessary, foundational) unit of society takes on new meaning when you look at how the world tries to organize society. What are some primary organizing forces in the world today? What does the world try to assert as the most important unit(s) of society? I'm jumping ahead here a bit, but I don't think the world and the author of the destruction of mankind wants a fundamental unit at all. Satan knows that the family nurtures and grows individual goodness better than any other organization. What would be the best way to thwart the individual growth and agency of the largest amount of people? I believe the ultimate counterfeit to the family is the philosophy of collectivism. It's dangerous because like most of Satan's most effective lies, it contains part truth. Counterfeits look like the truth, but are a deception. The world, and it's master, Satan, hates the family and everything it stands for. Thus his ultimate goal is to make the family seem like it threatens and even destroys many things that the world values as more important. Collectivism, which manifests itself in many philosophies, ultimately attempts to remove the agency and liberty of individuals and put their fate in the hands of an-all powerful person or institution. But before we jump into the counterfeits, we first need to understand why God's original and authentic organizing unit (the family) is so essential and irreplaceable in the first place.
So why is it so important to God to emphasize that the family is the primary unit in society? Again, today, the First Presidency of the LDS church issues another letter emphasizing the fundamental nature of marriage and family in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage in the US. It's got to be pretty important to keep emphasizing as the center of the plan of Salvation, especially when it's become so very unpopular to assert that there could be anything so audacious as an ideal in family life.
But in a very real sense, the family is the absolute best place for the growth and development of ALL of God's children, individually, and without it there can be no lasting progress for his children. Now we're talking about the ideal here, but in a world where the family IS the fundamental unit of society, every child is entitled to and has a mother and a father. The child's mother and father are the best people in the universe to raise the child they created. They have a biological, emotional, and spiritual bond that cannot be duplicated. In designing the best environment for His children to learn and grow, Heavenly Father designed marriage and family to be superior than any other institution in promoting the growth of His children, and not just for children but including and especially the parents that are raising the children.
Now this is interesting because family is certainly not the most efficient way to accomplish grand designs. God has billions and billions of children. Sending each one of them to an individual mother and father that raises them in a home for some 18 years takes a lot of effort, to say the least, on behalf of at least 2 other people to raise a decent human being. Why didn't our Father just engineer mass child rearing facilities where experts would provide for physical, emotional and psychological needs, much better than the novice parent that is learning for the first time around on their own children, making mistakes, and hoping for the best outcome? Because the family is the best place for the individual nurturing and growth of His children. He cares about his children individually, one on one, and knows that each child thrives best when there are a loving mother and father to care for, watch out, and provide dedicated and customized love and nurturing for each child. And we as humans grow and learn more about love as parents than any other way. I can't emphasize enough how important the individual, imperfect, one-on-one relationship is to human beings. Human growth, at least the kind our Father wants for us, requires one-on-one, individualized nurturing. It's messy. It's inefficient. And it's perfect for the individual growth of all involved. That is nothing short of amazing. Everything that our Heavenly Father engineers is to nurture His children individually. The family as a unit is brilliant. It is the perfect way to promote growth.
Ok so how does this relate to all these world events and philosophies?
Let's take the nuclear family as an analogy for our country and apply it to patriotism and immigration. The nuclear family has very clearly defined parameters. In other words, in a gospel perspective, the way that God creates a family unit is very specific: through birth and through marriage (and in some cases through adoption). A woman and a man that are married comprise the most basic family unit and any children that are born to them are their posterity. When I think of my family, I know exactly who is included: My husband and my son. Does that mean that I don't love or care for or cherish those who are outside of my home? Absolutely not. But does it create a natural order of priority for me on where to spend my time, talents and resources? Absolutely. Is that a bad thing? I don't believe so. We all have limited resources, and to know where to concentrate and prioritize your focus is invaluable. Most of us put family above all others. And because we do this, we sustain our strength and energy to help others. In addition to nurturing my family, I also spend a substantial amount of time serving those outside of my home, opening my home to friends and those in need, and seeking out people I can help who don't have a similar nurturing home environment and inviting them in. But in critical situations or even every day situations, it is my priority to make sure the needs of my family are met and that they have an environment that is best for their growth. I will do anything in my power to preserve my family and if outside influences begin to threaten our family structure in any way, they will be expelled. A broken family has a very difficult time functioning, let alone helping others. Preserving my family will always be the first priority.
I believe this can apply to countries. I've had a hard time being able to defend why I believe that borders are necessary, and that immigration- while a good thing, also needs to be limited. Why? Because a country cannot exist without borders. A family cannot exist without boundaries defining who is in the family. Borders define a country, just like marriage and birth define a family. Does this mean that our country cannot open it's doors and provide a nurturing atmosphere to those who were not so fortunate to be born into such a good "family" or country? No, we absolutely can and do welcome immigrants into our country. But to open the flood gates to where our identity as a country is blurred, and where we no longer have any boundaries between who is American and who is not, is not wise. It breaks down the magic of what makes this country or family great in the first place.
If I invite 20 foster kids into my home today, I can guarantee you that our family structure would quickly break down and we wouldn't be helping anybody. Erasing borders and opening the door of my home to anyone that passes by, while we may be well-meaning, will destroy our ability to help others and ourselves in the process. America is a family. The founders of this country got the formula and fundamentals right to create a thriving "family life" and many non-family members want to be part of it. We should and need to allow some of them in. However we must also be mindful that it's not at the expense of our national identity or our own family unit as a nation. And that's ok. And it's ok to be patriotic and be proud of what America stands for! It's not arrogant and it's not a bad thing to be proud of one's country. A country is an extension of the family- the tribe, the people that work together to create a certain culture. It's ok to know who is in your family and who is not. It's ok to open your door to strangers, but it's also ok to prioritize your family first. And, while helping outsiders is good, it's a temporary solution. Give a man a fish and he lives for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime. What are the elements of this nation that have made it great? The Founders said it was things like religious freedom, individual liberty, and private property! They were inspired men, inspired by the one who created mankind and understood how to best govern human nature. We should know and cherish and hold tight to these elements! They all too quickly are slipping away from us in the name of "equality", "compassion" or sameness and we are losing what has made our nation great. Before long we will no longer have the resources to help ourselves let alone others if we can't return to the roots of what made America great.
On to Brexit. I know very little about this subject that many are spending a lot of time analyzing. But what I do know is that the British people in general have taken a flogging from the world for doing such a foolish thing as leaving the European Union. How could they possibly leave the European block that had so much power? How dare they leave the club! The commentary seems to be so unanimous that it makes me wonder....I don't think millions upon millions of people are just completely daft. What would motivate such a drastic move?
Sounds like there was an uprising of the masses. Why? Again, I don't presume to be anything more than someone who has read a few articles and is observing the reporting on the issue, but it sounds like they were tired of being taken advantage of in trade agreements, immigration policies, and by a massive European Bank that was regulating and inflating away the purchasing power of their currency. It sounds like they were taking in a bulk of immigrants and also debt load from the EU and it started feeling a bit heavy. It sounds like they are saying, "Our family is a little bit overrun right now by good intentions and outside do-gooders but we're having a hard time taking care of ourselves down here on the bottom. We need to pull back and find our own identity again."
Now I know this is rocking the world markets and the British Pound has lost significant value and there will be sanctions on them for leaving and the waves will ripple and reverberate for a long time. And I'm not saying it's right or wrong. But at times there seems to be such a trend toward globalism and the brotherhood of mankind and world orders that at times it's easy to lose sight of why it's ok to have a national identity. National pride and patriorism are not bad things, just like knowing who your family is is not a bad thing. Our countries nurture who we are individually and as a people and it's ok to revel in the unique culture! Not to demean or diminish anyone else, but to cherish and understand our identity and who we came from and who we have the potential of becoming. God created specific countries and cultures with specific promises. Countries gives us a sense of identity as a people and it also sets priorities on who to care for and ensures that the fundamental unit (the country) will continue to thrive so that it can take care of others outside the country. When the country begins to feel stretched too thin and too much a part of a collective that is not representing them or who they want to be or their ability to be uniquely British, it's ok to pull back, at least in my opinion.
In fact, if you want to think of a very effective way to destroy the family, or a country, what you would emphasize is that there is nothing unique or special about your country or family in the first place. Or in fact convince the world that family or country are the enemies in the first place and that they are destroying those more important things. How dare you flaunt your riches and happiness while there is misery and suffering all around!! Dismantle your mechanism of happiness and join the misery of the rest. This sort of push toward collectivism or "love makes a family" or even "humans are destroying the world", turns the family and the individual as the fundamental unit on it's head and says instead: the world is the most important and fundamental unit. Surrender your autonomy and become part of the collective, for the good of the whole. Similarly with radical environmentalism. Or nation collectives such as the European Union. Take your pick. It makes us feel ashamed for the tremendously unique blessings we have gained from being part of functional families and countries, being selfish for reserving or holding back those resources from the collective, and slowly our identity and what defines us starts to be shamed out of existence as we seek to be part of the autonomous whole, One World Order, or extreme Environmentalism that seeks to limit the human impact on the earth (the Earth was created for the use of men and we are it's stewards, not the the reverse). Satan would have us erase our individual and unique identities, cultures, and ultimately our autonomy and shame us for having them in the first place. He insists that the good of the whole- whether the environment, other countries, or all families, is more important than the good of the one, so surrender your freedom and independence of thought and get in line like everyone else.
Of course there are elements of goodness and decency in all of these movements as well, and I'm not saying it's bad to work together for common causes, to take care of the earth and be mindful of our impact, to help those outside our borders, etc. In fact I'm very passionate about all of these things! But there are also dangerous undercurrents when these ideals are taken too far. With both the family, the nation and the environment, the very mechanism that could provide solutions to problems, and the prosperity and happiness that others are seeking is being destroyed in the breakdown of families and countries. But this is not God's plan. In my opinion, we need to share the the elements of great families, nations, and being good stewards of the earth. Not destroy them all in the effort to minimize their negative impact or to help others that don't have it so good.
Now this is a very slippery thing to talk about because of course there is so much good in broadening our perspective, in being good stewards of the earth, in having compassion and awareness for the situations of those in other countries, coming together with others in seeking to improve the conditions of humanity as a whole, and showing compassion for all. But I believe the divine pattern that has been set for us helps to discern that we can easily, if unwittingly, make things worse when we take away the one on one nurturing environment of the family or the country or our individual stewardship over our property when we attempt to solve problems a mass scale. Our Father doesn't work on a mass scale with us, and He has organized us so that we work on a one-on-one scale with eachother. Any time we erase this principle we step into a (albeit well-intentioned) counterfeit system that places a mass solution over individual nurturing. But his kind of counterfeit will fail every time.
The divine plan with the family as the fundamental unit of society suggests that mankind thrives within families, with unique identities. The answer to the world's problems is not to make humanity or the environment or the individual the fundamental unit of society. The answer is not in erasing individual and cultural identities- it is preserving, protecting and modeling how create them.
We need not destroy the family to grant dignity to those who aren't in them- we need to show examples of how to obtain the family ideal for those willing to reach for it! We need not globalize our countries and economies to solve world problems- we need to help others see why individual liberty and individual freedom are vital to a thriving country! We need not minimize and paralyze human use of natural resources- we need to cherish those who are using resources wisely. While having centralized power and organizations and world orders may be more efficient at concentrating power to solve problems, it erases individual and national identities and nurturing and creates in it's place generic sameness. Automatons. Individuals without identity, creativity, individuality or capacity for growth. Sound like a plan that was pitched and failed before?
"Behold, here am I, send me, I will be they son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." We will save them all in mass. There is a collective, efficient way to control all of humanity: no individual agency. No individuality. No growth. Automatons.
"Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also that I should give unto him mine own power,...I caused that he should be cast down." (Moses 4: 1,3)
Individual agency was so important that the Father was willing to lose 1/3 of his children in the war in heaven to preserve it. But people apparently so disagreed with the Father's system of progress for his children that a significant portion just refused to participate because some might be lost. They longed for a king that would ensure the best outcome for everyone, without having to get their hands too dirty. They hungered for a centralized figure that would work out their salvation for them. Individual freedom was too risky a proposition. And so many forces at work today are promoting the same ideologies and many of us unwittingly line up: the experts know better, the politicians should fix it, it's not my job to be involved.
Then, like now, many believe that it would be more efficient to save ALL of God's children by simply removing individual agency, or the ability to chose and grow and control one's fate.
And many gladly hand over their liberty. The stakes are just as high now as they are then and the principles of the battle are the same. It's worth fighting to preserve those things that give God's children the ability to become what he wants them to be- unique, vibrant, beautiful, different individauls. Families. Countries. Localized power. Involved citizens. Creative, unique, brilliant thinkers. Dispersed power into small units, like the family, not a collective whole.
From a primary song that my son listens to every night before bed.
"God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be. This is how he shares his love, for the family is of God."
There may be seemingly more "efficient" was to solve poverty, empower the LGBTQ community, save the environment, or help those in other countries. But these forces are masquerading around as solutions when they are really all one and the same: counterfeits of the family, forces to remove individual, family and national boundaries to destroy that most unique growing environment. Any solution that requires surrendering personal, family our national sovereignty and freedom is the wrong solution.
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