TED... Ideas worth spreading

This video is titled "Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives"...which may not sound like your cup of tea but let me share this intro with you: Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right or center. Jonathan Haidt studies how -- and why -- we evolved to be moral. By understanding more about our moral roots, his hope is that we can learn to be civil and open-minded toward those whose morals don't match ours, but who are equally good and moral people on their own terms


I highly recommend this video, it’s about 18 min long and it’s really great. It touches on some points that I think are important for all of us to understand about human moral and why we chose the things we chose. What encourages us to do what we do and why.... Seriously its only 18 min long...just watch it, you won’t be disappointed.

When we think of the quote "We are to be in the world, but not of the world," we tend to put more emphasis on the latter part "not of the world." Just as we are striving to be pure and righteous it becomes easy for us to block ourselves from "outsiders" and "protect" ourselves from people who are not of our religion. I would like to encourage you to think about this quote and consider putting the emphasis on the first part "we are to be in the world." Let’s think about this. We as members of the LDS church know how important it is to protect ourselves from the evil of the world: pornography, addiction, envy, unrighteous desires, etc. We know the harmful effects of these things and of course we would want to shield ourselves from those things, and we do! But let’s not be so closed minded to think that that involves shutting out everyone who does not share our faith and beliefs. Take me for example. I am a convert to the church. I was given a chance by a few good members of the church who took me in and taught me the gospel. Had they not, I might still be the same person I was. They protected their home. They looked after each other and did the things that made them closer and stronger as a family unit. But they included me in it! I think we should prayerfully think about how we can be in the world, be an example of light, share our knowledge with others, and having our lives influence theirs, rather than being so worried that their influences will negatively affect ours. We should be strengthening our own faith and testimony so that we CAN be in the world, interact with others, and not be negatively influenced by their choices. Because, who knows, if they knew of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation, they might chose a different path for themselves and be a positive influence in ours. Goal for the week: How can we be more "in the world" and have our influence affect someone else’s life, without getting caught up in the negative things of the world that we are trying to shield ourselves from? I love you all! Have a great week!