Lesson 3-37 "The Word of God as a Standard"

I am glad I've had General Conference in between the last lesson and this one, which has given me time to think. Otherwise, I would not have known quite what to do with this one. When I first read it, I thought it was such an artifact of the 1970s, which is clearly when it was first written (a couple of GA quotes from the early 1990s seems to be the only updating that's been done on this one since it was first written. If you've been in YW a really long time, maybe this lesson is approaching the status of a classic).

It's about using the scriptures as a yardstick against which to measure "worldly philosophies." All well and good. It's just that what was--and what was not--on this list struck me as exceedingly odd, unless you keep in mind what must have been worrying Church leaders in the early 1970s.

The "worldly philosophies" of greatest concern when I was in Sunbeams must have been...

Divorce - the divorce rate was at its highest in the 1970s and early 1980s, and has been falling since (well, of course, partly because fewer people are getting married).

Zero population - can't you just hear the "Zero Population" song from Saturday's Warrior in your head right now?

Abortion - the Roe v. Wade ruling was in January 1973, so this was very fresh & raw in American culture.

Immorality & Pornography - after just coming through the "sexual revolution." Our Bodies, Ourselves was published in 1973; movies were getting grittier and more explicit; TV was ending the era of married couples sleeping in separate twin beds.

Smoking, drinking, drugs - again, this has got to be backlash from the late 1960s.

And...

Astrology. Clearly, they were very worried about the "Age of Aquarius" coming to define the late 20th century, and the runaway popularity of the musical, "Hair."


So, a number of things suggest themselves about this list. First of all, I can't see anything on this list that is actually a "philosophy" if we're using that word to mean a "school of thought," except maybe "astrology" and that one doesn't seem today like as much of a threat as it once did. I mean, if we've got one of our most popular Mormon authors writing bestsellers for the occult section of the bookstore, then maybe we have less to fear from "astrology" than they imagined in the early 1970s. Maybe some people still read their horoscopes, but not since Nancy Reagan has anyone seemed to put much stock in it. Maybe they leave this in for places where the church is just making a toehold in developing countries and they actually have to combat tasseomancy or divination...? So I think what they mean to say here is that we have gospel "cultural practices" that are opposed to worldly "cultural practices." Abortion, for example, is not a philosophy. If the opposing philosophy is "sanctity of life," then on the worldly side it should be "disregard for life."

Second, notice what's not on this list, especially given that it was written in the 1970s. No "communism"? No "feminism"? No "evolution"? V-e-r-y interesting.

So, what would I do with this lesson in 2008? I would probably want to identify some more relevant "worldly philosophies," things that I really feel I do have to cope with or overcome, ones that do bog down or complicate my faith, that are so part of the air I breathe that I hardly notice them until I start thinking hard, because they're just part of the world that I live in.

And I do like the idea of giving the girls in my class something to report on. Attentive readers of this blog will remember that didn't go over so well the last time I tried it, because I left town and the girls forgot to prepare, and the sub had to scramble. So I'll make sure that I follow up with each of them, and give them a useful article to use in their preparation (not just the dinky 2 quotes each at the end of the lesson as written).

I'd definitely keep the threat to marriage & family on the list. The idea that marriage is optional is a lot more widely accepted than it used to be, and that goes along with the idea that sex doesn't carry consequences, so doesn't have to happen within marriage. Divorce is down, but more people marry later or not at all by choice, and changes to the legal definition of marriage are being made (although, personally, I don't get very hot under the collar about that - I know that some attach much more significance to that than I would). Suggested resource: Elder Shumway's article in this month's Ensign titled "Preparing for Marriage."

I'd probably keep abortion on the list, too, and would use it as an opportunity to toot the horn of the church's great adoption program. I wouldn't say that abortion itself is a philosophy, but that the discussion about abortion is often falsely cast as a matter of choice rather than ethics. The more that adoption is made a viable alternative to terminating an unwanted pregnancy, the better for everyone. Suggested resource: Russell M. Nelson's article in this month's Ensign titled "Abortion: An Assault on the Defenseless."

What I'd add to update the list for today:

Misogyny. Still a problem, both in my country and elsewhere. Suggested resource: lots of scripture examples in this classic 1979 talk by Bruce R. McConkie, "Mothers in Israel and Daughters of Zion."

Obsession with physical beauty. Elective plastic surgery, extreme piercing/tattooing. Did you hear about the man who was exhibited in China this summer for the vivid tattoos on his back? The tattoo designer, not the man who was tattooed, was the "artist" in that exhibit, and the man who had been tattooed had already sold his skin to be tanned, stretched and hung up on some art collector's wall after he died. Suggested resource: Elder Holland's talk "To Young Women."

I mean, this is a tough one. Because I myself purchase and use cosmetics, have my ears pierced, am still trying to find the perfect bra to hide the results of 4 pregnancies and many years of breastfeeding, have had my hair colored and/or highlighted, paint my nails, use a fair amount of hair goop of various kinds and costs, had my teeth whitened once... I think of myself as rather minimally affected by the "beauty industry" but look at all the trouble I go to, still!

Moral relativism. This is one of the most subtle ones out there today - that there is no right & wrong, or there's "right for you" and a different "right for me" because of our different cultural/ethical/religious/racial backgrounds. This is one I really struggle with. I don't like that we hold ourselves up as better, but I also don't think that all philosophies are equally good. Suggested resource: Marlin Jensen's article in this month's Ensign titled "Gospel Doctrines: Anchors to Our Souls."

(Are you sensing a theme? I was amazed at how much of this month's Ensign applied to this lesson)

Entitlement/ greed. Getting "something for nothing" or feeling you're owed by the government a comfortable lifestyle with free cable TV as your right to be on the earth. I admit I'm a little more cynical about this partly because my own economic circumstances are so comfortable, and also because my husband in his medical practice sees a steady parade of people looking to bilk the workman's comp system so that they don't have to work. I was oddly enraged when after Hurrican Ike people complained that the government didn't get there fast enough with enough free hot meals and water. Like, didn't they know there was a hurricane coming? Didn't the weather service say the words "certain death"? Was the water and nonperishable food all sold out for a week ahead of the storm? I must be lacking in compassion. Suggested resource: Thomas S. Monson's article on the "Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare."

Victim mentality. This one's tough, too, because some people really have been victimized, have been abused, or have significant setbacks in life. But placing blame on others for your life and not moving forward in faith is what "the world" says you're entitled to do, and that's just not what the gospel's about. Suggested resource: Richard G. Scott's talk from April conference, "To Heal the Shattering Consequences of Abuse."

What else would you identify as pernicious worldly philosophies that the gospel can help us identify and debunk? What did you think of this lesson? What will you do with it?