As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we often reference the axiom to “be in the World but not of the World.” This harks back to Christ’s prayer for his apostles, “not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). All too often, however, we take this principle out of context and extrapolate its meaning to an extent that can be harmful not just to our own spiritual understanding, but to our ability to exercise true Christlike love toward everyone—everyone—around us.
The traditional interpretation of being in the World but not of the World isn’t wrong in and of itself. It is indeed important for us to distance ourselves from the evils and temptations and pernicious philosophies that constantly threaten to tear us down. The problem comes when we use this phrase to create an excessive sense of “otherness”—a cultural stigma that pits members of the Church against the “wicked people” of the world around us.
What Is “the World”?
For starters, who or what is “the World”? Is it nonmembers? People who don’t keep the commandments? Bad influences? The media? The government? The world of science and academia? The entertainment industry?
Actually, the answer is…all of the above.
And us. We are the World too. Let me repeat that: We ARE the World.
You cannot be an American citizen and claim not to be American. You can’t be a gray wolf and claim not to be part of the canine family. And in the same way, none of us can be a resident of planet Earth and not be part of the World. Latter-day Saints are no more extricable from the World than a yoke is from a scrambled egg.
Why does this matter?
Because this sense of “otherness” that forms when Church members consider themselves apart from the World can lead to several grim results.
The “Not My Problem” Attitude
First, it can cause us to feel apathetic toward the World’s problems. Political turmoil; societal unrest; economic crises and physical and ideological warfare—all these things are, to some degree or another, within our ability to exert positive influence.
But if we view the World as a doomed, irretrievable group of “others,” then we may feel inclined to simply give up on changing it and resign ourselves to waiting for the World to tear itself apart so we can sit back and enjoy the Second Coming. If we aren’t spiritually affected by the World’s calamities, then what’s the point in trying to improve it?
Social Isolationism
Second, the sense of “otherness” can cause us to lean toward isolationist tendencies. When the World is viewed as absolutely wicked and the Church and its members as absolutely good, people tend to retreat into their safe zones rather than reach out to individuals and communities that might still be saved. Just because the Church was centered in Kirtland and then Far West and Nauvoo and Utah, however, that doesn’t mean God intended Zion to sequester itself from all others like some kind of spiritual Wakanda.
The Israelites were notorious for making this mistake. God did call them a “peculiar people” and often gave them commandments to separate their behaviors from those not of their faith, or even to separate themselves physically by abstaining from marriage outside of the covenant. But unfortunately, the Israelites took this to mean that they should have no dealings with nonbelievers whatsoever, and they elevated themselves as “superior” to the Canaanites and Gentiles and Samaritans.
This tension of perceived “otherness” actually hinders the building of the temple of Zerubbabel. In the Book of Ezra, the Jewish leaders are so set against the neighboring Samaritans that they refuse the Samaritans’ help when the Samaritans offer to contribute to the temple’s construction. Because of this rejection, the Samaritans become bitter in turn and convince their Persian rulers to put a halt to the work (see Ezra 4). What we have here is a veritable “Syndrome” created by the “Mr. Incredible” of God’s people being too prideful to accept help from their supposed “inferiors.”
Blind to the Light
Finally, the sense of “otherness” can deprive us from seeing the tremendous goodness the World has to offer—in spite of the abundance of genuine filth in between. We are unable to nurture holy envy for the admirable actions and beliefs of other religions. We become blind to the fact that the Church does not have a monopoly on truth, or on the Holy Spirit, or on miracles. We get so caught up in avoiding the bad eggs in the World’s egg carton that we end up throwing out the good along with the bad.
Not only do we deny ourselves the blessings of learning from the wisdom of people outside our cultural sphere, but we in turn make it quite difficult for those other cultural spheres to benefit from ours—because we appear self-righteous and overprotective of our “specialness” and “choiceness.”
Too Late to Make a Difference?
The World may be inevitably heading toward the prophesied calamities preceding the Millennium. But that does not remove our responsibility to act for the salvation of as many souls as possible.
True, the final outcome is already determined: Jesus will beat Satan. Spoiler alert. But each person’s decision on which side to choose is still in flux, still subject to every small effort that pushes them in one direction or the other.
How we act within the World which we are part of DOES make a difference. Cain was given a promise by the Lord after making an unworthy offering: “If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted” (Moses 5:23). Sure, in hindsight we can see that he still made the wrong choice afterward (i.e. murder his brother). But the point is that we must not defer to the quitter’s excuse of it being “too late” to create meaningful change. Our future is not written in stone, but in pencil, and we wield the utensils with the capability of rewriting it.
Living in the World—AS the World
So how do we live in the World—as the World?
We become active in our communities, electing leaders of integrity and promoting societal improvement both through voting and through direct involvement.
We serve those who think differently from us—even those who hate us. We help them feel the light of Christ, and we allow the Spirit to work on their hearts and do the rest even if they don’t immediately respond the way we want them to.
We contribute goodness to a world filled with negative messages—good music; good movies; good books; good news; good media of every kind.
Perhaps most importantly, we unconditionally accept those who think and act differently from us. We don’t just tolerate or ignore them, but befriend and love and serve and support and encourage them. We treat them as equals, because they are.
We may be a “chosen” people, but it’s not because God picked us out like the shiniest apples out of a bushel of rottenness. We’re “chosen” because we have been called to God’s work, and more than anyone else we have the opportunity to “choose” ourselves as ministers representing Jesus Christ to the rest of the World (see Randall L. Ridd’s April 2014 general conference talk, “The Choice Generation”).
The World may be the devil’s playground, but it is also, to borrow from BYU vernacular, “our campus.” It is our stewardship, our testing ground, our mission, and our communal body. By seeking goodness and truth wherever it may be, and by never giving up on the ugly spots of society, we will be able to truly follow the Savior’s injunction to “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39). The World needs us because we all need each other.
The Commonplace Notebook 