Personal Liberty

Lately I have had occasion to ponder and consider on personal liberty. When I say "personal liberty" I'm not talking about liberty in terms of country and government. I'm talking about liberty of oneself from misconception, rationalization and self-betrayal. Regardless of how much our liberties and rights may be protected and respected, it is possible for us to bind ourselves in chains of our own making. These chains are often not noticed at first but slowly restrict and bind our "personal liberty" to such an extent as to literally take away our freedom to choose.

As we go through life and encounter situations, we excersize our agency. We walk a fine line when making choices. Some choices continue and preserve our freedom, while others restrict, bind and blind us from the choices we could and should make.

To understand this better, it is important to make a distinction between what C. Terry Warner calls "Conscience" and "Light". Conscience he defines as "the knowledge of ourselves that we share with ourselves. Our inherent capacity to monitor what we are doing". Light he defines as "the reality of other creatures and of God that guides us in how we ought to respond to them.
There is an essential difference between the two. 'Light we do not control and cannot change; conscience we may misuse to twist our perception of the light and how faithfully we are responding to it." (From the book "Bonds that Make us Free" by C. Terry Warner pg. 134)

The more we align our choices and conscience with light, the freer we become to continue to make choices and be agents of our lives. In the Doctrine and Covenents, section 50 we learn about the nature of light and both how we can obtain or let more of it into our lives as well as the effects it has on us. Verse 24: "That which is of God is light and he that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day". Then there is the key for obtaining the light in vs. 26 and vs. 28. We allow more light into our lives when we a) serve others and b) purify ourselves from all sin. Vs. 27 shows us the powerful results that come: "Wherefore he is possesor of all thing; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son.". What greater liberty could we have than to posses this power from God?

How often in our lives when we seem to feel pressed upon and limited in our choices do we in hind site realize that it was due to our perception, not necessarily the reality of the situation. As we let light in, it opens up the dark corners of "things as they really are" (D&C 93) and allows the "truth to make us free" (John 8:32)

So, as we move foreward in the cause and struggle for freedom, let us keep ourselves free to fight the good fight and not lose our way by giving away our personal freedom through wrong choices.

The Village

Have you seen this movie yet?

Its a thinker. Jen and I watched it the other night and the concept of liberty is strong in it. Not apparant first but as the story unfolds, we learn that those in the village are kept there, not by their own agency but by fear of what is in the woods. I'll try not to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but in essence we learn of a conspiracy by some who desire a good thing but who try and bring it about through fear and ignorance.

Can one truly be free while believing something that is not true? Does the end justify the means when it comes to preserving a certain way of life that a few thing is the best for all. It very much feels like Plato's republic concept where a few "wise" determine the restrictions and upbringing of the others.

It really got us to thinking anyways. Check it out and post your comments.

Response from David Kilgour

Here's the Reply Letter.

In his letter he also included the following article on his website: Same-Sex Marriage – Some Public Policy & Religious Concerns

As I read some more about Mr. Kilgour, I have to say I was quite impressed with his positions on many issues. He is not afraid to profess himself as a Christian and seems to be a man who is standing for something good.

The one concern I do have is with his statement of support for the concept of civil unions. In my mind it is just another name for the same thing and will lead to the same results i.e. a tendancy towards the dissolving of the family unit as a fundamental building block of society.

Let me know your thoughts on this response and David Kilgour.