Expecting Better

A few comments lately have indicated that I am very critical of the LDS Church and of Conservatives/The Republican Party.

I'm not going to deny that I'm not critical and that I do judge these two groups harsher than I would others, but I'd like to explain myself a little first.

The 13th Article of Faith of the LDS Church is as follows:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

I think that's a great statement, and personally I think that I strive to live in harmony with that. That is what I was raised thinking the LDS Church stands for as well. Unfortunately in recent years, both through experiences in my local congregations, interactions with the upper hierarchy and during employment for the Church Administration, I came to see a lot of things which run contrary to that. In addition, most, if not all of those involved in leadership positions are required to answer a number of questions every year to gauge their worthiness, among which is the question... Are you honest in your dealings with your fellow men?

Do I judge the leadership of this organization more harshly that I do other organizations? You bet I do. But I think the real question is... Do these people believe that they live by a higher standard? Yes they do.

As far as I'm concerned if you claim to live by a higher standard, act as though you live by a higher and then resort to dishonesty and other behaviors in line with characteristics you claim to be against, I think you deserve a greater measure of criticism.

It's the same with the conservatives and the Republican Party, which may and may not be the same thing. They claim to be about traditional values. The party of integrity. If that is indeed the case, when you start lying and engaging in deceit to promote your political agenda, you totally deserve harsher judgment.

That's all I'm saying. If you claim to be living a better life than the rest of mankind, then for goodness sake act like it, and be consistent!

If you claim to be better, we're going to expect you to be better.