From Sharel in answer to comments from the previous post:
Yes, WE the Lord's disciples are supposed to take care of the poor and needy, not the government. There is a difference as well between being compelled to give and giving of our own free will.
“It is the responsibility of every Latter-day Saint to work and so impart of his substance, regardless of the shifting standards of this world. We must uphold these principles and oppose every derogation of them. We must be careful not to adopt the commonly accepted practice of expecting the government or anyone other than ourselves to supply us with the necessities of life.”
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All things to be done in the Lord's way and as we can see the government never does things in the Lords way.
We are supposed to take care of the needy and poor, but we should be able to do that without punishing others. Our whole purpose in helping the poor is to teach themselves how to help themselves as well. As history has shown us well that once you are in a welfare state, there is no incentive to go back. We should not just give stuff away and the church never just gives stuff away. Whenever help is given the gospel teaches the person who has been given something, to help out in return, to give back.
I guess it all comes down to a basic belief in what the governments role is. When we look beyond the health care bill there are fundamental beliefs about freedom and government.
I want to really reiterate how I DO NOT LIKE THE SYSTEM THE WAY IT IS, I keep getting from you how I must love how things are and that is not the case! We just don’t like this particular bill the way it is.
“All we have to do is … examine any movement that may be brought into our midst … and if it … attempt[s] to deprive us in the slightest respect of our free agency, we should avoid it as we would avoid immorality or anything else that is vicious. … Free agency is as necessary for our eternal salvation as is our virtue. And … as we guard our virtue with our lives, so should we guard our free agency.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1947, p. 46.)
President Marion G. Romney, when he was a member of the Council of the Twelve, gave this advice:
“One of the fundamental doctrines of revealed truth is that … God endowed men with free agency (see Moses 7:32). The preservation of this free agency is more important than the preservation of life itself. … Everything which militates against man’s enjoyment of this endowment persuades not to believe in Christ, for he is the author of free agency.
“Now the world today is in the throes of a great social and political revolution. In almost every department of society laws and practices are being daily proposed and adopted which greatly alter the course of our lives. Indeed, some of them are literally shaking the foundations of our political and social institutions. If you would know truth from error in this bitterly contested arena, apply Mormon’s test to these innovations [as recorded in Moro. 7:16–18]. Do they facilitate or restrict the exercise of man’s divine endowment of free agency? Tested by this standard, most of them will fall quickly into their proper category as between good and evil.” (Speeches of the Year, Brigham Young University Press, 1957, pp. 10–11.)
“In this modern world plagued with counterfeits for the Lord’s plan, we must not be misled into supposing that we can discharge our obligations to the poor and the needy by shifting the responsibility to some governmental or other public agency. Only by voluntarily giving out of an abundant love for our neighbors can we develop that charity characterized by Mormon as ‘the pure love of Christ.’ (Moro. 7:47.) This we must develop if we would obtain eternal life.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1972, p. 115.)
The difference between having the means with which to administer welfare assistance taken from us and voluntarily contributing it out of our love of God and fellowman is the difference between freedom and slavery.- Marion G. Romney, “Church Welfare Services’ Basic Principles,” Ensign, May 1976, 120
P.S.- I still want the crepe and fruit sauce recipe.Sharel
3 comments:
Well, maybe the root of our disagreement is more fundamental.
I do agree with you that this bill proabably won't solve very many people's problems.
It makes me pretty mad that while the Democrats were slicing off the actual change-making arts of the bill in order to get votes, the Republicans were sitting the corner, refusing to productively participate in order to get votes.
I think one of our differences is that I think of healthcare like a I think of food, except that I can afford food. I have to have healthcare every day or I die.
The consitution guarantees me the right to liberty, yes, but it also entitles me to life.
Maybe our other difference is that I just don't have the same faith in humanity as you do. I don't believe, given the opportunity to help another person, that very many people will do it. We live in a fundamentally selfish society. People want healthcare when they need it, and they don't want to pay anything at all when they don't. The system can't be supported like that.
Hey, where's my recipes?
P.S. The Republicans did have solutions, the Democrats were just not interested in hearing them. One more thing, I don't like that the bill is 2000 pages long and full of pork.....
I don't know the crepe recipe. You'll have to talk to Becky. Or maybe you don't deserve delicious crepes since you hate sick children and puppies.
You're right about the Republicans, kind of. I do think that tort reform would be a great help. What else was there? I can't remember. I'm sure there were other things (That's not sarcasm).
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