The Proclamation and the Philosophies of the World

1. The Proclamation and the Philosophies of the World “It is particularly revealing to compare the teachings of the proclamation with contrasting philosophies and practices of the world.” Elder Merrill J. Bateman “. . . beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Col. 2:8) “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ.” Proclamation, ¶ 8

2. Epistemology: Roots of Knowledge • Empiricism (Source=Experience) Relies on our five senses. • Danger: Not all knowledge can be physically experienced. • Rationalism (Source=Reasoning) Assumes that there are some ideas that are clear and dependable upon which we can build other knowledge that become premises to reach other conclusions. • Techniques include induction, deduction, analysis, hypothesizing, theorizing, pondering, and concluding. • Scientific Method (Source=Testing) Blends rationalism and empiricism. Tests rational ideas (hypotheses) by arranging experiments that show whether the ideas work or not in ways that can be measured physically. Ideas tested across situations, then rationalism used to build a general theories. • Latter-day Saints believe that God has inspired men and women of science to make some of the important discoveries by which we enjoy our lives and by which the gospel is spread throughout the world. • Danger: Sometimes scientists presume to be authorities on matters beyond what their data demonstrates. Results are influenced by scientists’ biases/perspectives.

3. Authority (Source=Man) Relies on a person or organization that has demonstrated expertise, such as a church, a government, cultural traditions, an individual, or group that can be trusted to teach the truth. • Many important truths and skills can be learned only by apprenticeship to an expert teacher. • Danger: Some “authorities” do not actually have truth and it is difficult to discern which can be trusted. • Revelation (Source=God) Given by God to human beings. • May occur through inspiration, visitations from heavenly individuals answers to prayer, dreams, promptings, or moments of meditation and worship. • Danger:Satan tries to masquerade as a source of revelation. “It would be unwise, of course, for the Church to tie itself to the provisional truths of science at any point in science’s unfolding history. Ultimately, scientific truth will align with divinely revealed truth; meanwhile we can applaud genuine scientific advances, noting them without depending overly much upon them.” Elder Neal A. Maxwell

4. Unavoidable Bias: Value Assumptions Values are beliefs about what is important and good. What people believe guides all that they do. (NO ONE can be absolutely objective, EVERYONE is biased by their values.) Some False Philosophies (Value Assumptions) Secularism: Answers to life are found through rational means - through the concrete, observable, and practical world of people and things. Individualism: The rights, freedoms, and privileges of individuals should be given higher priority than the rights of society or groups (such as families). Hedonism: It is natural and good to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Materialism: Happiness comes from accumulating tangible possessions. A True Philosophy (Value Assumption) Altruism: The greatest good and happiness occurs when people are devoted to the welfare of others, building a community of mutual care for each other.

5. Some Important Questions How can the Proclamation help us navigate the philosophies of the world? If you accept the authority from which the Proclamation came (living prophets, seers, and revelators) and if you have obtained personal revelation that it is true, then you can employ rationality to use the proclamation as ananchor point for comparing and assessing other ideas. How much have the world’s ways of thinking become our ways of thinking? Maybe more than you realize!

6. Underlying Values Analysis The Cohabitation Decision: About half of all couples now live together before marriage. How do our underlying values affect the decision-making process (and laws) around cohabitation? The Divorce Decision: An estimated 40% of first marriages and even higher percentage of second marriages end in divorce. How do our underlying values affect the decision-making process (and laws) around divorce? The Media Decision: U.S. children (ages 8-18) are exposed to the media an average of 8 hours a day. (Almost half of that is television.) How do our underlying values affect the decision-making process around monitoring, advising, and setting limits for our children’s consumption of media (and our laws regulating media)?