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Sodom, Gomorrah, And Us: How a City Lost its Soul and Why It Matters Today · ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Why did Sodom and Gemor fall?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: How can we learn from that?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Also, how bad were the Nephites?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: In what way are we, Western countries, specifically like Sodom and Gemorph?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: These are all questions that ran through my mind as I studied the book of Genesis.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Todd Talks, new episode where I help you design your spiritual life.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: This is Todd Talk's Spirit by Design.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we're going to talk a little bit about Sodom and Gemora.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: See, there are few stories in scripture or history that draw a more intriguing thought, a sense of the devastation that befell people, all because of their own actions, thoughts, and devils.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: One other similar to Sodom and Mori that comes to mind is Pompeii.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Also a town, a civilization known for its debauchery.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Also a town destroyed.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Heck, the entire world during Noah's time was destroyed.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: What caused these ultimate resets?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: It was the ultimate FAFO.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Fool around and find out.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: In the planes I fly, 99% of the time when there is a problem in the system, we execute what I like to call the Lockheed fix.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Shut it down or turn it off and then turn it back on.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: I believe the Lord did that with some of these places.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: What made them so wicked that the Lord saw fit to destroy them off the face of the earth?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: There are several others that we've been seeing in scripture, the Nephites, the Jaredites, as I spoke about in the previous episode.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: On a smaller scale, the people of the town of Amaniha were obliterated after casting out prophets, slaying believers, and burning to death women and children.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Still, what aspects of these civilizations caused the Lord to say, I'm done with y'all?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Because other societies have done similar atrocities.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: What caused this reset and how do we prevent that in our life?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we're talking about today.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: First off, Sodom and Morah had become intrinsically and systemically violent.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: In Genesis 19, when two angels visited Lot, men came from all over the city to demand what?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: They demanded that you bring them out so they can sexually assault them.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Men from across the city demanded the opportunity to assault, sexually assault visitors.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: This shows several things about the messed up culture that they had.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: First, it was people from all parts of the city, not just one bad section of town.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Second, it was organized mob violence.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Third, it targeted strangers and visitors.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: In the ancient world, think about this.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: Hospitality was sacrosanct.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Hospitality to strangers was considered sacred.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Strangers would be invited into homes and offered food and shelter.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Lack of hospitality would be a moral failure.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: It would be seen as a moral failure.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: But when you have a whole society that rejects hospitality in favor of attack and sexual assault, you know that that society has probably fallen into decay.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Think rape games in Britain.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone sought wealth and riches at the expense of everyone else.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Wealth, in and of itself, is not evil.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's the desire for riches that caused you to destroy your integrity and honor stepping on or over others to get gain.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: That is, that is what the Lord describes.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: The Lord allows people to become wealthy so that they're able to provide employment, support the poor and needy, and use their wealth as a benefit for mankind.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, in Sodom and Gomorrah, they abused the vulnerable, oppressed the enslaved, enslaved others, abused the needy.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: They exuded pride, arrogance, and selfishness.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: Worse, they became indifferent to suffering.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Think of the societies today that treat other humans, women, and children as cattle, slaves, or worse.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Then, sexual violence was the norm, not just sexual immorality, that was bad enough.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Jude 1.7 says they gave themselves over to sexual immorality and strange flesh.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: They weren't just immoral, they were perverted and sought out perversion in unrestrained behaviors.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Why was the punishment so severe?
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Sodom represented a society where violence became normal.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Vulnerable are exploited.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Wealth bred not virtue, but pride and arrogance.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Sexual deviancy and exploitation were tolerated and encouraged, and justice disappeared.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: And there was not one righteous person to be found to restrain evil.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Will you not destroy the city?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I will I will not.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, can't find 50.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: How about 40?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Fine.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Thirty?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Fine?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Twenty?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Fine.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Ten?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: Fine.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Could not find ten.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Sodom is represented as a city that lost its moral foundation entirely and celebrated violence, abuse, exploitation, rejected moral boundaries, was indifferent to suffering, and was completely corrupt at all levels of society.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what similarities do we see today to Sodom and Gomorrah's debauchery?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: In today's society, we see the parallels to pride and indifference that come with riches.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Wealth inequality in and of itself is not bad.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: It has existed since the dawn of time.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: But when societies condemn the downtrodden or oppress the weak and deflect generosity and responsibility, and I'm not talking about government programs that rob from the rich to give to the poor, when this happens, when the weak are oppressed, the downtrodden are condemned, and generosity is neglected, pride and indifference grow.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I'm not talking about government programs that rob from the rich to give to the poor.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Prior to government handouts, churches, rich donors, society all contributed to taking care of the poor and afflicted.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Government handouts that take from the rich and give to the poor have actually caused systemic poverty and destroyed families.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: As I said, riches are not the problem.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Individuals becoming hard-hearted is the problem.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Pride is the next issue to deal with.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: When pride in oneself or one's group outweighs spiritual and moral traditions, calling them outdated or dismissing them entirely, then the culture is treading on ground already walked by Sodom and Gamor.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: If you believe your society or group is beyond corruption, rejects moral accountability or individual accountability, and dismisses spiritual principles, and pride is setting you up for a fall.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Today we see sexual exploitation and immoral boundaries.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: We see human trafficking, child trafficking, the whole Jeffree Epstein thing, which I'm not going to get into.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Pornography, the huge industry of pornography, exploitation of abuse, and the normalization of degrading or deviant sexual behaviors to the extent that they're being pushed on our children.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: That is a massive red flag on our society today.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: That is very similar or worse in some ways than what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Hostility to outsiders or the vulnerable leads to exploitation.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Again, this is another symptom of abuse of power at all levels, not governmental.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Although in some cases in our society that is the case.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: But in the local level, where abuse is allowed to thrive and criminal predators are allowed to walk free and prey on others?
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: When society becomes numb to violence, when humiliation and violence are not just tolerated but celebrated, empathy dies.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: What happens in many cities when there's a knife attack or a woman or a man is set on fire in the subway and the perpetrator walks free while people film with their phones and sometimes even laugh while it is happening?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: That is a systemic lack of empathy.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: So what can be done?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: What can you and I do to prevent our society from becoming replicas of Sodom and the Mora?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: First, build your spiritual strength.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Strengthen your moral compass.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: How do you do this?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: You have to train your mind and your heart.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: They're muscles.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Just like going to the gym to strengthen the body, your spirit must and may be strengthened by exercising spiritual gifts.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: For example, prayer, scripture reading, listening to uplifting music, journaling, going to church, singing hymns, listening to the words of the prophets, applying them in our daily lives.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Look, I'm a sinner just like you, the Allah.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: What we are asked to do is simple but not easy.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's like flying in a storm.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: When you get stuck in the storm, you make the changes necessary to get out quickly if possible.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: We adjust altitude, we adjust airspeed, we adjust direction, if need be, to get out of terrible weather.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Society needs to do the same thing.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: You individually need to do the same thing.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: We change society for the better, one person at a time, and that starts with each of us.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Teach your children honor, integrity, truth, empathy, joy, love, and charity.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: You do this by setting the example for them.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying it's easy.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: I have to repent every day.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: We all do in order to have the spirit with us.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Having the spirit with you is the only way to see truth and get through the negativity.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: And solemn demoralness of our society today.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Be the change you hope to see in the world.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Be hospitable, but don't tolerate bad behavior.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Be charitable, but don't be a victim.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: Be honorable, don't tolerate corruption.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Tolerance or tolerating sin and injustice is what leads to the backwards and devilish society that is growing more evil by the day.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Because the silent majority is too tolerant and tolerates a very vocal minority.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: The Nephites did that and the and the Gadiant and robbers became their destruction.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: The Sodomites, and I'm not talking about Sodom.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about Sodom and Gomorrah.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: Those from Sodom and Gomorrah did that and became destroyed by fire.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: The Amanihaites did that and pride led them to kill the innocent and be destroyed by an attacking enemy.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Destroyed in a few hours.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Don't make the mistake of turning charity and love for others into tolerance of sin and turning a blind eye to wickedness.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: I just saw a father on Instagram whose 12-year-old son raped the 12-year-old girl.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: The father is mad that they want to jail his son.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: When you stop teaching consequences for actions, you get many of the headlines that we see today.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Actions have and should have consequences.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, we become a two-tiered society, and that is when the collapse begins.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Again, be the change that you want to see in the world and don't look the other way.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: When sin and corruption is rampant, be the change for your family, for society.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: This is Todd Tox, and I hope you can make the changes necessary in your life to design the spiritual life that you desire to be the change necessary to not succumb and become like Sodom and Gomorrah.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: If you like what you hear, leave a review, give me five stars, I'd appreciate it.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: And um have a blessed day.