My Talk: Greed

Although it is appropriate and important to remember the historic 19th-century Mormon pioneer trek, we need to remember that “the trek through life continues!” for each of us as we prove our own “faith in every footstep.”

-- "The Trek Continues", Elder M. Russell Ballard, October 2017 General Conference

There were two things that especially stuck out to me in Elder Ballards counsel for our days, so those will be two different posts. 

Actually, there are kind of three things, but two of them really go together. First...

Do not listen to those who entice you with get-rich schemes. Our members have lost far too much money, so be careful.

In some places, too many of our people are looking beyond the mark and seeking secret knowledge in expensive and questionable practices to provide healing and support.

An official Church statement, issued one year ago, states: “We urge Church members to be cautious about participating in any group that promises—in exchange for money—miraculous healings or that claims to have special methods for accessing healing power outside of properly ordained priesthood holders.”

The Church Handbook counsels: “Members should not use medical or health practices that are ethically or legally questionable. Local leaders should advise members who have health problems to consult with competent professional practitioners who are licensed in the countries where they practice.”

Brothers and sisters, be wise and aware that such practices may be emotionally appealing but may ultimately prove to be spiritually and physically harmful.

It did not strike me in 2017. 

It could have. I know our people love multi-level marketing schemes and alternative health practices.

I only served in two areas on my mission. In one, there was a full Laotian branch (two actually), but in the other area it was a Lao group in an Anglo ward. Suddenly, once we started having dinner appointments with the white members, we received sales pitches on knives and supplements that treated all sorts of long-term condition. This was also where I first learned that ear candling exists.

These were all good people, and at the time I didn't think any more about it than that it was kind of weird.

Looking at this talk from 2017 now, this was less than a year before surface fractures started appearing at LuLaRoe. It was a full three years before a global pandemic started that would lead to members choosing to not only ignore science but also ignore caring for others, some getting angry at the counsel of our prophet -- who has extensive medical training -- because it contradicted what their political leader said.

Elder Ballard's talk feels different now.

In fact, there is some church history that has distrust of doctors built in. There was a time when not only was prejudice against the Mormons high but also medical science was not far advanced. I remember an old family friend being annoyed when her husband's heart medication was making him more lively; she did not want modern medicine to be the way he was helped. Her father had been excommunicated for speaking out against doctors. 

That was a long time ago. We should be better now.

If I may go on a tangent for a moment, I had brought in one other conference talk, though I could not tell you the date or the speaker's name. I don't want to look it up, because I don't need a reason to hold something against a general authority.

The talk in itself was fine, but there was a mention of Halloween, and he kept reiterating that it was not his favorite holiday, making his contempt for it clear. 

Halloween is my favorite holiday, but the reason it is relevant here is that I remember thinking him saying that was a sign of being infected by evangelicals. Saints have been having Halloween parties for decades, and the only way we have been at all weird about it has been the prohibition on masks.

I mention that because prosperity gospel and contempt for the poor are not things that the true gospel promotes. There are many things that have become entrenched mindsets for other religious groups that are not from us, and yet we take them in. 

I promise you that they will not love us for being like them, and I promise that the love we need to have for others will be harder to maintain with that influence.

“The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty and all manner of persecution and be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth.” – Brigham Young

Attempts to get rich, and a focus on getting rich, can do enough harm, even without the wealth being obtained.

From Elder Ballard again:

For our pioneer ancestors, independence and self-reliance were vital, but their sense of community was just as important. They worked together and helped one another overcome the physical and emotional challenges of their time.

For me, in many ways that abandonment of community has been the most discouraging part. It's not just that people who should know better would not act to protect themselves, but that they would also not face a minor inconvenience to protect the disabled and the immune-compromised, the young and the old.

In fact, our willingness to care for each other is not just the best way of surviving difficult times in the last days, but also perhaps the best indicator of our alliance with Christ, who always chose to serve and help.

The will play a key part in the final post for next week.