Our EQ President was very concerned he was starting to tread into political debate waters so he didn't dwell too much one part of the speech. This part of the speech however confirmed some of the things I've been trying to get across in my blog and in my comments on other blogs. After explaining that he has statistically proven that Americans are the most giving of time and money of any citizenry of Earth and that those people who do "give" are generally more happy and more prosperous, he goes on to dispel a few myths related to charitable giving. Here is Myth #4:
"You will hear in the coming days and weeks and months that if our country were doing what it should be doing for people in need, then we wouldn’t need private giving, that the government would be taking care of people who need it, and that we would not need you to step in to provide for others. I am here to tell you, having looked at the data, that the day the government takes over for you in your private charity is the day we get poorer, unhappier, and unhealthier. We must demand to take our place as givers and support the communities and people who need the services we can provide."
There is an eternal principle in effect here...when we use our agency to give to others, we are compensated in ways both temporal and spiritual which leads to our happiness and health. If we are forced to "give"...when a government uses powers which 'we the people' have not given it to "take" from one and give to another...Amen to the happiness of the givers!
2 Ne 2:13 - from Lehi's final sermon to his son Jacob (bold text emphasised by me)
"And if ye shall say there is ano law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not bthere is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away."
In other words, if there is no risk of people being greedy and selfish then there really is no "giving" or righteous good works. We cannot have one without the other. We must have the choice to be good or to be evil otherwise the principle of agency and eternal personal growth is ruined.
If you've read my rants over the last few years you are probably aware that I have often said that true charity must come from the heart because it changes something in the heart of the giver and in the recipient. Mr. Brooks has statistically proven it even though it was against his own hypothesis.
Well, from Mr. Brooks article, he shows that our charitable giving as Americans has been increasing over the last two centuries. I hope it will continue to do so. So how do we fix our Country? Even if the government starts taking more of our discretionary income to support inefficient nationalized programs, we cannot become complacent believing that government is managing our charity for us. We should all give more of our time to service so that we can be a happy, health, and prosperous people. We need to vote for people who understand that important eternal principle mentioned above, and who will keep that principle sacred by defeating and eliminating government programs and policies that destroy our God-given agency to give or not to give.
