"When we obey Satan, we give him power. When we obey God, He gives us power. Real freedom is found in obedience."

I found this quote on the fridge of someone I know. I did a search on it and found it was said by Elder Paul V. Johnson on a November 6, 2012 devotional at BYU:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvOdFqs-K0I

What I found so funny is that the last sentence about real freedom in obedience is quite often said in the BDSM community about submissives, quite often by the submissives themselves.
As I looked closer at that first sentence, I realized just how much "power" is given by the submissive to the dominant. In fact, it is often referred to as power play. One form of it is called PEP: People exchanging power.

In obeying their god, be it God, Satan, or just their "Dom/me", the submissive/member are claiming that they are truly free by being totally obedient. Is that truly freedom? Having been involved in BDSM a bit, it is not freedom but just a shift of responsibility of one's actions. The submissive gives up their freedom and, in some cases, blindly obeys and follows the orders/commandments.

This is one of those "aha" moments, kind of like being hit with a ton of bricks type. I look back and kind of saw it but it wasn't until I saw the quote that I realized just how closely the morg and BDSM are related. The gotcha is that even with the exchange of power, it does not absolve you of responsibility of life.

“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”

1984
George Orwell

What a strange sentence. It's not even internally consistent.

The power is obviously NOT in the obedience, but rather in the choice of the OBJECT of your obediance.

Which one of the two choices (Satan or God) is he talking about when he says "Real freedom is found in obedience."?

Why wouldn't he be clear and say obediance to God?

It sure is tempting to think they all know they are following Satan and that's the ultimate secret of Mormonism...Not that I really believe that, but darn, it's tempting.

From Orwell's novel *1984* "Freedom is Slavery."

"Freedom is found in Obedience" is the same sort of doublethink Orwell describes.

And it's damn scary.

you have to read between the lines. freedom is found in obedience because you are freed from having to think, from having to be responsible for yourself and your actions. so yes, they aren't too far off the mark. its just not the kind of freedom that most people think of when they hear the word.

Bingo!

The idea allowing influence over you by giving the power to tooth fairy is about as lame as giving it over to Satan.

Both are fake and man-made and only a delusion in the person's belief system. When the devil isn't really there the guilt goes away along with it.

"Real freedom is found in obedience."


Sounds like something the Nazis, ISIS or Al Qaeda would say.

I've never understood people who like cow-towing to an authority, ANY authority. It's as if they love being led and told what to do and think.

So in either case, one is obedient??? WTF? Does it not occur to them that an individual has the right to govern their own life according to the dictates of their own conscience??
How does that square with free choice (will)??

It really is pay, pray, OBEY

More useless, correlated, drivel from the brethren. Translation...if you do something we don't like, the devil will get you. How I don't miss those awful talks.

They think if you don't follow their version of Jesus, you automatically follow Satan. But I think the real problem in Mormonism (and some other religions) is more like that story that goes around where the little boy tells his grandpa:

"Last night I had a dream that I was being chased by a good wolf and a bad wolf. Which one is going to get me, grandpa." The grandpa replies "The one you feed."

Mormons talk a LOT about Satan. Whomever they are obedient to doesn't matter as much as who they think the most about. Any LDS Sacrament meeting will show there is very little talk about Jesus, more talk about worldly matters like tithing and food storage and Satan's ways of tempting you. They feed worldly concerns and fear of Satan so that's where their preoccupation lies, even if they aren't exactly obedient or Satan worshippers.

Refusing to obey is the best course. No one has power over you then.

Ron Burr