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 October
2004 |
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Contents Scriptural thought Scriptural Thought Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house; Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 3 Nephi 12:13-16 Preserving the Spirit of General Conference
Why this twice yearly gathering? In gathering, we experience a vivid sense of belonging to a worldwide movement. General Conference reminds us that we are part of a fellowship of Saints which is larger than our local wards and stakes, larger than our country, larger than our culture. This gathering is also an expression of our faith in continuing revelation. Twice a year, the Saints gather to hear God speak to them through the words of contemporary prophets and apostles. That doesn't necessarily mean we gather to hear something new. To be sure, there's a certain anticipation at every General Conference: What new temples will be announced? What new callings will be extended? Will there be changes in Church organization or policy? But for the most part, the addresses we hear at General Conference remind us of things that we already know. We are reminded of our duties as latter-day disciples of Christ. We are reminded of the principles that will strengthen us as individuals, our families, our wards, our communities.
General Conference is an opportunity to be spiritually "recharged"--to have our spiritual energies rekindled and refocused. Ideally, we leave this gathering with a renewed motivation to do good. The question is: How do we maintain that recharged energy? How do we keep the Spirit we felt in General Conference with us? If General Conference inspired us to more diligent service, how do we maintain that momentum? How do we stay mindful of the goals or recommitments we have made? For those of us who feel a particular concern for social justice issues of one kind or another, October offers various opportunities to keep our spiritual energies focused in that direction in the aftermath of General Conference. There may, of course, be other directions in which we each feel a need to focus our energies in addition to questions of social justice. Conference may inspire us to set goals for personal growth, family relationships, Church service, and so on. But if you're interested in ways to focus your spiritual energies on social justice, here are some options. See if something here speaks to you.
You can find Columbus Day family home evening lessons on the MESJ website. Or you might consider other home evening options. Do you know someone who served a mission in a part of the world that was an imperial contact zone: maybe Latin America, or Asia, or Africa? Do you know someone whose life or heritage has been shaped by colonialism or international migration: someone Latino? African American? Asian American? Pacific Islander? South African? Invite them to talk about their experience or heritage. If you yourself fit one of these descriptions, send us your thoughts for a future issue of this newsletter. There are many films about the imperial era or about the ongoing struggles of indigenous peoples. Have you seen The Mission, about 18th century Jesuits among the Guarani? Have you seen Whale Rider, about a Maori community trying to preserve its traditions in the modern world? You might rent one of these films to watch with your family as a Columbus Day home evening activity.
The international observances for this month are included in the Upcoming Events and Observances section of this newsletter. Each observance is linked to a page on the MESJ website with suggestions for a brief family or personal devotional: a scripture to read, a paragraph explaining the observance and the issue it commemorates, and ideas of things you could include in your prayers for that day. Each devotional takes just five or ten minutes, but it's a way to stay spiritually focused on social justice concerns throughout the month. To help you remember, you could jot the observances down in your day planner. (We know you have one--you're Mormon!) Note that World Food Day falls on October 16. You might consider holding a personal fast on that day (or on Sunday the 17th), then making an offering to the Church's humanitarian fund or to some other organization that helps the hungry.
All of us are busy--with work, with church, perhaps with school or family (or both). It's hard to find time to respond to the issues that concern us. But the scriptures assure us that small and simple things make a difference. Whatever you do, however small it may seem to you, do something this month to preserve your spiritual momentum. An hour spent surfing the web to learn more about candidates or listening
to a TV or radio debate; a five-minute devotional to commemorate International
Day for the Eradication of Poverty; renting Whale Rider for family
home evening on Columbus Day--they're small things, but they make us mindful.
They help us remember the needs of others. They bring our spirituality
and our sense of social responsibility together. They show we have desires
to do good. And they give us one more little push to keep our spiritual
momentum going until next General Conference. Spotlight: Mike Tueller
I found out about MESJ from LDS web boards--I forget which one now. What appealed to me about it? Well, as a student of the New Testament, I am attracted to influences that will help me to do as Jesus encouraged people to do: to focus my energies on helping others. A group like MESJ is especially important for me in particular, because I am an academic and therefore have a natural inclination to talk and think about a lot of things, and then never actually do anything.
My overall concern in the area of social justice is simply caring for the poor (which I know embraces a lot). The New Testament examples of Jesus and Paul are key for me here. I especially like Paul's focus, in First Corinthians, on helping the poor through inclusion in a unified Christian whole. A key scripture in my thinking is Luke 22:32, where Jesus says to Peter, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." This verse doesn't say nearly what most people think it does. For one thing, the word "converted" is fairly rare in the New Testament; in fact, the word "repentance" usually covers the concept of "conversion" in New Testament Greek. The word translated "converted" here means "to turn about." Its dependence on the next phrase can also be understood differently. As I render it, the latter half of this verse reads: "turn around and make your brothers firm." The idea is that once we have achieved any sort of firmness in a gospel principle, we should enable our fellow members to do the same. Thus, when I hear admonitions to stay out of debt, have food storage, or support our families, I always think, "If I, or any of us, have succeeded in this, have we taken the steps in our society to enable our 'brethren' to stay or get out of debt, to prepare for the future, and to support their families while having enough non-work time to raise their children?" If we have not, then the desperate results only demonstrate the wisdom of the audacious statement in the Doctrine and Covenants: "But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin" (D&C 49:20).
I am an assistant professor of the classics, dealing primarily with Greek poetry. The primary effect of my education on my understanding of the gospel has to do with the prominence of the New Testament in my life. I have found the New Testament much more clear and powerful in the original Greek, and I cannot easily explain away Jesus's more difficult commandments. It is only natural to attempt to reconstruct difficult teachings in order to make ourselves feel compliant (the now-debunked "eye of a needle" interpretation is the best example of this). But I tend rather to see myself as a sinner who has a long road of faith and action to travel before I am as kind, caring, and selfless as Jesus would have me be. A second effect of my work in the classics is a better tolerance for cultures different from ours. While classics sometimes still carries the aura of "dead white men," in fact the differing values of the ancients can be very eye-opening, much like extended exposure to foreign modern cultures. I see the hand of God moving throughout antiquity, but what I see is that different times and cultures can only approximate an understanding of His will--and often as close as they can get is, to my view, really very far off indeed. I conclude, inductively, that we, too, must still be seeing "through a glass, darkly," and are in desperate need of constant divine guidance and of sympathy for those who approach God from very different paths. I am reluctant to condemn others, because I feel God looking at me, shaking His head, and saying that He wishes I were ready to understand the bigger picture.
My hopes for MESJ in Utah County are, at first, limited: I hope for a MESJ that can sustain itself more easily. I am at the two-daughters-on-soccer-teams stage of my life and can rarely even make a MESJ meeting (I do when I can!). So I hope for a critical mass, for an engine. At present, the chapter is still attempting to come out of a summer hiatus--a gap caused by our heavy reliance on people who surround BYU and tend to be gone for the summer. We had a start-up meeting on September 15 and have plans for Utah County MESJ's largest meeting yet, to be held on September 29. But there are more hopes. I hope for a group that includes students, but more broadly: UVSC and BYU, I think, would work much better together than apart. I hope for a group that includes more people from the community, besides students. But there is no point in directionless growth. I hope for MESJ to make a name for itself in service. Service to those who need it is, of course, a good in itself. It would also enable MESJ to speak with more authority for the problems and issues facing our community. But the sort of service that is usually needed requires a long-term commitment, and that means that we need a more stable, larger, and less transient group of active MESJ members in Utah County. Last and certainly least, I hope for a MESJ emblem on a tie, so I can wear it to class! Question of the Month Does concern for worker justice affect your buying habits? We posed this question in last month's newsletter. Here's how some readers responded:
Joanna Brooks, Austin TX I must confess that so far I've mainly been concerned with my own job at United Airlines, where the latest cost saving measure is deleting the workers pension benefits! Luckily we are represented by strong unions, but I realize that many workers have no representation whatsoever. Can anyone tell me more about ways to let my buying habits have an effect on worker justice? Is there a web site with information? [Editor's note: Does anyone have an answer? Email us.] Robert Poore, Las Vegas NV Boycotts alone don't make a difference. If you feel strongly enough not to shop with a certain company, it's important to let the company know that you're not shopping with them and why. Otherwise there's no message being sent. I myself have mixed feelings about boycotts because I'm not sure how helpful they are for workers. It's another thing when the workers themselves are organizing a boycott, as Cesar Chavez did. Ben Cramer, Tempe AZ
Note that the question isn't who you'll vote for, but how you go about making the decision. What are the issues that matter most to you? How do gospel principles guide your decision-making? How do you find information about candidates? Is prayerful study and reflection part of your process? Send your responses by October 25 to jcduffy@hotmail.com. Please put "Anxiously Engaged" in the subject line. Include your name and your city. Responses may be edited for space, tone, and clarity.
A Thought for the Upcoming Election Do you wonder how to vote in the upcoming elections? Recently I came accross the following interesting statement: "God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat." In other words, don't take anything for granted, vote on the issues, not on images! As a grass roots organization, MESJ focuses on just that: important issues! To read more about this, visit the website of Sojourners, another faith-based social justice organization. Robert Poore, Las Vegas NV Upcoming Events and Observances
Contribute to Our Thanksgiving Issue Anxiously Engaged is always interested in submissions. We're especially interested, for next month's issue, in publishing your Thanksgiving reflections. We live in a world where there's a lot that's going wrong. What about what's going right? What do we have to be thankful for? What fruitful efforts have been made this year towards peace, justice, and wiser stewardship? Send your reflections to Media Director John-Charles Duffy at jcduffy@hotmail.com.
Please include "Anxiously Engaged" in the subject line.
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