Finding My Ethical Boundaries

This was a very interesting week, a large amount of the material was based on the importance of identifying what you want to be in life and how you will set the ethic guard rails to help you through the challenging times where you will have to choose between the next step in success or to sacrifice something outside your ethical guardrails.  In the readings one of the important things focused on was the level of lust for money that you chose to have in your life. As that lust for money increases it comes at the expense of your ethics or integrity, money is not a bad thing but was a fantastic invention as a medium of trade so that individuals would not have to have the same desires to barter. This changed the world but also allowed for great corruption and different forms of societies to be created. As we look at these societies we can see to main forms of economic systems were created the Command system and the Market system. The command system is where the government is in complete control of all resources and products and the distribution of those products. This system when perfect at all levels works like the law of consecration where everyone works to the greatest advantage of the group and all are provided for, there is great success found in this system because the society can grow very fast and for the betterment of all those in the society. There is also a negative side this was also talked about in a talk by Elder Lynn G. Robbins, "Making a Living and a Life" here he talked about the different types of people grading them from A-D and showing how each level after A sacrificed some type of ethical boundary and eventually had no integrity left but self-interest and greed. Money has great power, shown in a market system each level from producing to shipping and selling is driven by the self-interest and a desire to succeed. This system works but different levels of the system can be exploited without universal ethics it falls just like the command system. This is the reason for laws and limits established by government in a mixed market system and how the system is able to function with those who do not have ethical boundaries.

The reason I focused on those two examples is because we are living right among them both, if we do not set outlines now of what we are and are not going sacrifice along our way to make a living and more.

The three things that I will never do are, I will never get gain at the cost of someone else life or lively hood; I will never sacrifice the love of my family for greater success; I will never forget my eternal perspective and the foundation principles that I need to return to heavenly father. The three I will always are, I will always be home at night to kiss my wife and children goodnight; I will always be worthy of my temple recommend; I will always provide for the needs of my family.