Honor is Power

We read this recently, and in regards to Lucifer being cast out, my son asked:

“Does this mean that those who seek for honor, glory, and power are bad people?”

I am still thinking about how to respond to this.

Honor and glory is power; that much is true. But what kind of power is honor and glory? Surely not the kind of power that seeks power for its own sake. If it were, Satan wouldn’t want it because he would already have it.

I find that the people who talk the loudest the most about being LIONS AMONG SHEEP and ALPHA MALES and LOOK HOW MANLY I AM are often the ones who least have these traits.

They’re the type of people who seem to think home defense is just “my gun” rather than all the stuff that goes into home defense, rather than things like lights, alarms, just locking your doors and windows, having good relationships with the neighbors (so they can help spot unusual things), plans for what to do with a home invasion beyond “shoot the guys” (like – safe rooms? escape routes? other weapons besides guns in case you can’t get to yours? easy access to phones to call 911). A good home defense is multi-faceted and (dare I say it?) nuanced. “MY GUN” is actually a lousy home defense if that’s as far as you’ve thought about it.

The people who really are alpha males and lions among sheep are quiet about it, and have all the aspects of such, rather than just being loud about it.

My guess is the Adversary didn’t really think much beyond “give me the honor!”

I think that, as Jacob notes, if we seek for something with the intent to do good, it isn’t evil in the least. Christ attained perfection and priesthood power because He wants all of us to return home. Our Heavenly Father has all honor, glory, and power, but His full and stated intent is to give it away to those who are worthy.

First obtain the attributes necessary to wield power in its proper context; then seek for it. Imitation of perfection eventually leads to actual perfection, with enough repentance. The meek shall inherit the earth because they understand why and what they inherit, and have the necessary attributes to handle that kind of responsibility.

Really excellent comments today.

@mouth_of_babes,

No. Satan’s power is that he doesn’t desire power and honor and glory *enough*. He wants them, but isn’t willing to pay the price for them, so he makes shortcuts and tries to drag other people down. He is satisfied with a simulacra of honor.

“Our Heavenly Father has all honor, glory, and power, but His full and stated intent is to give it away to those who are worthy.”

Give it away, no, but I understand what you are saying and agree with it. The kind of power that can rule over others when they are held down is small and puny. The kind of power that can confidently aim raise everyone and everything to unlimited greatness and strength and still rule over it absolutely through sheer love is the kind of power before which one can just tremble.

@ G,
Yeah, I didn’t explain my thoughts there very well. True power can’t be given away; neither can it be taken. True power (and honor and glory), is like a lit candle. When shared, it increases.

> Imitation of perfection eventually leads to actual perfection, with enough repentance.

This is excellent.

In my quorum’s discussion of this Section, before we came to v. 36 concerning honor and power, we first talked a bit of v. 21’s great and abominable church. Having seen this post in the days before concerning honor and power, I was primed to think of the two together.

I have written before of those who, having rejected God, yearn for alternate authority. They may have started off with an idea that they just want to be left alone to worship Baal instead of Jehovah, but being free to do that gets old fast, and they go on to desire that their worship of Baal should be respected, even admired. At some point an idol is erected, and a decree to reverence it goes forth. Most of the point of the decree is to expose those followers of Jehovah who will not bend the knee to Baal.

They satanically mimic God’s authority to establish law and with power punish those who will not abide that law. There are obvious examples of this in our time, but in some measure every jealous earthly power is at hazard of this, and we at hazard of it.

JM, excellent insight and explanation.