Member training from June 2nd 2025.
That nights training centered on the importance of personal conduct in advancing the cause of liberty, emphasizing how our demeanor, respect for others, and awareness of social cues shape our ability to inspire and lead. Through the lens of George Washington’s Rules of Civility, we explored how small, everyday behaviors—such as showing courtesy in conversation, dressing appropriately, and maintaining reverence in sacred settings—can either attract or repel those seeking godly liberty. Rather than prioritizing popularity over principle, we must strive to be examples of integrity, ensuring our words and actions reflect a commitment to higher standards. Ultimately, the discussion encouraged self-reflection: Are we contributing to the problem or the solution? Are we living in a way that inspires others to seek truth and freedom? Our ability to effectively promote liberty depends not just on our knowledge, but on the respect and dignity we demonstrate in every interaction.
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TRANSCRIPT
Our Father in Heaven, we come before you this evening,
this Tree of Liberty Society meeting, and ask for Thy blessings upon each one,
that Thy Spirit would guide and direct, then and all those who participate, both
those that instruct us as well as those of us listening. We may be receptive,
our minds will be sharp and alert, and be able to comprehend and grasp the message
that is given. We may be advanced and grow in a knowledge of Thy ways and the
principles of liberty and righteousness.
Please guard and protect Ben and his family as well as each one,
and we are grateful for the labors of Ben and all, the labors so diligently and
faithfully to bring these meetings, the instructions, and councils to our attention.
We ask for Thy blessings to be with us this night and ask in the name of Thy
Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. A few things here. So So again, as we’ve said,
this one tonight is gonna have a little bit more. We’ve got, I think, some time
for it. And it leads itself to more interaction.
But please, if you’ve got a comment or a question, please make sure that you raise
your hand and I’ll call on you and say, “We don’t want anybody just blurting stuff
out.” So just as a courtesy for everyone else, make sure if you’ve got something,
just raise your hand and we’ll call on you as time permits. So I really want to
get into this. This is an important thing as much as understanding correct principles
are as individuals. We want to behave in a way that’s going to be effective,
right? It’s talked about a lot in training where people ask questions of, you know,
what’s an effective way to discuss this? What’s a principle that we can tell people?
What’s something that we can say to help other people understand and believe and
apply the things that we’re talking about. And so as important it is to understand
those things and to say those things, the kind of person that we are is going to
be a large aspect of our people attracted to liberty because of us.
Are we a detriment to the cause or are we a benefit to the cause? And And that’s
going to be something that’s very important. So I hope all of us want to be a
benefit to the cause. And so not only do we have to be knowledgeable, but we have
to have principles, but we have to be individuals that behave in a way that will
be positive for the cause.
So again, as always, The purpose of training is to build understanding of principles
that build free nations, expose the conspiracy and build an effective resistance to
that conspiracy. And so this is in following those ideas.
And so what we’re covering tonight is going to hopefully lead all of us to personal
reflection and how we’re doing on these things. As we go over tonight’s principles,
I hope that we will all ask ourselves if we are contributing to the problem or
Contributing to the solution and see what we can do to be more attractive to those
seeking godly liberty Okay, I want us all to think about what are we doing and are
the things that we’re doing is it is it saying is somebody looks at us Are are we
somebody that is say is that someone when we look at us like, “Hey, that’s a guy
that I want to be like. I want to be a part of what they’re a part of. I want
to do what they’re doing because of what we put forward to others.” So, but I also
want to make sure that we understand that what I’m not talking about is popularity
over principle, right? I’m not talking about being the most popular guy, meaning,
you know, we give up a principle because we want to be popular and liked by
others. That’s not what I’m talking about. This is how do we be the example that
lead people to liberty without giving up principles, without not talking about
conspiracy, right? We still talk about conspiracy. We still talk about correct
principles of liberty, but we’re doing it in
is a that people are inspired by that they look up to that they’re happy in there
we are you know we are the light that the Lord talks about in the scriptures the
Lord says that we are supposed to be the light of the world and a city that is
set on a hill cannot be hid neither do men light a candle and put it under a
bushel but on a candlestick and to give it light until all who are in the house
okay And so that’s what the Lord has admonished us all to be,
is to be the example to others that they’re looking to us, that we are a light.
A light is something that is attractive, that others are drawn to and they want to
be a part of. And so we need to ask you, right? Are we living in a way that
will cause others to want what you have so that they do what you do. And it’s
good and it’s effective and it’s nice, right? Because there is a movement within,
especially within Christianity, to be all -inclusive that we look like everybody else
that there was an ad campaign a few years ago about how, you know, I’m a
skateboarder and I’m a Mormon or I’m a this and and I’m a, you know, that and it
was all about how you don’t have to change to be a follower of Christ.
You can, you can follow him just the way you are. And so, but if, if we’re, if,
if we’re not setting a higher standard, right, if we’re just like them or we look
like we don’t have anything special, why would they think that we have something
special to offer them? We should be something different that they’re looking up to.
They say, that’s not what I have. I want that, right? Whether it’s the lesbian or
just the guy that’s just going through life as just a skater bum or this other
picture is somebody at a black tie event and he’s just come there as a kind of a
sloppy dressed guy, right? And so if that’s who we are,
people see us as that, they’re not going to be attracted to us. They’re not gonna
say they’ve got something to offer. They’re gonna say they’re just like me, they’re
not going to help me be better. And so they’re not gonna want to be a part of
us. And so that’s something that we need to look at as we consider these things.
That’s what it means to be a light to the world, that we are better than everybody
else, but that we are an example of something that will lead them to what they
want, that will lead them to true happiness and true joy. So we want to be
attracted to those who want godly liberty. Okay, so as what we’re doing appropriate
for the situation, that’s going to be really helpful, the idea of being a, you
know, self -aware, you know, culturally self -aware, we’re not like this girl that’s
in this business meeting and everybody else is on their computer and doing work
while she’s just sitting there blowing bubbles, right? If we don’t know, or even if
we don’t think it’s, you know, appropriate or we don’t think it’s appropriate
situation, we don’t know if it’s appropriate, we should ask ourselves. This is how
we can help ourselves. We can ask ourselves if others might think that our behavior
is distracting, irreverent, or otherwise inappropriate for the situation. Right?
Something that’s appropriate for the baseball game is not going to be appropriate for
sacrament meeting. And so we have to look at where we’re at and what’s appropriate
for the situation. And are we going to be a distraction? Are we going, are we
going to be seen as somebody that’s does not serious about what it is that they’re
doing,
right? And if we really don’t know, we ask ourselves, maybe this is something that’s
new to us. This isn’t something that we grew up with. And so it’s okay to ask,
right? Is this appropriate for the situation? Because it’s better to look a little
bit ignorant one time on that issue than to be obnoxious all of the time because
we didn’t want to look
We we need to make sure that we’re not putting our pride ahead of you know
Attracting others to the cause and so we want to be a good example And so if we
need help with that we need to ask and so I want to bring us to a
Resource that we should all act have access to it’s available in archive. It’s
available You know for a PD It’s available as a PDF as a pre -PDF or you can buy
physical copies of it in most places. It’s a short small book called George
Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.
So it’s a list of 110 maxims he copied down as a young man. And so it’s not a
long book because each page is just that axiom, it’s just that little, that phrase.
We’re gonna go through a few of them. I’m not gonna do all 110 tonight.
We’ve, maybe we could, but I’m not going to.
But I’m gonna go over some key ones and encourage all of us to find a copy of
it, whether it’s that edf @archive .org or whether it’s buying a copy of it online,
Whatever it is. I’m hoping that this encourages us to study more on our own on
this topic And get a copy of that and make it a part of our Our daily reading
it’s kind of like a 110 Proverbs right? Yeah, I should run it when he was 14.
Moses just said oh, oh you can you got the mic? Yeah when he wrote as 14 it’s
pretty It’s amazing how different the culture was where 15 -year -old John Quincy
Adams is the ambassador to Russia and George Walt 14 -year -old George Washington is
writing a book about how to have decent behavior in public so Some of the core
ideas that are in this include showing respect for others regardless of their rank
or station speaking thoughtfully and avoiding gossip or boasting practicing restraint
in body language and tone, acting with dignity and modesty at all times.
So of course this was written in the 1700s. So some of it’s going to be written
in some of the English. I did try to update the language to kind of modern day
applications to make it easier for us to see how it applies to us. But if know,
if you don’t like the way that he just sit back for a second, right, and just
kind of, what’s the intent that he’s trying to get across? And then how can I
apply that intent, right?
And so, and as we internalize each value, our overall demeanor and behavior will
improve. That’s just, as we study things, and we, and we look at things, that’s why
we’ve talked about before the importance of the media that we consume, right? If we
are watching garbage, our demeanor will become garbage, things we associate with the
music that we listen to, the movies that we watch. It’s vital because it changes
who we are. And so if this is one of the things that we’re spending our time
studying and looking at, it’s going to change who we are, it’s going to improve.
And we’re going to be somebody that others look to as an example and look up to
and want to hear more about what it is that we’re doing and become a part of what
it is that we’re doing.
And so again, on the other side, right, just like I’m not talking about giving up
principle to be popular, I’m not just thinking that I’m better than everybody else.
As we see, you know, this is kind of the culture that we have today of people
going to Walmart and If you if you heard of a website called the people of
Walmart, you can see where our culture is going and and how that’s not a good
thing. And so it’s not about that. It’s, it’s important that we lift each other up.
And a part of that is ensuring that we’re the best example that we can be to
others. And so as a part of that, it’s,
it’s learning these principles and then applying these principles and being a positive
influence on other people. Not about saying that you’re better than others, but
showing them a better way. So I wanna go over a few of Washington’s rules of
civility and get your thoughts and input on what are some applications of these,
what are some of your thoughts on them? So we have the first one is every action
you take when you’re with others should show respect for the people around you.
Now, I think, you know, maybe on its face, it sounds a little bit self -evident and
like, no duh, water’s wet. Now, I guess there’s debate on whether water’s wet or
not. But the point is, that’s a saying and meaning just, you know, it’s obvious
it’s self -evident, but really what that means, just like the word morality over time
has been changed or been lost to most people.
Today, morality is, I don’t steal, I don’t kill, and I generally don’t hurt other
people, and that makes me a moral person. But that’s not what morality was 100
years ago. And so showing respect for others is the same thing. The idea of respect
is a concept that is foreign to a lot of folks.
Let’s see here. Mark, yeah, you have your hand raised.
Yes, I think the important message here comes from the definition of respect.
Yes. I think he’s probably referring to common courtesies, allowing the person to
make their statements, ask questions, and do maybe some active listening with a
person. So treat people respectfully doesn’t mean you respect their position or
respect them. And so I think that’s what he means here, because there are many a
person these days I have no respect and for godly reasons.
Yeah, I think another way that we show respect like, you know, you have people like
at a, at a play or a movie and, and they’re chatting it up and laugh, you know,
and being real loud and disturbing the movie that’s not respecting the people around
you. Right. There’s, there’s ways to behave and that that show respect to others,
whether you’re interacting directly with them or not but I you know what the example
you give is, is perfect. But also just other social interactions,
whether you’re interacting directly with individuals or you’re in a group of people,
there are ways to show respect to them whether you’re directly interacting with them
or not. I think what you’re saying is a just adding next step to what I was
saying, respect the common courtesies. And as a common courtesy, not to speak up
while other people are listening to something, interrupt them. And it’s also
respected. You can view it as is respecting the rights of the other people. People
have a right to hear that performance and not be interrupted. Right. Can you imagine
if you’re at like a classical music performance there you know playing piano and
violins and just a classical music performance and all of a sudden you start a mosh
pit and you start screaming and all you know starting a wave and that kind of
stuff that’s not the time or the place for that time of a type of a thing and
it’s not showing respect for those that you’re with. Well, for the right reasons.
Yeah, most of us says you should never do that. I agree. But I was just giving an
extreme example. Any other thoughts on showing respect for others around you?
Okay. Let’s go to the next one. I’m not sure how to raise my hand here.
Oh, there you go. Yeah, go ahead, Simon. On the bottom of the page of the window.
I don’t know if you’re on your phone or if you’re on a computer. Yeah, I’m on my
phone. So if you tap your phone, there’s a an option for on the on the chat,
there’s a thing to raise your hand. I’m sorry, I’m on participants. There’s a thing
to raise your hand, but but go ahead. It’s under react. It’s under react. Thank
you. Oh, okay. All right. Thank you. We’ll look at that in the future. Yeah,
just in this Contrast to society today the contrast is it’s almost 180 degrees the
opposite way it’s every action people are taking in today’s society is to To get
respect from others or to force others to respect them and It’s completely flip
-flopped. It’s just something I’ve been noticing in today’s society.
Absolutely, for sure. We want to be a counter to that, right?
Okay, number five, this is the fifth one. You can see I’m not going all over all
of them. So the fifth one is if you cough, sneeze, sigh, or yawn, do it quietly
and politely. Don’t talk while yawning and cover your mouth with your hand or a
tissue and turn away from others. So again, it’s one of those things, right? A lot
of these are hopefully common sense, but sometimes they’re not. And this is,
again, this is another way we show respect to others where we care about them and
we’re, and so we’re not doing inappropriate bodily functions in front of them. And
so,
We are, we’re respecting them and their ability not to have to see the inside of
your mouth or when you’re yawning or something. And so we’re, we are being
appropriate in the appropriate situations.
Feel free to just to raise your hand anytime, anybody. I’ll go through them unless
anybody else any other comments. The next one is don’t kill bugs or deal with
anything gross like spit or dirt where others can see if you notice something
unpleasant on the ground, discreetly cover or clean it. If someone quietly helps
clean something off your clothes, think them politely. So you see something on the
table or you notice something on somebody’s shirt or you see something that shouldn’t
be there, don’t draw attention to it. Because then it’s kind of like the coughing
and sneezing loudly. If you’re drawing attention to something, then you are taking
away from the situation that you’re in. And so, you know,
can you imagine if you’re at church and all of a sudden, you know, somebody is,
you know, crushing a bug in front of everybody and how, you and on the podium and
pointing out how gross that is, that they’re doing it. It’s distracting and it’s not
respectful to those that you’re around. And so we need to make sure that we’re
learning to be discreet on the things that are around us. We don’t have to draw
attention to everything that’s going on.
The next thing is keep a friendly and approachable demeanor, but show seriousness and
respect when the situation calls for it. And so, you know, we should be friendly
with people. We don’t want to — I think I’ve been accused of having — this is a
problem of mine, a shortcoming of mine where I’ll think that I’m smiling and then
I’m happy and people will say, you know, what’s wrong? Or they’ll say, hey, smile.
I’ll be like, I thought I was. And so, you So we need to make sure that people
can see us as approachable, that we’re not intimidating, but do it in a way where
we’re not being jokey, that we’re building relationships with people and that they
can know that we are sober, sober -minded, and that not everything’s a joke.
And so when the situation is appropriate, we’re serious about it and we’re respectful
of those that are around us.
Any thoughts, comments so far?
Okay, we’re going to move on to the next one.
Oh, we didn’t do
didn’t go through. So we’ll just do 28. If someone approaches you for conversation,
stand to acknowledge them as a gesture of courtesy. So if somebody approaches you,
you’re sitting down. It’s not considered polite company to stay sitting down and
shake their hand. You should stand up and you acknowledge them, either shake their
hand, give them a hug, whatever it is, and as a courtesy and you are essentially,
as he goes on and explains this, you’re, if you don’t do this, you’re not, you’re
kind of thinking of, you’re showing them that you don’t care about them coming to
say hi to you, to visit you and you’re basically telling them that you don’t want
their their presence there.
Mark, go ahead. Yes,
you need to unmute.
Yeah, I’ve seen this in the last 10 years since I moved to Utah about fourth times
at least, where where I go up to talk to somebody we’re on good terms and so
forth and they continue just to ignore or they’ll talk to somebody else and and
just not ignore the presence like you know even five ten minutes so you know that
I’ve always learned that to be disrespectful I mean you could not just acknowledge a
person or ask them to wait a moment but I’ve been seeing this I think it’s a for
me it’s probably a passive -aggressive sort of thing that they want to express
aggression in a passive way. I don’t know if anybody else has seen that. I think
it’s multiple things. That might be a part of it for sure. I think we’re more of
a passive -aggressive culture in Utah, but I think it’s also just like I was showing
that picture of the people at Walmart in their pajamas. I think it’s just a
degradation of the culture. A lot of people don’t even know that that’s an
appropriate thing And so I think that’s a part of it as well
Samuel
and make sure I’m you
Sam
It wasn’t unmuting the mic. Can you hear me? Yep, sure can it’s it seems like it
is too as well as sign of pride There it’s sign of pride. They have to condescend
to say hello or to acknowledge you or anything. Yeah. It’s too much for them.
So we want to make sure that we don’t fall into that, you know, appearance,
avoiding the appearance of evil.
34, when engaging in conversation, prioritize the other person’s thoughts and
perspectives before your own, especially when speaking with someone in a position of
authority or seniority, allow them to initiate the discussion rather than taking the
lead yourself.
So this, you know, I’d like to get some of your thoughts on why do you think he
he said that because this really is kind of the a different idea in today’s
culture, where we, you know, right, we try to make think everybody’s equal,
and that And that everybody’s opinions are the same and we want to have,
of course, everybody wants to, you know, especially if certain attitudes is that they
an individual wants to, they feel that their opinions or that they’re what they want
to say are more important than others. And so they don’t allow others to be able
to do that. And so, you know, we ask questions or just, you know, of the other
It’s it’s polite to encourage them to lead the conversation instead of you being
kind of a conversation hog Mark. Yes.
I’m not sure why it’s not a muting
There we go At the beginning of my career. I was a psychologist
psychotherapist and a counselor for about four years And one of the things we
learned to do, and this ties into prioritizing the other person’s perspective. And if
we do prioritize that, they’re more likely to prioritize our own, our perspective,
or at least consider it. But one of the techniques we use in counseling is called
active listening and simply stated is reflecting back to the person, what they said
to you, both the content and the emotions, and that’s a way of showing value to
them and knowing that it lets them know that they were hurt, and that goes a long
ways in conversation and also them paying attention to what you have to say,
called active listening, you can look it up on, I’m sure online. You’re not just
being condescending, you’re showing that you heard them and that you listened to what
they said and that you understood it. Absolutely. You don’t have to do it any
condescending way at all. Right. 37, when conversing with others, maintain a
respectful posture, avoiding leaning in too closely or staring directly at them,
and be mindful of personal space by keeping a comfortable distance. Some of this we
kind of have a the opposite problem today where you have a especially younger
generation, they are so used to looking at their cell phones all day long that to
get somebody to give eye contact is very difficult today. But it’s also disconcerting
to stare, you know, at an inappropriate length of time at the same location.
So if we’re violating their personal space. We want to make sure that we’re giving
them enough space and being mindful and that we’re looking at them at a reasonable
and respectful way
or length of time.
42, keep your words and actions in line with the dignity of the situation And with
whom you are speaking it is absurd to act like a clown with a prince Right again,
it’s you’re knowing your audience. You’re like, what what does what are the people
that I’m around? What will they respect? What will they I’m dissed. What will they
not have a respect for? What will they think is ridiculous and you know, what will
make them want to listen to you or not listen to you and And not just a clown
with a prince, but like, you know, knowing, knowing your audience, knowing the
situation that you’re at, right? If you’re a clown at a funeral, making jokes, being
silly, being stupid, that’s not winning friends. Nobody’s going to think that you’re
hilarious because you’re doing that. It’s, it’s rude, it’s tactless. And so you need
to know the situation that you’re at, you need to know the people that you’re
around and be and be aware of what’s expected in those types of situations. And so
that you’re behaving in a way that people will respect you because they know that
you respect them and that you are somebody that they can look up to for the things
that we’re talking about. Any comments, thoughts?
Yes, Mark.
– Yeah, Yeah, and advancing or promoting liberty, that’s a very dignified process.
It’s a very serious process. It’s a godly process. So we shouldn’t be doing anything
that suggests that it’s not if we we shouldn’t be on our cell phones unless we’re
looking up something regarding the subject or something like that. We maybe shouldn’t
be even answering the phone. So all those types of behavior shows that this is a
very serious subject. Absolutely.
Any other thoughts?
So number 47 is don’t make jokes at or about sacred things. Kind of going along
with the last one right there You know there if if you’re making a joke about
sacred things about serious things and people are going to think that you don’t
treat it seriously and so why would they treat it seriously if you don’t treat it
seriously and You know if we’re Especially like godly things well than what we’re
doing is hopefully godly and so we want to make sure that people know that we
treated as godly and That you know, we don’t We’re not making jokes about things
that are especially sacred or serious.
Number 51, present yourself as if you were representing esteemed individuals, avoiding
ripped, dusty clothing or appearance. But see that you are well -kempt and don’t
approach others while or if you are in a state of uncleanness.
And this is, of course, in scenarios. You’re at work, you’re a minor,
and so you’re covered in coal, and you’re on your way home and you’re getting gas.
It doesn’t mean you go home and clean up when you’re out running out of gas, and
you need to go get gas. But in the situations, if we have an event that we have
to go to, make sure that we have taking the time we’ve planned, we’ve shown the
respect to others by saying this is an event that I wanna be on time to that and
that shows respect and that we care about them to be on time.
You know, we care about the topic that’s being covered by being on time and that
when we arrive, we’ve shown that we’ve treated this with such a seriousness that
we’ve made sure that
If we are in a situation where you’re going to be unkempt that we’ve made sure and
we’ve been able to get cleaned up and we look appropriate for the situation. And so
that again, another way of showing that you treat what you’re doing seriously,
because if you’re not willing to do that. That means you’re not treating the
situation seriously. You don’t think it’s serious. You don’t think it’s worth the
time to be on time. You don’t think it’s worth the time to schedule to make sure
that you are dressed appropriately. And so others are going to say, well, you know,
if you don’t think so, then I don’t think so. Carmen, yes.
Well, I’m not sure how long ago it was, but it could have been during the Nixon
administration.
One of our women’s teams
was invited to the White House to receive commendations from the President for their
performance in the Olympics. It was the Summer Olympics.
And so this women’s team, and there were at least 10,
12 women in this team,
of almost every single woman in that team they wore flip flops and let me tell you
the backlash that came off of that said that we still cared about what you look
like and you should also and you should not have been wearing casual flip -flops to
this meeting with the President of the United States. And nothing else was spoken
about it. Everything that you saw in the newspapers and magazines later on,
it was everybody commented about their feet. Very negative.
And that’s something that I’ve noticed at churches in the past 20 years is, you
know, it used to be where you dressed your finest when you went to go to the
house of the Lord. And that doesn’t mean that, you know, if you’re poor, you don’t
have to wear the most, you know, expensive clothes, but that you wear the best that
you have, that you present yourself the best that you have for the Lord. But we’ve
gone to flip flops, very, very, very common at church in the last 20 years. And so
We’re showing that we don’t treat it in the seriousness that it deserves the
next one is associate with those of go I’ll go back as a comment on that one
mark. Yes Yes, this ties into what we’ve been saying it and on the regarding the
previous one and this one is that I see this tremendous amount of irreverence
Towards God from people that claim to be Christians more and more over the years
and if we’re showing irreverence towards a godly subject matter you know that based
on his law then I think we are indirectly showing irreverence to him and I think
we need to think about that when we consider to be light in our thoughts and and
and our seriousness about Godly matters. I agree. Absolutely.
56 associate with those of good quality. It is better to be alone than in bad
company. So I’d like to hear your thoughts on this, but I think there are two main
reasons for this. On one side is those that you associate with you, that you
associate with will rub off on you, kind of like the same thing with the media
that you consume, those that you associate with, you will start to be like them.
And so you should associate with those that will help you be better. And so at the
same time, right, if you are with that, if you are associating with those that
don’t inspire, that don’t help you be better, you know, that are doing the opposite
of the things that we have gone through tonight, Then others are going to say you
don’t think that that’s serious. Otherwise, why why are you associating with that
kind of a person? and so People will see the people that you associate with and
think that must be the kind of person that you are and So it’s it’s an it’s
important for our own development as well as for being the light for others to look
to that we are associating with those and so that way we’re not Degrading ourselves.
I’m Mark. Yes.
There you go. It reminds me of Axiom. If you lay down with dogs, you get up with
please. Yep. Absolutely.
81. Stay out of others’ business and don’t approach those that are already speaking
Right there, you know, if you’ve if you kind of overhear somebody saying something
and and you’re like well What are you guys talking about? Well, it’s none of your
right. There’s the the old Mormon motto was mind your own business and There’s a
lot of if they wanted you to hear it then they would have told you and so it’s
it’s rude to put somebody in a position Where they don’t want to talk about it to
bring it up and So it’s, you know, mind your business and don’t approach others
that are already speaking in private. If somebody’s got a private conversation, you
have a little bit of a distance between the two of you. So you’re not able to
really eavesdrop on their conversation, but you’re close enough and you make eye
contact so that they know that you’re there and that when they have a, you know, a
break in the conversation or an opportunity, then they can talk to you. But you
know, you are giving them space. So you’re not interfering in their conversation,
you’re on eavesdropping on it, and you’re not interrupting them, and you’re staying
out of their business. Any thoughts on any other reasons why this might be an
important thing and a good example? Mark. That can be very difficult if you’re in a
say a group and it’s a political sub -meeting and they’re discussing politics,
and there’s one or more people that are saying something that’s actually harmful to
the advancement of liberty. It’s very tempting to, even if you’ve been standing by
for a while and you’re listening, not to join in on that topic. Now, I agree,
you should definitely not bring up a different topic, but it’s really difficult to
hear evil and just sit back and do nothing. Now, If we’re in the conversation,
then I think it’s very important that we always oppose evil when it’s being stated.
We have an obligation to do so. – Sure, absolutely. – And there are very few
exceptions to this rule 81 ’cause I think generally it is that you just mind your
own business. Somebody’s talking about some private thing and it’s not your business,
don’t worry about And and don’t bring it up, you know, somebody even if you know
maybe something about them if you’re in public and you’re like You know, how’s that
disease that you’ve got going on, you know, and you say it real loud It’s you
know, if they want to tell you about their disease, they’ll tell you leave it alone
and so it’s important for us to to really have decorum in these things Carmen go
ahead Yeah, you got to be careful because they might be talking about you.
Yep. Micah.
Yeah, I know in scriptures it says to like basically like agree with your enemy
when you’re in conflict with them like face -to
And so sometimes opposing evil is really important,
but sometimes it’s really important to lie to evil.
And, you know, a lot of times it’s fake.
For example, I was at some event a few weeks ago and somebody, somebody in the
gaggle, which I wasn’t quite in that gaggle, I heard them say like, “Oh yeah, it’s
abortion’s fine.” Or something like, “I support that,” or whatever.
And it’s just like, “What am I even gonna go, “I’m just gonna go over there and
cause problems.” ‘Cause like this person is just,
they’re just It’s like there’s nothing to change their mind about,
you know, they’re just so casual and like, “Oh yeah, gotta do it,” you know,
like acting like it’s a right, you know. And so it’s just,
it’s really good idea to not always directly fight evil, but it’s really good to
lie to evil people.
So because information is really is really important And I kind of think that’s a
lot of the basis of as to what that’s about This information campaigns are common
in military tactics. So yeah, you know, if you got somebody you overhear somebody
saying Oh, we’re gonna go around collecting people’s guns and you’re like standing
up. You’re like The right of self -protection is a God given right like you’re just
putting a target on yourself with him to go after you first and so yeah
Yeah, I won’t be far better in that situation than directly opposing them would be
to keep your mouth shut And let everyone know that those are the guys we need to
kill when they come walking around You know because otherwise nobody knows what
they’re doing they’re just like men they but having being able to leverage that
information is really important. Yeah. Yes, Mark. Yeah,
the rule I use, if I could advance liberty by joining in or confronting somebody’s
advocating something evil or tyranny, tyranny is a good example, then I will.
But if I go over there and it’s just somebody like what was just said, you’re
casting your pearls before sows, pigs, then why do it?
You’re not advancing liberty. So it’s only when you’re confident. And when I do
this, it’s when people are standing around, and I hear the evil, and if I just
stay there, it implies to some extent agreement with that evil. So it does often
need to be exposed. But if it’s not going to do any good to go over there and
confront him about abortion, then why waste the time? Yeah.
Okay. So kind of, we break it down. It’s, you know, the importance of being
socially self -aware of your surroundings, right? You’re in a library and you’re
sitting there and listening to music and you’re singing along real loud out, you
know, that’s just totally inappropriate or you’re in a business setting and you’re
looking like a slob and you’re not a good you know representative of the of the
business or you’re in a meeting and you know you’re on your phone not paying
attention right we have to be we have to follow social cues we have to be socially
self -aware and and know our audience know know the situation that we’re in and act
appropriately we really need to increase our awareness in this way and there’s this
skit that I wanted to share with you that gives a good example of some of these
things where individuals are lacking self -awareness and we want to avoid this at all
costs.
No sound. Oh Oops wrong button. Okay.
Thank you. I’m gonna I forgot that I was sure that I did that But I forgot to
share the sound
Okay, well, I bought muscle. He’s Good to see you. Oh, okay. Hey, how far along
are you in the in the book here? Are you guys in a book club or something? Excuse
me for a second. Wow, babe, you only weigh that much I would have thought it would
be more or not like just we’re the same height. So, you know, I bought muscle
weighs more than that Will you excuse me a second? Okay
How much longer is this gonna go on do you think – You ready to hear this? – Put
it to your ear and just talk.
– What’s going on guys?
– You think you’re busking? – What’d you say? – You think you’re busking in Chicago
or something? – Keeps are accepted, thank you. – Dude, it’s good to see you, how you
been? – Dude, I can’t focus. It’s like operation over here, trying to pick up my
fork with your leg kicking. What are – Hey, look, I’m a St. Andreas fault? – Oh,
oh, oh. – Sometimes, oh my, when my leg gets tattered. – What time do you think
you’re gonna get there tonight for Sheen and Stain? – What’s tonight? – Sheen and
Stain? – I don’t know, what’s Sheen and Stain? – Actually, I don’t think about it
maybe as a girl Stain only. I wouldn’t mention it to her. You guys hear the big
news, the new edition coming, March! – Dude, no, sorry, I was gonna tell you guys
all individually. – They’re getting a new couch. – Micro suede, it’s gonna be nuts.
– It’s on layaway until he gets his Christmas bonus and then it’s gonna be and
stand up away. – My phone has been so weird. I’m sorry if I butt dialed you. I
was really nervous I was gonna butt dial, like Logan Paul or like Tray Kennedy, you
know, while he’s filming a video or something. – We had to turn this call for like,
correct your opinions, podcast, you know, like all these, I didn’t wanna interrupt
that. – I had a good morning. – Yeah, thank you for asking. – I went through the
Starbucks drive -through and said, you know what? I wanna pay for the next three
people behind me. Delta lost all my bags. And you know how it is losing a bag in
Aruba. – Who to call? – I can’t do something Saturday at 8 a .m. to 8 30 because
that’s why I volunteered to soup kitchen I know you asked if I wanted to get
drinks, but I just want to let you know that that is a time when I’m not Great
baby shark Sheila. Thank you for having me. The ones on the bottom are the least
stale So I mean, I know we’re eating but let’s talk cool and ask. I mean, I know
we’re eating but like my wife live her story Let’s talk about it. So there we were
she was a spread eagle right there on the kitchen floor
Hey, dude. Wow, you look bigger. No, it’s not a bad thing. You just, you know,
winter is coming, you don’t even really have an ankle, it just goes from calf to
foot. Did you get stung by a bee? Your face, it looks like, just puffy. Have you
guys seen the new Top Gun yet? I was like…
If I could find you now, things would get better. The baby’s sleeping,
the baby’s sleeping. We could ♪ This town will run forever ♪ – What’d you say?
– Uh, the baby was sleeping. – Oh, this was a little long cut the bone out, ain’t
it? – See you guys, I’ll take you there now. We’re gonna have a crazy weekend.
Nothing but strip clubs for us. – Don’t leave it. She’s five years old. – Oh, she
knows it’s a joke. – Guy, what’s a strip club? – It’s like Raising Canes, like
chicken strips, okay? – I’m sorry, I’ll fix it when I get back. – Love you too. – I
know she was– – I – Oh, he’s an idiot.
(growling) – Can go louder. (growling) – The birds can get angry if you know what I
mean. – What are we thinking?
(tapping) – Dude, what are you doing? Are you going to stall over here? Chill out,
man. – Actually, they just bought the local periodical newspaper and so you thought I
was saying adition, I’m saying edition. – You shut up, actually. That’s probably good.
– They’re having a baby. Hope you guys have a plunger because I’m about to take the
browse the Super Bowl first time in a long time I love the new house. This has
got a ton of potential, you know get some new paint on me
Okay, well, this is sorry
Excuse me a second
Dude, what are we watching? Oh, I’m just teaching them a little history lesson.
They’re loving it. Dude, it’s Saving Private Ryan! It’s very historically accurate.
Veterans say it was a lot like what D -Day actually was. Did veterans have three
-year -olds watching the room with them, Jake?
I’m sure you’ve all seen or know somebody that has done these things or that does
these things. And so, if you’ve seen any of those things that you do yourself, I
would highly recommend and encourage and implore with everything that I can that you
stop.
Yes, Mark.
– Yes, and developmental psychology will assess certain conduct at a certain age when
your child learns. He jumped from a five -year -old down to a one -year -old back and
forth, back and forth. That’s three -year -old behavior, that’s funny. But tied into
this couple of quick things, his values, it shows that he has the values of a
little tiny child, a candy, and the passive aggressiveness of both of them with a
table and talking about needing a paint job or whatever he said there. You see the
lack of empathy, the self -centeredness you see with very young children and the
grossness for reaction to get attention. But I think real important is the values.
So much of what we’re talking about tonight, what was the subject title of tonight’s
program was. Yeah, being a good example for liberty. Yeah, right. And so you’re
seeing all sorts of conduct that interferes with that But you but they don’t have
the values of somebody with values Liberty even if they understood it And they’re
not likely to value it because of the values Yeah, and that’s any even if you
think that maybe they think they have the values But they’re showing to others that
they don’t and so I think that’s that’s a key point to do we go remote liberty
with three year olds.
So it’s important for us to be able to recognize that, right? We have that self
-awareness and we need to act in a way that shows that we are an individual that
has been changed and made better by what we’re doing. And so as we look at George
Washington’s rules of civility, that what’s the bottom line is we have to ask
ourselves is how I’m behaving going to be seen by others or the person I’m talking
to as something they’re going to respect and want to be around? Does how I act or
present myself reflect positively on the things I hope to accomplish for liberty?
Are others going to see me in what I’m doing as a light that cannot be hid or as
something annoying that they’re going to want to hide or to avoid and is the way I
present myself a good look that will attract the kind of people we want for the
cause of liberty. So these are the things I hope that we will contemplate and that
we will study those rules of civility and make these things a part of our our
lives and so that we can be a good example that we will be that light that the
Lord talks about so that we can be a people that are attracting others of good
high moral character to the cause of liberty. So we are a little bit over time.
So let’s go ahead and close up and then we can have open forum. We can talk about
this, ask more questions.
But
Linda Stoll, will you give us the closing prayer?
You just got to unmute if you’re available.
Thank you. Thank you. Yep.
Our dear father in heaven as we come before you at the close of this evening,
we’re grateful for the principles that we’ve been able to think about, discuss,
and learn more about. We ask the Oblacist that we will each be thoughtful in our
demeanor, that we will show respect to others, and that we will conduct ourselves in
the way that would be helpful to the cause that we’re so interested in building and
sending This time we ask the of us that we might have the spirit and guidance to
be with us this following week as we act upon the things that we’ve learned and as
we continue to gain more information and knowledge. These things we pray for in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.
