Where There Is No Vision

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Prov. 29:18)

This has laways been framed in my Mormon upbringing as a longing for a prophet in the midst of the people. As President Monson spoke of the "mark of vision" during a 2007 General Conference address, he gave me a different view of the matter.

If we don't have an eye forward to what we can become, we will not be able to rise to our potential. If a bishop fails to see what his congregation may become, he won't labor to transform them. Without vision, the people would perish. Here is the what President Monson said.

May I suggest that first of all every one of us develop the mark of vision. One writer said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. If we were to apply that maxim to our lives, we could say that we are the result of many small decisions. In effect, we are the product of our choices. We must develop the capacity to recall the past, to evaluate the present, and to look into the future in order to accomplish in our lives what the Lord would have us do.

You young men holding the Aaronic Priesthood should have the ability to envision the day when you will hold the Melchizedek Priesthood and then prepare yourselves as deacons, as teachers, as priests to receive the holy Melchizedek Priesthood of God. You have the responsibility to be ready, when you receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, to respond to a call to serve as a missionary by accepting it and then fulfilling it. How I pray that every boy and every man will have the mark of vision.

I looked up the verse at Bible.org to compare different translations. I was surprised that nearly all the translations agreed that the "perish" part of the KJV translation was wrong. They have it as "are unrestrained". This actually helps the latter part of the verse connect better to the beginning. "When there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but the one who keeps the law, blessed is he!"

Does this translation note make a difference in my earlier observation?

Ah-men Rebellion

A few months ago, my kids decided that they didn't want to say "ay-men" like their parents. They wanted to say "ah-men" at the end of their prayers.

The rebellion started with the 6 year old and spread downward to the 5 and 3 year old. It wasn't an over campaign for the most part. He started really emphasizing the word at the end of his prayers. It didn't take long for the other kids to catch on to this cool innovation in prayer.

They get to feel like they are "doing their own thing" in a way that is not only acceptable to their parents, but downright cute.

After the success of the ah-men rebellion, they've started singing their personal prayers at night. The 6 year old prefers more of a beat box thing while my 5 year old girl chooses a more sing-song method. The 3 year old is a bit more monotone, but he's quickly increasing in his expressiveness. The only time these song-prayers annoy me is when I'm very tired and I just wish the prayers would be finished more quickly.

But hey, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto the Lord. I hope he likes beat box. Ah-men.