SCRUPULOSITY.... Unhealthy Excessive Religious Behavior

Scrupulous is a word to describe someone who is diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details in following the rules or requirements that is asked of them. They are very concerned to avoid doing any thing wrong.  On the surface, being scrupulous might be considered a good thing, but if excessive, it could possibly lead to unhealthy religious behavior called Scrupulosity.  

Common Symptoms of Scrupulosity:

• Believes that religious practice must be 100 percent perfect.
• Critical of others that are perceived to be sinful. 
• Believes in a "Check-list" type God. 
• Overly concerned about keeping every Letter of the Law. 
• Devout in their outward observances especially in places of Worship
• Obedient in keeping the rules/commandments out of fear of punishment.
• Proud of being a member of "The Not Even Once Club"
• Confesses to every indiscretion.
• Fears that things are not being done quite the "right way"
• Believes you earn your love from God. 
• Overzealous in the need to keep religious tradition.

All of these symptoms could describe perfectly the Pharisees at the time of Christ. They were religious zealots and were scrupulous in following the Law of Moses. Their scrupulosity was so deep that they could not recognize the Savior of the World, the actual giver of the Law of Moses.

Common  Ways to Avoid of Scrupulosity:

• Remember that we all fall short and make mistakes .
• Forgive others of their faults. 
• Life is so much more than a check list of "to-do's" to cross things off.  
• Be guided by the Spirit of the Law. 
• Your inner commitment is more important than the outer appearance
• Be obedient to God's commandments because of your love for Him.
• Repent and access the Christ's Atonement when we sin.
• Confess your weakness and ask for strength to overcome
• Relish in the fact that someone does things differently than you.  
• Remember the Mercy of Christ and His love for us 
• Avoid perpetuating false traditions.

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Sidenote:

Another interesting thing about the Pharisees is that they cooperated with the Romans in order to preserve their own position among Israel. I bring this up because I recently came across an interesting 600 page dissertation about a possible parallel in our time.. If true, it is very unsettling.  

LINK TO DISSERTION

"This dissertation studies a small American religious group that survived unscathed during the Third Reich. Some fifteen thousand members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, lived under National Socialism. Unlike persecuted Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses, and other small American-based sects that suffered severe restrictions, the Mormons worshiped freely under Hitler's regime. They survived by stressing congruence between church doctrine and Nazi dogma. Mormons emphasized their interest in genealogical research and sports, sent their husbands into the Wehrmacht and their sons into the Hitler Youth, and prayed for a Nazi victory in wartime. Mormon leaders purged all Jewish references from hymnals, lesson plans and liturgical practices, and shunned their few Jewish converts. They resurrected a doctrinal edict that required deference to civil authority, which the Mormons had not always obeyed. Some Mormons imagined fanciful connections with Nazism, to the point that a few believed Hitler admired their church, copied its welfare program, and organized the Nazi party along Mormon lines."

"This dissertation builds upon Christine Elizabeth King's theory of a common Weltanschauung between Mormons and Nazis, and Steven Carter's description of the Mormons' “accommodation” with National Socialism. Instead of a passive approach, however, the Mormons pursued aggressive and shameless “ingratiation” with the Nazi state.""This work also examines memory. Mormons later tried to forget their pandering to the Nazis, especially when large numbers of Germans immigrated to Utah in the post war period. When the story of a martyred Mormon resister, Helmuth Hübener, emerged in the 1970s, church officials interfered with the research of scholars at Brigham Young University. They feared that Hübener's example would incite Mormon youth to rebel against dictators abroad, hurt the church's relations with communist East Germany, and would offend recent German Mormon immigrants in Utah. A few Mormons shunned and harassed Hübener's surviving coconspirators. In recent years, Hübener— excommunicated for rebellion against the Nazis but later restored to full church membership—has been rehabilitated as a recognized hero of Mormonism. A new collective memory has been forged, one of wartime courage and suffering, while the inconvenient past is being conveniently discarded."

AD CAMPAIGN USING SMALL CHILDREN WEARING MASKS OUTSIDE RUNNING FREELY IN THE SUN

I saw this billboard today in Salt Lake City. It made me sad to see a brother and sister holding hands running outside in the summer sunshine.. wearing masks. Nothing about that image is normal... and we should fight against it becoming our "new normal"

BILLBOARD: Two small children running outside wearing masks. 

We should think twice on what we are promoting. News article about 2 boys who died while running (exercising) because they were wearing masks. Let's make sure we don't kill the young to protect the high risk elderly who have underlying medical conditions. See story that was fact checked.

Two schoolboys in China reportedly collapsed and suddenly died within a week of each other after they were forced to participate in gym class while sporting face masks:

  https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-two-chinese-boys-die-face-masks-gym-class-20200507-ruyinz7czjbqde3tprx647q3dm-story.html

After seeing that I decided to edit together a few clips and make the following video: 

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

 Ephesian 6:12

DISCONTINUED: Ensign Magazine. The LDS Church will cease publication

The Ensign of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly shortened to Ensign is an official magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some members would consider this periodical as modern day scripture since it contained a monthly First Presidency Message written by the Prophet or one of his counselors. Every month, Home Teachers shared that message with their assigned families so every member would hear the Prophets' message. Well, that was the goal at least.

Once he was sustained as the Prophet by the members in April 2018, President Nelson never wrote a First Presidency Message for the Ensign. This broke an almost 50 year history of the one of the main purposes of the Church's premiere publication. 

Announced this week, President Nelson takes things one step further. The discontinuation of the Ensign magazine altogether. The December 2020 issue will be the last one printed.

Here is the official announcement:

I know for many whose entire life as a members where this magazine graced their living room coffee table will find the elimination of the Ensign to be surprising. The Church will continue to print the Friend, the New Era (to renamed For the Strength of Youth, and the International magazine, The Liahona formerly known as Tambuli in the English-language version)


Sidenote:

It seems like the Church is also discontinuing placing the Angel Moroni's on top of their Temples. In The Church released this week a new rendering of the Taylorsville Temple which will be built in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley. Missing from the top of this to-be-built temple is the Angel Moroni. This is looking like this is the "new-normal" for the Church. 

Rendering of the Taylorsville, Utah Temple that will begin construction in the coming weeks. 

_________________


Sidenote #2:

 the latest news about another Temple being built in Tooele about 30 miles away from this Taylorsville, UT Temple.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint leaders have withdrawn their plan to build a residential community surrounding the announced Tooele Valley Utah Temple

https://www.ksl.com/article/50007804/latter-day-saint-leaders-withdraw-rezoning-request-for-proposed-tooele-valley-temple-community

“We acknowledge the efforts of those who have raised questions and sincere concerns about the Tooele Valley Temple project, including the residential development surrounding the temple. There is a sincere desire on the part of the Church to avoid discord in the community,” the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement released Tuesday.

“Therefore, regardless of the outcome of a pending signature-gathering effort, we have determined to withdraw our rezoning request for the residential portion of the temple project.”

Bad Things Happen to Good People - #sayhisname

People often ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  When we ask that question, we often forget the Good One who suffered/felt/experienced/atoned for more "BAD" things than we can even imagine. I post this in response to a story I read today that is not being reported very much in the media because it doesn't fit well with the current agenda sweeping our country. It is the shooting of a 5 year old boy, Cannon Hinnant. Here is a link to the story: LINK

excerpts from the chapter entitled Gethsemane in the book Come Let Us Adore Him. 

"As the Lord knelt in prayer, His vicarious suffering began. He was overcome by pain and anguish. He felt within Him, not just the pains of sin, but also the illnesses men suffer as a result of the Fall, and their foolish and evil choices. The suffering was long and the challenge difficult...

The Lord experienced all the horror and regret wicked men feel for their crimes when they finally see the truth. He experienced the suffering of their victims whose righteous anger and natural resentment and disappointment must also be shed, and forgiveness given, in order for them to find peace. He overcame them all. He descended below them all. He comprehends it all. And He knows how to bring peace to them all. He knows how to love others whether they are the one who has given offense or the one who is a victim of the offense.

In the final wave, the most brutal, most evil, most heinous sins men inflict upon one another were felt by Him as a victim of the worst men can do. He knew how it felt to wrongly suffer death. He knew what it was like to be a mother holding a child in her arms as they are both killed by those who delight in their suffering. He knew how it was for ambitious men to rid themselves of a rival by conspiracy and murder. He knew what it was to have virtue robbed from the innocent. He knew betrayal, treachery, and abuse in all its worst degrading horror. There was no cruelty, no offense, no evil that mankind has suffered or will suffer that was not put upon Him.

He knew what it is like for men to satisfy their ambition by clothing their hypocrisy in religious garb. He also felt what it was like to be the victim of religious oppression by those who pretend to practice virtue while oppressing others. He knew the hearts of those who would kill Him. Before confronting their condemnation of Him in the flesh, He suffered their torment of mind when they recognized He was the Lord, and then found peace for what they would do by rejecting Him. In this extremity there was madness itself as He mirrored the evil which would destroy Him, and learned how to come to peace with the Father after killing the Son of God, and to love all those involved without restraint and without pretense even before they did these terrible deeds. His suffering, therefore, encompassed all that has happened, all that did happen, and all that would happen in the future.

As a result of what the Lord suffered, there is no condition - physical, spiritual or mental - that He does not fully understand. He knows how to teach, comfort, succor and direct any who come to Him seeking forgiveness and peace.  He obtained this knowledge by the things he suffered. He suffered that we might avoid sin by being obedient to His commandments. None of us need harm another, if we will follow Him. He knows fully the consequences of sin. He teaches His followers how to avoid sin.
He can bring peace to any soul. He can help those who will come to Him love their fellow man. He alone is the Perfect Teacher because He alone has the knowledge each of us lack to return to being whole and at peace with the God and Father of us all after our transgression of His will..."

WEARING FACE MASKS: SO DO YOU FOLLOW THE PROPHET OR NOT?

Our friend posted on Facebook the letter from the LDS Church leaders which was sent to all members in Utah asking them to wear face masks in public, In the facebook post, this comment was added, 

"So do you follow the prophet or not?" 

Here is the post with our friend's name and photo removed. 

So we now have mandates from our religious and government leaders to wear a face masks. So if you live in Utah apparently you are not following the prophet if you don't have a face mask on. I understand that more cases are being reported and I am sensitive to those who have underlying conditions who are vulnerable, but let's remember that fewer deaths are happening in ratio of those who get the virus. And don't even get me started with our Utah Governor forcing our children (K-12 grades) to wear masks to school next month.

That being said, I just watched a few really good youtube videos that I thought are important to share.  I echo what my friend said after watching it, "Given the overflowing scourge of misinformation that seems to be gripping the country, it's the closest thing to the the truth I've seen since all this started."

continuing the quote from my friend:

"It's curious to me how the world almost overnight lost all of its good common sense. It began with the leadership of local and national governments who bought into the fear, but the most revealing truth is how willing we are to allow these leaders to do all the thinking for us while at the same time unwilling to hold them accountable and say.... "Look, show me the data that demonstrates this draconian approach you are taking and I'll saddle up along side you and fight the fight. But if there is no data, and your argument is weak, then I would prefer to trust my own intellect and common sense."

From the latter video:

"The longer that this goes on, the more we are realizing that the young and the healthy are relatively immune to this virus. they do well when they catch it, the recover quickly and they do not die from this virus. In children, they are so immune that they have a greater risk with influenza than they have with Covid 19. So that is why I am advocating opening up the schools with almost no restrictions. We got to get the children back into the classrooms. The children have a greater risk of dying by driving to school than they do from Covid 19. It is clear that children are not at risk. What the kids are at risk from is delaying their education, from delaying their socialization, from keeping them home and therefore, keeping their parents home who work. That is a greater risk. No data showing an asystemic child giving it to an adult. Putting masks on school children is not only unnecessary but very unhelpful.

To have people who are not in shape and not physically fit wearing a mask. (especially out walking) and is very unhealthy due to the lack of oxygen needed for the body. Not only that but after you have been breathing on the mask for 5 to 10 minutes in gets really moist inside, and once that mask is moist, the ability for that mask to filter goes out the door. Wearing a moist mask is the equivalent of building a chain link fence to filter out mosquitos..."

But until we really let go of the Fear... these two signs are our "new norm."

DISCONTINUING THE ANGEL MORONI ON LDS TEMPLES?

Below are a few of the latest renderings of the new temples that the First Presidency of the LDS Church has released.  Notice anything missing?

Orem, Utah Temple

Tooele, Utah Temple

Moses Lake, Washington Temple

Phnom Penh, Cambodia Temple

Not sure why the Church is starting to discontinue putting the iconic Angel Moroni facing east on top of the temples.  A few years ago I posted about some of the Temples placing the Angel Moroni facing a different direction other than facing to the East, but now it appears they are beginning to altogether not even put up the Angel Moroni on the temples.

No. 389: "I think I'll dedicate that one. It's good fishing up there"

No. 379: Does the direction we are facing matter?

Sidenote: 
Another name change announced today by the First Presidency. They are changing the name of the Washington County Utah Temple. It will now be called the Red Cliffs Temple.
https://www.ksl.com/article/50000191/washington-county-utah-temple-gets-a-new-name

I seriously don't understand why all these changes.