I Refuse to Hate Muslims

The New Testament contains the proclamation to “let your light so shine before men.”  This means that we should offer the world an example that would help others come unto Christ and glorify God.  The light it speaks of is the illumination of our testimony.  It is a flame of love and warmth.  It is a symbol of invitation.  It is not the flickering light tossed by the flames of a burning Quran.

It troubles me deeply to see the increased negativity and hatred poured out against the Muslim world.  This is certainly nothing new in our history.  For a long time, people have been aggressively anti-Muslim in the name of Christianity.  It is incredible that in the name of the Prince of Peace, the Christian world has raised up metaphorical pitchforks and torches like a mob against the alleged encroachment of Islam on our nation and our Christian way of life.

I do not wish to over-generalize.  It is not all Christians acting in this troubling manner, but it is enough of them and the fact that the major media outlets give them a loud voice that worries me.  It especially concerns me the overwhelming number of my LDS friends who share this hatred of our Muslim brothers and sisters.  Because of our teachings and the history of our church, I expected more understanding and tolerance from LDS members towards other persecuted faiths.

The bulk of the material for my article comes from an August 2000 article in the LDS magazine called the “Ensign” and Jacob chapter 3 from the Book of Mormon.  I highly recommend that you read both in their entirety.

The following excerpt from the article shows that the anti-Muslim sentiments prevalent today were present and addressed by the LDS church leadership in the mid 1800’s.

As early as 1855, at a time when Christian literature generally ridiculed Muhammad as the Antichrist and the archenemy of Western civilization, Elders George A. Smith (1817–75) and Parley P. Pratt (1807–57) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered lengthy sermons demonstrating an accurate and balanced understanding of Islamic history and speaking highly of Muhammad’s leadership.  Elder Smith observed that Muhammad was “descended from Abraham and was no doubt raised up by God on purpose” to preach against idolatry.  He sympathized with the plight of Muslims, who, like Latter-day Saints, found it difficult “to get an honest history” written about them.  Speaking next, Elder Pratt went on to express his admiration for Muhammad’s teachings, asserting that “upon the whole, … [Muslims] have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations.”

The argument will certainly arise that this quote if from so long ago, a lot changed since then, and 9-11 changed everything.  I do not wish to minimize the tragic loss of thousands of innocent individuals but I refuse to assign the responsibility of that horrible act to an approximate fifth of the entire world’s population.  Similarly, I feel neither personal guilt nor responsibility for the polygamy and mistreatment of young men and women practiced in Fundamental LDS communities.  Even though we share common religious roots, the FLDS broke off from the LDS church because of their own interpretation of God’s expectations of them; therefore, their beliefs, teachings, and practices are not congruent with my own.  Members of the church bear no blame for FLDS practices.  BUT!  Even if a member of my own congregation committed a crime, neither my fellow worshippers nor I bear any guilt if we were not co-conspirators or partners in crime.  My point is that even though the terrorists were Muslim that does not make the entire Muslim world culpable or complicit.

It is a shallow and hateful argument to claim that all Muslims want to destroy America and our way of life.  It is ignorant or disingenuous to quote isolated verses of their scripture and brandish them like proof of their alleged violent nature.  Christians conveniently seem to forget the various biblical stories wherein God commands the slaughter of all men, women, and even children of entire cities and geographical regions.  Do those verses mean all Christians are blood thirsty, anti-Semitic, savages void of all mercy?  It is spiritually dangerous to “cast the first stone” or search for motes in our brother’s eye.

However, let us assume that there really is a pervasive hatred for America’s people and culture.  Let us pretend that constantly we are under impending attack on a scale so massive that the enslavement, slaughter, and eradication of entire cities would result.  If this were true, we would do well to search our history for similar circumstances to learn from them.

Amazingly, the Book of Mormon contains such a parallel.  The Book of Mormon tells the history of two great nations.  The Lamanites hated the Nephites.  Their hatred originated from false teachings passed down by their fathers and resulted in many wars with the Nephites.  Nephite cities were conquered, and their people enslaved or slaughtered.  A Nephite prophet named Jacob recorded some of the struggles that his people experienced because of Lamanite aggression.  The amazing thing about this chapter; however, is that Jacob’s focus is not on the Lamanites but on the deficiencies and faults found among his own people.

If we operate under the assumption that Muslims hate us and seek our destruction, then the story of the Lamanites and the Nephites is quite applicable.  Furthermore, I believe that the Book of Mormon bears the intent to prepare us for the challenges specific to our times as one of its goals.  Keeping this in mind, let us explore Jacob’s writings:

1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and ^apray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will ^bconsole you in your ^cafflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down ^djustice upon those who seek your destruction.

3 But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the land is ^acursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not ^bfilthy like unto you, nevertheless they are ^ccursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction.

4 And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will ^alead away the righteous out from among you.

7 Behold, their ^ahusbands ^blove their ^cwives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their ^dunbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator?

9 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye ^arevile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.

10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your ^achildren, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the ^bexample that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day.

12 And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, ^awarning them against ^bfornication and ^clasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them.

Jacob makes several points worth noting.  First, if we are righteous God will comfort us, protect us, and fight our battles.  Second, if we fail to live up to the Christian religion we profess to believe, we curse ourselves.  In other words, we will have to bear the consequences of our sins; one of which is that we lose the Lord’s protection.  Third, God is no respecter of persons, and even our enemies receive blessings when they live up to the standards and rules set by their faith.  Included in this third point is that even though their faith is not 100% correct, it does contain good teachings.  Fourth, the destruction of our children is near certain if we live contrary to God’s commandments, and the guilt for that will be on us, not on our enemies.

I fear that by quoting scripture I set myself up for potential retaliation via scripture.  Surely there are verses out there that say we must aggressively fight sin and evil in all its forms, but isn’t that the type of scripture we hear about in the Quran that has us afraid of Islam?

We must stop fearing others and focus on our own morality.  The scriptures counsel us to seek truth in all its forms and love our neighbors and enemies.  Joseph Smith taught that this search for truth should extend into the teachings of other religions.  The following reiterates his teaching:

In a recent meeting with Muslim dignitaries, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles focused on the common spiritual heritage of Mormons and Muslims.  After quoting a verse from the Qur’an, he observed:

“God is the source of light in heaven and on earth.  We share the belief with you.  We resist the secular world.  We believe with you that life has meaning and purpose.  …  We revere the institution of the family.  …  We salute you for your concern for the institution of the family.  …  Mutual respect, friendship, and love are precious things in today’s world.  We feel those emotions for our Islamic brothers and sisters.  Love never needs a visa.  It crosses over all borders and links generations and cultures.”

This glares in the face of the perception that Islam is a culture of hatred and violence.  In fact, during my research the amount of articles and quotes by LDS leadership regarding the beneficial teachings and contributions of Islam astounded me.  I read a few accounts of the creation of the BYU Jerusalem Center.  I found myself thinking that if Islamic teachings were so dangerous to our way of life, the church would not have hired local Muslims to teach the students about Islam with the express intent that the students receive a more authentic introduction to their culture and teachings.  Instead, the BYU study abroad program promotes tolerance and mutual understanding with the hopes that the students return to the US with the ability to teach fellow Americans to appreciate and understand the Muslim and Jewish ways of life.

I read several LDS articles testifying that God inspired Muhammad to teach the people that there is only one God and that it was contrary to His will that the people worship idols.  I learned that Muhammad initially gained notoriety because of his talent for peaceful moderation of conflict.  The people revered him for his humility, service, and kindness.  His example and teachings are such that his followers became strong contributors to their communities.  The teachings of Muhammad that I read were not violent.  In fact, they were similar to the Christian beliefs that I believe were part of the founding of our nation.

The Founding Fathers understood the need for religion and morality.  They discussed the importance of avoiding contention between denominations.  They provided a guideline for focusing on the common points of all beneficial religion.  Their guideline consists of five fundamental points that they felt should be taught in the schools.  Islamic beliefs are consistent with these five points found in Principle 4 of the book The 5000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen:

1. There exists a Creator who made all things and mankind should recognize and worship him.
2. The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong.
3. The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat each other.
4. All mankind live beyond this life.
5. In the next life mankind are judged for their conduct in this one.

I wanted to write this post on September 11^th.  I hope that my love of my country, my religion, and my humanity are evident in what I have shared.  I cringe at the comments I hear that equate tolerance of Islam as support for terrorism or anti-Americanism.  I feel that the best way to honor and protect our American heritage is to honor and obey Jesus Christ.  He is the author of liberty.  We would not have this land of freedom were it not for His intervention on our behalf.  I fear that the establishment continues to strip us of our rights and freedoms while we distract ourselves with emotionally charged irrational conflicts.  Islam cannot begin to compare with our own government’s systematic destruction of our liberty nor its threat to the American way of life.  I close with one last quote:

Elder Russell M. Nelson quoted a public statement issued by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 1992, calling upon “all people everywhere to re-commit themselves to the time-honored ideals of tolerance and mutual respect.  We sincerely believe that as we acknowledge one another with consideration and compassion we will discover that we can all peacefully coexist despite our deepest differences.”  He then added: “That pronouncement is a contemporary confirmation of the Prophet Joseph’s earlier entreaty for tolerance.  Unitedly we may respond. Together we may stand, intolerant of transgression but tolerant of neighbors with differences they hold sacred. Our brothers and sisters throughout the world are all children of God.”  (Emphasis added)

I am grateful for inspired church leaders.  They offer us a clear and peaceful voice of understanding and direction in times of confusion, fear, and doubt.  Their words serve as a filter that temper our emotions and allow the constant flow of principles that will righteously affect the decisions we make.

My invitation to us all is to listen to this voice.  Let us all allow ourselves to be persuaded to stand on higher ground.  Let our words and actions emulate the example of our Savior and Redeemer.  I have confidence in the Lord’s promise given through Jacob that if we are righteous, the Lord will fight our battles and protect us from our enemies.  The net effect of my life will be much greater for having lived my life righteously and built others up than it would if I spent my time tearing down that with which I disagreed.

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I’m Self Righteous, And So Are You!

Remember the Zax and the Sneetches

Recent debates about liberty, political policies, legislation, and political candidates have opened my eyes to a disturbing trend.  I started to recognize it through my friends’ involvement in the Senatorial race in Utah.  Most of my friends supported Mike Lee, because of his knowledge of the Constitution and desire to see government operate within its enumerated powers.

Initially I was very excited to hear of a candidate that seemed dedicated to supporting the Constitution.  It brought me pleasure and hope when I heard about the content of Lee’s speeches and debates.  The conversation was hopeful and bright.  Well, the opposition quickly took notice of Lee and the threat he posed to the establishment.  The debate surrounding the campaign transitioned toward the conventional mud-slinging and petty bickering.

This change disheartened me.  My friends who started out applauding Mike for his views suddenly seemed capable only of pointing out the faults of the competition.  Where did the talk of principles go?  Why did the education about Constitutional government dwindle?  Where was the hope?  It seems that many of my friends shoved the uplifting conversations in the closet while allowing negativity to run rampant.  The closet was finally unlocked for the Primary victory celebration.

I fear the repetition and escalation of this tragic inability to remain positive and focused on principles the nearer we find ourselves to the General Election.

It amazes me that we are so confrontational.  Why do we demonize and vilify people who do not agree with us on all the issues?  It’s not just in politics.  I can think of times that I witnessed another family at the grocery store with a screaming, dirty, snot-nosed kid and jumping to conclusions about what kind of parents they were.

Conveniently, when my kid screams, it has nothing to do with my parenting.  My kid probably just spent too much time with your kids and picked up some bad habits, right?

The late Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said the following in a General Conference address in October 2005:

I wish today to speak of forgiveness.  I think it may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed.  There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred.  There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness.  It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern.

Tolerance.  Forgiveness.  Temperance.  That sound nice if someone deserves it, I guess.  Right?  Not quite.  In the same address, Hinckley continues:

I know this is a delicate and sensitive thing of which I am speaking.  There are hardened criminals who may have to be locked up.  There are unspeakable crimes, such as deliberate murder and rape, that justify harsh penalties.  But there are some who could be saved from long, stultifying years in prison because of an unthoughtful, foolish act.  Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance, accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way.

So even those who commit crimes deserve a compassionate review and possibly even moderation in their due punishment.  If so, how much more deserving of respect is the person who simply disagrees with you philosophically, politically, or emotionally?  Even if they are offensive in the delivery of their opinions themselves.

This brings me to another point, and this is a thought that has been eating at me for some time.  Several of my libertarian friends have devoted effort of late to discredit Glenn Beck.  I’m still on the fence regarding Beck.  I do not watch or listen to his program with any modicum of regularity, because something about his delivery rubs me wrong from time to time.  However, I cannot disregard the fact that he is opening the door for so many people to start asking for themselves the very questions that I asked and that led me to my waking to the principles of liberty.

Frequent accusations are that he has flip-flopped on issues, he cries too much, last year he supported TARP and now he doesn’t, he this, or he that.  These arguments are frequently emotionally charged due to a hatred for a man who isn’t perfect.  Well, none of us is perfect.  One friend said he didn’t like Beck, because Beck wasn’t libertarian enough.  So he still hasn’t come around on foreign policy and proper war.  Boo Hoo.

If you compared my arguments of today against what I said a year ago, it would make me look like a hypocrite void of all integrity.  When I am tempted to lash out at someone who is not at the same point as me, or further along in his or her understanding of liberty, I remember Christ’s rebuke of the Pharisees, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”  I am compelled to drop my attacks and walk away.

I’m not here to be a Beck apologist.  I do hope to point out that our time and efforts are much better spent building rather than tearing down.  If at the end of the day all I did was voice my opinion against someone with whom I disagree, I have done little if anything worthwhile.  If during that same day I helped a friend open their eyes to a principle of liberty, such as the importance of private property, and open the door for that friend to analyze their belief structure, and that friend realizes that he has been supportive of a political agenda that does not respect private property or individual liberty, then I have done something wonderful with my time.

I guess this is why I feel tolerant of Beck.  Several months ago, I was frustrated with government.  I couldn’t really articulate why.  I listened to Glenn’s radio show and visited his website.  I started to realize that the depth of the problems surrounding our federal government was so much more profound than I had even considered.  I wanted to learn more.  I realized that after listening to Beck or reading excerpts from his website, I felt anger.  I didn’t know what to do about the problems I then saw.  In my frustration, I turned away from Beck and found other sources of information.

I am now back in school, working on a true liberal, classical education.  I am beginning to understand sound economics and the proper role of government.  I am gaining a new perspective on the founding of our nation and significant events like the Civil War, the establishment of the Federal Reserve, and other events that my public education taught me were noble, righteous, and based on the common welfare of the country.  I have learned the correct view of these things from philosophers, economists, novelists, and other great-minded people.  I did not learn them from Beck, but he did give me the push to jump-start my transformation.

If it weren’t for Beck, I would still be mindless follower of the GOP agenda.  I wouldn’t understand how much socialization has taken place even under Republican leadership.  I would still support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and I would remain ignorant of the massive contribution that our foreign policy has made toward our nation’s insolvency.

I would probably still not understand Ron Paul, even though after each of the Republican presidential nominee debates I would shake my head and think that he was the only one that made a bit of sense, and too bad he was a nut job, or I’d actually be able to support the guy.

Ron Paul is now my modern political hero, and one of the reasons why is that he is willing to work with other politicians when they are supporting the principles of liberty.  Rather than shout them down and attempt to discredit them for the horrid legislation they often support, Paul consistently focuses on the principles.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love the fact that Ron Paul speaks boldly against incorrect political action, but he does so with a focus on teaching true principles rather than ostracizing the person that holds incorrect views.  He frequently voices his hope that those individuals will “come around to liberty and limited government.”  He reminds me of the saying – Hate the sin, love the sinner, as well as the adage – You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Ron Paul, at the Campaign for Liberty’s Iowa Conference on May 14, 2010, said the following:

The other thing about the philosophy of liberty is that… it’s appealing.  If we can present this in the right way, it is appealing to more than just us in this group.  It appeals to people who consider themselves at one time just extreme conservatives, or even liberals believing in civil liberties.  Honest liberals who believe in limited government in a personal way or share our views on foreign policy; we can bring people together.  I am absolutely convinced that freedom does bring people together.  …the way you bring diverse groups together – is by saying, “Yes.  Your life is your own.  You can do with it what you want.  And the government shouldn’t be telling you what you do with it; the restrictions are that you just can’t hurt people.  You should have economic liberty and personal liberty, and they should be one in the same.”

I find it ironic that the worst of the self-righteous are often my liberty-loving friends.  Those who preach that the individual has the right to do what he wants – even to be racially discriminatory on his own property or to engage in hate speech, suddenly forget their principles when they face someone they don’t like.

Just like my wonderful conservative friends who supported Mike Lee allowed themselves to lose focus on the essence of what made Mike different, and move that focus to tearing down the guy who disagreed, my libertarian friends often ridicule others for not being “libertarian enough.”  I am often the recipient of such misunderstanding.  When debating an issue, my liberal friends often call me a “right-wing nut job.”  Ironically, after giving the same argument that I gave to the liberal, my conservative friends will call me a “lefty.”

It is time to remember the counsel given by Christ in Matthew Chapter 7 verses 1 – 5:

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

It is much more beneficial for us to focus on our own shortcomings and faults.  Let us be tolerant of others.  Rather than scream at each other and bash each other with our latest favorite statistics, we should be building on common beliefs, working, and growing together.  If we spent half of the energy wasted on bickering to focus on something we could do better, learn more thoroughly, etc. we would be a strong force for good.

I offer an example from the Book of Mormon.  A group of missionaries left their homeland to preach the Gospel of Christ to their enemies, known as the Lamanites.  One of the missionaries was named Aaron.  In one of the initial cities that Aaron visits, he begins preaching to the people.  His message is not well received, and Aaron spends some unpleasant time in prison.

Aaron’s brother, Ammon, took a different approach.  When given an initial audience with the King, named Lamoni, Ammon did not start preaching and explaining all he knew about the Gospel.  He did not criticize Lamoni’s false beliefs.  Instead, he asked to serve the Lamanites.  Lamoni grew to love and trust Ammon, because of their friendship Lamoni eventually came to accept the gospel.

I like my examples today, so you get to hear one more.  I was recently reading an article about economics that if I’m remembering correctly was found at www.mises.org.  (If you are interested in accurate economic teachings and analysis, this site is a must read.)  There was a lengthy reader discussion following the article.  Two well-informed enthusiasts of economics began to poke fun at another commenter who made an incorrect assumption.  They teased that the other person used the wrong analytical tool or chart and referenced a more accurate tool.  One of them said something like, “He probably doesn’t even know what [this tool] is, ha ha ha!”  (I didn’t include the name of the tool, because I also didn’t know what it was.  I looked it up at the time, but it was beyond my ability to understand without direction, and I forgot the name of it.)

How sad it was to see two intelligent individuals perched on their high horses, feeling self-important because they had an education on economics superior to another person’s.  I wish they had devoted their time and energy on writing up a concise, easy to understand explanation of the economic tool they found to be accurate and helpful.  They missed an opportunity to empower others to better understand sound economics.

I fear that many of us are doing essentially the same thing within our spheres of “expertise.”

It is my prayer and hope that we can stop the hateful exchanges that take place when discussing politics, philosophy, religion, or any other subject.  It is not always easy.  I catch myself engaging in judgmental thought and contentious debate more often that I’d like to admit, but it is my intention to work on focusing instead on common beliefs and developing friendships with those around me.  I hope that I can be an instrument in other individuals’ awakening to the ongoing fight for liberty.  I hope those people will join us in our efforts to restore the American Republic.

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