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Lesser of Two evils

At yesterday’s grand daughter’s baseball game several of us were discussing whether or not we would break a commandment to follow through with another one.. or whether we would break a commandment under dire circumstances. It was pretty even pros and cons. For example, would you commit robbery to pay off a kidnapping ransom? If you were given a choice by someone holding a child of yours at gunpoint to kill your spouse to save your child would you? What would dire circumstances be in your life that you would break a commandment and hope it justified it? Or would you always say no?

One of the other examples that was mentioned was Adam partook of the fruit of the tree of good and evil as he knew God had told him to go forth and multiply. He knew with Eve partaking of the fruit she would be exiled out of the garden so he broke one law to follow through with another

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Sally

I am a 50-year-old mom of 5 and Nana of 12 grandkids. I am the Family History Consultant as of beginning of Dec 2006. Not a good day I have to say. I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for almost 28 years. I have served in just about every position available except for the Young Women organisation. My favorite thing to do in life is spend time with my grandchildren

11 thoughts on “Lesser of Two evils”

  1. Well I can’t presume to say one way or another, so I won’t. All I will say is if the Lord commands. For example, Nephi killing Laban to save a nation. But I couldn’t make such a choice unless expressly commanded by the Lord to do so.

  2. “would you commit robbery to pay off a kidnapping ransom? If you were given a choice by someone holding a child of yours at gunpoint to kill your spouse to save your child would you?”

    I don’t see how either of these instances are examples of being the lesser of two evils, or breaking one commandment to follow though with another. Both instances only have one commandment being broken.

  3. For some reason when I read “What would dire circumstances be in your life that you would break a commandment and hope it justified it?” I immediate thought of false idols, and American Idol …

    Odd stuff happens when I read posts here…

  4. Re: #2, it’s a choice between two evils because it’s a dichotomy between two evil results. In the example of killing a spouse to save a child, the choice is between two sins, two evils—choose the murder of the child or the murder of the adult. One murder is going to happen—one of two possible evils. So the challenge is to decide which evil—which murder—is more acceptable. In the instance of robbing to pay a kidnap ransom, there is once again a choice between two sins, not one—is it more tolerable that the kidnap victim be killed, or that the robbery be committed? Two sins, two commandments, two evils—a choice between them.

  5. “One of the other examples that was mentioned was Adam partook of the fruit of the tree of good and evil as he knew God had told him to go forth and multiply.”

    I’m not so sure he really knew this. The only commandment given directly to him was to cleave unto her.

  7. I don’t think Adam and Eve were created until several verses later.

  8. If you think that, then you need to read the verses again, particularly 27.

  9. In Genesis 2:5 it says “there was not a man to till the ground.”

    Remeber, we have two creations going on–one spiritual, one physical. The Book of Abraham is pretty clear on this.

  10. I guess it’s utterly impossible to interpret it any other way but yours.

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