Moral Outrage

As I was driving to work this morning I got to thinking about road rage (this was not due to any catalyzing event, but simply the product of transitory reflection). The term “road rage” suggested to my mind the term “outrage,” and then the same term preceded by “moral.” This then led me to consider the causes, effects, and appropriateness of such “moral outrage.”

My purpose in delineating my train of thought is not to illustrate the haphazard construction of my mental processes, but to introduce the concept that moral outrage is more a self-righteous reaction to dangers we have been long warned of than a mature response to an unexpected offending presence. In the worst cases, it can be a deceptive means of furthering a cause that, without emotional energy, would be found lacking in merit. Let me explain.

We, as Latter-day Saints, have access not only to living prophets, modern scripture, and personal revelation, but the gift of prophecy and the ministering of angels. I am personally finding it difficult to conceive of any threat, spiritual or physical, faced by people today that we would not have foreseen if we had been paying attention. Most have come on gradually and would have been "nippable (my word)" in the bud, but many have grown out of control.

I do not say that we should have foreseen every specific action taken by the enemies of truth, but we should not be surprised by the nature of the actions or of the threats. Why not? For the same reason we should not be surprised by anything the Lord does.

Have you ever noticed that frequently, when the Lord does something amazing for one of the prophets in the scriptures (gives a great teaching, works a miracle, grants a vision, etc…) He follows the action with the instruction, “Marvel not… (John 3:7, for example)”?

Well, the same thing applies to bad things happening. 1 John 3:13 reads, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” Ecclesiastes 5:8 says, “If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter… (emphasis added)”

What does this mean for us? I think it means that we should be paying attention. We don’t need to focus on every bad thing that might possibly occur, but we should use judgment, scripture, and prophecy to spiritually discern how best to be prepared. Moral outrage comes from fear that the thing that has caught us by surprise will overwhelm us. When we feel this fear (which may be an actual feeling of terror but could also be a sense of indignation) we tend to overreact, fight fire with fire, and stir up the people to anger against each other in order to motivate a hasty and ill prepared fight in which our emotions (and sometimes tactics) may be no holier than those of our opponents.

Remember when the Nephites had won the war (so they thought) and all the old leaders retired, handing the army off to Moronihah and the government over to Pahoran Jr. (eventually Pacumeni)? The story is in Helaman 1. Well, Coriantumr, because the Nephites had supposed that he wouldn’t dare, was able to lead the Lamanites to overthrow the Nephite capital. The Nephites weren’t paying attention, but we can learn a lot from Moronihah’s response.

The Lamanites took over Zarahemla and Pacumeni was killed, but did Moronihah rant and rave and get everybody angry? No, he methodically, wisely, sent Lehi with an army to cut off the enemy’s progress and then looked for any advantage he could find. It was a major one, because the Lamanites weren’t paying attention either. They foolishly assumed that the strongest army of the Nephites was in the center of their lands, and therefore they became careless and reckless. We all know how it ended:

“And thus had Coriantumr plunged the Lamanites into the midst of the Nephites, insomuch that they were in the power of the Nephites, and he himself was slain, and the Lamanites did yield themselves into the hands of the Nephites. (Helaman 1:32)”

I think that, not only have we no right to be outraged at the constant attacks we see, we have no business doing it because it is not productive. “School thy feelings, O my brother… (Hymns, no. 336)” The entire text of that hymn speaks directly to my point.

If we really pay attention, we’ll find that yes, the enemy is numerous, but yes, we have the advantage. The enemy in our midst is dangerous, but surrounded, and therefore in our power – at least as long as we are neither reckless nor rash.

What we should do is look forward, pray, study, seek the Spirit and the gifts that flow from it, and act preemptively where possible (fortifying each other like Moroni). When prevention is not possible, we should act carefully, decisively, and without anger (utilizing our advantages like Moronihah). We have the organization, we have the desire, we have the knowledge and the instruction. All we lack is united action.