The Way to Judge

In these days of apparent moral ambiguity I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon and the words of Moroni instructing us how to judge good from evil. He says:

"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do
evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil....Wherefore, I beseech of you, bretheren, that ye should seek diligently in the ligth of Christ that ye may know good from evil..." (Moroni 7:16-17, 19).

I am also profoundly grateful for the instructions our living prophets give us regarding how to stay safe amidst the moral firestorms that target us daily. Today in Relief Society we discussed the Strength of the Youth pamphlet. It was interesting to me that in many cases the guidelines given were very specific, but in other cases the guidelines were more subjective. For example, it specifically says: "Do not date until you are at least 16 years old." There is no misunderstanding or misinterpreting what exactly 16 years old means. In another section it says: "Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not particiapte in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable." While still presenting a very high standard it is somewhat less specific and open to personal interpretation. It is my feeling that these less specific guidelines are opportunities for us to follow Moroni's instructions, and thereby live a higher law. As we grow closer to the Spirit things that used to seem acceptable may progressively become more offensive. For example, when I was in high school I enjoyed the movie Top Gun. However, when I watched it in college I was appalled by the language contained in the film. Things that I had previously been accustomed to were now glaring. In this process we also must avoid the tendency to become self-righteous, or even worse, hypocritical. Just because we judge something as unacceptable does not necessarily mean that standard should be applied for everyone else, so long as it falls within the basic guidelines the prophets have outlined. I have read and enjoyed some books that others have found offensive. This does not necessarily mean that I am choosing evil, or that the others were more righteous than I. We must all stive to live the commandments to the highest degree while recognizing that our personal choices are not the standard with which we should judge the rest of the world.