I cannot speak for the Personal Choice Party, or for the
Mormon/LDS Church. I speak only for myself. I was born
and raised a devout Mormon in Provo Utah, where I earned
a Ph.D. at BYU. I also faithfully served a mission in
France, although I am currently not a member. In
Southern France, a man said to me, "How can God bless or
punish me? He made me from nothing, so He is responsible
for all my actions."
As far as I know, the Mormon Church is the only church
with a logical and satisfactory answer to that question,
unless somehow reincarnation extends back forever.
Speaking to his son, Jacob, Lehi said, "For it must
needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If
not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness
could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness,
neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.
Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one;
wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain
as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption
nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense
nor insensibility. Wherefore, it must needs have been
created for a thing of naught:" (2 Ne 2 11-12)
What was Lehi talking about? What is this requirement
for opposition?
Let us go back to the first conversation between God and
Man, according to the Book of Moses. "And I, the Lord
God commanded the man saying: 'of every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it,
nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is
given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it,'"
(Moses 3:16-17)
Exactly what was given to Adam? Personal Choice. How was
it given? Before the world was created, God created the
spirits of all his children. Then He called a great
council where his plan was presented. He allowed Lucifer
to seduce one-third of his children away from the plan,
and they were cast out, losing the right to mortality.
To the rest of us was given the power of Personal
Choice, that we might choose freely between good and
evil. Then, a Savior was prepared to come into mortality
and pay for the sins of all who chose to receive his
work.
Thus, God so loved the principle of Personal Choice that
he was willing to lose a third of his spirit children to
the cunning words of Lucifer.
Why is Personal Choice so important to God? Without
Personal Choice, you cannot be blessed for doing good
and you cannot be punished for doing evil. It's like the
Frenchman said. So, what's the answer?
Each of us was born spiritually, before entering a
mortal body. Thus, we have a bit of God in us. But, it
goes even further. When God conceived our spirits, he
did not create them from nothing. He took a sparkle of
eternal intelligence for each spirit. That intelligence
is co-eternal with God. Thus, we were never created from
nothing and we stand responsible for our actions, both
good and evil.
I am not aware of any other religion with such a
doctrine. Thus, Joseph Smith claimed that the Founding
Fathers of the United States of America were raised up
for the very purpose of establishing the principles of
our country, including the concepts that we are all
equal and we are endowed with the inviolate right of
Personal Choice, provided we respect the equal rights in
others. (D&C 101:80)
The most important principle in Mormonism (perhaps next
to the atonement) is Personal Choice, and all faithful
Mormons have a spiritual duty to support Personal Choice
in their political activities. Liberals oppose Personal
Choice in property. Conservatives oppose Personal Choice
in adult consensual behavior. Mormons must find, or
organize, a third path, such as the Personal Choice
Party.
Check us out:
www.personalchoice.org and
www.votekenlarsen.com
Ken Larsen, Moderator
Personal Choice Party
