Not so different

I have kind of hinted at this before, so I don't want to belabor the point. Also, I think it should be fairly obvious.

I think one of our (maybe our church specifically but probably pretty common to other churches) flaws is that we tend to view different kinds of sins as inherently different from each other.

Maybe it's because they come up in temple recommend interview questions.

Meaning that we may think that a person who uses alcohol or smokes or has sex as uniquely sinful, compared to people who lose their temper and judge other people.

I know there is a grand tradition of this, because the Pharisees considered themselves better than other people based on some of the things that they did. For us that would probably equate to church attendance and not sleeping around. However, we know that they did not have charity, that they were not particularly generous, and while they might not have considered themselves dishonest there was a lack of integrity.

And the Savior said the harlots and publicans would get into Heaven before them.

I think that's worth reflecting on.

Maybe one reason we consider some sins different is that they are easy to monitor, though that falls apart upon closer examination.

I know right away if I am having sex with other people or drinking alcohol. I might have a harder time determining if I am really being kind or humble.

That sounds like it makes sense, but people are great at justifying different things, where they might be able to maintain a surprising amount of denial about fairly obvious things.

And, if you are not being kind enough, I suspect if you listen, you will find that you know.

That being said, some of those more obvious things might be repented of more clearly. That does not take into account issues of addiction, but that leads to a completely different issue.

It is worth thinking about how often addiction seems to correlate with difficult life circumstances, and unhealed trauma.

It also bears some thinking easy it is for various types of sins to fall along different financial sectors. To be a prominent Pharisee, you probably needed to be doing all right financially.  

I have appreciated at times going through those temple recommend questions, and the reminders that yes, I do believe in this, and I am living according to my beliefs.

There may also be a level on which those questions are too easy or seem too easy.

We may need to ask ourselves harder questions.