Dominion

I listened to a recent devotional talk by Stephen Liddle about the idea of dominion (see here).  We typically think about dominion as power over others, and the word is typically used in a negative context.  And yet in the very beginning the Lord gave Adam and Eve “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Abraham 4:28, see also Moses 2:28, Genesis 1:28).  In like manner most of its usages throughout the scriptures reference the term with a positive connotation.  Many of the passages are in reference to God Himself, such as the last verse of D&C 76 which reads, “And to God and the Lamb be glory, and honor, and dominion forever and ever.”  We are likewise encouraged to become like God—we read of the righteous that “he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion” (D&C 76:95).  We are to seek dominion, but only in the way that God has dominion, not the kind of earthly dominion that we are used to. 

                Perhaps the most interesting section of scripture that teaches about dominion comes in D&C 121, the revelation that came out of Liberty Jail.  The word is used six times, and perhaps the most famous of those comes from this verse: “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” (v39).  This must have been especially poignant to the Prophet Joseph at this time because he was incarcerated as a result of the “unrighteous dominion” of both Missourians and apostates.  In the last verse of the section, though, we are taught more about the kind of dominion God wants us to have: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”  To me the key phrase is “without compulsory means.”  That is how we can have righteous dominion.  The Lord does not use compulsion and if we want real power we must do likewise.  The rulers of the world often seek “dominion’ by getting power over people and using some kind of force over the people.  But I think that the Lord is teaching us here that we must to hold a “scepter” of power and influence we must do it without force.  Righteous dominion comes without dominating others.

                It seems to me that one of the great examples of this principle was King Benjamin.  He labored himself among the people, sought to serve them, and led his people in righteousness.  And yet he in no way force them or used compulsion.  He, in fact, used the opposite methods.  And yet he had so much power over his people that when he finished his sermon, “[the people] all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins” (Mosiah 4:2).  They did exactly what he wanted them to do, not because he exerted power and compulsion, but because he served and taught them so well that “without compulsory means” they did what he hoped.  In our lives we have to likewise figure out how to live in such a way that we will have that kind of power and influence because of our righteousness.