Rules vs. Principles

The Teenager that Left the Church because of a Rigid Leader

I once asked a close friend why she had left the Church as a teenager to return only after many years, and I discovered that she had been deceived by a spiritual sadist. "I remember sitting in my Laurel class," she said, "and the teacher was telling us how good and how pure we had to be to go to the celestial kingdom. She taught us how hard it would be to repent if we made a mistake, and that even if we did repent we could never have the same blessings as before. Of course, by then I had already made my mistakes. Then she made a special point of telling us that only a special few could find the strait and narrow way, and when I looked around that room and saw my competition, all of those goody-goodies, I knew I didn't have a chance of being one of the few. Never kiss boys? Never listen to rock music? Never fight with my mother? Never have an unclean thought? I knew right then I didn't have a snowball's chance, so I just gave up and quit coming."

When I asked her why she had come back to the Church after more than a decade, she answered, "This is where the light is, and I just couldn't stand the dark anymore. At first all I knew was that I had to get out of the dark, but as I moved closer to the light, I finally realized that my teacher hadn't told the truth. There is room for me in the kingdom of God, and I don't have to compete with the good-goodies to get there. I'm not competing with anyone but myself. I have repented; I've already found the strait and narrow way, and as long as I'm just a little better this month than I was last month, just a little nicer, a little kinder, a little more compassionate, or genuinely seek to be, in his name and for his sake - then I win it all."

"…seek ye earnestly the best gifts (the best gift would be eternal life in the kingdom of God), always remembering for what they are given; for verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and (for) him that seeketh so to do… (Doc. & Cov. 46:8-9)

Following Christ, Stephen E. Robinson, pgs.125-126

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The Principle of Charity in Relation to the 'Rules' of the Gospel

In following Christ, some seek great detail about specific rules and commandments and how to keep them more exactly. Even I, myself quickly feel overwhelmed when I think of the gospel as hundreds of rules, all demanding my immediate attention. I do not deny that the gospel apparently can be lived that way by some, but it's too much for me. I am easily daunted by the thought that being right with God consists of mastering many little things and then doing them all in exactly the right way at exactly the right time in exactly the right order.

Similarly, many would like a detailed description of the rules because some of us are quick to think that enduring to the end in following Christ is a matter of keeping hundreds of rules rather than as a matter of living a few principles. The commandments of God may be expressed either as rules or as principles, depending on the circumstances of those to whom his word is given. Nevertheless, there is a tremendous difference between rules and principles. Rules are usually based on principles, but rules are "bite sized," specific applications of principles to certain specified situations. Because of their greater specificity, rules are more rigid and inflexible than principles. By design they offer little choice - other than to obey or to disobey - and little wiggle-room. After all, "A rule is a rule." And because you don't have to understand a rule in order to obey it, rules are a blessing to the young, the inexperienced, or the spiritually immature. (this term is not meant as a put-down for anyone, since everyone is spiritually immature in some area of life.) The rules automatically apply higher principles for us to many of life's common situations. This they do in a predetermined and almost mechanical manner that does not require much judgment or discernment on the part of those who keep them: "A rule is a rule." A prime example of righteousness by the rules would be the law of Moses (including the Ten Commandments), which was given to the spiritually immature Israel in the wilderness.

Principles, on the other hand, are not rigid and inflexible in how they are observed, and they may often be appropriately adapted and changed to meet special circumstances, though doing this successfully requires more spiritual maturity and judgment than does merely keeping a rule. That is the great advantage of principle-based righteousness over rule-based righteousness: In order to live our lives by the rules, we would need a rule for every possible human situation, zillions of rules, more than we could ever memorize, but we need only a few principles to live by, and those same few principles can always be appropriately applied to any of life's zillion possible situations. Rules, like the law of Moses, are fulfilled (and made obsolete) - when we learn and live by the larger principles on which the rules are based. Thus the principles of the gospel fulfill the rules of the law of Moses, which was a law of "carnal commandments," or a law of rules. For example, in the context of the gospel, the rule against homicide is fulfilled and made obsolete by the principle of love, the rule against adultery by the principle of chastity, and so on. The rules of the law of Moses are good and true, but they are rendered obsolete and unnecessary by living the broader principles of the gospel, which they only partly express.

Principle-based living requires a knowledge of the true nature of the God we worship by imitation and of the principles he has revealed in his gospel. We can't live by principles we don't know, or follow an example we haven't seen. Principle-based living also requires the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide us as we apply gospel principles to our life situations. Otherwise our carnal minds would influence our interpretation of the principles and subvert our decision. Finally, principle-based living requires, perhaps most of all, the genuine desire to obey God. Liars who merely want to be freed from the restraint of rules but who do not really want to obey God on a higher level cannot be immediately detected, and they therefore often attempt to use "principle-based living" as an excuse for breaking the rules. Without a genuine desire to obey God, principle-based living quickly becomes an excuse for sin. These are three reasons (a knowledge of the true nature of God, having the Holy Ghost, and a genuine desire to obey) why true principle-based living can be accomplished only by those who have entered the covenant and keep it. When Joseph Smith was asked how he could govern so many Latter-day Saints, he replied, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." That is, he taught them the principles of the gospel, then the Saints, motivated by a desire to obey God and with the help of the Holy Ghost, decided how to apply those principles to their individual lives. But then they did it - they actually followed through and governed themselves by the principles of the gospel. (Without all three prerequisites - correct understanding of the principles, the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and the desire to obey - principle-based living will fail.)

There is much to be said for rule-based righteousness. Many people find it, for a while, the easiest way to make progress toward a Christlike life. It does a good job of teaching us the specifics of what God requires, and it can be an effective training program as we move toward keeping all the commandments all the time. ("Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Gal. 3:24). Each of the hundreds of separate elements it keeps in our view are true and important in their own right. And all of us ought to evaluate ourselves from the "rule-based" perspective from time to time just to see how we're doing with all of the details and to gauge our progress.

However, I do not personally subscribe to the rule-book approach to living the gospel every day, not because it is bad or wrong, but because there is a better way to follow Christ. Not only are broad principles better than the narrow rules they contain; there is also one particular principle that contains within it all the other principles. James calls this principle "the royal law" (If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. James 2:8) and Paul calls it "a more excellent way" ("But covet earnest the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal…" 1 Cor. 12:31 & 13:1-13). To me it's the difference between trying to keep track of a thousand individual rules, like a thousand little marbles rolling around on a tabletop, and trying to follow one overriding principle, like putting all the marbles into a bag where they can be handled as a single object. In a bag all the marbles are still there, but you only have to keep track of one thing instead of a thousand. In the same way, one principle contains a thousand rules.

The truth is, there is one thing, one single principle, that includes within it all the other rules, like marbles in a pouch, so that if we live just that one principle, we automatically live the rules as well. And since there is a limit to the number of pages I can put in a book, and a limit to the number of rules we can be expected to memorize or worry about at one time, it would seem wise and economical, both practically and spiritually, to focus on the one inclusive principle rather than the thousand of individual rules. This single principle is the Law of Love, and if we can get this one principle right, and live it, then we automatically live all of the rules too. Or at least God will judge it so. (And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity cover the multitude of sins. 1 Pet 4:8)

That the law of love includes within it all the other laws is made clear by the Apostle Paul: "He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. 13:8-10). Now, please don't understand me to be saying anything at all against rule-based righteousness (working from the parts to the whole) or against focusing on a lot of smaller things all at once when you can do it. But if you need a single point to focus on to follow Christ, then this is it. 'Love' is the answer: What is the great (meaning highest, most central, most inclusive, all encompassing) commandment: "Love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matt. 22:36-40.

The Savior himself makes it clear in both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon that there is one thing, one principle, that more than anything else makes us true children of our Father in Heaven: "Love your enemies…. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven." (Matt 5:44-45, 3 Ne 12:44-45) Do you want to be a true son or daughter of God? Then love your enemies (and your friends, too, I would guess), for God loves and blesses all his children. Do you want to be like God? Then cultivate the one trait above all others that characterizes God - love all your brothers and sisters as he loves all his children.

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, the commandment to love is the 'Prime Directive', so to speak. It is the first and most important principle in eternity. It is the single most important principle of the gospel and includes all the rules within itself. Loving others and acting accordingly will make us more like God than any other principle. Unfortunately, it also seems to be the element many of us forget first when we start trying to "be religious." Many "religious" people, especially those relying on the rule-based approach, come to think that religion is about what we eat, or how we vote, or how many meetings we attend, or how much money we pay, or how many pages we read. All those things are important, but none of them is most important. (The danger of teaching the law of love is that invariable some spiritually immature persons will pit love against obedience. That will not work. We can keep the commandments through principles, like the law of love, or keep them through individual rules - but we can't keep the commandment to love God by breaking his commandments. "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him." John 14:21) It is possible to be "active" in church and still be spiritually dead, particularly if we fail to love one another. That is what Paul and Moroni are telling us in 1 Cor. 12 and Moroni 7: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And thought I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains [that is, though I may have all other attributes of piety], and have not charity, I am nothing… Charity never faileth… and now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." "If a many be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity… Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all."

The Prime Directive has been delivered to us pointedly by the Savior no fewer than three times in John's Gospel alone: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" John 13:24-25 "This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12-15 "These things I command you, that ye love one another." John 15:17

Matthew records the delivery of the Prime Directive on another occasion. When asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus answered, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matt 22:37-40

This is not emotional fluff. This is not pie in the sky, wishful thinking, or idealistic gas. Love is not some subsidiary principle that allows the weepy among us to go off on a crying jag. It's not just something thrown in for the benefit of the sisters or for the super-sensitive "artsy" types. It is not an option that may be ignored by those who would prefer not to clutter their lives with other peoples' problems. There is a grand key here, probably the grandest key of them all. It is this: the heart and soul of the gospel is love, and all the rest is commentary. Whatever else we may perceive religion to be, we are wrong - for true religion is love in action - God's love for us and our love for God and for our neighbors.

But surely, one may say, if I'm personally righteous, and I've got a Ph.D., and I'm a stake president or a Relief Society president, and I pay 20-percent tithing, and I have 15 children, and I went on a mission, and I got married in the temple, and I'm an Eagle Scout, and I have two years worth of food storage, and my genealogy is done all the way back to Adam - surely for all this God will exalt me, even if I'm not a very compassionate person and don't really love my brothers and sisters.

Wrong!

Listen to Joseph Smith: "To be justified before God we must love one another." History of the Church 2:229

Listen to Nephi: "The Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity, they were nothing." 2 Ne. 26:30

Listen to Alma: "If ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men." Alma 34:29 ("Charity" equals "love" and "charitable" equals "motivated by love".

Listen to Moroni: "This love which thou has had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father." Ether 12:34

Again from Moroni: "And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; nether can ye if ye have no hope." Moroni 10:21

Listen to Paul (again): "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." 1 Cor. 13:1-2

Listen to Peter: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently." 1 Pet. 1:22

Listen to John: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

Love is the sine qua non of the kingdom of God, the "without-which-not" of celestial glory. Other things may be required as well, but without love in our hearts for God and for our fellow beings, we will not be raised up to a throne. There are no exceptions. We cannot become like God, we cannot be true sons and daughters of God without love - for God is love.

Following Christ, Stephen E. Robinson, pgs 129-139

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One more example: In the Sermon on the Mount, at the end of chapter five of Matthew, the Savior finishes a section of his address with the well known verse: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." (The Savior is quoted in the New World with a similar charge: "Therefore, I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in Heaven is perfect." 3 Ne. 12:48) One word in these verses has caught my attention. It is the word 'therefore'. It is used in both verses, but is seldom the focus of either verse. More commonly, the word 'perfect' is the primary focus.

The word 'therefore' is referred to as an adverb in the dictionary and has two primary definitions, the first with three sub-definitions:

there●fore: 1a) for that reason: consequently; b) because of that; and c) on that ground; and 2) to that end

In all of the definitions of 'therefore' it is clear that the word serves the function of transitioning one idea or a set of ideas to another: as in "if this and this and this, therefore, that." Maybe a more practical example would be: "I never let my car get below a quarter of a tank of gas, therefore I never worry about running out." Or, "My children are faithful of always doing their homework on time, therefore they maintain excellent grade point averages." Clearly, the word 'therefore' is a tool used in language to refer back previous thought or concept. With that in mind, let's see what the 'therefore' might be referring to in the Savior's words from the Sermon on the Mount and during his visit with the Nephites.

In Matthew (the verses in 3 Ne. would work similarly), there are two paragraphs proceeding the 'be ye therefore perfect' verse. They begin in verse 38:

"Ye have heard that is hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."

"Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven…" (stop for a moment here and remember the scriptures quoted above that teach we become the children of God and God-like through the principle of love).

After this, the next couple of lines talk about how God loves all people: "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust." Then two verses that ask some related questions: "For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye solute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?"

And then the conclusion of these thoughts: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

So what is the word 'therefore' in verse 48, relating back to? The previous verses admonish us accordingly: turn the other cheek (verse 39)... if sued, give up our cloke in addition to our coat (verse 40)… if asked to go a mile, go two (verse 41)… don't turn away those that ask to borrow from us (verse 41)… love our enemies (verse 44)… bless them that curse us (verse 44)… do good to them that hate us (verse 44)… pray for those that despitefully use us and persecute us (verse 44)... and then comes the "Therefore, be perfect, even as Heavenly Father." So, what is the word 'therefore' referring back to? In the previous verses the Savior is teaching us individual examples of love. He wants us to be perfect in our love for each other. That is how we will become like our Father in Heaven. How are we to love? We are to turn the other cheek, give more than expected, go the extra mile, share of our possessions, love those that don't particularly love us, bless others, do good to others, and pray for others, etc. It seems that the 'therefore' in verse 48 refers us back to the principle of love, over and over again.

And accordingly, by focusing on the principle of love (or charity) we will become more like our Heavenly Father and the Savior and will have 'fulfilled the law': "Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law…. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore (there's that word again…) love is the fulfilling of the law." (Ro. 13:8-10) Remember, on the two commandments of loving God and loving our fellow men hang all the law and the prophets (Matt. 22:36-40).

The Plan of Salvation was conceived in love. The central event in the Plan of Salvation, the primary and fundamental focus of its success, the core undertaking that makes the plan work is the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. His coming to earth was done out of love: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." (John 3:16). His life was a life of love: "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us for an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour" (Eph. 5:2). His atonement was accomplished out of love "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:16). His ongoing work is performed through love: "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

As he is our example, our actions and interactions also are to be filled with love: "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and to all men…" (1 Thes. 3:12). We are promised marvelous blessings when we love: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…" (Rom. 8:28), and "…eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor. 2:9. Our reward for making love the central and guiding characteristic in our lives is eternal life with our Heavenly Father: "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him" (James 1:12).

May we all learn to be more loving, more charitable, more compassionate and more caring as we learn to make love the core characteristic in our lives. "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfast in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men…" (2 Ne. 31:20).

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Quote from Heber J. Grant on Being Saved in the Kingdom of God

If you want to know how to be saved, I can tell you; it is by keeping the commandments of God. No power on earth, no power beneath the earth, will ever prevent you or me or any Latter-day Saint from being saved, except ourselves.

We are the architects of our own lives, not only of the lives here, but the lives to come in the eternity. We ourselves are able to perform every duty and obligation that God has required of men. No commandment was ever given to us but that God has given us the power to keep that commandment. If we fail, we, and we alone, are responsible for the failure, because God endows His servants, from the President of the Church down to the humblest member, with all the ability, all the knowledge, all the power that is necessary, to faithfully, diligently, and properly discharge every duty and every obligation that rests upon them, and we, and we alone will have to answer if we fail in this regard.

We as Latter-day Saints, holding the Priesthood of God, should magnify it, and we should respect those who preside over us in the different stakes and wards, and we should respect the general authorities of the Church, and as we respect them, God will respect us.

As we respect the authorities in the nations of which we form a part, and uphold and sustain the government, just in that proportion are we loyal citizens, and our government will respect and uphold us. I say unto you that it is not an insignificant thing to hold the Priesthood of God - to have the right to influence the powers of the heavens for good; and it is not a slight thing for us to neglect to honor that Priesthood that God has bestowed upon us and the Priesthood of God in those who preside over us.

May the light and inspiration of God be our constant guide and companion. May we grow and increase in the Spirit of God and in the testimony of the Gospel, and in power and ability to accomplish the purposes of our Heavenly Father here on the earth; and may we grow in the desire to do so, is my prayer and desire, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. (General Conference, October 4, 1895)

Wm. Calvin Hughes

March 15, 2002