There are four topics discussed in this week’s lessons. My focus is on what it means and how we flee Babylon and come to Zion.
Zion vs. Babylon
Forsaking Babylon and embracing or adopting Zion is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to learn, accept, and apply in the gospel of Christ. Sure, we can mentally grasp the basic concept of leaving or fleeing Babylon, but to do so in real life is far more difficult. To leave Babylon requires us to look inside of ourselves and evaluate what it means to be part of Babylon, part of the world, and just as importantly, recognize which parts of Babylon we have already accepted and embraced.
Since we have all been raised in the world, we have all embraced to one extent or another the teachings and attitudes of the world. The world’s way of living is all we have ever really seen, so it isn’t a surprise that we wouldn’t think to question and evaluate what it is about living this way that is so bad for us. It isn’t easy to find all of these beliefs and figure out how to change them or when to do so. It’s like being raised a certain way. To us that way is “normal,” but to others our habits and attitudes might appear strange. It isn’t strange to us, because that is what we were raised with. We don’t normally seriously question the basic beliefs and attitudes of our upbringing. But along comes the gospel of Christ and challenges everything we have ever been taught. The gospel offers us a better way of living, one that promises a happiness our old ways of thinking have never been able to produce.
The problem with identifying and trying to change the teachings the world has taught us is that for every practice we decide we should probably change there are a hundred arguments the world has already created and taught to us to justify keeping that behavior and attitude. After all, it wouldn’t be very smart to adopt a way of thinking if it was really obvious that your way of thinking was bad for your welfare in some way. So the world has come up with a myriad of arguments for why doing things their way is the only thing that makes sense. These arguments are what we were all raised with from our infancy. We may not have attended a class to learn these excuses or reasons, but we can all recite them, for they are in every business transaction, commercial, philosophy class, and on every sales floor, and in every department store. The philosophies of the world are all around us in everything we see, hear, feel, and touch.
The pervasiveness of the world in our lives is why we say we are in the world. But the challenge is to be in the world, and to interact with the world and its ways and beliefs, but not participate in those beliefs. To do this requires us to have a different set of beliefs and customs that we willingly adopt to replace what we were raised with. Some things in the world are good. It would be too easy to reject it all wholesale if it was all bad. But our challenge is to look at everything we come into contact with and evaluate its merit in our life. We must choose to keep the good, but reject the bad for something better. That is our challenge. What you decide needs to be set aside in your life your neighbor might not think is so bad and chooses to keep it. We can’t let the court of public opinion guide our choices. This is where our dependence upon the Holy Spirit becomes a crucial connection between God and our daily behavior.
Let’s look at some of the teachings of the world and think about how these teachings measure up to what the Lord wants us to consider instead. We must learn to navigate these things before we can effectively leave Babylon and become a Zion person.
Resources
The world – Are you aware that among the wealthiest people in the world there some who have this idea that there are too many people on the planet? They believe that the poorest among us need to be killed to keep the rest of us from dying miserably. These are the leaders of the “zero population” crowd. They are against having children, but are for abortion. They also believe in things like administering drugs and programs to the poorest populations of the world that will make them sick and die early rather than later in life.
The world generally sees mortality as a race to gain control of what limited resources there are in life (the scarcity model). The more I get, the less there is for you. Better you get shorted than me. That is the world’s view. So there is a grab for power, money, influence, and any other advantage one can get in life over our fellow man. For many, life exists only for the short duration of our time here, so there is an unspoken attitude that we must race against the clock to get as much as we can, have as much fun as we can, and make our “mark” on the world before we die, for that is the end of existence. In this life there is never enough time for all the partying, sex, and excess we want to have and do before our time runs out. We don’t usually talk about how much time we have left, we just try to put off death for as long as we can and enjoy today while the opportunity is still here.
The two paragraphs above are depressing in their content. And they aren’t even the complete list of all the kinds of things this world teaches us. I have only mentioned the first things that came to mind. The world teaches that life was created by “accident” and it ends as quickly and as meaninglessly as it began, so what else are you supposed to do? We all seem to have something within us that screams for meaning. Life without meaning seems so pointless, and pointless it is if you don’t fill your days in the pursuit of gain, power, influence, or popularity. (The problem is, when all is said and done, all those things end up feeling pointless anyway, but by the time we figure that out we have already wasted our lives in the meaningless pursuit of that which does not satisfy and bring peace to our hearts.)
The gospel of Christ – Think about what you learn in the scriptures and from the leaders of the Church. What is the point of all that the gospel teaches us? Is its intent to bring us instant gratification, pleasure, enjoyment? Does it do some of that? Yes. But that is not its purpose and goal. The gospel of Christ is designed to lift our eyes from the daily pursuit of worldly goals to see that there are more worthwhile things waiting for us in the eternities, after we are finished with this life. What we learn to do with the beliefs we adopt, and in the lives we lead in serving others prepare us for an eternity of happiness.
Life is hard for everyone, even for those who appear to have everything. What sets apart those who embrace the gospel is that we spend our lives preparing for the rest of eternity. We forego immediate pleasures and social advancement in order to become worthy of eternal progression as gods. Talk about the “long view.”
We didn’t just come into being by accident, but by design, and with a purpose. We are on earth as a part of our journey towards becoming gods, like our Father in Heaven. Our existence is anything but pointless. We will one day create and populate planets of our own for our own children. Mortality is just one of our proving grounds on our path to become like our heavenly parents. As difficult as it is to not focus on our daily desires, we strive to see the eternal purpose behind all the gospel of Christ teaches us. The purpose is to rise above what the world teaches us and embrace the eternal principles of a far superior way of living that will bring us peace in this life and joy in the eternities.
The gospel of Christ teaches us through service to others that others are more important than our personal wants. It teaches us how to think, feel, and behave like Christ does. We must live in the world, but the gospel teaches us to live above the things of this world. We live by a standard that is much higher and more lofty than anything this world can conceive of.
Materialism
The world – In the world there is nothing more important than material gain (gain being the operative word). Amassing the possessions of this world becomes the pursuit that is most lauded and applauded. How many certificates can you be awarded? How many awards do you have on your walls? How many followers do you have on social media? These are the kinds of things that so many of us spend our lives pining for and lusting after.
I read recently that the definition of happiness is to be satisfied with what you have. And it’s true that if you aren’t satisfied with what you have then you live your life in constant discontent. There isn’t a price for how much is actually enough. That is decided upon by each person for their own life. At some point we each need to decide that we can still be happy with what we have, no matter how much or how little that is. We can never be happy if all we focus on is what we feel we lack in the way of material things. Happiness begins the day we choose to believe there are more important things than the stuffs of this world. These things always boil down to a personal choice, even though the world is always pushing for us to get more and do more. It is a never ending message.
In the world almost everything is about material things. Why? Because this life is all the world knows anything about. The world doesn’t believe in any other life, either before or after this one. The world has a very limited focus in the eternities. And in the eternal scope of things seventy five years or so is just a twinkle in God’s eye.
The gospel of Christ – The gospel teaches us that the things of this world, material things, serve two main purposes. First, they help us with basic needs. Second, they help us supply the needs others are so much in need of. In the gospel the receipt of material things becomes a responsibility to care for the poor. Jesus teaches us that Zion must be able to abide the law of the Celestial kingdom for it to exist. And in the Celestial kingdom everyone who lives there is more concerned for the welfare of their neighbor than they are for themselves. This is why there is no poor among them. When we provide for the necessities for everyone we all lift each other, becoming richer as a society.
It is true that there are always those who are lazy or take advantage of the generosity of others. God will judge those and do with them as He sees fit. But for now, we are responsible for reaching out, without judgment, and helping everyone we can. That is the commandment. No explanations or justifications are needed.
Attitudes about generosity
In the world – Generosity is grossly misrepresented by many in the world. Too many of us want to be filmed or be seen doing good for others so everyone knows our goodness. It becomes a spectator sport of sorts. Jesus warned about the Pharisees who fasted and prayed aloud in the streets to be seen of others. (He said they have their reward, for though mankind might think highly of them, God certainly didn’t.)
Worldly generosity can be seen in many ways – the person who doesn’t want to donate unless there is a public display of their generosity given, or a plaque put up or a wing of a building named after them, and so on. On a smaller scale there are those who do good only to take pictures and post their own goodness on social media so others can be impressed by their good example. Sometimes it is just a matter of making sure to get credit for the good that was done.
The gospel of Christ – Good shouldn’t be done for the recognition by mankind, but realize that God always sees what we do. Good can be public or private. Those who find the most pure joy in doing good usually prefer to be anonymous in their goodness. There is actual joy that comes from doing and being naturally good. This is a godly virtue and character trait. God, Himself delights in goodness. He even claims that all good comes from Him as the author of all that is good.
So be kind. Don’t discriminate and be parsimonious (stingy) about your goodness. The more freely goodness manifests or shows itself, the more joy is derived from the act of being and doing good. There is a special kind of delight felt by those who manage to do good without being caught. Call it a guilty pleasure, but having someone be surprised by an act of goodness, with apparently no one to thank for that goodness is a satisfaction that is difficult to equal. Evil multiplies itself. Goodness also multiplies itself. Goodness causes ripples in the lives of others that manifests itself in their changed attitudes and hearts. Only God knows just how far reaching an act of goodness travels. Many a simple act of kindness or consideration can effect the lives of multiple generations. This is one of the best ways to leave Babylon and to come to Zion.
Attitudes about God
In the world – This one is easy. There is no God. And with the absence of a source for all morals, any moral you can enforce or convince others to adopt works for you. Unfortunately, this also makes most behaviors in mortality conflicting, because there are so many moral codes vying for supremacy. And many try to live their lives without any actual code that they have to answer to. That never works. If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. (That is not my quote.)
The gospel of Christ – Because we have the gospel of Christ, all the virtues of godliness are laid out before us in the form of commandments and examples from the life of Christ, himself. We know exactly how we will be judged, and by what rules that judgment will take place, for God openly teaches us what is expected of us if we want to become like Him. This means that leaving the slippery slope of an amoral society shouldn’t be that difficult, unless you are still trying to achieve worldly goals using God’s code of conduct. In that case you have to balance everything you do to satisfy the world and still be honest and upright before God. This is the proving ground for those whose aim is the Celestial kingdom. This is what it means to be in the world, but not of it.
Living a life that is morally upright is possible in a world of conflicting morals, for God’s morals are always superior to anything man can create. Stick close to Christ’s teachings and examples and you will be able to navigate any situation.
Culture and the gospel of Christ
The whole idea of personal identity is bound up in our culture. Every person’s native culture is where they learn their basic set of morals, their expectations about what is normal in life, what their role is supposed to be in society, community, and in their family, and with friends. Culture is passed along via our language. Some languages, for example, have almost no words to describe relationships among extended family members, while others have so many names for these relationships it becomes dizzying to try to remember them all.
I was teaching a class on culture to some university students from all over the Pacific and had them do a simple exercise. I asked three members who all happened to be from different parts of China to count to three with their fingers. All three of them did it differently. Surprised, they each accused the other two of “doing it wrong.” Something as simple as this became a source for contention from people presumably from the same culture. The point of the exercise was to show that there is the societal culture as well as our personal or local culture. This is why we each need to learn about others and how they were taught to think about things and feel about things. Satan uses these differences to try to separate us all, but those who seek to be like Christ use these same differences to build unity through diversity.
Our differences is one of the things that can lead us to appreciate and love other people. This is one of the great strengths of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each of us has to look at our personal culture and see which parts of it can contribute to the culture of Christ, that of sharing, loving, and serving others, and which of our cultural norms needs to take a backseat in life. Doing this takes a concerted effort on our part, for we must be willing to assess our upbringing against the standards set by Christ and either embrace or discard the parts of our life as needed to become one with God. The Holy Spirit helps us make these decisions, so we need to become as close to Him as we can. As our Celestial teacher He will never lead us astray.
One quick word here about the world. Have you noticed that over time the world is becoming increasingly fractured? Every group decides that it can’t get along with “that other group” and they decide they want to live on their own. Countries are dividing into smaller and smaller groups, and animosity is growing among those groups based on their cultural differences. It doesn’t need to be this way. Christ brings us together in unity by using our differences to teach us the Celestial virtues of patience, acceptance, forgiveness, etc.
We need each other in this life. Mortality wasn’t designed to be done as a solo endeavor, but as a family project. Look at how the gospel operates. We cannot be saved without our ancestors, and they cannot be saved without our efforts on their behalf. This work of saving our kindred dead is a global endeavor that is happening in every country and in every culture. There is no reason to try to push those embracing the culture of Christ away just because they weren’t born in your own country, or were born in the wrong part of town. Christ accepts all of us equally, and we need to do the same for each other.
Differences
These are just a few of the ways we can look at what the world has to offer as Babylon, and what Christ has to offer in the gospel we have been given. As you make your choices every day of your life, keep in mind that every one of those choices will either keep you in Babylon or lead you out of it and into the culture of Christ through living the principles of his gospel. Our ultimate happiness is determined by the daily choices we make to either stay and participate in the ways of the world or to seek to find ways to separate ourselves emotionally and spiritually from Babylon/the world, and come to Christ through living the commandments and adopting the attitudes of a Zion person. There is greater happiness in becoming one by leaving the world and living among others who live and think with a Celestial mindset, one focused on the eternities, and not on the gains or losses of this life alone.
The title of this week’s lessons is “The Coming of the Bridegroom.” Learning how to leave Babylon and embrace Christ’s culture and lifestyle is how we prepare ourselves for his return. We won’t ever be perfectly ready, but perfection isn’t the goal, despite what some might tell us. Being better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today is the only goal we need to worry about. Christ will bless us and strengthen us through the Spirit as we seek to become more Christlike in all that we do, say, and think. If we do this, and live this way, we will win his praise.
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