Wisdom or Folly

Beauty in nature

 
  I had a most interesting experience this morning as I was reading about the great and spacious building described in 1st Nephi.  The thought came to me " What is the Wisdom of the World?" Then as I sat pondering that question, insights into the vision both Lehi and Nephi saw seemed to open up to me.  I saw that the great and spacious building held the wisdom of the world within it, and its main goal was to permeate that wisdom throughout every corner of the universe and in the heart of every person.  It was overwhelming, the vast amount of worldly wisdom that encompassed the entire earth.  It is from that building that the world has been taught how to think and feel from the time we are brought into this world.  It is what is taught on the TV, the radio and in schools from the earliest grade up.  It is everywhere and is very hard to escape it.  It has filtered throughout the churches and has become the "norm" in most  households.  I realized that most of my life I have bought into the wisdom of the world, because I didn't know any better. 
I can't help but wonder how much is still a part of me and I don't know it yet.  It could be called "traditions of the fathers, or  it's just the way things are done, or it's just normal, or it's the way life is."
Almost all teachings in every aspect of life has been altered through the wisdom of the world.  As this vision seemed to unfold I remembered an experience I had two years ago.  To me this was a black and white example of this worldly wisdom, yet most teachings are not so black and white, at least not to me. Here is the story as I recalled it:
     I was at my daughter Christine's home and was getting ready to go to the temple with her and several sisters in her ward.  A knock came to the door and a neighbor of hers came to say she wouldn't be joining her today.  Then for some unknown reason she spent 30 minutes telling Christine why she just couldn't attend the temple that day.  I remember being in the backroom and being stunned as she went on with her explanation.  She continued," it was less than 2 weeks till Halloween and she had not yet decorated for the occasion", she had so much preparations and she just had to take the day and get going before it was too late." I couldn't help but say to myself "Since when did it take so much time to decorate for Halloween"  I must have missed a lot of years of Halloween decorating.  Had I misunderstood?  I paid closer attention because I wondered when this  information was taught among the Saints.  This woman was putting on herself a huge burden as she told of the large amount of decorations in buckets that had to be dug out and set up. 
The Wisdom of the World did that to her, it wasn't taught by the prophet or any of our scriptures.  She was taught and bought into the fact that decorating for Halloween was a priority, a necessity and needed to take its proper place in her life.  I guess the media through tv, radio, magazines or movies had preformed it's worldly wisdom job on her.
I don't mean to condemn this young sister, but it made me wonder how many times have I put things of little importance into that important slot.  Christmas is a good example for me.  Every year at every party, get-together from December 1st on I can't help but think, what does this party have to do with celebrating the Saviors birth?  Hum!  99% does not.  Yet it seems to occupy 4 to 6 weeks of my life, not just occupy but consumes me and I am guilty of putting most important things on the back burner, and all in the name of Jesus Christ's birth. It  has been only through a deeper study of the scriptures and the gospel that I even recognized my problem.  The reality of things are crystal clear in the scriptures about priorities.  Also, as I go to the temple more and more I am reminded to keep everything in the right perspective.   It gives me much to ponder.
     On that same page Nephi talks about how we here in the promised land (America) live in a mist of darkness, then in the D&C the Savior says we are a unbelieving and stiffnecked generation, and his anger is kindled against us.  Backing away from the world, spending more time doing the most important things, keeping the spirit with me has been my safety net in seeing things as they really are.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all, when everyone said "It can't be done".