Right now.
No matter what any scientific study, best-selling book, website, or "expert" says, there is no one single thing that will make all the difference in any area of our lives. This mentality tends to lead to an oversimplification of the many aspects and facets of life, can justify excluding many of the essential principles needed for human happiness, and generally makes things pretty bad in the long run.
How so?
Neal A. Maxwell explains:
"We hear a lot today about ecology in the world of biological and physical things. We are learning that some of its laws are inexorable, that when we violate them we pay a penalty; we pay a price. There is an ecology that pertains to spiritual things, to human nature, which, when violated, brings a series of consequences—just as inexorable and just as automatic as the ecology that is born of the cluster of laws governing nature. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a collection of principles woven together in the fabric of immutable law; this is the romance and the high adventure of orthodoxy: these principles, bound together, not only give us salvation, but they also give us balance, depth, and happiness in our lives.
"The doctrines of Jesus Christ are so powerful that any one of these doctrines, having been broken away from the rest, goes wild and mad, as G. K. Chesterton observed. The principle of love without the principles of justice and discipline goes wild. Any doctrine, unless it is woven into the fabric of orthodoxy, goes wild. The doctrines of the kingdom need each other just as the people of the kingdom need each other." (Ensign, February 1975, 'Spiritual Ecology').... and also ...
"Isn’t it, of course, simply that the gospel of Jesus Christ contains all the correct principles for human conduct, but it is also the way in which these principles are interwoven with each other. Secularism so often seizes upon a single true principle and elevates it above all others. This act of isolation does not make the principle seized upon any less true, but to isolate any principle is to make it monastic. How many today live within the prison of just one principle? Elevating any correct principle to the plane of a religion is poor policy; just as one person makes a poor church, one principle makes a poor religion. Principles can become “prodigal” as well as people and can be estranged in “a far country” and be “spent” with little to show.
"Most every secular cause about which I know anything at all usually focuses on a single principle or concern, but it is an act of isolation, not of correlation. It is the orthodox orchestration of the many principles found in the gospel of Jesus Christ that is necessary for human happiness. One would be amused at the so-called new “moral geometry” with its alien angles, fluid lines, and restless unfixed points, if the human consequences were not so tragic." (BYU Devotional, Jan 1974, 'Family Perspectives')... and a better understanding of "Perfection"...
"Since Christ also declared, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), clear and specific obligations clearly rest upon us, especially when we ponder this next commandment, which, if we love him, we will strive to keep: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
"The Greek rendering for “perfect” is, by the way, “complete, finished, fully developed.” After his atonement and resurrection, Jesus included himself as our pattern. “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48). One of the problems we have in the Church is that we consider perfection in abstraction, and it becomes too intimidating. But when we think of it in terms of the specific, cardinal attributes, and we strive to develop these in a steady process of self-improvement, it is quite a different matter." (BYU Devotional, March 1991, 'In Him All Things Hold Together')Christ didn't say there is one single commandment that is most important to follow or a single attribute of Him that is most important to emulate, he said be "complete" as He is.
And besides, can you pick out one single species that is the most important to preserve on the planet, one single body part that is so important that you wouldn't need the others to be able to go on living, or one single member of a family that is some important that you could get rid of the other members and still be a family?
Nope - didn't think so.
The Scientific Method
Scientific studies, (especially ones dealing with human behavior), must use the scientific method to be taken seriously. By it's very definition, the scientific method must single out one aspect from many others, and isolate it in order to test the controls vs the variables. But, how do you experiment on just one thread from a tightly woven fabric of immutable eternal law??
The scientific method, while of great use to help study many of the aspects of the world we live in in order to subdue and "inherit the earth", has some limitations when it tries to explain things past this realm.
Richard G. Scott:
"The first [way to find truth is] the scientific method. It can require analysis of data to confirm a theory or, alternatively, establish a valid principle through experimentation. The scientific method is a valuable way of seeking truth. However, it has two limitations. First, we never can be sure we have identified absolute truth, though we often draw nearer and nearer to it. Second, sometimes, no matter how earnestly we apply the method, we can get the wrong answer." ("Truth: the Foundation of Correct Decisions," Ensign, November 2007, p.90-92)Dallin H. Oaks:
"Science uses experiments and observation, such as watching, measuring, and analyzing, as it attempts to gain increased understanding....In the exciting efforts of scientists, old explanations are shown to be less accurate than newer ones. Old and respected explanations of relationships are found to be wrong or of limited applicability. The dynamic process continues, and, as we say, knowledge expands. But the knowledge obtained by the scientific method is forever tentative." (The Lord's Way, p.77, 93)Neal A. Maxwell:
"The scientific method is so useful to mankind in many ways. It focuses on the available data concerning the how and what of things, but it leaves to the individual the answering of the why questions. In any case, there is assumed to be a paucity of data concerning these questions, and a further assumption is that stereotyped religion is not a significant source of such data. Hence other data are looked to. Stephen W. Hawking writes: "Up to now, most scientists have been too occupied with the development of new theories that describe what the universe is to ask the question why. On the other hand, the people whose business it is to ask why, the philosophers, have not been able to keep up with the advance of scientific theories." (Wonderful Flood of Light, p.86)Howard W. Hunter:
"There are many things which are invisible to our senses and not subject to positive proof. The scientific approach to proof is by experimentation in the laboratory. The result of this scientific method has a greater influence upon our thinking than we realize, because it produces positive proof resulting in knowledge. We cannot overlook the great good this approach by science has upon the lives of persons, but how about those things which lie outside of the realm of positive, tangible proof?" (Conference Report, October 1962, p.23)
Control vs. Variable (vs. Variable)
C.S. Lewis has said that we are of two minds - the "bios" or the biological mind of our physical natures that house our spirit but are made from the materials of a lost and corrupt world, (and seeks after such things), and the "zoe" or spiritual mind which is the offspring of God and is that potential to become as God since He is our spiritual lineage and literally our Father in Heaven. Joseph Fielding Smith:
"It is a fundamental doctrine of the Church, based on divine revelation, that we are dual personalities. That is to say we are combined spirits and bodies of flesh and bones, and as spirit children of God we dwelt in his presence before the foundation of the earth was laid." (Purpose of Mortal Life, BYU Devotional, May 1956).
David A. Bednar explained it like this:
"Neither the [the Prophets] nor the scriptures ... assert that the physical body is inherently evil. Rather, we live in a fallen world. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. Thus, the Fall of Adam and its consequences affect us most directly through our physical bodies. And yet as President Young stated, we are dual creatures, for at the same time that we inhabit a physical body that is subject to the Fall, we also have a spirit that represents the eternal part of us; we are the spirit sons and daughters of God and have inherited divine qualities from Him. The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be summarized in the following questions: Will my body rule over my spirit, or will my spirit rule over my body? Will I yield to the enticings of the natural man or to the eternal man? That, brothers and sisters, is the test. We are here on the earth to develop godlike qualities and to learn to bridle all of the passions of the flesh (Alma 38:12)." (BYU Idaho Devotional, Jan. 2000)So, here's my question -- if you are using the scientific method to determine how an experiment affects behavior, how do you know which "mind"/personality it's having an impact on? How do you know what "mind" you are affecting if you can't peel back the covers and see who's doing what? And since the location of the "battle lines" between the two can swing wildly from day to day, how does the method take that into account? By it's very nature, the scientific method can't be applied to a system with two variables that can't be isolated or separated when interpreting the results. At best, you might be able to study those times when we let our carnal natures run the show, but how would the result of such an experiment apply to spiritual beings who's very goal is to overcome and put into subjection their physical tabernacle?
(Over) Simplify, Simplify, Simplify...
Abraham Maslow said that "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail". If all you have is the scientific method, then everything looks like a problem that can be tested, quantified, and boiled down to a single flattened aspect.
We like to flatten things. TV shows and movies like to flatten life into a 30, 60, or 120 minute time slot. Social media likes to flatten human connectivity into 140 characters. Second Life, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, etc. like to flatten our existence into building virtual worlds, conquering virtual enemies, and living virtual lifestyles on a literally flat 2-dimensional screen. Public education likes to flatten a child's knowledge and educational progress into a series of grades and test scores. Politicians like to flatten public opinion into "Red" and "Blue" states. Corporate America likes to boil the state of the economy into a series of economic indexes which can scroll across the screen below some talking heads on news broadcasts. Big Food likes to flatten nutrition into fats, carbs, and proteins while ignoring all the nutrients and materials that we don't even know are there. The Adult Entertainment industry likes to flatten human intimacy into one single act dressed up in many different ways and settings. Romantics like to flatten the human population and all the pursuits of life into the "soul-mate" and the "one-true-calling" that perfectly resonates with people as they are, (and not who they are to change to become, but we'll get into that later...). Humans, as a people, like to flatten how we see other people and the world at large into our own myopic view as we are and understand.
Why? Because it makes us think things are easier to understand and get through. Life is hard, and sometimes our "bios" tries to trick us into thinking things are easier and simpler than they are. Sigmund Freud didn't get a lot right in my book, but his theory that the goal of "human behavior" (read "bios") is tension reduction seems to have merit. Have too much tension because this life is too hard? Trick yourself into thinking it is easier by giving it one "most important thing" it can manage, and the tension melts away, (but sadly, reality doesn't work like that).
Sometimes, we try to simplify things because we try to fit something into our lives that we know won't fit, but we still try to convince ourselves that it just might actually fit if we "make space" for it by excluding necessary elements of it and trying to flattening it into a much simpler dimension, (i.e. turn something with many facets into a 2-dimensional approximation). Self-deception strikes again.
To Be or Not to Be
To be and to do are inseparable. As interdependent doctrines they reinforce and promote each other. Faith inspires one to pray, for example, and prayer in turn strengthens one’s faith.
The Savior often denounced those who did without being—calling them hypocrites: “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6). To do without to be is hypocrisy, or feigning to be what one is not—a pretender.
Conversely, to be without to do is void, as in “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17; emphasis added). Be without do really isn’t being—it is self-deception, believing oneself to be good merely because one’s intentions are good.
Do without be—hypocrisy—portrays a false image to others, while be without do portrays a false image to oneself. (Ensign, April 2011).Don't like how your "Be" vs your "Do" is looking? Easy -- change the "Do" to be simpler to understand and accomplish by condensing it into the "single most important thing", and then give yourself a big pat-on-the-back for getting that single thing done.
Haven't visited your Grandmother in a while? Send her a txt message with lots of "<3" (hearts) and your self-proclaimed status of "Best Grand-kid" will be reinstated and all will be forgiven.
Not willing to put yourself through school or devote the energy or time in your career? Pick up the latest "how-to-succeed-in-business-without-trying" books or blogs and follow the formula, (while leaving the rest of the footwork of career and character development undone).
Want to lose weight in the quickest and less lifestyle disrupting way possible? The internet is chock full of "eat-this-but-don't-eat-that" diets that promise maximum results with minimum effort by focusing on one simple aspect that needs to be altered, (without actually making the needed lifestyle changes).
Worried about your kids and feel guilty for not being the parent you know you should be? Simple -- get that 20-30 minutes of reading "See Spot Run" or any one of a plethora of popular children's books out there every night without fail, and your soul is soothed in spite of your lack of diligence and personal sacrifice in the other parts of your most important calling, (and while you may not be earning the "Parent of the Year" award you feel you're doing good enough).
Now, at the same time, it might be that the "one thing" that is being professed might not be a "silver bullet", but rather something that has been omitted and dropped out through ignorance or foolish traditions. The "discovery" that including it back in may seem like something short of a miracle, but it is more of a restoration of a component that was always needed for balance and is going through a bit of a revival. It still won't stand on it's own and shouldn't be incorporated at the expense of excluding other elements, but can help to bring the unbalanced principles of the Gospel of Christ back in check.
"I Yam What I Yam" Doesn't Cut It
This may be an unpopular notion in a world full of polarization and defense of lifestyles and personalities, but we are here in mortality to change. Completely change. We're talking a rebuild from the inside out of our idiosyncrasies, personalities, and our very natures. Nothing short of an overhaul is going to do it.
Lewis again:
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." (Mere Christianity)The Lord didn't say "the most important part of you that needs to be changed is ...". If we want to go where He is, we have to become changed to be like Him. Not part of us, not most of us, all of us. The whole point of the "Atonement" wasn't just to take our sins upon Him and die on the cross -- it was to give us the enabling power to be completely changed to be like him. Partial conversion isn't going to do it.
Oprah
So, next time a scientific study comes out, a new best-seller about parenting/success/relationships/etc, or Oprah has a special guest expert who's going to talk about the fool-proof formula that reveals what one single thing we can focus on to bring you happiness and prosperity, think about this -- what one species, part of your body, or family member is so important that it/they can be preserved at the cost of the rest?
But, there is more than likely a necessary gospel principle that is missing in your life that you need to make room for by tossing out some "distracting obsessions". May the Lord bless you to know what it is and the enabling power of His atonement empower you to bring it into your life to become more spiritually balanced and more like Him.
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