Elder Hales
I know I just posted a quote from Elder Hales last week - but I ran into a situation this week that reminded me of this quote - and I just had to get your thoughts on it! Have you had any experiences with the following thought from Elder Hales?
“Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts. What remains is often only enough to meet our most basic physical needs. Living at the subsistence level, we become depressed, our self-worth is affected, and our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened. We do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.”
July 16th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I like the lines “We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts.”
For anyone who is curious, the link to that article is: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-2,00.html
This is actually from the talk that, indirectly, got me to start reading this blog.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
@ Jeremy - Thanks for your comment! Elder Hales’ teachings are what got me started on this blog in the first place. I love his messages on Provident Living.
August 31st, 2009 at 9:20 am
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,(80)
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:22 am
I think that sometimes what we call a “sense of entitlement” tends to also have a degree of “sense of obligation’ mixed in there as well–for example, sometimes in the Church we find people who equate worldly possessions with righteousness, so we think that in order to be righteous we “should” have a good-sized house. We think that if we don’t take the family on an expensive vacation, we are depriving them of the experiences which we “should” be providing for them. We all know this is nonsesnse, of course, but a part of my gut still reacts with fear at the thought that I might be perceived as not being “righteous enough”.
I have found, however, that as long as I stay rooted in Christ and in His gospel, these concerns are placed in perspective.
“What is property unto me? saith the Lord.”–D&C 117:4
September 1st, 2009 at 11:19 am
@ Mark - wonderful prose - thanks for sharing.
@Terry - Well stated. I have heard the vacations argument dozens of times. I’ve also heard it said that in order for a ward activity to be successful, and for souls to truly come unto Christ, we have to spend a lot of money on a huge elaborate ward/quorum activity - that simple gatherings where doctrine is taught and friendships are made aren’t sufficient.
Such ideas leave me wondering how faithful saints can exist in developing countries! Dallin H. Oaks spoke out against the theology of prosperity. I need to dig out that article and get it posted.