What it means to be powerful

 In your mind, picture that guy who is abusing his wife. Trailer house, wife beater shirt, beer bottles on the floor in and out. Starving dogs in their own filth outside the trailer. That guy. Who wants to be that guy? Absolutely none of us. Does he think he's "better than" because he can beat his wife any time at all? Probably. Is he powerful? He is not more powerful than the stuff his dogs are leaving in his yard.

That's what I've been working on lately: what is a powerful man? What is a powerful person? What is real power? Obviously our friend above is not powerful - he's a despicable waste of potential. What about others? Is a rich person powerful? I suspect it depends. If he's using his money to throw his weight around and prove he can get what he wants, he's no different than the trailer trash man. Money doesn't make you powerful - it's something else that causes real power.

What about the politician? The senator or the president? I have never personally met a president of a country, but I have lived through a number of their administrations. The most recent ones are men whose personalities and character I loathe. I wouldn't let them in my home. No matter the party, these men are nothing I'd want to be like. Are they powerful? Not in any way that I respect. Yes, they have the ability to throw their weight around and get what they want.

And again we see that despite their position, these people are not that much different than trailer trash guy.

Rock stars! Are they powerful? Thousands or millions of adoring fans. Drugs, sex and rock and roll. Wasted bodies, no purpose, turn the page.

So what does it mean to be a powerful person? I was reading in Mosiah 11 today. This is where the priests were changed out to suit a king's wishes. What had been God's chosen leaders were changed to suit the political needs of a community that wanted more politically correct (corrupt) men.

And then they started building stuff. Towers, thrones, gold laced chairs, elegant and spacious stuff. Elevated positions. Did the new priests need these symbols of power to support them because they knew that the power didn't come from inside them? I realize that a prophet doesn't need a golden throne to be a prophet - he needs well worn sandals. Or in today's case, shoes. He doesn't need a tower, he needs power that comes from inside himself. From God.

It occurs to me that a person who uses props to pronounce his power (a lambo, expensive furniture, a thoroughly beaten or demoralized wife, stories of their own awesomeness, trophies from 20 years ago, expensive clothing, etc) probably is not and never has been powerful. That person may be miles behind the average Joe that you meet on the street randomly. Power? I don't think so. Surrounded by props? That's true - but it's not power.

I could throw in one more. Knowledge about pro sports. Knowing who should have drafted who in which round, and how it would have been affected by available spending caps is interesting, but it doesn't make a man a real man. It's a prop too.

So if all of the typical signs of power are not powerful, then what does it mean to be a powerful man? Or powerful woman? The answer may be about the most powerful man the universe has ever known: our Creator.

He didn't need props. From my understanding of the bible, he didn't use any. No expensive chairs, no beaten wives, and the crown they placed on his head was placed against his will. His props were the moments when he served others by teaching them and washing their feet.

So what does power mean? Where does it come from? I believe that real power comes only from the inside. From having cleansed the inner vessel to the point that Christ can work with you to lead others. That powerful person can't be recognized by their car, but if your soul is open to them, they can be recognized by the spirit. When you find them, learn from them and support them. Gain from them. Find someone who can lift you - that person is powerful in a real way.

To be clear, it's not money that's the problem. It's how the money is used. If the rich person uses their money to support abused women, that's power. If the money is used to abuse, that's a prop.

May we all search for real power in ourselves, and surround ourselves by others who have real power in themselves. May we fill our souls with real power, then dedicate our lives to sharing that gift we have received.

#lds #mormon #Jesus #Christ #love #spirit #faith #sharegoodness #lighttheworld #ldsshare #giftsandguides #thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints

Good intentions are not enough

So I have to admit, I've fallen out of the routine, and I feel less guided lately. It's entirely possible that one has much to do with the other - I don't know. I tried to get back into clearing my pipeline yesterday with some reading in the Doctrine and Covenants. It didn't inspire me and I found nothing to write about. This is a time to return to home. For me, that's the Book of Mormon. I've said it before many times, but its simplicity and straightforward spiritualness (is that a thing?) make it a good place for me to come back home to.

So I'm reading in Mosiah today. I started at the top of the page, then worked backwards, each time looking for more background story. I saw in verse 18 where Zeniff, the pioneer and first king of the group, wrote at the end of his life that his people's problems were caused by Laman, the king of the lamanites whose land he pioneered. He said Laman caused all those problems "by his cunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises".

credit: veterinaryitsupport.com

It struck me funny. I'm sure Laman was all those things and more, but this looked to me like a guy that was perhaps not taking responsibility. "That guy over there made my life miserable!" We all hear it, we've all felt it, and we've all wanted to be the person pointing the finger.

Really, I suspect that nobody can force us to be miserable. Only we can make our own lives miserable, or we can allow others into our vulnerable places enough to allow them to make us miserable. Either way, we caused or allowed the misery. It's not them, it's us.

But this guy is a writer in the Book of Mormon, right? He's a prophet? And he doesn't get the concept of personal responsibility? My first thought again, is yes. Men are prophets. Prophets are men. The Lord has to work with the tools he has available, and we're all messed up - one way or the other. It has to be a pretty messy business from the Lord's perspective - using people who are guaranteed to be imperfect while running your organization on earth.

So then I went back some more in the chapter. Was Zeniff a prophet? Turns out no. He was a good hearted man who was a Nephite spy. While spying he found Lamanite lifestyles that warmed his heart. There were families, there was love, there was certainly kindness. He wanted to believe that the Lamanites were misunderstood by the Nephites.  To prove that, he resolved to take a group of Nephites into Lamanite land to live with them in peace, happiness and prosperity. Kumbaya would reign.

So he did just that. They did OK for a while, then things go badly, and Zeniff goes back to blaming Laman for being cunning and evil.

There's a problem in all this. The problem is not that Zeniff wasn't a prophet - he was a well intentioned, good man. He called himself overzealous in verse 9.

Here's the point: Zeal alone, or good intentions, or kind heartedness, or whatever its name may be, is no replacement for learning and following the will of the Lord. Zeniff had no directive from the Lord to do what he did. It didn't come from any prophet or leader, and it didn't come from personal inspiration. It came from a belief system he developed while working as a spy for the Nephites.

Was he a member of the church? Probably. Did his membership alone make his decisions divinely inspired? Nope. Did he choose to rely only on his own intellect? Sadly, yes. Membership alone in the Lord's church doesn't make us correct in our decisions - we have to know that our decisions came from the Lord. As a result of Zeniff's well meaning personal decision, generations of his followers suffered and died.

I guess it's also fair to say that they can't blame Zeniff. They chose to follow him, because his idea sounded great. They didn't bother to check in with the Lord to make sure the Lord thought the idea was OK.

At the risk of straying from the subject, it kinda reminds me of politics. People get drawn to ideas that sound great, but are known to fail. Even after the idea shows itself to be a failure, they still cling to the idea because it still sounds great.

How does this apply to us? Sometimes we see a need: That homeless person on the corner wants money, or the neighbor across the street needs whatever, or the wayward grandson needs a place to live (I could tell you so many meth stories). These are all conditions that tug at our hearts, but rather than simply give, we must check in first with the Lord. Will we be further ruining that person's life by handing him money for the next fix? Will the neighbor use our kindness as a way to avoid looking for a job? Will the grandson move in and contaminate the home? As a former meth home remediator, I can say you lose everything. Everything. It all goes to the landfill. Then grandma and grandpa get to start over. and the meth head moves on to the next good hearted victim.

So we need to check in with the Lord. He knows if that beggar is hungry, or if he's going to feed his addiction. The Lord knows, and he is all too willing to provide us with that guidance. We have to keep our end of the pipeline clear.

From personal experience lately, I know that's not easy. But I do remember that it's worth it.

#lds #mormon #Jesus #Christ #love #spirit #faith #sharegoodness #lighttheworld #ldsshare #giftsandguides #thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints