Evil. Did it begin with Eve?

 "Thinking is man’s only basic virtue, from which all the others proceed. And his basic vice, the source of all his evils, is that nameless act which all of you practice, but struggle never to admit: the act of blanking out, the willful suspension of one’s consciousness, the refusal to think—not blindness, but the refusal to see; not ignorance, but the refusal to know. It is the act of unfocusing your mind and inducing an inner fog to escape the responsibility of judgment—on the unstated premise that a thing will not exist if only you refuse to identify it, that A will not be A so long as you do not pronounce the verdict 'It is evil'". (Ayn Rand...from Atlas Shrugged)

I always assumed that the word "evil" came from Eve--the one who partook of the forbidden fruit and thus set the mechanism of death into motion. But I may be wrong. The etymological root of this word is obscure at best....German, Scandinavian or Hittite. Nevertheless, countless intellectuals, scriptorians, philosophers and others have written treatises about this subject. 

It used to be clear to me that the consequences of Eve's initiative comprised specifically of the beginnings of evil--the separation of man from God both spiritually and physically. Within this platform, evil to me is simply that---anything that takes man's focus from our earthly imperative; that same imperative that we all joyfully anticipated: to return to God...to be like Him and to be his heirs. Anything that compromises or undermines my focus is therefore evil.

Moral relativism I think, is the overall belief of most Christians and unwittingly, as members of the the LDS church we seem to have developed our own 'code' of behaviour: a set of standards whereby we can measure ourselves against OTHER people so we can feel better about ourselves. We have a code of behaviour that is a product of our burgeoning culture, customs, prejudices and even our own language and rhetoric. Yes, even that annoying cadence that comes out of us when we pray or speak at church. Some of these standards are well into being absolute. 

We like to think in terms of 'drawing the line' and 'gray areas'. We like to have specifics....a list of don'ts. A way to judge and a very clear definition of 'sin' that will make us be comfortable as we pit our goodness against our neighbours'. It's our favorite pastime. I guess I am severely turned off by the latest Relief Society lesson on 'drawing the line' and the ladies in the room defined the absolute as "doing everything by the book and script" ie, if the prophet says so, then it must be done with exactness--that you are either in or out and you either obey or not obey. These arguments later gave birth to such things as "what you are NOT supposed to do on the Sabbath" and "our bleak temple attendance" and such things that you are not supposed to do...a list of prohibitions and specifics that begs for simplicity and ease in judging what is 'right' and 'wrong'. There are no 'gray areas' they say. I begin to sweat. Clouds swirls around my head in a dizzying fashion and suddenly, my thinking patterns turn to confusion and chaos. Why is there no clarity or order? And why does it suddenly feel murky in that room? 

It occurred to me that it was because no one really understands what the lesson is about. Drawing the line---choosing to be on the Lord's side. The problem is, even after we've made that choice or 'drawn that line', there are STILL choices left on the Lord's side that we have to make that  consistently remind us that even in our zeal to obey, we cannot obey with accuracy and sharpness and we cannot always see the lines clearly. Most of all, we cannot 'draw the lines' perfectly. That's because we are mere mortals---subject to errors, mistakes, blindness, limitations and yes, imperfections. So is the god we worship who is loving and kind going to just, after choosing His side, allow us to make mistakes, transgress and suffer the consequences of our stupid choices or languish in the consequences brought forth by the dumb choices of other people we love and whose lives intersect with ours? Is that fair? And once we've chosen to follow Christ, does it stand to reason that we can suddenly see all things clearly such that what is correct and congruent to Christ's and the Father's will will be so clear that we can no longer make a mistake---that there will be no gray areas? If members of the church are arrogant enough to believe this, then Christ's atonement will have been totally unnecessary. Suddenly, I feel as though I was surrounded by Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Having said that, these are the absolute truths that I hold on to and cannot compromise on their veracity because no matter what others say, these will still be true. No culture, time, change in social mores or attitudes can change these truths.

Absolute Truth #1: 

The existence of the Godhead: Elohim, the father, Jehovah, Christ the Saviour and Redeemer of Mankind and the Holy Ghost, a personage of spirit. The truth about the nature of the Godhead is important because we can have a clear understanding of our relationship with them, who we are, what we are entitled to and how we can communicate with them. 

I am now going to list some of the important absolute truths that we can learn just from knowing the nature of the Godhead:

1. That the world was not 'created' but organized from 'something'. I know that we are referred to as 'intelligences' or individuals/persons of a spiritual form that had no beginning. Hence in that case, we are as infinite as God is and can become like Him. That is our imperative.   (Abraham 93: 29 to end of chapter) 

2. That when God created the heavens and the earth, he organized all 'chaos'--in other words, He is responsible for all things that are in the heavens...and on earth. This means that there are entities that are eternal as he is, i.e., intelligences. Every living thing, every organism, world, planet, system....everything is organized according to His great wisdom and mercy and thus all things testify of Christ and His existence and purpose. (Moses 6:63 and 2 Nephi 11:4)

3.  It is necessary that there be opposites in all things or God would cease to be God. (2 Nephi 1) Men are that they might have joy. And joy comes from righteousness. And righteousness can only come about if there is a CHOICE, in other words, there has to be polarity or choice cannot exist. And because of this great principle and gift, we can experience joy from choosing against evil and wrongdoing.

Absolute Truth #2:

There was an apostasy and therefore a need for a restoration. 

Because of this absolute truth, there are also indubitable events that happened that cannot be disputed and are therefore corollary truths:

1. In 1820, God the Father and Jehovah Jesus Christ appeared to a young Joseph Smith in a grove of trees in New York state. From this sweet simple vision, the Lord was able to restore His church as it was organized during the time he walked the earth as a mortal being. Ten years later in April of 1830, the church was officially organized and given the name "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" to distinguish between the church of ancient times before the apostasy and the now fully restored, organized church of Jesus Christ that functions through priesthood power and revelation.

2. We have a living prophet who leads in the administration and earthly affairs of the church through revelation. We have a quorum of 12 apostles just like the ancient church was organized. All other offices and auxiliaries aid in the administration, edifying and development of its members. The prophet is not infallible. He is human and subject to the same weaknesses and mortal challenges as all of us. But the Lord will not allow His church to fall again until He comes again. 

3. There are ordinances and covenants required for entry into the Kingdom. These ordinances are offered to all those who would accept the gospel and be baptized by those in authority and keys to perform such ordinances. All ordinances are eternal in nature and can only be unsealed through unrighteousness.

Absolute Truth #3

The Plan of Salvation: Need more be said?

Absolute Truth #4

The ATONEMENT

All things begin and end with this. I saved it for last because to me, it is the crux of all things. It is the stuff all things are made of and will be made eternal. The Atonement denotes what kind of personal relationship I have with my Saviour.

All things are to the typifying of Him. All things point to Him and his glorious work. All things do testify of what he has done and will continue to do for us. Studying the atonement gives me the greatest satisfaction in my life. It provides me with context. All things have no meaning until one can see through the fine filter that comes from an appreciation and focus on the Saviour and what He has done for us. The more we gain understanding and appreciation of the Atonement, the better our perspective will be--we will be able to follow the guidance of the Spirit better. 

Is there a place for moral relativism? This is a rhetorical question and perhaps can only be answered if we define what morality is. Good or evil? Right and wrong? Or perhaps the HOW of obedience...the determination between which law will take precedence over another. Or the execution of a principle within the context and limitations of our own understanding. The relativism may refer to where we are on the time line of our existence, the varied human conditions we find ourselves in, our spiritual highs and lows, times of plenty and times of need, youth and maturity, usefulness and redundancy.  Does it pertain to our relative strength and weakness, ignorance or dependence, arrogance and cowardice? Because if such is how relativism can be defined or seen, then there must not be judgment involved. Because it is in these circumstances where we need our Saviour to fill in our gaps: to make perfect our imperfect ways. For without Him, we are nothing and can do nothing. 

That is how I bridge truth and relativism. Because tolerance for all things relative is a two edged sword. We must see each other as unfinished works of art to be finished and framed by the Master himself. And as we await his steady hand, we must see each other as unfinished, unpolished and imperfect....until such a time when the Master, through the mechanism of the atonement can render us perfect and complete. It is only his hand that has this power. Until then, I hold on to my absolute truths and aim to view with tolerance and kindness the multifaceted ways in which man tries to transcend his own mortality and morality. Truth is everywhere. Even in the dark places of confusion and transgression. Because God never really leaves us. And God never ceases to exist.