Neal A. Maxwell wrote:
. . . . In the din of youthful dissent—so much of which is tragically violent, crazed, and irrational—we who are older would do well to ponder some of the responsible concerns voiced by at least the thinking, responsible and rational young. They find our society too hurried and too intense; they see our social institutions and programs too preoccupied with procedures and too highly structured to be responsive to basic, human needs. They see us as too materialistic; they see too many things as irrelevant. While it would be easier to listen to them if there were no shouting and irresponsible dissenters, while it would be easier to establish two way communication if young critics would prescribe not just describe, nevertheless some of what they say is at least a faint echo of what earlier valid criticisms about hypocrisy, rigidity, and preoccupation with status in another society. The scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites were denounced because they: “devoured widow’s houses”; prayed often in pious “pretense”; “omitted the weightier matters of the law” (judgment, the love of God, mercy, and faith); appeared clean on the “outside” but within were full of “extortion and excess”; and loved the “salutations” and “chief seats” in the “uppermost places”.
Clearly, those in power have special responsibilities, and when they go wrong how much misery they suffer; or, in the words of Mosiah, “how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!”
Of course, current criticisms lack the accuracy and precision of Jesus’ divine discernment, and especially the Master’s prescriptive powers. But if we can listen for validity rather than being aggravated by volume, if we can be discerning, rather than being disturbed because of the decibel level of dissent, we will see there are reasons to be concerned. The outward forms and procedures of society in the meridian of time were often as irrelevant as they were intense, in contrast a Jesus who was racing the clock but who still found time somehow to respond to the spontaneous touch, petition, or request. Jesus’ insightful comment about the correlation between where a man’s heart is and where his treasure is, is still an index to the value system of an individual or a society. The Old Testament warnings about the greedy poor and the rich who “neglected the poor and needy” and the warnings to ancient Israel about the virus of cultural arrogance are still worth pondering.~Neal A. Maxwell, continued. . . see The Power is in Them , (Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City 1973) 13-15
* Definition of Maginot Line. . . .1: a line of defensive fortifications built before World War II to protect the eastern border of France but easily outflanked by German invaders. 2: a defensive barrier or strategy that inspires a false sense of security
