RICHARD - Can you define what righteous indigantion means from
a Gospel point of view. Can a any living member of
the Church allowed to use righteous indignation to
someone who has wrongfully accused or hurt someone
else. When can this be used and how is it to be done
without causing anger between two individuals.
Please can you provide any information what our
prophets and leaders have said concerning this. My
only thought I have is that a person must be moved
upon by the Holy Ghost for this to happen.
Would a form of chastisement, counsel or advise be
regarded as righteous indignation?
JOEL - The concept of "righteous indignation" implies that a
judgment must be made on the propriety of what someone
else has done. We must make judgements every day about
situations and other people in order to protect
ourselves, and yet at the same time we have been
taught in the scriptures not to get angry or
offensive or come across as being judgmental.
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
(Prov. 16:32, See also Eccl 7:9, Ps 37:8,
Col. 3:83 Nephi 11:29)
And the term can sometimes be used incorrectly to make
excuses for why one gets angry over something, when in
fact they were simply unable to control their quick temper.
"He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly:" (Prov. 14:17)
Probably the best examples of righteous indignation
was demonstrated by Christ Himself when, out of
reverence for His Father's house, he twice cleansed
the temple in a seemingly angry fashion. (John 2:16.)
and by Moses when he broke the tablets containing the
new and everlasting covenant (see Exodus 32:19).
And there are many instances in the scriptures where God
displays His own righteous anger and wrath against
those who sin or break His commandments. (John 3:36,
Eph 5:6, Heb 10:26-27,
2 Neph 1:17)
But we should also remember that vengence is the Lord's
alone. (Rom. 12:19, Morm. 8:20.)
Perhaps there are moments when our righteous anger is
justified, the question is, how do you know when that is?
As parents dealing with children there are certainly many opportunities to
display what we might call "righteous indignation"
when they say or do something wrong that could put
them in danger.
I guess the difference between righteous indignation
and just plain anger depends on the motive. Are you
angry because you personally are
annoyed or insulted by what the other person did and
could not control your temper, or are you expressing
your feelings out of love and concern for the person?
President Spencer W. Kimball taught:
“Jesus lived and
taught the virtues of love and kindness and patience.
He also taught the virtues of firmness and resolution
and persistence and courageous indignation. These two
sets of virtues seem to clash with each other … , yet
both are necessary. If there were but one, love
without discipline, love without deep conviction of
right and wrong, without courage to fight the wrong,
such love becomes sentimentalism. Conversely, the
virtues of righteous indignation without love can be
harsh and cruel” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball,
Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, p. 245).
It never hurts to let the Holy Ghost play a part in how
we react. As you mentioned, we have been told we can
reprove "with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy
Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase
of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he
esteem thee to be his enemy;" (D&C 121:43)
I would submit that a person who demonstrates
"righteous indignation" correctly would not be accused
of being "angry" by those to whom it is directed.
You asked, "Can any living member of the Church be
allowed to use righteous indignation to someone who
has wrongfully accused or hurt someone else.
When can this be used and how is it to be done without
causing anger between two individuals?"
I can't give a general answer for this. It would really depend on the situation.
Once again, if the motive is love for the person being hurt and love for
the person who did the hurting, and you are in a
position of responsibility for one or both of the
persons, then perhaps it is time to have the courage
to fight the wrong, as president Kimball said. But I
would hope you would be able to resolve the problem
peacefully and not hold on to any hate or bitterness
against someone.
RICHARD - Is the 'Power of the Holy Ghost' and the'Power of the
Priesthood' the same or interrelated with each other?
I refer to D&C 20:60 & Moroni 3:4.
JOEL - Here are the scriptures:
"Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be
ordained according to the gifts and callings of God
unto him; and he is to be ordained by the power of the
Holy Ghost, which is in the one who ordains him." (D&C
20:60)
"And after this manner did they ordain priests and
teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God
unto men; and they ordained them by the power of the
Holy Ghost, which was in them. (Moroni 3:4)
All priesthood power comes from God, which includes
the Holy Ghost. While it may be related to priesthood
power I think it is something different.
The Holy Ghost has specific powers that He uses to
reveal things to people and sanctify them. Notice in
both verses it says they ordained them by the power of
the Holy Ghost, which is within them. The person
ordaining has priesthood power and authority to
perform the ordinance, but he also has the gift of the
Holy Ghost "within him" so that he can proclaim
blessings and give direction to the recipient through
inspiration. By using this power the one being
ordained can be sanctified and receive revelation so
he can perform the priesthood duties.
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