The Descent into The Indecent

I was reminded again the other day that we have been on a slow and steady downward slope in our public discourse. I've lived 70 years now, and have some perspective, though I am certain others will have their own takes on what I intend to say today.

One of my grandsons, who has picked up enough of the recent news headlines to form the question, asked me, "Grandpa, what does 'groping' mean?"

In case you're living under a rock and haven't been bombarded by the news of the day, that word "groping" seems to emerge in every daily news broadcast. The word is associated with a growing list of celebrities and prominent men from many walks of life who have been accused of sexual deviance and misconduct in what has become an avalanche of disclosures with seemingly no end in sight. Once celebrated for their achievements, now we learn about the dark underbelly of their secret lives and double standards. It makes me so sad that we must explain to the young and innocent what is meant by these allegations.

Now the facts are coming to light, once hidden and seemingly buried, but widely heralded for all to hear and see in fulfillment of prophecy:

And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. (D&C 1:3).

Back in the day when Bill Clinton was POTUS, the nightly news was filled with detailed explanations about his sexual encounters, all of which later proved to be true. His victims are still seeking some degree of justice, and yet surprisingly he seems to escape those judgments. But now we all know what really happened.

Questions from young children included seeking for clarification about what those stains on the blue dress were. Others wondered how a cigar could figure into sexual activity. Still others were educated far too early about oral sex. It reached the height of idiocy when "sexual relations" had to be defined and the parsing of meanings included, "It all depends on what your definition of the word 'is' is". At one point I concluded the nightly news was no longer suitable for my young children. Now the re-runs of those interviews with Clinton are being rebroadcast. Because of the emergence of the truth, to watch what a skilled liar he was back then is almost comical if it weren't so pathetic.

Now those young children with children of their own have concluded they cannot have television in their homes and have pulled the plug. Have you watched the content in commercials lately?

We have reaped the whirlwind of those earlier years. Today's bombshell included news about a Disney executive. There are no safe havens left, apparently. There is nowhere to run far enough away to avoid it. I tuned out politics in the last election cycle, and that is difficult, so pervasive has the coverage become. It seems politics rules our very existence, but I will tell you this - it doesn't have to.

Turn away from the sordid and the salacious. I was encouraged when I saw a number of women who had worked with Tom Hanks step forward to declare what a "nice" man he was in their interactions with him. This is the day that was once foretold in many places in the scriptures. Men are continuing to cover up their infidelity with lies, payoffs, "non-disclosure" agreements accompanied by cash settlements and cover-ups. Little is left to the imagination. Hollywood has always been a hotbed for scandal and corruption, and on the other coast Washington D.C. rivals it for headlines.

We cannot rely upon mortals for an example of goodness. Mere mortals are weak and subject to the wiles of the fleshy appetites. It will forever be the case.

In more recent years in the Church we have been hearing an increasing number of references to the atonement of Jesus Christ from our leaders. Interestingly, I have looked over the years for sermons delivered by Joseph Smith where he highlighted the subject of the atonement, and I haven't found any. It is my considered opinion that having failed to impress upon the saints the need for living the commandments, and witnessing so many public and embarrassing failures, our leaders are now pointing us to repentance and relying wholly upon the merits of Christ's perfection to save us. And that is how it must be.

There is a lot of speculation in Utah right now about what Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will decide to do. Will he conclude it is time to retire? He has said if someone like Mitt Romney were to decide to run for his seat that he would step aside. Now that Mitt is beginning to express interest in the idea, the Hatch camp has gone noticeably silent on the topic.

Regardless of how that turns out, my hunch is that even Mitt Romney would be powerless to stem that tide of ongoing corruption and deprivation.

In my reading of The Book of Mormon this morning, I saw these lines:

My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.
And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen. (Moroni 9:25-26).