Sexual sin which flies in the face of the first commandment given in the Garden of Eden, is serious, to be sure. But, this sin of not caring for the least in the Kingdom and being obsessed with materialism, is far greater.
Interesting:
Nibley says:
Approaching Zion p. 184: As Paul also reminds us, it was when the people of Sodom and Gomorrah denied passing strangers and even the birds of heaven their share of the fruit on the trees that Abraham cursed them in the name of his God; according to the Midrash, their sexual aberrations were second in wickedness to such meanness of spirit.
Approaching Zion p. 220: We are told that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah put nets over their trees to deny the birds their lunch and Abraham, seeing it, cursed them in the name of his God."
Approaching Zion p. 322-323 They trusted in the multitude of their wealth. . . . Wealth thrusts aside its owners from the fear of Heaven. . . They [even] fenced in all their trees on top above their fruit so that they should not be seized; [not] even by the bird of heaven. . . . They plundered each others' goods. . . . If a man was killed working on the tower, he was ignored. But if a brick fell they sat down and wept.
Is it possible that both sins, that is sexual sin and the sin of greed go together? I think they are tied together. As you see the sexual degradation of our society get worse. You also see the "every man for himself" mentality get worse. Sexual sin is very selfish in and of itself!
ReplyDeleteI love Hugh Nibley but there is no doubt in my mind that his politics helped lead us to this problem. Hugh studied at Berkley and his politics showed throughout all his life. I'm sure if he were with us today he would be a big backer of Obama and Reid. In his day he loved Jimmy Carter. He was a big fan of re-distribution of wealth. Re-distribution is one of the many things that brought us to this point. Steeling from the rich to give to the poor doesn't make me generous because I'm caring for the poor with someone else's money. Caring for the poor means that I need to work hard so that I can have the opportunity to give to the poor. Taking it from me via taxes doesn't make me feel generous, moreover it doesn't abrogate my responsibility to care for the poor and needy.
I love ol Hugh Nibley but I think he was wrong in so many ways.
I think you are wrong about Hugh Nibley.... I don't think that he would ever back up Obama or Reid. Don't spread rumors even if he is not with us today. He had much greater character than that. Just Sayin!!! :)
DeleteHere is an interesting read.
Deletehttp://hughnibley.net/2013/03/05/hugh-nibley-worlds-worst-politician/
Don't get me wrong Hugh Nibley was and is an amazing man but like all of us he was very imperfect. His imperfections shined thru with his political stances.
Just Sayin ;-)
Just a personal opinion, but I've generally been a Republican all my life, despite (or maybe especially because of) the fact that my parents were pretty much liberal democrats. But I've come to realize that the Republicans have duped the Mormons about as much as the Democrats have duped the blacks. I think we're fighting the wrong fight. It's got to be so obvious that both parties are complete frauds and are working for the beast.
DeleteI might be mistaken, but if I had to rank sins in their order of seriousness, they would be: Denying the Holy Ghost, Murder, Homosexuality, Adultery, Fornication. Those sins cannot be "un-done". You could repent from not helping the poor - and then go help them. Not very likely that you can murder someone and then bring them back to life, or restore someone's virtue. I am sure that Sodom and Gomorrah were rife with sin of every kind. The blood of innocent people was probably screaming from the ground for justice. I think it would be hard to pinpoint that one sin that broke the camels back. My $0.02.
ReplyDeletewow...I shudder to think that I would ever be the person denying the effects of the atonement, for which our Savior suffered. It seems to me you are putting limits on, and defining what the Lord can and does do. For anyone reading this who has committed one of these serious sins, the Lord can and through your repentance, will restore you to perfect cleanliness.
ReplyDeleteOne other thought...I would rank Adultery ahead of Homosexuality in grievousness because of the covenants broken (whether a civil or temple marriage) and because of the damage to the family unit and children.
ReplyDelete