Distraction

We are facing many serious issues that are being ignored. Instead of dealing with directly relevant challenges that we now face, education, news, governmental and entertainment opinion-leaders urge us to focus on divisive side-issues.

There are very small and extreme groups who use social media to influence the larger population. This is organized and intended to misrepresent public reaction in order to sway opinion. It is unfortunately effective. We are fed a constant stream of misrepresentations, deceptions and distractions to occupy our attention. We have all become “Nero” while “Rome is burning.”

There is a fog of lies so deep, widespread and effective that even the very elect have a challenge to remember what matters most.

The left-leaning media and politicians accuse conservatives of being an actual threat to peace and order. And the right-leaning media outlets engage in a constantly shrill counter-attack accusing “liberals” of being a threat to freedom. The objective of both left and right is to stir up anger against our fellow-man.

Anger distracts us. In a July 2017 revelation the Lord described this condition and urged us to avoid engaging in the angry current social disorder: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute.” T&C 157:54

We are being distracted as a very dangerous tactic. Leaders who incite anger run the risk of leading us into “bloodshed and the misery of many souls.” Even if we disagree with one another, strong political disagreements should never be allowed to “provoke anger, nor to invoke [God’s] name in vain, as if [He] had part in our every dispute.” We do that. It should end.