Tagged: USA RSS

  • mormongandhi 11:25 on October 9, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , barack obama, , , , , USA   

    Barack Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize 

    ..

    President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today, after the statement given by the Nobel Peace Prize Awarding Committee. This is controversial as Barack Obama has not even been President for more than a year. Nonetheless, the reasoning behind this award is that according to Alfred Nobel’s testament, the prize must go to the person who has done the most for world peace.

    Barack Hussein Obama II  is the 44th and current President of the United States and the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first born in Hawaii. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.

    Think Romney would have gotten it?

    Well – a fun question to ask at this stage for us in the Mormon community: Would “President” Mitt Romney have received the Nobel Peace Prize? Me doubt it. Seriously, Obama from our point of view in the North has both extended the hand to the Middle East, has tried to normalize relations with Iran, is trying to provide universal health care in the States (and that’s no small feat, as we have seen), and has done exceptional progress towards working on climate change issues – and he is a nice guy. Now, I may disagree with the ‘surge’ in Afghanistan, and people may think he is a socialist (they are wrong, we in Socialist Norway don’t think he is), but you must admit: the Norwegian community will have a fabulous party in Oslo on 11 December at the Nobel Peace Prize concert, which will be hosted by Will Smith and co.

    You can’t blame Norwegians for not wanting to party!

     

    • TheFaithfulDissident 18:37 on October 10, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      You summed it up beautifully, mormongandhi. Looking forward to December, hope to be there to get a glimpse of the festivities. :)

  • mormongandhi 11:30 on May 20, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , culture, , , , USA   

    seek to persuade all to become latter day satyagrahis

    The Apostle Dallin H. Oaks, the first among the twelve apostles to have served full-time in the Philippines, when reporting back to the global Church in one of his Conference addresses contrasts the Lord’s way with the world’s way, or in his own words, the culture of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the culture or traditions of every nation or people:

    ‘No group has a monopoly on virtue or immunity from the commandment to change. Present-day servants of the Lord do not attempt to make Filipinos or Asians or Africans into Americans. The Saviour invites all to come unto Him and His servants seek to persuade all – including Americans – to become Latter-day Saints. We say to all, give up your traditions and cultural practices that are contrary to the commandments of God and the culture of His gospel, and join with His people in building the Kingdom of God’. Is the Lord’s culture posited as an antithesis to cultural violence, meaning that Dallin H. Oaks thinks there is both good culture and culture gone bad? The culture cultivated by the Spirit of Christ presupposes a culture of peace, where we renounce war in absolute terms.

    sainthood nowadays is not what it used to be

    The apostle’s statement did not appear in a vacuum, but addresses a valid concern among members of the Church and also of those not of this fold. Dallin H. Oaks through his remarks provides some comfort and demonstrates an apostle’s sensitivity to the question or issue of culture (and therefore also potentially on the issue of cultural violence). It is clear that the LDS church has probably been reproached by many potential converts and also by non-American members of the Church, of having preached a gospel where the United States of America is believed to play a decisive, if not a divine role in the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth and in the preparing for the coming of the Lord.

    There is no doubt that the USA has, ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, played a leading role in world affairs – but does that make their policies holy or their mission commissioned from on high? The right of might? The golden rule – who ever has the gold makes the rules? According to Dallin H. Oaks, also Americans must become Latter-day Saints – and the rest of us do not need to like basketball, to wear a business suit to go to church and/or to eat meat to ‘fit’ in with the gospel of Jesus. In the contrary, I would push it as far as to say that, all are invited to come unto the Prince of Peace and become latter day satyagrahis – we have to press forward: sainthood nowadays is not what it used to be.

     

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