The Perfect Society

There once was a perfect society.

It happened many years ago.

When brotherhood was universal,

and no one lacked, you know.

Folks shared what they had

with willingness and love.

Neither men nor their thoughts were bad.

Kindness flowed surely from above,

They couldn't stand that others suffer.

Wars were a thing of the past.

Folks looked out for one another.

Arguments were short and healed fast.

Not that everything was perfect.

How could fallible man make it so?

But no one was thought of as suspect.

Pure love for each other did flow.

The people of that society had admirable qualities. Their families and individuals were:

Honest

Law-abiding

Truthful

Chaste

Benevolent

Virtuous

Temperate

Patient

Charitable

Humble

Diligent

and Educated in the knowledge of their history.

They raised their children in light and truth, teaching them to pray and walk uprightly before the Lord, in control of their appetites and self-disciplined as adults, sharing all things with each other.

In the West and the Middle East believers worship one God, though they disagree on what form their worship should take.

That God has blessed mankind with enough and to spare, But as in the decline of that perfect society, men began to cherish wealth and have pride in being different, even convincing themselves that they were superior to others.

Gradually dishonesty arose. Men, women, and children became selfish, dishonest, false, seekers of pleasures, mean spirited and impatient, proud, clanish to the point of having secret societies, and ceased to pray and acknowledge God in all things, following instead the teachings of proud men leading them astray.

Wanting more of a good thing for themselves, they rapidly destroyed what had once been good for all.

Later societies have yearned to recreate that perfect society. Many have tried, some with limited, short-term success.

Seldom has it seemed truer than today that "God's ways are not man's ways" but once, that once, they were..

To read more about that perfect society, you can go to Third Nephi, The Book of Nephi in The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

We can all pray for a perfect society. First it might be well to know what a perfect society is, and that one is actually possible.

In Psalm 90, verse 12 we read: "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (The New King James Version) and in The King James Version that Psalm 90, verse 12 reads: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) are taught to "Seek out of the best books words of wisdom" and to "Seek learning even by study and also by faith." To "Be well-disciplined and control your appetites" with the promise that "All saints who remember to keep and do these things, walking in obedience to God's commandments, shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures, and will be a royal family which is exemplary and sets a pattern for others, a 'light of the world' not hid, and gives glory to our Father in Heaven."

On March 31, 1979 a member of the LDS Quorum of The Seventy said, "Self-discipline will enrich your life and the lives of generations to come."

If "all things are possible to him that believeth", then if we believe that we can do it, we can.

Let's pray for and do what we as individuals can do to make our society more nearly perfect, even as we are taught in the sixth chapter of The Gospel According To Saint Luke.

By keeping journals, diaries, personal and family histories we can turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and preserve experiences and lessons that can guide our posterity on safer, less dangerous paths in the worlds they must one day live in.

Include your thoughts about those life experiences so they may better gain experience through your eyes and your wisdom.