Comments on: The Spirit of Freedom

By: Angie

Angie — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:59:00 +0000

Thanks for the interesting comments! On the homefront things are looking up. Since my daughter is a very visula learner I had her draw pictures of people feeling the spirit of rebellion and the spirit of freedom. the difference was striking in the colors used, the appearance of the lines, the shading etc. I asked her if she understood any better and she said, ‘Well yes, I can see this!”

By: Wendy

Wendy — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:16:26 +0000

I really like how applicable Sarah’s example is to your question about how to apply this to a ten-year-old: We have the agency to become whatever we want to become, but there are definite steps we cannot skip to reach some goals. If our current wishes take us further from our larger goals, we are using our agency poorly, and it will doubtless shape our future.

Great discussion!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:58:04 +0000

I want to go to a top 10 law school, become a famous law professor, and retire at 45 to see the world. But poor choices I made in high school and college, which mostly were of the “I knew better and did it anyway” variety (with a smattering of “I’ll get around to it later” — you can’t retire at 45 if you graduate from college at 26,) have made that impossible. The Spirit encourages us to make choices that keep our options open, keep our dreams alive, etc. Dumb stuff like going to bed early and getting your homework done every night not only gets you better grades and happier mornings, it also builds character, making you into the kind of person who can, say, hack it at a top 10 law school.

The extended application to spiritual matters is generally left to the reader in the scriptures, so I’ll do the same here. ^_^

By: Rand

Rand — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:13:06 +0000

It seems to me that freedom is moving toward according to higher law, and rebellion is moving away from at the denial of higher law. Freedom requires abiding laws to be able to maintain it, whether they be the laws of the land or natural laws.
Rebellion on the other hand can be expressed in one great thrust off of the roof to rebel against the constraints of gravity. For a short time it can be liberating. Thump! But then again, rebellion can be moving toward, in which case, when properly applied according to higher laws, it brings freedom.

I like the thought from the scriptures, thank you. The spirit always moves us toward, I believe.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:42:16 +0000

I’m afraid I’ve never been much of a rebel, but this is interesting to think about. I would guess that defining “rebellion” as a consistently negative concept may be the hang-up. Your daughter has correctly identified the similarity between freedom and rebellion. The morality of rebellion depends on what we are rebelling against, rather than the action itself. If an act that is classified by man as “rebellion” is sanctioned by God, then it is not a negative act. And conversely, if an act that is sanctioned by man transgresses God’s laws, then that rebellion is negative. Perhaps talk with her about instances in history where people have rebelled, both “positive” (Rosa Parks, signers of the Declaration, people who helped Jews under Nazi rule) and “negative” (pop culture trends, criminal acts, etc.) and talk about the morality of each rebellion.

By: Emily M.

Emily M. — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:59:50 +0000

This is fascinating, Angie.

What if you change it to “the Spirit of God is the spirit that allows freedom”?

To me, that’s more what the scripture you’re referencing means. I don’t know that your daughter will get that nuance… but that’s what the phrase means to me: The Spirit of God is the Spirit that permits us to freely choose… and also to deal with the consequences of those choices.

It’s the spirit of freedom, with all that that implies: the beginning choice and also its results.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 19:59:16 +0000

While freedom and agency (the LDS definition of agency) may not be the same thing, something that may help would be to talk about why “free agency” is not really about our freedom to choose right or wrong, but our freedom and RESPONSIBILITY to choose correctly, to make the right choice.

Young people get caught up in the “I can make my own choices because I have my free agency” thing all the time. Elder Oaks is the one who most recently reminds us that using our free agency means choosing the right, not choosing the wrong. (rebellion.)

Hmm. It sounds like you already thoroughly covered why making wrong choices essentially enslaves us.

Maybe giving her some real life chances to see this for herself would be the best teacher. Well, actually, she probably has her fair share of this already when she decides to “rebel” against family rules, chores, responsilities, etc. Perhaps using her own daily choices as teaching moments would help her. Or, giving her more latitude in her choices for a short time so that she can experience a true loss of freedom for the “rebellious” choices she makes.