And it came to pass that they would not hearken unto his; and there began to be contentions, and so much that they were divided against themselves and began to slay one another with the sword.
Oh my, another description of the United States 2020. Verse 13 describes a phenomenon we see before us daily. The news has the job of fact checking what leaders say. We expect our leaders speak truth to us and not to lie to us. And so daily we hear the fact-checking and are told all the lies that came from Washington that day. And daily we see that it makes no difference in how people believe and act. It is as if we have become numb and don't expect truth any longer.
We also ignore truths that we don't want to hear. Humans internalized belief systems. They become the core of who we are. We cannot separate the belief from the believer. Therefore change is hard. It shakes us to that core and that is why change happens slowly. That is why Alma and Paul are the exceptions and not the rule.
If I were to illustrate"hardened their hearts" I would show someone with hands over their ears saying "I don't want to hear it." and what seems to be the hardest for us to hear is the reality of another's life when that person's reality is different than our own.
Whites have trouble hearing that blacks have not had the same American experience as they have had. Siblings don't always have the same shared memories. Religious people find it hard to believe that other religions have a legitimate spiritual path. Straight people don't listen to the LGBTQ community. Those who oppose abortion don't want to hear the stories of women who made that choice and why. It goes on and on.
To listen - to hear - to understand - is to change. And so the fact checking is only useful if people are interested in truth and open to change. Truth is not always welcome.
I was touched by a conversation between the Reverend Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor of California (2003-2011). Seemingly they are polar opposites but they became friends as they found they had so much in common. That commonality revolved around their dreams and wishes for their children and grandchildren. However, it also became apparent as I listened to Schwarzenegger, that he had been a governor who got to know his people and listened to their stories. He learned how blacks and Latinx are not given equal opportunities and he was open and honest about those truths. I was impressed with his desire to understand.
When people don't listen, when truth is not a common goal that brings us together, when we are determined that our own reality is the only reality and don't seek to understand - then we are in danger as verse 18 describes of contention that leads to violence and death.
That is the United States 2020 - spurred on by a president who incites division with his lies and whose inability to care about others and the diverse experiences of American citizens, whose racism blinds him to all but his base. He is a sad example of the hardened heart. Truth does not matter, science does not matter, Americans do not matter. We are seeing Book of Mormon dramas repeated on the American stage.
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