The 'Carnal Security' Dilemna

It has been a little while since I have posted anything! I'm glad to be back to writing here today. Whether or not it is helpful to anyone else, I have found it to be very therapeutic for myself and I am grateful for the opportunity to get my thoughts and feelings out of my head and into something productive :)

The topic I'm writing on today has been on my mind for quite awhile, and as I have been pondering ways to express my feelings regarding this I have magically had the opportunity to speak with a few friends and some clients about these things which has clarified some of my ideas for myself and made me an even stronger believer.

I know that the majority of those who follow this blog with any kind of regularity are LDS (Mormon). The thoughts that I want to share might seem like they are only applicable to this majority, but I know of several people who are not members of the LDS faith that I believe could find benefit in the concept and so I will explain, as well as I can, some of the terminology that might be very "mormon-ish." If you you get it without the explanation...pin the popcorn-popping-on-the apricot-tree on your nose!

There is a scripture commonly quoted in LDS church/culture that talks about the importance of staying faithful and vigilant at all times, because the Adversary is very clever and can easy lull you into a state of false security. If someone, in a conversation with LDS church-goers were to say something to the effect of, "you know...that whole 'all is well in zion' thing" or "I don't want to be too 'all is well in zion' about things" for the most part, people in the conversation would know what that meant.  The scripture is this:

2 Nephi Chapter 28 Verse 21-
and others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well--and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them carefully down to hell. 

In this passage, the writer is talking about how much of the world will be as we near the second coming of Christ. He is talking about the ability of Satan to convince people that "nothing you do really matters that much. Just do what you want to do because things are fine and God doesn't really exist anyway so no one cares if you [enter sinful practice here].  It is referring to the tendency of human nature to often choose the easiest road, and then justify why its okay to just do whats popular or convenient as opposed to doing what you value to be right and true even when it is difficult.

I understand the value of this message. While I believe I am an optimist by nature, I can't deny that there is a lot of evidence in the world that values have shifted in many areas, and things that were unheard of even 25 years ago are commonplace now. I find evidence in my own life in which I consistently choose what is popular or easy as opposed to what I value to be true. I know that there are plenty of areas where I could "step up my game" so to speak in the Obedience to the Lord Department of my life.

However, I see many instances in my own life, and in the lives of people that I love and care about in which the message of this scripture has been taken, evaluated, magnified, and misapplied in ways that truly are detrimental, and I have come to an important conclusion: (I seem to be making a lot of these types of aha! conclusions on this blog).

THERE IS A DISTINCT AND IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "ALL IS WELL IN ZION!" AND "HEY, I'M A GOOD PERSON, AND I'M DOING OK!"

I have always found it a very interesting (and kind of funny) contradiction that a verse in the Book of Mormon states "Wo be unto him that crieth: All is Well!" (2 Nephi 28:25) and that one of our most famous and beloved hymns says "all is well!" like 50 times! If I took that strictly as face-value, and outside of the context in which both of these statements are made, I might be really confused and skeptical.  I can see that the statement "all is well" applies to a different intent of heart (the first applying to the 'all is well' temptation used by the Adversary, and the second to the 'all is well' peace and comfort that comes from light and truth) but I think many of us are not often enough distinguishing between the two.

While the doctrine of the LDS religion strongly emphasizes the important role of Christ in helping us to overcome our shortcomings, and living prophets and apostles of the church are CONSTANTLY telling us how much the Lord loves us and wants to help even the most 'lost' of us, it is unfortunate that often the culture of the church leads people to believe they need to be perfect and anything less is failure. Often, scriptures like this, and others, are taken and used as a sort of ammo against ourselves in the struggle to be more Christlike.

I know that God wants us to always be trying to be the best we can be...but I also have a VERY strong belief that God REALLY, REALLY loves us even as we are NOW...right this second, with whatever faults or shortcomings we have. It is my belief that when God inspired the writer of the "all is well in zion" scripture, he meant to warn us of the clever nature of him who would lead us away. He did NOT mean, "don't ever let yourself feel like you are doing a good job, because that's just laziness and of the devil!" I KNOW that God wants us to feel peace, comfort, and joy in our successes, and would love for us to take the time to congratulate ourselves on the efforts we are making even when it would be easier not to.

I bet that there are some who have read that, and thought to themselves..."yeah, but..." and then came up with a lot of reasons why you shouldn't get too carried away with giving yourself positive feedback. If that was you in any way, I officially diagnose you as needing to do this more than anyone. People are often scared that too much positive feedback will go to their head and make them lazy...in real life, I don't believe that happens.

Why do I believe that God wants us to allow ourselves to feel okay about things? Because I never feel more motivated to live up to my values than when I read things like:

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment." 
-Doctrine and Covenants 121:7

“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” 
-Gordon B. Hinckley (15th President of the LDS Church)

 “Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.” -Gordon B. Hinckley

“Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose in heart.” -Gordon B. Hinckley

"Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, our God will never us forsake. And soon we'll have this tale to tell--All is well! All is well!  -LDS Hymnbook  

“It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future."  -Gordon B. Hinckley

If you haven't guessed, I really love President Hinckley, I think that he so often and so beautifully spoke about the joy that God wants us to have right now, even when we aren't perfect. I think that he often acknowledged something that I have come to know with great vigor: If I postpone being happy until I am perfect...I'm going to be waiting a long time.

Do we need to be aware that idleness and half-heartedness in doing what is right can lead to a slow deviation from our charted course? Yes. But everyone I talk to knows that. I am more concerned that we work to gain greater appreciation for the value and motivation that comes from allowing yourself a break to say "I'm a good person, and I'm doing okay!"