While recovering from my post-election hangover (figuratively speaking), I came upon a talk given by Hugh Nibley in autumn, 1973, called "Beyond Politics." I found it so substantive and profound that I decided to do a summary. If you'd like to take a look at the entire text, it can be found here. I have removed footnote links for clarity; all references can be found at the link above. Headings in bold are mine, also inserted for clarity.
The Blueprint
This world was organized ... to be the home and dominion of a godlike race who would take good care of it and have joy therein. Being a highly favored breed, much was expected of them, and their qualifications for advancement were to be put to the test by allowing an adversary, a common enemy to God and man, to tempt them and try them. It was decided before even the world was that if man should yield to this temptation and thus lower his defenses and make himself vulnerable to repeated attacks of the adversary, steps would immediately be taken to put into operation a prearranged plan to restore him to his former status.
What God tells us in effect is, "Now that you have fallen and forfeited your paradise by deliberately, knowingly disobeying me, I will give you another chance, a chance to get back to that paradise by deliberately and knowingly obeying me. To get back where you were and beyond, you must repent—forever give up doing it your way and decide to live by the law of God, or by the law of obedience, which means doing it my way."... Adam's own children and their posterity, however, chose to achieve salvation their way, not God's way, and ever since then there has been trouble. ... The message of the restored gospel is that one phase of the earth's existence is coming to a close, and another phase, a phase in which God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven, is about to become the order of life on earth.
The Politics of Men
Politics, as practiced on earth, belongs to the ways of men; it is the essential activity of the city—the city of man, not the city of God. As used by the Greek writers, the polisis "the community or body of citizens"—that is, a body of citizens not taking orders from anyone else. ... Even at a superficial view, if it is not God's way, it is still not all bad, and we can understand why God approves of men engaging in politics and even encourages the Saints, at times, to participate.
The Conflict
The problem of conflicting obligations to the city of man and the city of God is basic to every dispensation of the gospel. ... The children of God can work well with the men of the world, and bestow great blessings by their services, but there comes a time when one must draw the line and make a choice between the two governments. Such a choice was forced on the Mormons very early, and a very hard choice it was, but they did not flinch before it. "We will go along with you as far as we can; but where we can't we won't," and no hard feelings.
There is a place for discussion and participation in the government of the kingdom; it is men who love absolute monarchies; it was the Israelites, the Jaredites, the Nephites, who asked God to give them a king, overriding the objections of his prophets who warned them against the step. Leaders of the church have repeatedly taught that earthly rulers exercise their authority illegitimately; that the only legitimate authority upon the earth is that which is founded and recognized by God, whose right it is to rule.
As John Taylor points out, it is the priesthood that should rule: "Some people ask, 'What is Priesthood?' I answer, 'It is the legitimate rule of God, whether in the heavens or on the earth;' and it is the only legitimate power that has a right to rule upon the earth; and when the will of God is done on earth as it is in the heavens, no other power will bear rule."
Politics, at best, is the free discussion of people running their own common affairs. Until men are willing to accept God's way, he is willing that they should do their best on that lower level and even encourages them in such activity. At the same time, "It is not our intention . . . to place the law of man on a parallel with the law of heaven; because we do not consider that it is formed in the same wisdom and propriety; . . . it is [not] sufficient in itself to bestow anything on man in comparison with the law of heaven, even should it promise it" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.70)
It is precisely because we never for a moment think of the two systems as competing with each other that we can make the most of the one until the other is established. They are in the same game, they are in the same arena, though both have rules and both require qualities of character in their players.
Money and Mayhem
Let us by all means retain the drive and dedication of politics, but do we still need the placards and the bands, the serpentine parades, funny hats, confetti, squabbling committees, canned speeches, shopworn clichés, patriotic exhibitionism, Madison Avenue slogans—to say nothing of bitter invective, the poisonous rhetoric, the dirty tricks and shady deals, payoffs, betrayals, the blighted loyalties, the scheming young men on the make, the Gadianton loyalty, the manipulated ovations and contrived confusion of the last hurrah? The furiously mounting infusion of 'green stuff' into the political carnival in our day is enough to show that the spontaneity is not there, and even if some of it may remain, those running the show know very well from tried and tested statistics that all that sort of thing is to be got with money—lots and lots of money—and with nothing else.
The Political Prize
The best of human laws leaves every man free to engage in his own pursuit of happiness, without presuming for a moment to tell him where that happiness lies; that is the very thing the laws of God can guarantee. At best, the political prize is negative.
The Contest for the Individual
In every age we find the worldly powers hypnotized by the image of the world as a maydan, a great battleground, on which the forces of good and evil are locked in mortal combat. True, there is a contest, but it is within the individual, not between ignorant armies (that solution is all too easy.)
Recall the statement of Joseph Smith that "every candid man [must] draw a conclusion in his own mind whether this [any political system] is the order of heaven or not." Banners, trumpets, and dungeons were early devised to help men make up their minds. But God does not fight Satan: a word from him and Satan is silenced and banished. There is no contest there; in fact we are expressly told that all the power which Satan enjoys here on earth is granted him by God. "We will allow Satan, our common enemy, to try man and to tempt him." It is man's strength that is being tested—not God's.
Progressive Deterioration
As in every other dispensation, the world will continue to go its way, which is one of progressive deterioration:
God, Our Only Confidence
Here the Prophet lays it on the line:
From these sayings of the Prophet one would hardly expect the world to have improved since his day, and the words of Brigham Young are eloquent in describing the steady deterioration that has continued unabated up to the present moment. No wonder "thinking men, inquiring minds, ask whether it is really necessary for the Government of God to be on the earth at the present day; I answer, most assuredly; there never was a time when it was more needed than it is now. Why? Because men do not know how to govern themselves without it. ... I acknowledged to him [Colonel Thomas Kane] that we have the best system of government in existence, but queried if the people of this nation were righteous enough to sustain its institutions. I say they are not, but will trample them under their feet."
Contention is the End of Discussion
But is not Satan a politician with his love of confusion and controversy? Isn't the adversary an arch-politician? "There shall be no disputations among you," said the Lord to the Nephites, "for . . . he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another" (3 Nephi 11:28–29). Let us make one thing clear: contention is not discussion, but the opposite; contention puts an end to all discussion, as does war. ... In reality a declaration of war is an announcement that the discussion is over. War is beyond politics, and God has said: "I . . . will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion". That is the end of politics for now.
Continued in parts 2 and 3.
This talk was given on 26 October 1973 to the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society in the Political Science Department at BYU. It first appeared in BYU Studies 15/1 (1974): 3–28; and was reprinted in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless.
The Blueprint
This world was organized ... to be the home and dominion of a godlike race who would take good care of it and have joy therein. Being a highly favored breed, much was expected of them, and their qualifications for advancement were to be put to the test by allowing an adversary, a common enemy to God and man, to tempt them and try them. It was decided before even the world was that if man should yield to this temptation and thus lower his defenses and make himself vulnerable to repeated attacks of the adversary, steps would immediately be taken to put into operation a prearranged plan to restore him to his former status.
What God tells us in effect is, "Now that you have fallen and forfeited your paradise by deliberately, knowingly disobeying me, I will give you another chance, a chance to get back to that paradise by deliberately and knowingly obeying me. To get back where you were and beyond, you must repent—forever give up doing it your way and decide to live by the law of God, or by the law of obedience, which means doing it my way."... Adam's own children and their posterity, however, chose to achieve salvation their way, not God's way, and ever since then there has been trouble. ... The message of the restored gospel is that one phase of the earth's existence is coming to a close, and another phase, a phase in which God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven, is about to become the order of life on earth.
Politics, as practiced on earth, belongs to the ways of men; it is the essential activity of the city—the city of man, not the city of God. As used by the Greek writers, the polisis "the community or body of citizens"—that is, a body of citizens not taking orders from anyone else. ... Even at a superficial view, if it is not God's way, it is still not all bad, and we can understand why God approves of men engaging in politics and even encourages the Saints, at times, to participate.
The Conflict
The problem of conflicting obligations to the city of man and the city of God is basic to every dispensation of the gospel. ... The children of God can work well with the men of the world, and bestow great blessings by their services, but there comes a time when one must draw the line and make a choice between the two governments. Such a choice was forced on the Mormons very early, and a very hard choice it was, but they did not flinch before it. "We will go along with you as far as we can; but where we can't we won't," and no hard feelings.
There is a place for discussion and participation in the government of the kingdom; it is men who love absolute monarchies; it was the Israelites, the Jaredites, the Nephites, who asked God to give them a king, overriding the objections of his prophets who warned them against the step. Leaders of the church have repeatedly taught that earthly rulers exercise their authority illegitimately; that the only legitimate authority upon the earth is that which is founded and recognized by God, whose right it is to rule.
Politics, at best, is the free discussion of people running their own common affairs. Until men are willing to accept God's way, he is willing that they should do their best on that lower level and even encourages them in such activity. At the same time, "It is not our intention . . . to place the law of man on a parallel with the law of heaven; because we do not consider that it is formed in the same wisdom and propriety; . . . it is [not] sufficient in itself to bestow anything on man in comparison with the law of heaven, even should it promise it" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.70)
It is precisely because we never for a moment think of the two systems as competing with each other that we can make the most of the one until the other is established. They are in the same game, they are in the same arena, though both have rules and both require qualities of character in their players.
Let us by all means retain the drive and dedication of politics, but do we still need the placards and the bands, the serpentine parades, funny hats, confetti, squabbling committees, canned speeches, shopworn clichés, patriotic exhibitionism, Madison Avenue slogans—to say nothing of bitter invective, the poisonous rhetoric, the dirty tricks and shady deals, payoffs, betrayals, the blighted loyalties, the scheming young men on the make, the Gadianton loyalty, the manipulated ovations and contrived confusion of the last hurrah? The furiously mounting infusion of 'green stuff' into the political carnival in our day is enough to show that the spontaneity is not there, and even if some of it may remain, those running the show know very well from tried and tested statistics that all that sort of thing is to be got with money—lots and lots of money—and with nothing else.
The Political Prize
The best of human laws leaves every man free to engage in his own pursuit of happiness, without presuming for a moment to tell him where that happiness lies; that is the very thing the laws of God can guarantee. At best, the political prize is negative.
In every age we find the worldly powers hypnotized by the image of the world as a maydan, a great battleground, on which the forces of good and evil are locked in mortal combat. True, there is a contest, but it is within the individual, not between ignorant armies (that solution is all too easy.)
Recall the statement of Joseph Smith that "every candid man [must] draw a conclusion in his own mind whether this [any political system] is the order of heaven or not." Banners, trumpets, and dungeons were early devised to help men make up their minds. But God does not fight Satan: a word from him and Satan is silenced and banished. There is no contest there; in fact we are expressly told that all the power which Satan enjoys here on earth is granted him by God. "We will allow Satan, our common enemy, to try man and to tempt him." It is man's strength that is being tested—not God's.
 |
| The Fall of Rome, by Thomas Cole |
As in every other dispensation, the world will continue to go its way, which is one of progressive deterioration:
The great and wise of ancient days have failed in all their attempts to promote eternal power, peace and happiness. . . . They proclaim as with a voice of thunder . . . that man's strength is weakness, his wisdom is folly, his glory is his shame.
. . . Nation has succeeded nation. . . . History records their puerile plans, their short-lived glory, their feeble intellect and their ignoble deeds.
Have we increased in knowledge or intelligence? . . . Our nation, which possesses greater resources than any other, is rent, from center to circumference, with party strife, political intrigues, and sectional interest; . . . our tradesmen are disheartened, our mechanics out of employ, our farmers distressed, and our poor crying for bread, our banks are broken, our credit ruined. . . .
What is the matter? Are we alone in this thing? Verily no. With all our evils we are better situated than any other nation. . . . The world itself presents one great theater of misery, woe, and "distress of nations with perplexity." All, all, speak with a voice of thunder, that man is not able to govern himself, to legislate for himself, to protect himself, to promote his own good, nor the good of the world. [After all is said, there is nothing for it but to accept God's way—nothing else will work.]
It has been the design of Jehovah, from the commencement of the world, and is His purpose now, to regulate the affairs of the world in His own time, to stand as a head of the universe, and take the reins of government in His own hand. When that is done . . . "nations will learn war no more." (Joseph Smith)
 |
| One Nation Under God, John McNaughton |
Here the Prophet lays it on the line:
The world has had a fair trial for six thousand years; the Lord will try the seventh thousand Himself. . . . To bring about this state of things, there must of necessity be great confusion among the nations of the earth. . . .
. . . God is coming out of His hiding place . . . to vex the nations of the earth. . . . It is for us to be righteous, that we may be wise and understand; for none of the wicked shall understand. . . .
As a Church and a people it behooves us to be wise, and to seek to know the will of God, and then be willing to do it. . . . Our only confidence can be in God. . . .
. . . we have treated lightly His commands, and departed from His ordinances, and the Lord has chastened us sore. . . .
In regard to the building up of Zion, it has to be done by the counsel of Jehovah, by the revelations of heaven.The 'Government of God' is Necessary
From these sayings of the Prophet one would hardly expect the world to have improved since his day, and the words of Brigham Young are eloquent in describing the steady deterioration that has continued unabated up to the present moment. No wonder "thinking men, inquiring minds, ask whether it is really necessary for the Government of God to be on the earth at the present day; I answer, most assuredly; there never was a time when it was more needed than it is now. Why? Because men do not know how to govern themselves without it. ... I acknowledged to him [Colonel Thomas Kane] that we have the best system of government in existence, but queried if the people of this nation were righteous enough to sustain its institutions. I say they are not, but will trample them under their feet."
But is not Satan a politician with his love of confusion and controversy? Isn't the adversary an arch-politician? "There shall be no disputations among you," said the Lord to the Nephites, "for . . . he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another" (3 Nephi 11:28–29). Let us make one thing clear: contention is not discussion, but the opposite; contention puts an end to all discussion, as does war. ... In reality a declaration of war is an announcement that the discussion is over. War is beyond politics, and God has said: "I . . . will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion". That is the end of politics for now.
Continued in parts 2 and 3.
This talk was given on 26 October 1973 to the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society in the Political Science Department at BYU. It first appeared in BYU Studies 15/1 (1974): 3–28; and was reprinted in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless.
Comments
Post a Comment