So Judgemental

I've heard it said that we can never judge others. In defense of wrong actions or behavior many refer to Christ's admonition to "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt 7:1). In this context the citer is saying, don't judge my actions or yours will be judged. While partially true, the admonition to 'judge not' is incomplete and translated correctly by latter-day prophet Joseph Smith to say.

JST Matt. 7: 1-2 Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people. Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged: but judge righteous judgment.

It makes more sense too. We know that we must make judgements daily and the light of Christ is given that we may make correct judgements. How can we choose good friends to spend time with, without making a character judgement? How can we weed out negative influences and improve ourselves without judging ourselves and others. The incomplete translation of this verse would lead one to believe that everyone who calls you out is a hypocrite. That isn't true. In my life some of the most important course corrections have come from the friends and family telling me my behavior wasn't right. The most recent admonition from a friend was to be less crude. You know who you are.

The Book of Mormon further elaborates how we are to judge. Warning! Long quote. (Moroni 7:12-19)

12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood cometh of God; and that which is ^bevil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is ^dinspired of God.

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.

19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the ^alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a ^bchild of Christ.

So basically judge away! But do it right because we will ALL be judged eventually. How we judge will determine who we become and who we become will determine how God judges us.

Seriously?

Surfing is great. Listen to the guys in this clip. They are so cool.

Burrrrrrr-oh. Bro? Bro!

Brad Gerlach is the most obnoxious of all! Anytime he talks in a DVD segment I want to eject the disk and snap it in half. And the SoCal surf drawl started in the OC and adopted by the 909 elite sounds like a child with a learning disability who just got back from getting his mouth numbed at the dentist.

Highlights:

"You're out in the water, your team, and if you rip, errrybody pats you on the back. If you bog, you feel like you let your team down. And that makes people GOO for it!"

"Kyle, take your jersey off!"

"Playin' it safe to the beach doesn't work in this. Go for it! Rip! You know? Try an air! Fall, who cares? You know?"

Avoiding Pride's Pitfall

Last week in Sunday School we had a lesson about the pride cycle shown above. It was good and I was left wondering how to cut from the "blessings" stage back to "humility and repentance" without going through the muck of the bottom half of the cycle. Reading this morning I was grateful to find the answer in a BYU-Idaho meeting summary. It was called "Stopping the Cycle of Pride".

My three take home lessons I gathered were as follows:

1) To say "grateful" or "blessed", rather than "proud of", when speaking of your hook-ups. 

2) To keep your nose in the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) to see and avoid pride. 

3) To avoid the desire to be recognized and "seen of men". 

The slides gave the following list to stay humble during blessings and prosperity:

-conquer enmity with others

-receive counsel

-forgive others

-give selfless service

-preach the word

-go to the temple

-repent & be born of Christ

-Love God - put Him first

Another good talk on the subject and more commonly known is President Benson's "Beware of Pride" talk. 

It is hard to not fall into pride. I do it all the time. As soon as things start going my way it is easy to slack and expect the blessings to continue. Hopefully you are above all that, but just in case I hope these ideas and links help. For some reason all this reminds me of scrooge as someone who rode the waves of the pride cycle...

Something is missing...

I saw a lady with no nose today.

Pulled up to a red light and she looked over towards me. I was pretty sure she had no nose so I pulled up closer to see and caught the side profile. Definitely no nose. From the eyes a straight line down to protruding lips.

This picture of MJ was the least disturbing a google image search for "no nose" turned up.

Stud

I am sold on McCain. Loved the part of his speech where he encouraged activism on the part of individuals who are dissatisfied with the direction politicians are taking us. 

"If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself."

I think our greatest problem in the country is apathy. When people pursue their own financial interests it may work well for the economy, but in doing so we must not forget to incorporate service and giving. Plus, I agree with the argument that Obama just doesn't have the experience necessary for the job. McCain is tried and tested and a better choice. I still would rather have Giuliani or Romney, but oh well. So far I'm liking the arguments for McCain. Still open for suggestions.