Driving home from visiting my family this past Monday night AH and I were talking about the last General Conference. I realized I had the November Ensign in the car so AH suggested I read aloud some of the talks given. We had missed a great deal of them in October (during the live broadcast) since we were on a plane the first day of GC and out exploring Maui the second day (though we did catch the morning session on Sunday). I ended up reading several talk to him, all excellent, but it was the last one that put into words so many current issues that we both have had a hard time explaining to some of our friends/family around us. Elder D. Todd Christofferson was so eloquent in his talk titled "Moral Discipline" that I urge you to read (or reread it) if you haven't already. It is an excellent talk for anyone of any faith.
A few of my favorite quotes are as follows:
Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service (see Mark 10:42–45). The root of the word discipline is shared by the word disciple, suggesting to the mind the fact that conformity to the example and teachings of Jesus Christ is the ideal discipline that, coupled with His grace, forms a virtuous and morally excellent person.
As a consequence, self-discipline has eroded and societies are left to try to maintain order and civility by compulsion. The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that “gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior. …
I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are (see D&C 93:24). Without that, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the alternatives that come before them.
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1 comment:
Oh wow I definitely agree with your post. Religion has such a bad reputation due to the way that people have abused it. At the same time, how can we expect our children to grow up and become upstanding citizens if there is no discipline in the home? I am in favor of "it takes a village...", yet our society has become quite dependent on outside forces.
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