Prejudices.

Recently I started a new job and was speaking with a new found friend there.
As usual, it didn't take long before the discussion got around to my
favorite topic, religion. Although the person I was speaking with was also a
believer in Christ, neither one of us knew which church to other attended.
We just knew that both of us were Christians.

As we talked, I shared with him one of my favorite topics about symbols in
the Bible. As I did, he was enjoying what I had to say and was feeling the
Spirit. According to his own words, he said to me, "Those things are coming
from the Lord!" He also expressed the idea that I was a very good man and a
special believer.

Then he asked me what church I went to. When I told him I belonged to the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was shocked and dumbfounded.
"I can't believe that!" he said with horror. When I asked him why that
bothered him, he replied, "How could you possibly believe that the Book of
Mormon and all the things it says are true?"

>From that point on, all he did was tell me how bad my church and its beliefs
were. I thought this was rather strange, because, before he knew what church
I belonged to, he agreed with everything I said, and even praised me for my
great understanding. However, once he found out what faith I belonged to, he
treated me as though I were the devil himself. Although my views hadn't
changed at all, within five minutes, I went from being a great Christian
person, inspired by the Lord, to being a disciple of Satan.

But this reaction isn't unusual. Another similar experience occurred with my
web page. When I was writing "The Bible and the Book of Mormon" which was
based on my studies of the Bible, I felt that it was better if I left out
the prophecy found in Ezekiel 37. I felt that it was too well known, so I
decided not to include it with my article.

Once I published it, two times I had webmasters who were critics of the
Church write and tell me that my study of the Bible wasn't worth reading
because of what it said in Ezekiel 37. According to their opinion, this
chapter in the Bible was not referring to the Book of Mormon. I wrote them
back and told them they were quoting a prophecy that I didn't use to justify
my beliefs. It was clear to me that they hadn't really read my article but
were merely accusing me of things they had heard from someone else.

This kind of attitude is known as "prejudice." The dictionary defines it as
"To form an opinion prior to receiving actual knowledge or experience" It is
also defined as "preconceived judgment or opinion; an adverse opinion or
leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge; an
irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a
race, or their supposed characteristics." Synonyms for this word are,
"intolerance, animosity, bad opinion, bias, bigotry, contemptuousness,
discrimination, enmity, injustice, misjudgment, narrow-mindedness,
one-sidedness, and partiality."

The word "predilection" is defined as "to injure or damage by some judgment
or action (as in a case of law); to cause to have prejudice preconception."
The word "preconception" is defined as "an idea formed before event occurs
or facts are received." Synonyms are, assumption, bias, delusion, illusion,
preconceived idea, predisposition, prejudgment, and prejudice.

That describes my new co-worker and the two webmasters who wrote me. Even
though they claim they base all of their beliefs entirely on what it says in
the Bible, yet while I was quoting them scriptures from the Bible to support
my belief that the Book of Mormon was prophesied in the Old Testament, they
still would not believe it. When I asked my new co-worker why, all he could
say was, "Because it is not possible!" When I asked him "Why" again, he
said, "Because I know it's not true and so do a lot of other people."

I told him that wasn't true because not only do I firmly believe the Book of
Mormon contains God's word but so do millions of others, just like me. Then
I asked him if he had ever read it? When he said he hadn't I asked him how
he could possibly say that he knew the book was false. He didn't answer my
question. Instead, all he could say was that he feared for my soul. I
thanked him but said that he didn't need to worry about my soul because,
fortunately, he is not my judge.

What prejudice does is builds walls and barriers which people hide behind to
avoid facing the truth. This is what the Jewish leaders did when Jesus lived
among them. Rather than accept Him for who He really was (their long awaited
Messiah), they chanted, "We have Moses and the prophets!" Although that was
true, they became blind to the words of those very prophets who foretold the
coming of the Messiah.

Prejudice forms mental barriers within the person themselves. By hiding
behind these self-made barriers, they can become comfortable with their own
ideas. When these ideas are challenged, the person tends defends their own
opinions by all means possible. Instead of having an open mind, they
surround themselves even closer to their convictions to the point that they
will stubbornly refuse to even discuss any other possible idea.

It is true that all of us behave this way to some degree, even those who
indeed do have the truth. Sometimes, like the Jews, there are people in our
church who already know the truth but don't want to accept anymore of it.
For example, when new revelations come down from the church leaders, they
refuse to accept it. This was just as true back in the days when Jesus
walked the earth. Even among His disciples there were those who had a hard
time accepting what He had to say. On one occasion when Jesus was speaking
about how He was the bread of life and that the time would come when they
would eat his flesh and drink His blood. "many therefore of his disciples,
when they heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it. From that
time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said
Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John
6:60,66-68).

Jesus encountered prejudice from the very beginning of His mission. One
Sabbath day, when Jesus read a prophecy from the book of Isaiah and declared
that at that moment it was fulfilled in their ears, the people wouldn't
accept it. Jesus performed many miracles, yet, instead of them helping
people to understand who He was, the Jewish leaders accused Him of being a
devil. In each of these examples, people built walls around their own pet
ideas and refused to accept the truth when Jesus tried to reveal it to them.

Even the Jews before Christ had the same problem. Although they had the Law
of Moses, they built up walls of prejudice when the prophets of God tried to
call them to repentance. Instead of receiving their message, they stoned and
killed all the prophets (see Matthew 23:37).

How can we prevent this problem from developing in our life? It is not easy
but it is possible. God teaches us truth, not all at once but slowly, line
upon line and precept upon precept, a little here and a little there. But to
be taught, we need to have an open mind, always ready to receive knowledge
step by step. Rather than buildings walls of harden ideas, our minds need to
be like soft clay, always ready to be shaped and formed by God. Jesus
taught, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free!" I truly
believe that when Jesus declared this truth He was referring to the human
prejudices which enslave mankind.

Unfortunately when a person doesn't have an open mind they think static
instead of dynamic. As stated earlier, even those who know the truth can
build barriers of prejudices if they are not willing to open up their
understanding to the full significance of a concept or doctrine. Let's look
at an example: Jesus said, "Verily verily, I say unto thee, except a man be
born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." That
clearly states that to enter into the kingdom of God we must be baptized and
receive the Holy Ghost. But what about very young children or those who are
mentally handicapped? Modern revelation tells us they don't need to be
baptized. Yet some people build up walls of prejudice and refuse to accept
this truth because it doesn't fit with their own understanding of what Jesus
said about needing to be born again.

We may have all the facts but it is the way we put the facts together that
can lead to our prejudices. If we use our own wisdom in deciding how to
assemble the facts at our disposal, it is very possible to come to an
erroneous conclusion. Being the proud people we are, rather than admit we
might be wrong, we defend our own conclusions at all costs when they are
challenged or attacked from others.

The question then becomes, how do we correctly assemble facts in a way that
brings us to the truth? There is only one right way to do this, and that is
to depend on the source of all truth, God. The Bible instructs us, "Trust in
the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. In
all thy way acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in
thine own eyes" (Proverbs 3:5-7 In John 7:17 we're also told, "If any man
will do His will, He shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or
whether I speak of myself".

According to what the Bible teaches, if we want to find truth we must not be
wise in our own eyes by depending on our own wisdom. Rather, we must let God
direct our paths. If we follow His will, we are promised that we will come
to know the truth of his doctrines. This will not happen all at once.
Instead, the knowledge of truth will come "precept upon precept, line upon
line, here a little, there a little" (Isaiah 28:10).

If man trusts in his creator with faith, then the knowledge of truth will
come to him line upon line and precept by precept. In this way mankind can
become freed from their prejudices, because they will have become humble and
willing to listen God who will teach them truth. One of our Articles of
Faith declares: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now
reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important
things pertaining to the kingdom of God." But in order for us to have
knowledge revealed to us we must become teachable, like little children. It
is when we are unwilling to let God teach us that we begin to defend our own
wisdom. That's what is defined as being prejudice

Continual revelation from God is the enemy of prejudice. When we receive a
true principle, we shouldn't fossilize it and set it in stone. Rather, we
should be ready to build upon it, adding truth to truth. That way we get to
see each principle of truth as part of a whole picture rather than looking
at it out of context of the entire building. If God had given us all truth
at one time, that knowledge would have overwhelmed us. It is for this very
reason that even in the scriptures, truth is revealed to us line upon line
and step by step.

Think of taking in knowledge as eating food. We don't shove all the food in
our mouth at one time that we plan to eat in one meal, or in one day.
Instead, we take a little bite, chew on it, and swallow it before taking the
next bite. Learning truth follows the same process. God feeds us a little at
a time. When we have digested and assimilated that knowledge, then He feeds
us another bite.

This is a divine process which applies to all the laws of life. When we were
children, we began our schooling by going to kindergarten, and from there,
step by step through each grade, our knowledge grew until we were ready to
attend a university. In nature we first have to plant the seed, then we have
to give it time to grow and bear fruit, and only after that can we reap the
harvest. The Book of Mormon explains in Mosiah 4:27 "and see that all these
things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man
should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he
should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all
things must be done in order."

Prejudices are great barriers to our personal progress. By there very
nature, a prejudice attitude is one that is static and fixed rather dynamic
and growing. Like thick clouds, they block out the rays of the light of
truth. Truth is meant to be learned one step at a time, and each revealed
truth is built upon the previously learned truths. When we set up barriers
of prejudice, we stop the building process. Therefore, our knowledge of
truth ceases to grow.

This is what happened with the Jews at the time of Christ. He came and
revealed the true meanings of the scriptures, but their ideas of truth were
set in stone. Because of their prejudices, they refused to accept any more
truth. Unfortunately, what happened to the Jews back then, is now happening
to Christians today. Not only do they refuse to accept Joseph Smith as being
a revealer of truth, and the Book of Mormon as more of God's word, but when
these things are presented to them they even refuse to listen or discuss it.

In the early frontier days, the Omaha Indians had an interesting custom. If
an Indian of one tribe wished to visit the lands of another, on the night
before leaving his home the chief would ask him to sit with them around the
campfire. And just before the flames died down, he was asked to stand up and
repeat this prayer: "Great Spirit, help me never to judge another until I
have walked 2 weeks in his moccasins."

The best way to overcome prejudice is to make a deliberate and constant
effort to discover what is good, especially in others. This effort will
enlarge the soul and brings with it a warmth of satisfaction that gladdens
the heart, and sweetens our life. On the other hand, prejudices, in all
their forms, have been the cause of strife, bitterness and bloodshed.

What a different world this would be if we put aside our prejudices and
walked in other man's shoes for a while! This would lead to understanding,
and understanding is the foundation of peaceful and happy relationships.

Minds are like parachutes, they function better when they are open!