This morning, I listened to the talk by Elder Stanley G. Ellis of the Seventy. He's the one who got choked up a few times while giving his talk, and when I really think about the message he shared, I can hardly blame him. What stuck with me the first time I heard this talk and what sticks with me now, is something he said toward the beginning of his talk.
Nothing is more basic to all of us, and our doctrine, than the truths of the first article of faith: “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”
Further, He is our Heavenly Father, who knows us, loves us, and wants us to return to Him. Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, who through the Atonement made it certain we will overcome death and live again and possible for us to be exalted and have eternal life. The Holy Ghost is our comforter, revelator, teacher, testifier, and guide.
(Italics in the Original)
Think of it, brothers and sisters—we are not spiritual orphans! We are not alone.
It's sometimes hard to think of them as my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and my Comforter. They're all so big and important. I don't think there are any three beings in the universe that are anywhere near as important as those three are. Why would they notice me? The seminary answer is that they love me, but here's another question: How can the actions of one human being attract the attention of the God of the whole universe? With so many other things going on in the world, how does He keep tabs on each individual person? I have a theory regarding a network of angels acting as Home Teachers, Bishops, Stake Presidents, Area Seventies, etcetera, in a long line that eventually ends with the Godhead at the head, but I think most people would tell me that that isn't true, that God watches over each of us personally, but I find that really hard to believe.
How could I be important enough for God to watch over me directly? Why would Christ pay for my sins and mistakes, knowing how often I'd keep making them? With so many other people in the world who need and deserve His comfort so much more than I do, why would the Holy Ghost still reach out to ease my self-inflicted pain?
It's a helpful, if abstract, thought that those three have infinite resources. They're omniscient, so They know everything, even the thoughts and feelings of the least-important human on earth. They're all-powerful, so I would guess They have the ability to warp time or do multiple things at once, which would allow Them to spend time on each individual person. And if They're filled with such tremendous love for everyone that all that work would be worth it to Them, I can, theoretically, imagine Them accomplishing what I think it would take a host of angels to do, but to put it lightly, a theory like that is a bit of a stretch.
It's much simpler to imagine that the universe smashed it together an infinite number of times until, randomly, we popped up and started wondering how we got here. And, feeling alone, we imagine some all-knowing, all-powerful, wise, loving "Heavenly Father" watching over us, just so at least one person knows what's going on, and hopefully He'll explain things to us when we meet Him. And people believe it because they want to believe it, because they'd rather have an imaginary friend than to feel so hopelessly alone.
But a thought just occurred to me that we can combine the two theories. If we have the universe smashing itself together an infinite number of times, theoretically anything is possible. What if, after the some-teen-hundred-millionth big bang, the universe randomly created an all-powerful god, who said to himself, "Hold on a second. We're not getting anywhere with all this randomly-smashing-everything-together. Let's build something, constructively." So He builds a nice world and puts people on it. He watches over them lovingly, like a father, and He helps them from time to time, letting them know they're not alone, but for the most part, He lets them make their own decisions, have their own ideas, learn from their own mistakes (or not learn - their choice).
So, even according to the big bang theory, it's possible that I live in a universe that was essentially created and governed by an all-knowing, all-powerful, wise, loving Father in Heaven, with both the ability and desire to watch over each of His creations personally.
And here's the kicker: Once that kind of being is created, the big bang cycle of destruction and random regeneration will cease. No all-powerful God would let random chance destroy them and everything they've created just so fate could randomly create something else out of the raw materials. Picture this: Let's say you spent a lifetime planting, watering, weeding, and nourishing a huge and beautiful garden. Can you imagine yourself ever saying, "Well, that was fun. Let's bring in a team of backhoes, tear up this whole garden, mulch everything together, and see what grows next"? Oh, and let's throw ourselves into the woodchipper, too, to see what the universe makes out of the little pieces of us (except then we wouldn't be around anymore to see it). Seriously, that would never happen.
So the bottom line is we probably do live in a universe where there's a God who created us, and who cares about each and every one of us individually, no matter how far-fetched that sounds. So, odds are, we're not as alone as we feel. And I'm not as hopeless or worthless as I sometimes feel. And someday, we'll meet that God who created us, face-to-face, and we'll know with absolute certainty that He's as real as we are. I find that somewhat comforting. But now I have to go to class.
No comments:
Post a Comment