I once thought of the state of Utah as the largest bubble ever created in this country. I wish to apologize to the state of Utah for that. It’s not that I was in error; what I said was accurate. But generally, if you accuse someone of living in a bubble, there is a negative connotation to the accusation, suggesting you are out of touch with the real world. But there is nothing wrong with living in a bubble. It is a good separation from the outside world. Having said that, there are also bad separations from neighbors and other church members – some of which are now being caused by politics. We need to keep the negativity of politics out of our relationships and out of our homes.
Episode #8 - The Right and Wrong Way to Separate Ourselves from the World
This is the podcast Science and Scriptures, episode #8 or “The Right and Wrong Way to Separate Ourselves from the World”
Hi, this is your host Scott Frazer and welcome to episode #8 of the podcast “Science and Scriptures”. The past couple of episodes were interviews with friends of mine talking about the incredible healing mechanisms of the body and the Rule of Law. Today, I wish to talk about something I have thought about for several months, and I finally want to express in this podcast.
First, we should realize that mental anxiety radically affects spirituality.
This relationship was reinforced when found my own spirituality to be affected by the recent political campaigns and all that happened with them. These last few months have been both distracting and upsetting. Whichever political side you take doesn’t matter in this discussion. It is now well-known that social media had helped to separate us, causing us to take more extreme positions in our political views.Apparently, extreme positions somehow justify extreme language and posturing. This unnecessary disrespect in political debates and commentary is equally disturbing. As I endeavor to calm myself after reading news updates, I started thinking about the concept of separating ourselves from the world.
In doing so, I realize there are a right way to separate ourselves and a wrong way to separate ourselves. The right way, I have concluded is to create Bubbles. Not soap bubbles, but the kind that you can live in.
Many years ago, when I lived in Minnesota, I was talking to a female co-worker who had just gotten married. Rather predictably, the subject of families came up. I told her I had four children, which rather astonished this young woman.(Many members of large families have seen that reaction before.) Anyway, this young woman said, “I just don’t know how I could bring a child into a world this screwed up and dangerous.”
As a father, I had thought about this question often – and I was ready with an answer. So I told her my conclusion. “You simply create a bubble around your home and family.You keep your children in that bubble the best you can, usually about 18 years. Hopefully, during that time, you can teach them the principles and wisdom to handle themselves when they leave your bubble.”
I remember she looked at me dubiously, and I don’t know if she ever had children. But in these days when the world seems much more “screwed up and dangerous” than ever before, I thought a good podcast subject would be to point out that there is nothing wrong with living in a bubble.
To begin, I must admit something up front. For the years that I lived outside of Utah, I often called Utah County “Happy Valley”.I thought of the state of Utah as the largest bubble ever created in this country. I wish to apologize to the state of Utah for that. It’s not that I was in error; what I said was accurate.But generally, if you accuse someone of living in a bubble, there is a negative connotation to the accusation. The argument goes that living in a bubble means you are out of touch with the real world. Whatever happiness you find within the bubble is artificial, because it is not tempered with the realities of the world of sin and sorrow. Accepting that there was something wrong with living in a bubble was my mistake, and, for that, I apologize.
Please note that there are several times in religious history that the Lord thought it best that his people separate themselves and live in a bubble.
The first bubble worked out pretty well. The prophet Enoch built a city called The City of Holiness, or Zion. The people (and I quote) “were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them”. Now, this is possible only when you have a separated community of people who believe in God and follow his commandments. Zion was, of course, eventually taken up by God because it was so righteous. God did not want Zion to join the real world and lose that righteousness.
When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, they separated themselves as they wandered for the next 40 years. These 40 years of wandering has always been cast as a consequence and penalty for when the twelve tribes did not have the faith and courage to initially claim the Holy Land. But that delay also gave the newly formed church of the Old Testament a full 40 years to establish its laws and way of life. Only after they moved into the Holy Land and started to mingle with the idol worshippers there did the real problems begin for the children of Israel.
In the Book of Mormon, we see numerous separations. Lehi and his family separated themselves from Jerusalem and the Old World at the command of God. Nephi and the Nephites separated themselves from the Lamanites. Alma and his followers separated themselves from King Noah. The Jaredites separated themselves from the people around the Towel of Babel.
In the New Testament, the early church of Jesus Christ may have wanted to separate themselves, but they really couldn’t. After the resurrection of the Savior, the mission of the church was missionary work. Consequently, the church had to stay where it was. Because of their sacrifice, the church of Jesus Christ managed to establish a foothold in the world. Though the great apostacy occurred, this foothold allowed the teachings of the Gospel to exist for centuries to come.
Though they couldn’t separate themselves physically, the early Christians were encouraged to separate themselves spiritually.
In 2 Corinthians 6:17, Paul told the Corinth congregation,
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
When the Gospel was restored to Joseph Smith, the new church of Jesus Christ started its existence in the eastern half of the United States. Again, missionary work had to be accomplished. The church had to grow before it could separate itself. Men were called to missions almost as soon as they joined the church. The church struggled a bit in Kirtland and Nauvoo, but it grew. Finally, when Joseph Smith was assassinated and the church came under severe oppression by federal and state governments, the time had arrived when the church needed to separate itself from the world. Brigham Young led the Saints away from their homes in Nauvoo and moved them to the wilderness of Utah. During its isolation, the Church of Jesus Christ was able to organize itself. Parents were able to raise their children in a safe and secure bubble. The church continued to grow.
Gradually, the rest of the United States re-incorporated Utah back into the “real world”. Utah became a state in 1896. People who were not Latter-day Saints moved into the state – and the pace of those move-ins has only accelerated. Our state’s separation from the rest of the world has diminished. For missionary work this is a good thing, but it has made keeping your family isolated from the real world more difficult. Neither the church not the state has any choice in the matter. As a church, there is really no place left to separate ourselves to.
So though there is not a bubble around the whole state, there are still bubbles around many communities. I live in Saratoga Springs and I love the bubble we have here. I am not ashamed of our bubble and I will strive to protect that bubble. As I said, I love this place.
One last note about bubbles – they come in different varieties. Some bubbles are security bubbles. Can your kids leave their bikes in the front yard for days without them being stolen? Can Amazon boxes sit on your front porch undisturbed? Then you live in a bubble. Some bubbles are friendship bubbles. Do you have neighbors, or fellow ward members, who would rescue you if your car broke down? Good for you, you have another bubble that many people don’t have. Lastly, is your house surrounded by a spiritual bubble that keeps out the profanity, selfishness, sexual humor, ungratefulness, rudeness and anger of the world?
I know my adult children strive to maintain bubbles around their homes. Behaviors commonly found in the outside world are simply not allowed in their homes. My grandchildren, the oldest of whom is 9, are still figuring out the rules of what they need to leave at the door before entering their homes.
But having filters at the front door of your home is easy compared to maintaining a filter on the Internet cable that comes into the house. That is an ongoing battle. For example, Netflix seems to be intent on including profanity in shows that are otherwise novel and entertaining. Violence is even more commonplace. I once read of a family that allowed their young children to watch television shows up until someone on the program was killed or seriously injured. As the family watched television at the end of the day, it was common to hear their children cry at the television “Don’t kill him. Don’t kill him”. I always thought that was a rather novel way to get your children to abhor violence.
Our prophet and other church leaders constantly encourage us to separate ourselves from the world. The words “consecrate” and “set apart” are verbs which separate a building or a person from the outside world. We use the formal English (such as “Thee” and “Thou”) in our prayers to separate them in our minds from our normal conversations.
So, if people accuse you of living in a bubble, thank them for the compliment. They are recognizing that your children are being protected from influences in the outside world that will harm them. You put a lot of time and effort into maintaining that bubble, and it’s nice when people recognize your work.
Separation
Having praised “living in a bubble”, I want to now make something clear. There are good separations (such as filtering out the debris the world offers). But there are also bad separations that are destructive. A good example of this may be found in 3 Nephi 7:2, when the Nephites were going through a particularly hard time.
“And the people were divided one against another; and they did separate one from another into tribes, every man according to his family and his kindred and friends; and thus they did destroy the government of the land.”
Given the events of 2020 – protest marches, riots, and the election - this verse sounds disturbingly familiar. This year has been a particularly divisive one. We have just come out of a presidential election which clearly emphasized the divisions we see in our nation today. We, like the days of 3rd Nephi, are “separating one from another into tribes” based on political opinion, ethnicity, religion, and personal wealth. These are not the kind of separation that we need in our country or our world.
Political Separation
With that being said, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, we also have a responsibility to not allow the separation and antagonism between political parties to change our views of other people. Let me give you an example how political differences caused severe difficulties in the Early Church.
After the Resurrection, Peter, James and John were given the responsibility to organize the church in the fledgling church in the Holy Land and surrounding areas. They faced some immense difficulties in bringing those congregations together.
You see, cultural and political diversity were high and problematic as Jewish, Gentile, Greek, and Roman converts brought their own beliefs, biases, and traditions into the Church with them. Imagine, if you will, of a church ward made up of four conflicting groups. There were Jews, Gentiles, Romans, and Greeks. Jews, who considered themselves the Chosen People, had looked down on upon all Gentiles for centuries. The Greek and Roman converts came from religious backgrounds that worshipped multiple gods. Their political leaders were not their religious leaders. Jews were very modest in their dress, while Greek athletes competed in the first Olympics in the nude. Romans had ruled over the Jews for decades and considered them a difficult and contentious people. In fact, the Jews of Jerusalem staged a major rebellion in 63 AD, so the two sides were actually at war. Old habits are hard to break.
Then, if you can imagine, a major dispute arose in the church as to whether new converts had to be circumcised. Paul and his Gentile converts thought it unnecessary. Church leaders and Jewish converts in Jerusalem believed it essential. In about AD 47, Acts 11 tells us about a major conference in Jerusalem which tried and failed to resolve the matter. What a mess.
As one might imagine, Paul’s letters to new congregations in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Colosse, Ephesus, and Thessaloniki repeatedly stressed the importance of avoiding dissension. At the end of most of his letters, Paul encouraged congregations to “Greet ye one another with an holy kiss”. We don’t follow this ancient cultural greeting today (especially with the COVID-19 outbreak), but you get the idea.
Members of church wards today come from much more similar backgrounds - yet we now have a political system that is trying to pull the country apart. As we consider our devotion to a political party or platform, compared to our devotion to the church, we might want to consider the first commandment.
Many people tend to think that the first commandment of the Ten Commandments is a skip-over commandment that doesn’t require any attention. We think that, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” was directed to the Israelites who were prone to idol worship. But the Lord then explains why His people shouldn’t worship other gods or graven images.
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
That sounds rather severe doesn’t it? Maybe even a little over the top? It appears that God is not only a jealous God, but He considers you serving other Gods as evidence that you hate Him. The point is that He is a jealous God. Any priorities above Him are simply not a good idea.
Then, in the New testament, we read that the Gospel of Jesus Christ encourages us to love everyone – both our friends and our enemies.
So, what I am trying to say, ever so subtly? Before you are a Republican or a Democrat, you need to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Our political parties are calling on their members to be ever more involved and committed to their political goals. Our political leaders are becoming more and more vitriolic in their denunciations of their political opponents – and they are, through this example, encouraging their followers to do the same. This we simply cannot do! This is the kind of separation that we cannot allow in the church.
It comes down to a simple choice. Your political party, whichever it might be, is encouraging you to denounce anyone who does not agree with their political platforms. The Lord, and your church, is assuredly asking you to treat those same people with love and kindness. Which course will you choose?
In reading the scriptures it is clear – First and foremost, we must be Christians. However many arguments you have that the opposing political party is destroying the country, there is no excuse for treating believers in that party with anything but love and respect.
I mentioned before that your children have to figure out that maintaining a spiritual bubble around their home requires they learn that certain language, songs, videos, and behaviors from the outside world are not allowed in their homes. Negative emotions from the outside world must also be checked at the front door before entering the sanctuary of your home.
So, I must ask, are the adults in your home checking political rants and raves at the door? Please note, I realize that politics make up a significant part of current events, which should be discussed with your children. But politics are becoming much more emotional – and much of that emotion is anger. I have friends and relatives who simply can’t talk about anything else but politics. So, this is a self-assessment question. Are you bringing anger and condemnation of others into your home because of political debates? Are you popping the loving spiritual bubble that you yourself have struggled to build around your home?
If so, you probably need to stop bringing politics into your home. Please know that I have been guilty of this myself – and it has been alarmingly easy. I have found that I need to take breaks from the news feed on my phone just to recover the calm of a spiritual life. The news affects me, often making me frustrated and angry with my country and our leaders. My wife is a good sport in letting me vent – but my young grandchildren should not have to listen to me rant and rave. So, I had to realize that my home needs to be haven, or have a better bubble around it, if you will. Small children have amazingly good ears – well, when they want to listen that is.In short, I have a responsibility to keep my negative reactions to the outside world outside of my home – or outside of anyone’s home for that matter.
In summary, there are right and wrong ways to separate ourselves from the world. Your friends and business associates should know that, though you won’t share a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with them, you will still be a good friend. You won’t join them outside for a smoke or to discuss the latest R-rated movie. In that respect, you will be a bit peculiar. But they should know that they can discuss religion and politics with you at any time – and you won’t take offense.
Politics has become one more thing that can affect us negatively. This year’s campaigns are thankfully over, but politics will always be with us. We must be aware of the effects they can have on us and not allow them to change the people we are.
This is all that I have for your today. Thank you for listening and may God bless you in your efforts to maintain and strengthen the bubble around your home.
This is Scott Frazer from the podcast Science and Scriptures. Next time we will be talking about the assumptions people make when judging the actions of early church history leaders. Many disenchanted members have left the church because of these judgements and I have been asked to address this trend. Until then, have a good week. Take care.