The Gap Grows - Intro: Post 6
General IntroAs the world becomes more crass, contemptuous of good, desirous of grossly exaggerated passion, desire, and lust, and many Latter-day Saints and others of good report become more meek, i.e., willing to learn and grow in the knowledge of God and all good things, desirous of refinement in art, music, and human interaction, and prayerfully seeking changes for good in their lives, the gap between the world and the Latter-day Saints and other good people will continue to widen and we have no choice but to discuss in private. All the while, however, welcoming any who so choose to be welcomed as they desire the same lifestyle and attitudes.
If you recall the movie The Green Mile, there were two characters worthy of note for this discussion. One, Wild Bill, was incarcerated and sentenced to death for multiple murders. The other was Percy, a selfish, self-centered, and sadistic guard. Both were characters having little control of their gross desires, and no personal integrity or honor.
Wild Bill allowed himself to be completely out of control and did what he wanted to whom he wanted without regard for anyone's satisfaction but his own. Percy, on the other hand, was equally prone to disregard others for his own purposes but he purposefully used the system to gain his desires. One was just wild and the other calculating but both uncaring, unrefined, and egocentric.
As I view the world of today, I see a large portion of the population holding, in varying degrees, one of these two positions. It is out of this morass of human sludge that Latter-day Saints (and countless of the world's honorable people of all faiths) wish to climb. That said, so very many even of them do not see themselves trailing the sludge of the world. They are like Augustine praying "Lord make me clean, but not yet."