Seeking Things of Worth

Please pardon my rambling style today; it is not one of my better days. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I often marvel at how much misrepresentation of our beliefs is out there. This has always been the case, but this post is not going to be about that. Instead it will be related to one of what we call the Articles of Faith which were written to explain what we believe in to a newspaper back in the 1800s.

In the thirteenth and last article, it says:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

The italics are mine and the focus of a lot of thought in the last few years by me. Right now it seems like finding things that fit that description is getting harder, but I think it is more of a signal to noise ratio problem. Like an overcrowded radio tuner, so much garbage is put out that the good things get lost in the din.

Whether it be important things such as the truth about my faith and church, or lesser things such as entertainment, I have come to the conclusion that we must actively seek out and support that which is virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy. For me it is not enough to seek it out, which can be a tedious and difficult process in itself. We need to support and promote those good things.

Those of us who are Christians understand that we need to testify of our faith and Jesus love for all of humanity. After all we are commanded to and I think of Paul’s second epistle to Timothy where he charged the younger man to:

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Or in more modern terms, we need to spread the gospel with patience and steadiness while making sure we are following correct teachings. But today sounds a great deal like what Paul describes, what with lusts and addictions dominating so many people. Their ears may burn from hearing the truth, so they turn away to those things that reinforce and promote bad behaviors. After all, nobody likes a prude, right?

That kind of reaction makes missionary work hard and occasionally discouraging. Yet there are those golden moments where something gets through and the Spirit is felt. Beyond that, there are those who will listen and have a change of heart. Just don’t expect it to happen with most people. Yet we keep sharing if we are faithful. It should be the same way with things of worth we find.

Where can they be found, though?

Almost everywhere, if we look hard enough. Good books, music, television shows, movies, plays, and community events can be found. Once you find them, you should promote and share them whenever possible. At least that is what I believe and try to practice.

I am going to give what may seem like a silly and frivolous example, but it is because of it that I got started down this path of thinking. A couple of years ago, I discovered a manga and anime adaptation of what I consider one of the sweetest romances ever written. That story is Kimi ni Todoke, or in English, From Me to You. Charming, gentle, and filled with characters who are genuinely good people, it is counter to most of what is put out there. Yes, I am specifically thinking of Twilight -- among other stories.

Having discovered this wonderful series, I have flogged it to most of my friends and also put my money behind it. A lot of money.  To me, such things need to be supported financially in addition to lip service. Three deluxe Blu-ray/DVD sets and fourteen graphic novels later, I am poorer in currency but richer in spirit. The reviews of episodes are another contribution to promoting this praiseworthy anime.

It is a small example of seeking out things of good worth and I am sure other people can come up with better ones, yet it is what got me pondering the thirteenth Article of Faith in depth. I always have been a seeker and you can be assured I will be posting about more things of merit in the future.