Author of Clarity, Dispeller of Ambiguity

All things run together into one clump of gray.
Nothing stands apart or is better than another thing.
There is no distinction.

Everything is good and everything is pleasant.
One idea is the same as the other.
None of them are better.

All skies are skies and all clouds are clouds.
All grass is grass and all flowers are flowers
None are different or better.

Hair is hair. Bodies are bodies. Smiles are smiles
People are people without exception.
All of the people are the same.

Every person is unique, therefore, not one is unique.
Every person is special, therefore no one is special.
There is no distinction

Of course, the above poem is not a representation of the truth, but there is a fear in society today that teaches it so. We tell our kids they can be anything they want to be and wonder in shock when the things that they say in return twist what is meant to be an encouragement into innocent misunderstandings. Are they misunderstandings?

This article discusses the permissiveness of society in ways, perceptually innocent ways that work to undermine the happiness of each person when society defines everything as happiness except reason. Watch this video.

Can a White girl become a Black girl? In today's society, people can identify as whatever they want to identify. Does that new social ability make the desires to eschew genetics the truth?

No. It does not. There are things that are absolutely true and there are things that are false, but accepted by society as correct. There is a difference. The truth is clear and unambiguous.

The mother of this child is not wrong to encourage her daughter, but she should also make sure that what she encourages her daughter to do is clear and psychologically sound. No matter how desperately a person wants something to be true, makes it true. No council, committee, or governing body can change the genetic code of a human into something else. One day genetic design may be a possibility; but now, once the code is determined at conception, it is unchangeable. Does the mother ever correct her daughter? Is it wrong to crush a dream that is based on an impossibility?

In the movie, The Prince of Egypt, the practice of humanity to change what is so into another "truth' highlights the desire for such god-like powers to bend the will of reality. It is not a new practice to think that the Truth can be anything that a person says that it is.

In the movie, the fictional representation of Moses confesses to his fictional adoptive brother Ramses that he could not remain in Egypt because he killed a man in defense of a Hebrew slave. Moses discovered the truth about his past and it precipitated his actions removing his footing as a son of Egypt. Ramses wanted his brother back. As the new sovereign of Egypt, Ramases wanted Moses back at his side. Being the living god of Egypt, Pharaoh had but to say a thing and the records of Egypt would be changed to make it so. Watch the video.

The tender expressions of Moses and Ramses in this story shows the lengths to which humanity will go to spare our feelings. It was easy for Ramses to move on and declare the act Moses committed in the movie nothing. Moses could not live with what happened or the other information he had learned of his heritage.

Though the events in The Prince of Egypt are misleading because Moses was not the brother of Ramses according to the Scriptures and he always knew he was a Hebrew, the point of the clip is to show how we as humans believe we have the power to change reality included in the many gifts of human power.

"I am the Evening and the Morning Star."

"We are the Federal Government."

Because governing bodies declare what was once one thing to be another by judicial acts or legislative writ, does not change the nature of those things in reality. Only on paper. The things we are willing to do today to protect our feelings become stranger than fiction.

Elder Quentin L Cook, a lawyer turned modern apostle of Jesus Christ in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who gave a sermon entitled Great Love for Our Father’s Children during the April General Conference of 2018, spoke of the driving force of the Gospel of Jesus Christ when he stated,

Teaching in our homes needs to be clear and compelling but also spiritual, joyful, and full of love.

When we teach our children about life, there should be facts involved. In that video about the girl who wanted to be a Black Policewoman, the mother never apologized to her kid for telling her she could be anything she wanted to be when she realized the girl thought she could be something she is not. She went ahead and coddled the child, never fixing it, in the video at least.

Not only was the kid misinformed about what she could be, but she was also misinformed about what she had to be in order to become a rapper. Hopefully, nothing will come of it other than a funny memory for the girl, but there is so much wrong with the lack of information available to the girl. Her estimation of the world is a reflection of American society setting unrealistic expectations for the upcoming generations that turn into political realities.

Some people teach about Easter Bunnies and Santa Claus because of cultural reasons. Many of us take those traditions too far costing the trust of our offspring. Everything needs context, or we risk confusion. Confusion is what is happening in American society--the world.

My son came from school one day and informed me there was an incident on one of the school buses of inappropriateness between a boy and a girl. Because of that incident, that took two hours to rectify, because the school separated the boys and the girls, he said.

I was puzzled. Why did it take two hours?

My son offered banally that the students kept changing their gender identification.

It took me a few minutes to realize the boy was joking. But, what a good example of something that is unclear and not compelling. The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches gender is an eternal distinction of the offspring of God. Gender, however, is not the focus here lest a point within the message becomes the message.

The focus that Elder Cook mentioned is that our teaching as parents, and as people of faith should be clear and compelling as opposed to unspecific and optional. He also counsels us, all of us, parents and children to teach Spiritually, Joyfully and Full of Love.

Mean the things we say and say the things we mean.

A harmless, seemingly, video of a child wanting to be something she cannot--can lead to someone else fighting to make identity what we choose it to be rather than what it is. The Gospel in its purity does not sow seeds of confusion but understanding. Jesus is not the author of confusion which often leads to contention.

Said the resurrected Savior to a group of followers He visited in ancient America,

For verily, verily I say unto you, 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. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. [3 Nephi 11:

A supernal theophany these ancient people experienced testifying of the reality of the Savior, they also learned that God is not the source of contention which usually comes from misunderstandings. The devil, who Jesus verifies to the world is real, delights and is the author of contention. Jesus wants such things done away which is why He clears up the honest questions of those who seek Him in prayer.

God does not answer every question a person asks anymore than a parent answers his or her children's questions who are too young to comprehend the bigger picture. He asks us to have faith in the process He gives to us to become like He is. Paul taught that

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen." [Hebrews 11:1]

Joseph Smith, a prophet whom God called to restore the original teachings of Jesus Christ, rendered the translation of Hebrews differently, giving it a slightly clearer meaning:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Evidence and Assurance lead to understanding and confidence in what the Lord wants the world to be taught about Him and His Gospel. Faith is having a guarantee of the hope that Christ can save us from sin and raise all from the dead. Faith is the foundation of understanding, trust that what has been taught is correct and the evidence, the proof of those teachings.

Alma, another prophet who taught of Christ recorded in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ taught,

Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. [Alma 32:21]

What is true?
Jesus can save any willing person from their sins. That is clear. How He does it is through suffering for the sins of all humans when He had none of His own for which to pay.

How did He pay for them?
He suffered for them. He bled for them. He died to pay the full price of them.

How does that help me? No matter what we have done in this life, Christ can forgive us of it and wash us clean to put us on the road to perfection.

What is perfection? To live the life that God lives with all of its subsequent benefits. What other king exists who is willing to share his throne and glory with his subjects as equals before God other than Jesus Christ? Jesus is the only one of which I've heard. His two commandments to love God and love each other are the stepping stones that aid us to where He is.

It is the privilege of each person in a position of training--a teacher, a parent, a pastor, etc--to train his or her students using clear and appealing instruction that does not leave the learners in doubt, especially when it comes to eternal salvation. Prayer and study lead to revelation for those who truly have the faith to seek the will of God and find his plan for them. Remember, God is the wisest. He is already in heaven. His goal is to get us there too.