Interpreting Some Ethical and Moral Concepts Taught in the Doctrine and Covenants

Interpreting Some Ethical and Moral Concepts Taught in the Doctrine and Covenants By A. C. Lambert, Assistant Professor of Secondary Education, B. Y. U. M ANY of the teachings of the Doctrine and Covenants have helped our fathers and mothers to solve fundamental life problems. They may not have lost their potency for this generation. By fundamental concepts is meant those underlying notions, ideals, principles, or "doctrines" which explain or give meaning to human living, and which give the underlying reasons for holding up certain actions as good and other actions as bad. Youth perennially challenges the validity of the codes of its elders. And there are reasons. Youth is often much more con- cerned with living life than in explaining it, or in analyzing it in terms of the future. Too often youth assumes that life is simple, takes care of itself in the main, and needs no particular guidance from a generation whose race is nearly run. It seems equally true that too often youth hears the codes of its elders thunderously and authoritatively pronounced, and less often intelligently explained. There are various but none the less real reasons for moral uncertainty or even of moral skepticism on the part of young people. But inevitably youth comes to see that problems have an uncanny way of popping up. They discover that problems just will not stay down. Solutions must be found. Often these solu- tions are found at the level of mere impulse and sheer ignorance. Often they are found at the level of haphazard and superficial thinking. The average young person prefers independent, though often erroneous, thinking to that embarrassing state of docility which seems to accompany the asking or taking of advice from older people. Perhaps much of this youthful uncertainty and skepticism is unnecessary and there is a way of making the hard- won wisdom of the race functional in the lives of the coming gen- eration. Certainly there are rungs on the ladder of moral safety which have been attained. And it is more than a fair assumption that young people approaching maturity will make use of this truth if the ladder of righteousness can be shown to be soundly and in- evitably grounded in the basic relationships of human living and not merely imposed as it were by unseen and inadequately under-

June, 1929 INTERPRETING ETHICAL AND MORAL CONCEPTS 653 stood powers above. Knowledge of right and wrong does not insure consequent right or moral conduct. Many people know right and do not do it. It is also true that many forms of conduct, built up in childhood and early youth on a purely habit level, become upset with the advent of wider social contacts and different intellectual experiences of early maturity. And mere broadcasting of the moral codes, preaching, or expostulation, or even authoritative threaten- ings do not serve completely to set the compass of youth's moral ship when the open ocean of life with its bitter storms is faced. Whether or not anyone given set of sailing directions will meet the need is not certain. This much seems sure, whether youth finds its happiest life eventually in the adopted ways of the past generation, or whether it finds it in the ways of an entirely new set of codes, or in a combination of the two, it will move forward more rapidly in that direction which seems, in addition to any other desirable features, to be intellectually justifiable as well as authoritatively recommended. Latter-day Saints need make few apologies for the type of manhood and womanhood that their system of thought and belief has helped to produce. Men, tend to become about as great as their fundamental outlooks upon life. Their actions are in the main the concrete expressions of their codes of conduct and their phil- osophy of values. The lives of a fine generation of "Mormon" men and women must have had a good foundation. And a large part of that fundamental life-view and code of living which certainly helped to produce the character qualities of these men and women is to be found in their books of sacred writings, one of which is the Doc- trine and Covenants. Many of these teachings have given profound direction to the homes, the communities, and the educational institu- tions which set the stage for the formation of habits. And whether the teaching or the presentation of ideals carries over very much into actual conduct or not in measurable quantities, it is certainly true that to fail to keep these ideals present and accessible to grow- ing minds is to lose all possibilities of whatever directive or inspira- tional value they may really have. Many of the ethical and moral teachings of the Doctrine and Covenants deserve to be interpreted and taught to young people. And if they are ever to become or remain functional in the lives of these young people, who are con- tinuously becoming thinking older people, these principles need to be interpreted in terms of the present, because of the prevalent in- complete understanding of their basic human worth, and because of the tendency exhibited by many young people to shun a study of them, since they are tied up very closely with profound religious con- cepts often mysterious and awe-inspiring to youth.

654 IMPROVEMENT ERA /»». in* In the Doctrine and Covenants, as a whole, there seems to be a distinct theory about the nature of man and his place and purpose in the scheme of things and which in turn seems to give an explanation of why some lines of conduct are better than others and why they are the ones to which man continues to give allegiance. In other words, there seems to be laid an interpretative basis for a sound system of moral and ethical thought, through the functioning of which man may build a worthful, happy life. Three fundamental concepts found in this book will be used to illustrate these teachings, which have the qualities of rendering more meaningful certain of life's actions and of giving direction to conduct which meets the rational tests usually applied for "the good life." These three concepts used for illustrative purposes are (1) the affirmation of the fundamental existence and worth of the in- dividual, (2) the affirmation of the principle that the individual is an intelligent, and free-choosing agent upon whose acts hinges con- sequences, and (3) the inherent reality of a spiritual life in the present world. Various teachings of the Doctrine and Covenants affirm the individual's existence as a real and not an illusory circumstance. Typical extracts serve to indicate the fact: Section 93:29 — "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, nor indeed can be." Section 92:23 — "Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth." Section 76:24 — "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." Section 50:5 — "But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life." Section 65:2 — "The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth * * * Section 18:10 — "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." Here the individual is given a real and a dignified place in the scheme of things. It would seem to thinking people that any sys- tem of thought which does not make human personality of great worth cannot long retain the admiration of human beings. If failing to make human personality the focusing point wherever values are concerned, it will not long minister to that hope and that forward-looking spirit which has played so fundamental a part in bringing man thus far along the road of culture, or civilization, and of spiritual worth. The second concept, in this body of teachings about the in-

June, 1929 INTERPRETING ETHICAL AND iMORAL CONCEPTS 655 dividual, centers around the principle that spiritual and intellectual freedom are necessary facts in any scheme of moral or ethical thought Here are a few illustrative verses: Section 93:29-32 — "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intel- ligence, or the light of truth, was not created nor made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under con- demnation. ' Section 20:32 — "But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God * * * ." Section 58:28 — "For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves * * * Section 98:8— "I, the Lord God, make you free. Therefore, ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free." This concept of man as a free-choosing, responsible moral agent is affirmed throughout this book with remarkable vigor and clarity. Not only is the individual affirmed to be a real and truly existing being who is the concern of God and who possesses inherently the necessary characteristic of knowing, who has experiences, and who is intelligent and by reason of his experiences acquires power to comprehend and know truth, but he is affirmed to be in the pos- session of the power to choose his experiences. We believe the in- dividual has the power to retain the results of experiences, and by that power he builds up judgments of worthful and of undesirable things. But more fundamental than the affirmation of these qualities which produce knowledge and intelligence, is the affirmation of the principle that for life to have any significance for intelligent persons they must have the power to choose between alternative lines of conduct. Life experiences do possess qualitative differences, and the necessity for choice between the differing values is an inescapable fact of existence. To be consistent then, the individual must have not only the power to learn truth, to see truth, to formulate truth, but he must have the power to discriminate between experiences as valu- able and less valuable, and to choose in the light of that discrimina- tion and choice. Without this necessary freedom of choice any sys- tem of thought held up to be permissive of real moral striving and accomplishment becomes a mere mockery, a denial of man's inherent nature, and an eventual source of pessimism and despair to him. Space permits us only to call attention to the crucial significance of this simple concept. The complimentary aspect of this concept of free choice is the principle that upon the results of the individual's choice hinges

656 . IMPROVEMENT ERA June. iw growth or stagnation, achievement or loss, happiness or misery. With choice goes necessarily the responsibility for consequences. As taught in this book, this concept of responsibility, though set forth con- sistently in stern language, does not necessarily involve the notion that some vindictive agent waits continuously in unholy glee to enforce arbitrary punishments for poor choice, or that some agent waits to reward in some equally incongruous manner "good" choice. But the trend of the entire group of teaching warrants the inter- pretation that man gets about as far as his experience permits and that consequences are in terms of ability to live an increasingly mean- ingful life as a result of choice which leads to the possession of these powers to appreciate. It is easy in any system of thought which sets, up a notion of consequences to accent the negative side of the matter and constantly to direct attention to that which is lost through poor choice. This is one outstanding limitation of the Calvinistic-Puritan doctrine of hell as regenerative power in human life. An enduring system will place the accent more properly in the direction which sets up worthful ends and which centers energies upon ways and means of their posi- tive accomplishment. If one catches the spirit of the ethical teach- ings of the Doctrine and Covenants in a larger way, it seems to be the spirit of forward-lookingness, of hope, of growth. It is a spirit which affirms the necessity for man's striving mightily, but with the assurance that something can be gained. It places a wholesome sig- nificance upon the forward-looking elements of experience. It teaches that life can be continuously integrated at higher levels of experience and can be continuously reconstructed in the direction of more ade- quate realization of spiritual value and in the direction of a more complete realization of the forces which make man and the universe what they are — each complementary aspects of the other. And it is in this affirmation of the inherent reality of hope, of striving, of aspiration, of idealism, of evaluation and the appreciation of values attained, — in short, in the reality of spiritual life for man, that one finds the third necessary element in a system of thought which pretends to make human personality of worth and sig- nificance. The corollary of moral freedom and intelligence is the reality of the spiritual life. Teachings which affirm this element are present in the Doctrine and Covenants. Section 66:12 — "Continue in these things, even unto the end, and you shall have a crown of eternal life at the right hand of my Father, who is full of grace and truth." Section 59:23 — "But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come."

June, 1929 INTERPRETING ETHICAL AND MORAL CONCEPTS 657 Section 121 :45 — "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God * * * Section 98: 1 1 — -"And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall for- sake all evil, and cleave unto all good * * * Section 72:4 — "For he who is faithful and wise in time is accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father." Section 88:118 — "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom: yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning even by study and also by faith." Section 4:6 — "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence." Section 88:125 — "And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace." An individual may exist, he may comprehend, he may make choices and he may experience greatly or barrenly as a result of his choice, but unless this individual can grow and increase in intelligence and in spiritual worth so that he can progressively realize the existing good in his own life and, in turn, create new value and new worlds of worthful experience to be sought for, he lacks that significant element which makes him of increasing worth and importance. And this element is the reality of spiritual life and spiritual growth. And so in the affirmation of these three simple concepts con- cerning the human individual, "(1) existence, (2) intelligence," (3) freedom, responsibility, and growth, the teachings of the Doc- trine and Covenants offer an opportunity for young people, who hold themselves to a thinking people, to find a rational and an enduring basis for moral confidence and moral life. And in these relatively simple concepts there is provided an important combina- tion of principles that seems to meet the rather important test of worthfulness as a rational system of ethical thought — that by living them they render life meaningful, integrative, and full of those qualities of satisfaction, happiness, and inspiration that among all intelligent men in all ages have been characterized as the important things of the spirit. To help make these principles increasingly clear to young peo- ple is a necessary obligation which rests upon every mature person in this Church. And to study thoroughly and honestly those concepts which are the basis of the ethical and moral teachings of "Mormon- ism" is a necessary obligation which rests upon every young person in the Church who seeks intelligently to know the "Why" and the "Wherefore" of the codes of his elders. Much good grain may be had for the winnowing.