Religion and Kids

A comment to me in a Facebook group, "I hope your child's participation in religious stuff is voluntary." Indeed, I'm happy to report that it is. I'd be a big fat hypocrite if it wasn't. This brings me to share a few thoughts on the subject.

As a Latter-day Saint, I believe the following scriptures are the word of God:

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:5

"But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth." - D&C 93:40

"Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things (the Plan of Salvation) freely unto your children..." - Moses 6:58

(Here's the full list of scripture references on the raising of children in Latter-day Saint canon.)

I don't see anything here commanding us to use force and coercion in order to raise our kids in the Church. On the contrary, D&C 121:41-42 gives us the strategy to use, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile."

I believe the best way to teach your kids to do something is to be an example. "Do as I do" as the saying goes. There's no need for force and coercion. I certainly don't want to take my kids to church kicking and screaming. That's counter-productive for obvious reasons, and will teach them to resent it.

Latter-day Saint children are baptized at 8 years of age. Again, there's no reason to force this onto them. If they don't want to be baptized, leave it alone. It would be immoral and unethical to force them into membership of the Church. Christ never taught that. He didn't convert by the sword. To do so would be contrary to the teachings of Christ, as per D&C 121:41-42 quoted above.

Same goes for missionary service. If they have a testimony, they'll want to serve. If not, there's no point in going. A mission isn't to find their convictions, it's to share them. General Authorities have been clear on this. I didn't serve a mission, and my conviction was self-directed. I was taken to church as a child, and baptized at 8. I was cajoled into going until I was around 12, and then my family stopped going all together. I re-discovered the Church when I was 19, and decided to marry my wife instead of serving a mission.

My children's testimonies will be their own. I won't force religion onto them, and I won't try to convert them by the sword. I'll share my convictions in peaceful and voluntary ways, and hope they "choose the right".

(cross-posted at Everything-Voluntary.com)

Thoughts on Science & Religion

I just finished reading a graphical adaptation of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species". Although it was heavily abridged, it covered the basics and did so alongside some interesting graphics. It serves as a great introduction to evolutionary theory, and my kids are sure to enjoy it.

So how can I be a proponent of evolutionary theory and still be a practicing Latter-day Saint? Because I don't see how truth can be incompatible with truth. Don't misquote me now. I'm not claiming that every point in evolutionary theory is true. Actually, my interest is bigger than just evolutionary theory. It's scientific discovery in general.

Science is the observation and discovery of the natural world. That's all it is. Sometimes our perspectives are skewed, but those are sorted out through open dialogue and debate. Progress is made when all sides are free to observe, discover, and share.

There's nothing to be afraid of about scientific research qua scientific research. It says nothing about God or the Plan of Salvation. Yes, many scientists are also atheists and will try to use science to attack God. But this is a perversion and an abuse of science. These charlatans should be ignored.

What can those believers in God interested in scientific discovery do? They can open their minds and join the fight for truth. Become a scientist. Become a biologist. Use your talents to observe, discover, and share your findings with other scientists. There's no reason that science and religion have to be adversaries. They are both conduits to truth, and in the words of Brigham Young, "'Mormonism' includes all truth. There is no truth but what belongs to the Gospel." I believe that. If a scientific discovery is true, it belongs to Mormonism, custom and tradition be damned.

Are We Exempt From Satan's Promise?

Let's go back to the time when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. Satan had just gotten Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and Eve in turn got Adam to partake. At this point, God returns to the Garden and is calling for Adam,

And they heard the voice of the Lord God, as they were walking in the garden, in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife went to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And I, the Lord God, called unto Adam, and said unto him: Where goest thou?

And he said: I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself. And I, the Lord God, said unto Adam: Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, if so thou shouldst surely die?

And the man said: The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat. And I, the Lord God, said unto the woman: What is this thing which thou hast done? And the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Moses 4:14-21)

We learn in the Temple that at this point, Satan responds to this curse with a promise. Paraphrasing, he promises that with the enmity that God put between he and the seed of the woman, he would raise up false priests who oppress, and rulers who will take the treasures of the earth in order to reign with blood and horror.

The big question: do we believe that we are exempt from this promise? The way I see it, any time someone exercises unrighteous dominion over others, they are "reigning with blood and horror", or with the threat thereof.

Is there any reason why we should believe that our rulers are not fulfilling this promise? I believe that every government everywhere exercises unrighteous dominion, ie. exercises illegitimate power over dissenters. A government is only justified if it has the consent of the governed, and I'm unaware of any government today that has such consent.

Likewise, their laws are becoming greater and greater threats to freedom. They steal our wealth, our treasure, in multiple ways. They steal it via their taxation schemes, and they devalue our savings with their inflationary monetary policies. And they certainly "reign with blood and horror" both at home and abroad.

If anything, Satan's promise should give one pause before trusting any entity with a monopoly on force. As I've said before, the state deserves nothing less than our complete cynicism towards it's claims and activities. It's modus operandi is violence, just as Satan promised.