Labels Part Two

Yesterday I posted a quote from President Oaks about how we label ourselves.  I wanted to elaborate yesterday but I was too sick to do anything but copy and paste the quote.  I'm not feeling much better today but perhaps enough to do a quick post.

I really like President Oaks' quote reminding us that we should first and foremost think of ourselves as children of God.  That should be our number one label.  Because really, in the eternal scheme of things, those other labels don't matter.  But we will always be a son or daughter of God.

As President Oaks emphasized other labels are temporary or trivial.  People tend to live up to labels.  If someone is told they are fat, skinny, smart, stupid, a drug addict, promiscuous, virtuous, beautiful, ugly, etc. they start seeing themselves that way and living up to the label.

All of those labels I listed are changeable depending on choices through time.  People can easily gain or lose weight.  Beauty fades with time.  Virtue and promiscuity are defined by lifestyle choices.  Addictions to drugs, alcohol, pornography, sex, gambling, even smart phones are all changeable lifestyle choices.  Granted, most addictions need professional help and rehabilitation to overcome.  But, nonetheless, they can be overcome with effort and determination and a desire to change.

It's very dangerous to label people -- especially to place labels on ourselves -- because labels start to define who we are and how we see ourselves and how we think others view us.  And it becomes very difficult to break out of those labels.

In the eternal scheme of things, we all have the same label -- children of God.  That is who we are.  It is human nature to judge and label others to elevate ourselves.  Instead we should try to get past the natural man and work on our own salvation.  While helping others along the covenant path where we can.  Try not to see others as labels they place on themselves or that we or other people give them.

Because, in the end, we are all just children of God trying to navigate our way through mortality.

Let's all try to focus more on seeing ourselves and others as children of God and let that define who we are.  All other labels are temporary or trivial.  And only serve to divide us and hinder us on our moral journey.

That's my two cents.