FAIR's Rising Generation

Archive for September, 2009

Greetings much-esteemed readers!

You have stumbled upon a blog of unique purpose and content; how very fortunate for you! Also how very fortunate for me that you are reading my post, because I have an important message I want to share with you. It goes like this: I am a part of a cause that is quickly becoming a major force for good in the world, and I want to share what it is that I am doing with you. I want you to know that I am seventeen years old, male, and seeking someone who is passionate about some of the same things as me including helping others, as well as raising moral standards high above society’s norm and spreading the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ over the internet.

My name is Erik Slack, and no I don’t want to date you, but I do want you to join with me and the others members of FAIR’s Rising Generation to help make a positive difference. Come be part of an organization that empowers other LDS youth to learn more about their religion, how it applies to them, and how to make better decisions because of it. Does this sound like your cup of (herbal) tea? If it does then send me a message right now by following this link: Click to sign up now!

When you leave this blog, I want you to know what it is that FRG stands for, why we exist, and what we are doing that deserves your attention.

FRG stands for FAIR’s Rising Generation. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who sacrifice time and energy to support the youth. No we have not been called by anyone in the church to perform this work, but “he who must be commanded in all things is a slothful and not a wise servant.” This organization exists simply because volunteers, such as myself, have found a worthy cause in helping the youth–please understand that when I say youth I use the term loosely–and have dedicated their time and talents to furthering that cause.

Earlier in this post I said you who are reading this post are fortunate, which is true because I believe that you will benefit from information about FRG’s newest projects. I am pleased to announce the newest project of FRG: podcasts featuring interviews of some of the great minds and voices in our day and age. The FRG team will be interviewing figures such as Vickey Taylor and Scott Gordon and much, much more. Our first release of this series will be in the next couple of weeks so keep your eyes open and your ears ready to digest some awesome audible treats.

Another recent project that I’ve been working on personally for the past couple of weeks is the official FRG website. On the site we are featuring the articles recently written by David Ferguson including an article about how to prepare your missionary’s wardrobe for the two years they’ll be serving the Lord. Most of what is currently on the website is exlusively for FRG members to help us in our work, however in the near future we will be opening up a section for the community. I hope to have more exciting news about this in the coming weeks. Watch for it!

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week!

Hello, everybody!

My name is Frank Robertson. I’m a seventeen year old who has probably read too much apologetics for his own good. I have to give a heartfelt thanks to Christi, who found me during a class at EFY, to our founder Erik, who has put up with my endless questions for the past few weeks, not to mention edited and refined this post into the late hours of the night. Last but certainly not least to the members of FRG who mercilessly exposed all my errors of judgment and clarity in writing this post!

As the newest member of FRG, I’ve spent quite a while pondering my purpose, and having the purpose of the organization explained to me (special thanks to Noah and David on that one!). I believe my purpose is to explain the joys and obstacles in my life, as a seventeen year old trying to live the gospel. With any luck the things I have to say will be doctrinally correct, and some other teen will benefit from my (lack of) experience.

For my first post I’d like to discuss one of Satan’s weapons which I have particular difficulty with. It’s an instrument which I believe to be in wide use among youth today, both in the church and out of it. It is a debilitating and subtle assault so typical of our adversary and one I think that needs to be dealt with as such.

I speak of despair, of the fear which binds tongues, and the melancholy which oppresses spirits. Please understand that I do not speak of depression in the medical sense, which is an actual affliction which should be brought to a medical professional and dealt with accordingly. The difference really is that clinical depression won’t go away without proper psychiatric attention, more information can be found here.

For the rest of us despair falls into a few distinct categories:

• worldly sorrow for sin,
• rationalized sadness we won’t let go of,
• and fear of sinning distorted to paralysis.

I’m not going to deal with the first one, except to say that you need to pray and maybe even go to your bishop about it. We’ve all heard about repentance since the day we were two feet tall. Enough said.

“…Despair” parts one and two will deal with rationalized sadness and fear as despair, respectively. Part three will discuss what you can do to help someone coping with despair. I might throw in a ‘part four’ if someone thinks of something I missed.

Now I’m just seventeen years old. That means I haven’t seen despair in all it’s colors, but I remember what I have seen. I pray that the words I write will touch someone’s heart somewhere. I pray that you’ll know others have been where you are today, and through the love of our Savior they survived. I pray that the lessons I have learned and the prices I have paid will help you in your life.

That’s all the space I’ve got for now! But don’t despair! The next segment of this series will be here before you know it!

Most critics are one trick ponies, meaning they have a very small arsenal of baseless accusations to draw from. Nevertheless, if you tell the same lie enough times, people start to believe it no matter how incredible. The criticism I find the most implausible is that Mormons believe in a “different Jesus”, who is either imaginary or fraudulent.

I always root for the underdog; I believe all human beings deserve respect regardless of status; and I’m quick to speak out against injustice towards others. One thing I’m not, however, is vengeful. It is said that hate begets hate, and violence begets violence, but when I recently considered the amount of pain, betrayal, and abuse I had been the recipient of throughout my life, I only had to wonder briefly why it now seemed so irrelevant. The reason came to mind almost instantly: “Because you have been saved.” Temporal loss means nothing when you know you’ve been promised everything.

While I don’t think my experience is unique among Mormons, I’ve often wondered why, if you ask a Sunday School class of Latter-Day Saints whether we are saved by grace or works, they’ll each give you a different answer. To be fair, when asked the same question, I always fail to offer a concise reply. How could I have been raised on the truth of the restored gospel and not know? Perhaps it’s because we’ve all been cornered into using the wrong terms–those of our critics. Thus, in my own words, I will explain how I believe we are saved.

God has a gift for us. It’s more than just a happy place; it’s an endowment of power, obtained by means of covenant–not payment. We don’t earn it, nor do we even deserve it, but we still must ultimately prove that we’re ready to receive it. When we become Latter-day Saints, we commit through faith to be Sons and Daughters of God. Thus, we covenant to be his children, and he covenants to be our Father. This is a parent-child relationship and easy enough to understand. If you’re weak but committed, God will be long-suffering towards you. If you’re able but stubborn, then he may ultimately give up on you.

The Book of Mormon itself says that Salvation is free. Once you have obtained the promise, you only want to live worthily of it and grow. Your works become acts of gratitude. Is the gift of Salvation conditional? Yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that God will never lose faith in you if you never lose faith in Him.

My Savior has been long-suffering, generous, and merciful towards me. Because he has given and taught me so much already, I have no reason to doubt the promise of Eternal Life and proclaim it to others. So I ask, what ‘other Jesus’–being so silent and inconsequential–is more deserving of my devotion?

Stripling Warriors Design by ~ShinobiWan1 on deviantART

I believe this is a truly stunning piece of indie art. The author added the girl at the last minute simply because he was asked to by the people who commissioned him. However, I think it makes all the difference. It establishes that connection between ancient and modern, reminding us that as Latter-day Saints, we share a common religion with the Book of Mormon peoples. Also, it’s almost as if the girl has a spiritual presence there, given that it was the power of women that gave the 2000 strippling warriors the strength they needed to survive.

A key point in defending your faith is choosing your battles. It is surprising to some that certain philosophies, although held by many, or even the majority of, church members need not be defended at all. No one is under any obligation to defend the Church’s stance in a case in which the Church has no stance. It may seem obvious, but many people feel that certain ideas are fundamentally in opposition to their beliefs, when in fact, they are irrelevant. Evolution is one such issue.

Many church members are quite disturbed by the idea of organic evolution. They may take exception to the idea that man evolved from lower life forms, or that that there was death before the Fall. Perhaps they don’t think the Earth is older than 6,000 years, that humans have existed equally as long as the Earth, or that the Earth was created in exactly seven days.

Then again, there are and have been faithful LDS members (including apostles, BYU faculty members, and LDS scientists) who do believe that the Earth came into existence eons ago, that there was animal and plant death before the Fall, or even that man’s physical body (although the spirit is of divine heritage) was created over millions of years through the process of evolution.

The great part is that you can believe whatever you want and not worry about your testimony! As David O McKay once wrote in a letter to the Geology Department at BYU, “the Church has officially taken no position [on evolution].”

The scriptures tell us why the Lord created us, not how. They are designed to teach us of salvation, the atonement, and the eternal nature of our spirits, not the natural history of the Earth. I encourage anyone who reads this to come to their own conclusions and not feel pressured by the (sometimes adamant or misinformed) views of others, be they in or outside of the Church. Whatever your opinion, it has nothing to do with your standing in the Church or your salvation.

In response to a dispute between Joseph Fielding Smith, James Talmage, and B.H. Roberts on the issue of “pre-Adamites”, President Heber J Grant and the current first presidency made this statement:

Upon the fundamental doctrines of the Church we are all agreed. Our mission is to bear the message of the restored gospel to the people of the world. Leave Geology, Biology, Archaeology, and Anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research.

For a more in-depth examination of views on evolution throughout Church history, take a look at this article on the FAIR wiki. The evolution debate dates back to Joseph Fielding Smith, who was opposed to evolution, and James Talmage and B.H. Roberts, who were much more open to the idea. All were prominent members of the Church, so it’s interesting to see their take, and their ultimate decision to leave science to the scientists.