2014 List of Banished Words

Originally Published August 26, 2014 at Modern Mormon Men

Lake Superior State University has been publishing an annual list of banished words since 1977. Their website catalogues all the entries over the years, but be forewarned: reading too many of these lists will put your hate-coefficient into the red zone very quickly. There is a lot of painful memories buried in these archives. Though its difficult to admit it, I'm as guilty as the rest of you in creating this sad legacy.

The 2014 entries are indeed worthy of banishment from our vocabularies forever. Each of us would do well to read this list annually and use it as one of your home teaching lessons. Trust me … people will thank you.

2014 List of Banished Words (in descending order)

3. Hashtag

I thought it was just me, but apparently I'm not the only one annoyed by the hashtag craze. Actually it's call an octothrope, but either way it's best if you part ways. If you insist on continuing to use it on Instagram or Twitter then let's just try to use a little restraint. No one will complain if you never say it or use it again.

2. Twerk/Twerking

I hope you're happy, Miley Cyrus. I can never unsee that. You've ruined it for everyone.

1. Selfie

It seems that most of the world is under the mistaken impression that other people care about seeing a picture you take of yourself (or rather retake eight times before publishing) every day. It's a lie.  I think we should employ Elder Uchtdorf's advice on this one: Stop It!

Image credit: Paško Tomić (used with permission).

Eritis Sicut Deus: You Will Be Like God

Faust in his arrogance, as Mephistopheles patiently waits.
An etching from page 4 by Harry Clarke in
Faust - by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (translated by Bayard Taylor)

I'm stuck on and struck by many nuanced messages that fell out of the tragedy of Faust, which I just finished reading (here for quick a summary of the story). For example, in what seems to be an unimportant filler scene from Act IV, Faust leaves Mephistopheles (the devil) alone in his study. A young student comes to Faust seeking direction in what to study. Mephistopheles, pretending to be Faust, immediately seizes the opportunity to ensnare the young man. The devil deceives the student with his feigned wisdom and great knowledge. He directs him away from the study of theology and directs him to study words. Convincing the student that he was sharing a great secret of wisdom, Mephistopheles writes the following in the young man's notebook: 

“Eritis sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malum"

(You will be like God, knowing good and evil). 

The trap of Mephistopheles was hauntingly familiar, and it certainly was one that had worked before.* As the young man leaves awestruck, Mephistopholes says under his breath: 

Follow the ancient text, and the snake thou wast ordered to trample!  

With all thy likeness to God, thou'lt yet be a sorry example!

The student naively believed that words from his renowned teacher could save him. In reality Satan exulted in knowing that by using a catchy phrase, he had persuaded the student to follow the same serpent that was climbing the trees in the Garden of Eden. This old, but simple formula worked: this young student was now less like God that ever before. 

Fundamentally, Faust made the very same mistake. Supremely arrogant, he trusted solely in his own intellect, his knowledge and his power with words.  He no longer feared the devil and considered God unnecessary. He just needed one favor, and that's where Mephistopheles factored in. It was the perfect storm. 

When I first met Faust in Act I, I was struck by his Abrahamic ambitions for knowledge.** Tragically, in his hour of desperation, he summoned a devil to help him. Contrast this with Abraham who called on the Lord in his hour of desperation. Where Faust was enslaved, Abraham and was delivered and enlightened.*** 

Seeking knowledge is an essential part of becoming more like our Savior. But in this quest we must ever remember that knowledge of good and evil is not enough to make us like God.**** And it is certainly not our intellect or our clever aphorisms that will save us in our moment of terror.

_________

* Genesis Chapter 3
** Abraham 1:2 describes Abraham's desires for happiness, peace, rest and great knowledge in a way that resembles the inner yearnings expressed by Faust in his study.
*** Abraham 1:15
**** Even knowledge of the divinity of Jesus Christ is not enough to make us like God: Mark 5:1-14; Acts 19:13-16