Paul took a lot of time in the scriptures to describe how now that they are to live by a higher law, circumcision is no long necessary for salvation. His main concern was that there were many people more concerned with the letter of the law than the spirit of the law. I think that we can use his concern for the people of ancient times to relate to how we should make choices today. The first example that came to my mind in these modern times was that of R rated movies. The was a point where the leaders of the church advised the members of the church to avoid watching R rated movies because the material is likely to chase away the Spirit, something that we should be continuously striving to have as our companion. Recently the leaders have been less exact about our standards concerning movies and other entertainment saying “Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way” (For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God). Does this sudden shift in views suddenly mean that the people of the LDS church should start running to movie theaters and seeing all of the R rated movies that were previously prohibited? Does this mean that the Latter-Day Saints who don’t watch R rated movies should condemn the Latter-Day Saints that do? I would say no to both questions.
At the end of the day the church stands where it says it stands and if you can find an R rated movie that fits it’s standards than you are probably a miracle worker, but more to the point is that it doesn’t matter whether the movie is rated R, PG-13 or even G, we should only be watching uplifting entertainment that will bring us closer to God (Easier said than done, of course).
More closely addressing the second question, we are all responsible for our own choices. Places ourselves above anyone else whether it be because of our wealth (similar to Book of Mormon times) or because we don’t watch R rated movies (drink caffeine, watch TV on Sundays, etc.) we are promoting disunity. Our ultimate goal as Saints is to be prepared to live in the Celestial Kingdom where we will live by the Law of Consecration. In order to live by this law it is essential that we feel love for all mankind and have this sense of unity, not pride. If we are truly aiming to prepare to live in the Celestial Kingdom we will avoid separating people around the world (be they members or not) into social classes.
Being a member of this church is not a process of following a set of rules placed before us through our leaders from our God. We are here to strive to do what is right, everyday, throughout our entire lives. The guidelines that we receive through prophets and the scriptures are only meant to help us achieve our greatest potential. The Spirit can confirm to us that the principles of these laws are true. We will be overwhelmed with the spirit as we continue to pursue these truths and we will feel a great joy from following them. More important than anything else: we are so blessed to have the atonement for those days that we haven’t necessarily done even our best every day. It is evident that Christ loves us and knows us. He knew that we would make mistakes, but He still wanted a way for us to come unto Him. He provided that way whether we watch R rated movies or not; whether we are circumcised or not.
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