At church today, I noticed a small poster in one of the youth classrooms. The image on the poster, originally featured in the September 2016 New Era magazine, contrasts two remotes: one representing God's "system," and the other representing Satan's. The first thing I noticed about the two remotes is that the one representing Satan's plan had more buttons on it. It gives you more options. This, at first, seems appealing. But upon closer inspection, the options the evil remote gives you are all terrible. They let you choose what kind of addiction you want, what kinds of lies you want to tell, and how you want to cheat. None of these are things I actually want. And that got me thinking: What good is it to have a lot of options if most, if not all, of those options are bad?
I like having options, but having a lot of terrible options isn't helpful. If you have 100 options, and only one of them is acceptable, while the other 99 are things that you would never choose, then you practically only have one option. But really, how many options does a person actually need? If, given all the options in the universe, you would choose to do one thing, then isn't that one option the only one you really need?
The gospel can seem limiting, with its relatively few options for acceptable behavior, but giving us more freedom may not be a good thing. The fewer options we have, the more likely we are to choose the one that's best for us, as long as the best option is among the options we're given. God doesn't give us as many options as Satan does, but the options God gives us are all good ones. God's options are the ones we would choose if we had all the options in the universe and were wise enough to only pick the best. As it turns out, I don't need a lot of options; I just need a handful of good ones.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Search the Scriptures for Inspiration
Staying up late, waiting for inspiration to strike, doesn't work. But I felt impressed, earlier today, to stop staying up so late, and instead to start reading the scriptures before bed again. Maybe, if I do that, I'll start having more blogworthy thoughts, so I won't have to stay up late, trying to think of something to blog about.
I know that the scriptures are a great source of inspiration, and not just if you need something to blog about. The scriptures are full of faith-inspiring stories, testimonies, and examples. The scriptures teach profound doctrine and priceless truths. I know that I could definitely benefit from reading the scriptures more frequently, and so could you.
I know that the scriptures are a great source of inspiration, and not just if you need something to blog about. The scriptures are full of faith-inspiring stories, testimonies, and examples. The scriptures teach profound doctrine and priceless truths. I know that I could definitely benefit from reading the scriptures more frequently, and so could you.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Listen, Serve, Save
When Elder Uceda failed to give heed to the Lord's warnings and went down a dangerous path, his life was saved by another Elder, who heeded the promptings of the Spirit.
"As I came around a turn," Elder Uceda recalled, "I found a missionary standing still with his back against the rocks. . . . He told me he had received an impression to remain in that spot for a moment and that I should go on."
Elder Uceda did go on, still ignoring the warning in his heart, and he soon fell off the trail, having to grab onto some weak branches to avoid falling to his death. Elder Uceda prayed for God to save him, and, mercifully, God listened. But it's also important that the other Elder listened, so that when Elder Uceda fell, that Elder was able to reach down and pull Elder Uceda back up to safety.
While it's comforting to know that God hears and answers our prayers, even when we don't listen to His promptings, but when we do listen, we can help God by being an answer to someone else's prayers.
If a friend is ours is struggling, we can know what to say to encourage them, if we let the Holy Ghost guide our words. We can help others in their daily and/or personal struggles, if we listen to the Holy Spirit telling us how we can help. Elder Uceda's life was put in jeopardy because he didn't listen to the Spirit, but it was saved by someone else who did.
Like that unnamed Elder, we, too, can listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and thus be a great help in the lives of others. We may even have a hand in saving their mortal or spiritual lives. But that is only possible if we listen to and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost. If we don't listen, we could end up in great danger, but if we do listen, we can avoid that danger and help others avoid or escape it as well.
"As I came around a turn," Elder Uceda recalled, "I found a missionary standing still with his back against the rocks. . . . He told me he had received an impression to remain in that spot for a moment and that I should go on."
Elder Uceda did go on, still ignoring the warning in his heart, and he soon fell off the trail, having to grab onto some weak branches to avoid falling to his death. Elder Uceda prayed for God to save him, and, mercifully, God listened. But it's also important that the other Elder listened, so that when Elder Uceda fell, that Elder was able to reach down and pull Elder Uceda back up to safety.
While it's comforting to know that God hears and answers our prayers, even when we don't listen to His promptings, but when we do listen, we can help God by being an answer to someone else's prayers.
If a friend is ours is struggling, we can know what to say to encourage them, if we let the Holy Ghost guide our words. We can help others in their daily and/or personal struggles, if we listen to the Holy Spirit telling us how we can help. Elder Uceda's life was put in jeopardy because he didn't listen to the Spirit, but it was saved by someone else who did.
Like that unnamed Elder, we, too, can listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and thus be a great help in the lives of others. We may even have a hand in saving their mortal or spiritual lives. But that is only possible if we listen to and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost. If we don't listen, we could end up in great danger, but if we do listen, we can avoid that danger and help others avoid or escape it as well.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
God Listens, Even When We Don't
Back to blogging about Conference. It's been too long already, and I don't want to fall behind again.
One big takeaway from Elder Juan A. Uceda's talk, The Lord Jesus Christ Teaches Us to Pray, is that God listens to us, even when we don't listen to Him. There are times when God warns us, sometimes repeatedly, either to do or not to do something, but we disregard the warning, get ourselves into trouble, and ask God to bail us out. And sometimes He does. I think that it's very generous of God to help us get out of trouble that He warned us not to get into.
Of course, it's best to heed God's warnings in the first place. Even with God's help, it's easier to walk around a pit than to climb out of one. Avoiding trouble is better than having to get help to get out of it, if only because it's less embarrassing. If God tells you not to do something, and you do it anyway, it can certainly feel awkward to ask for help in cleaning up the mess.
But we should still ask. Whenever we're in trouble, even when it's all our fault, we should always feel free to ask God to help us. God loves us. He always wants to help us, even when our problems are of our own making and we had to ignore several warning signs to make them. Of course, some of the help God gives us may be to let us struggle enough to learn from our mistakes, but in the end, when we really need Him, God will always be there for us, no matter why we need His help at that moment.
We never need to go through life alone. God will always come when we ask for His help, even when the reason we need His help is because we didn't listen to Him. Elder Uceda went on to say, in more elegant words, that God is not petty. He will never refuse to listen, even when we do, and He will always listen, even when we don't. I am grateful for a God who loves me enough to always at least listen to me, even when I foolishly fail or refuse to listen to Him.
One big takeaway from Elder Juan A. Uceda's talk, The Lord Jesus Christ Teaches Us to Pray, is that God listens to us, even when we don't listen to Him. There are times when God warns us, sometimes repeatedly, either to do or not to do something, but we disregard the warning, get ourselves into trouble, and ask God to bail us out. And sometimes He does. I think that it's very generous of God to help us get out of trouble that He warned us not to get into.
Of course, it's best to heed God's warnings in the first place. Even with God's help, it's easier to walk around a pit than to climb out of one. Avoiding trouble is better than having to get help to get out of it, if only because it's less embarrassing. If God tells you not to do something, and you do it anyway, it can certainly feel awkward to ask for help in cleaning up the mess.
But we should still ask. Whenever we're in trouble, even when it's all our fault, we should always feel free to ask God to help us. God loves us. He always wants to help us, even when our problems are of our own making and we had to ignore several warning signs to make them. Of course, some of the help God gives us may be to let us struggle enough to learn from our mistakes, but in the end, when we really need Him, God will always be there for us, no matter why we need His help at that moment.
We never need to go through life alone. God will always come when we ask for His help, even when the reason we need His help is because we didn't listen to Him. Elder Uceda went on to say, in more elegant words, that God is not petty. He will never refuse to listen, even when we do, and He will always listen, even when we don't. I am grateful for a God who loves me enough to always at least listen to me, even when I foolishly fail or refuse to listen to Him.
My Calling Is and Is Not My Calling
In the church, we use the term "calling" slightly differently than the rest of the world does. When we refer to our callings, we're referring to our jobs within the church. For example, a quorum president's calling is to be the quorum president.
To the rest of the world, one's calling means something much more powerful and personal than their job or their position within their church's leadership structure. In that context, a person's calling is their niche in the world. It's what they were born to do. When a person finds their calling, they find out why they exist and what they are going to do with the rest of their lives.
These traits do not necessarily apply to church callings. Though, perhaps they should, to some extent. While church callings are not permanent, and they are certainly not the sole reason, or even the primary reason, for our existence, they certainly are what God wants us to do, at least for the time being.
We may not know why we have certain callings, and they may sometimes feel like they're not a perfect fit for us, but God knows what He's doing, and He knows what He wants us to do. While they may not feel like "callings," in the world's sense, but there are reasons we have them, and God's reasons are usually pretty good.
Being my Ward's Scoutmaster may not be "my calling," but it is my calling, and I should fill that role to the best of my ability. I don't think it's what I was born to do, and I don't think it's what I'm going to do for the rest of my life, but it's certainly what I'm supposed to be doing now. So, in that sense, it is my calling. It is what I am meant to do. And I'm sure that it's a much better fit for my abilities and needs than I currently think it is. It may not be my calling, as the world would define it, but it's the closest thing I've got to knowing what my calling is, so I should definitely take it seriously, put some effort into it, and see what I can learn from the experience.
To the rest of the world, one's calling means something much more powerful and personal than their job or their position within their church's leadership structure. In that context, a person's calling is their niche in the world. It's what they were born to do. When a person finds their calling, they find out why they exist and what they are going to do with the rest of their lives.
These traits do not necessarily apply to church callings. Though, perhaps they should, to some extent. While church callings are not permanent, and they are certainly not the sole reason, or even the primary reason, for our existence, they certainly are what God wants us to do, at least for the time being.
We may not know why we have certain callings, and they may sometimes feel like they're not a perfect fit for us, but God knows what He's doing, and He knows what He wants us to do. While they may not feel like "callings," in the world's sense, but there are reasons we have them, and God's reasons are usually pretty good.
Being my Ward's Scoutmaster may not be "my calling," but it is my calling, and I should fill that role to the best of my ability. I don't think it's what I was born to do, and I don't think it's what I'm going to do for the rest of my life, but it's certainly what I'm supposed to be doing now. So, in that sense, it is my calling. It is what I am meant to do. And I'm sure that it's a much better fit for my abilities and needs than I currently think it is. It may not be my calling, as the world would define it, but it's the closest thing I've got to knowing what my calling is, so I should definitely take it seriously, put some effort into it, and see what I can learn from the experience.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
"[We Can] Pray Anywhere"
On Facebook today, my mom shared a short video with a number of inspirational sayings about prayer. Of them, my favorite was "God is everywhere, so [we can] pray anywhere." This is comforting, interesting, and also questionable.
It is comforting to know that we can, indeed, pray anywhere, and it's it's interesting to think that the reason we can do so is because God is everywhere, but I don't think that's true. There are some places where God is not, and, in fact, cannot be. God does not go where He is not welcome, and there are many places that do not welcome God. These are places of darkness, where the presence of evil is so strong, God could not abide being there without dispelling the darkness first. If we went to such a place, God would have a hard time reaching us there, and we'd have a hard time reaching there.
However, it's still not impossible. Though we could not meet God face-to-face in such a location without the location itself being dramatically transformed by the experience, we could still communicate with God through His messenger, the Holy Ghost. Because God is light, He can only be in places where light can shine, and because He has a body, He can only be in one place at a time (unless He uses His omniscience to bend the laws of time and space). The Holy Ghost, on the other hand, can go and be anywhere and everywhere, and through Him, we can talk to God, no matter where we are.
Still, the Holy Ghost doesn't often stay long in places that make Him uncomfortable, like those places of darkness, so if we want to maintain constant communication with God, it'd be best to avoid such places. Actually, it's best to avoid such places anyway. But it's good to know that even when you are in such a place, and especially when you have no other choice but to be there, you can still reach God by praying to Him through the power of the Holy Ghost, and you can make a place for His Spirit to stay in your heart. We never need to be completely isolated from God's influence. No matter where we find ourselves, we can always reach out to God through prayer. It may not technically be true that God Himself is everywhere, but His Spirit can be felt anywhere, especially when we pray. And we can, in fact, pray anywhere.
It is comforting to know that we can, indeed, pray anywhere, and it's it's interesting to think that the reason we can do so is because God is everywhere, but I don't think that's true. There are some places where God is not, and, in fact, cannot be. God does not go where He is not welcome, and there are many places that do not welcome God. These are places of darkness, where the presence of evil is so strong, God could not abide being there without dispelling the darkness first. If we went to such a place, God would have a hard time reaching us there, and we'd have a hard time reaching there.
However, it's still not impossible. Though we could not meet God face-to-face in such a location without the location itself being dramatically transformed by the experience, we could still communicate with God through His messenger, the Holy Ghost. Because God is light, He can only be in places where light can shine, and because He has a body, He can only be in one place at a time (unless He uses His omniscience to bend the laws of time and space). The Holy Ghost, on the other hand, can go and be anywhere and everywhere, and through Him, we can talk to God, no matter where we are.
Still, the Holy Ghost doesn't often stay long in places that make Him uncomfortable, like those places of darkness, so if we want to maintain constant communication with God, it'd be best to avoid such places. Actually, it's best to avoid such places anyway. But it's good to know that even when you are in such a place, and especially when you have no other choice but to be there, you can still reach God by praying to Him through the power of the Holy Ghost, and you can make a place for His Spirit to stay in your heart. We never need to be completely isolated from God's influence. No matter where we find ourselves, we can always reach out to God through prayer. It may not technically be true that God Himself is everywhere, but His Spirit can be felt anywhere, especially when we pray. And we can, in fact, pray anywhere.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Commitments and Commitment
There is a difference between a commitment and commitment, and it can be important to be able to tell the two apart. A commitment (with a countable noun) is an obligation, often involving a promise. These commitments could be made in virtually any context, but the for purpose of this blog post, we'll focus on moral commitments. These are the commitments or obligations we take upon ourselves when we make covenants. Basically, they are promises to do something; in this case, to keep the commandments.
Commitment (with a non-countable noun) is more internal. It is a trait, not an obligation. It is personal, so we will call it "personal commitment." A person can feel varying levels of personal commitment toward each course of action. For example, I could feel strongly committed to keep one commandment and less strongly committed to keep another. However, this can get tricky because, having covenanted to keep all of God's commandments, I have an equally-strong moral commitment to both of them.
It is possible to have a moral commitment to do something that you don't feel much personal commitment to do. This is what happens whenever someone makes a promise, but then decides not to keep it. The person made a commitment, but they did not have commitment.
Since we are a people who make moral commitments, we should ensure that we are a people who have personal commitment as well. Making promises is good, but not if we don't intend to keep them. Before we make moral commitments, we should test our hearts to see if we feel personally committed to keeping them. If we don't, we could find ourselves in situations where we have commitments, but we don't have commitment. And keeping our moral commitments is much harder when we don't have enough personal commitment to keep us going. It is important to make commitments, especially in this church, but if we do make commitments, having commitment is even more important.
Commitment (with a non-countable noun) is more internal. It is a trait, not an obligation. It is personal, so we will call it "personal commitment." A person can feel varying levels of personal commitment toward each course of action. For example, I could feel strongly committed to keep one commandment and less strongly committed to keep another. However, this can get tricky because, having covenanted to keep all of God's commandments, I have an equally-strong moral commitment to both of them.
It is possible to have a moral commitment to do something that you don't feel much personal commitment to do. This is what happens whenever someone makes a promise, but then decides not to keep it. The person made a commitment, but they did not have commitment.
Since we are a people who make moral commitments, we should ensure that we are a people who have personal commitment as well. Making promises is good, but not if we don't intend to keep them. Before we make moral commitments, we should test our hearts to see if we feel personally committed to keeping them. If we don't, we could find ourselves in situations where we have commitments, but we don't have commitment. And keeping our moral commitments is much harder when we don't have enough personal commitment to keep us going. It is important to make commitments, especially in this church, but if we do make commitments, having commitment is even more important.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Not Much of a Problem
On second thought, my "problem" of not being able to say "no" to service requests isn't really that big of a problem, and it's certainly not the biggest problem I have. I have much bigger and more important problems than that. So, while I could worry about spending too much of my time helping others or allowing others to take advantage of me, I could instead work on the other problems I have, like procrastinating and staying up too late.
Habitually giving service isn't the worst thing in the world. I'm sure I receive blessings for it, and it improves the lives of others, so it's not all bad. It may be part of an underlying problem which I should definitely work on, but as problems go, this compulsion of mine isn't all that problematic. I can live with it for a few more years while I work on my other problems. Yes, it's something I'd like to work on, but I have other problems I should work on first, so while feeling constrained to give service can be irritating and awfully inconvenient sometimes, solving this particular "problem" is not my top priority.
Habitually giving service isn't the worst thing in the world. I'm sure I receive blessings for it, and it improves the lives of others, so it's not all bad. It may be part of an underlying problem which I should definitely work on, but as problems go, this compulsion of mine isn't all that problematic. I can live with it for a few more years while I work on my other problems. Yes, it's something I'd like to work on, but I have other problems I should work on first, so while feeling constrained to give service can be irritating and awfully inconvenient sometimes, solving this particular "problem" is not my top priority.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
I Have a Problem
I have a problem. Actually, I have several problems, but the problem that's bugging me right now is that I'm not good at saying "no." Saying "no" is a valuable, sometimes vital skill, and I am not good at it. So when people make requests of me, even when those requests require a good deal of sacrifice on my part, I rarely say "no."
I should change that. Service is good and all that, but too much of it can be unhealthy. One should not serve other's needs at the expense of serving their own. We each need to deal with our own problems before we can solve other people's.
That's not true, is it? Solving other people's problems can be part of how we solve ours. We can, and sometimes should, solve other people's problems, despite having unsolved problems of our own.
What if I rephrased it? We each need to become self-sufficient before we can try to meet others' needs as well. No, that doesn't work, either. None of us can be completely self-sufficient, and as long as we're sharing, or at least trading resources, none of us need to be.
"We can't help others while we, ourselves, need help"? Wrong.
"We can't give to others unless we have sufficient for ourselves"? I think I'm getting closer.
I think that what I'm trying to say is that I need to spend more time taking care of the things I need to take care of, like my homework and my callings, and less time taking care of the things other people want me to take care of. There's only so much "me" to go around, and some of me is already spoken for by my personal obligations. If I have any "me" leftover after I do what I need to do, I'll see what I can do for you, but even then, I'm not sure I always should.
I haven't been myself lately, and I think that part of the reason for that is that I'm burning myself out. I'm trying to do too much for too many people, and eventually, something is going to have to give. I can't keep this up forever. At some point, I'm going to have to say "no."
I tried to say "no" today. I was supposed to attend three meetings today (one training meeting and two firesides), but I also had homework to do, and I really needed to take a break, so I decided to only attend the training meeting. I said "no" to the meetings that I had felt obligated to attend. But just as I was getting into my math homework, I got a call asking me if I could help some people move furniture from one house to another. And I just couldn't say "no." I ended up spending the rest of the day moving furniture and boxes because I was too service-oriented and weak-willed to keep my already-too-short weekend to myself.
I have a problem. I have a very serious problem. I need to learn how to say "no" without going on to say "no problem." I need to learn to put my foot down. I need to learn how to be selfish, to take care of myself, to make sure I take care of my own needs before I spend my limited resources solving others'. I know that other people need help, and I know that I have opportunities to help them, but if I keep this up, I am going to need some serious help as well. I don't mean to be rude; I almost never mean to be rude, but I have my own problems to worry about. And my inability to refuse to help others is one of them.
I should change that. Service is good and all that, but too much of it can be unhealthy. One should not serve other's needs at the expense of serving their own. We each need to deal with our own problems before we can solve other people's.
That's not true, is it? Solving other people's problems can be part of how we solve ours. We can, and sometimes should, solve other people's problems, despite having unsolved problems of our own.
What if I rephrased it? We each need to become self-sufficient before we can try to meet others' needs as well. No, that doesn't work, either. None of us can be completely self-sufficient, and as long as we're sharing, or at least trading resources, none of us need to be.
"We can't help others while we, ourselves, need help"? Wrong.
"We can't give to others unless we have sufficient for ourselves"? I think I'm getting closer.
I think that what I'm trying to say is that I need to spend more time taking care of the things I need to take care of, like my homework and my callings, and less time taking care of the things other people want me to take care of. There's only so much "me" to go around, and some of me is already spoken for by my personal obligations. If I have any "me" leftover after I do what I need to do, I'll see what I can do for you, but even then, I'm not sure I always should.
I haven't been myself lately, and I think that part of the reason for that is that I'm burning myself out. I'm trying to do too much for too many people, and eventually, something is going to have to give. I can't keep this up forever. At some point, I'm going to have to say "no."
I tried to say "no" today. I was supposed to attend three meetings today (one training meeting and two firesides), but I also had homework to do, and I really needed to take a break, so I decided to only attend the training meeting. I said "no" to the meetings that I had felt obligated to attend. But just as I was getting into my math homework, I got a call asking me if I could help some people move furniture from one house to another. And I just couldn't say "no." I ended up spending the rest of the day moving furniture and boxes because I was too service-oriented and weak-willed to keep my already-too-short weekend to myself.
I have a problem. I have a very serious problem. I need to learn how to say "no" without going on to say "no problem." I need to learn to put my foot down. I need to learn how to be selfish, to take care of myself, to make sure I take care of my own needs before I spend my limited resources solving others'. I know that other people need help, and I know that I have opportunities to help them, but if I keep this up, I am going to need some serious help as well. I don't mean to be rude; I almost never mean to be rude, but I have my own problems to worry about. And my inability to refuse to help others is one of them.
Friday, October 21, 2016
As Close as a Prayer
I know that you don't really need me to post ANOTHER blog post today, and I may technically not need to, either, since I posted a "blog post" warning you that I was about to post a bunch of blog posts, but I don't think that one counts. Besides, since I'm already setting a record for the highest number of blog posts I've posted on a single day; why not set that record one post higher?
In her October 2016 talk, never forget that a loving God is as close as a prayer."
In our times of trial, we need to remember to turn to God for comfort. He is eager and able to comfort us and sustain us through any and all of our trials; all we have to do is ask. Sometimes, the help we receive from out Heavenly Father isn't as complete as we would like it to be. Sometimes, facing our trials is still a struggle, even with God's help. But God has promised that He "will not leave you comfortless," but that He "will come to you," if you call (See John 14:18). In life, we will have to face trials, but we will never have to face them alone.
I am grateful for God's ever-accessible love and comfort. I don't access that comfort as often as I should, but I'm glad to know and to be reminded that it's always there, always within reach, never farther than a few sincere words away. I know that God knows, from personal experience, how hard life is, and that He is always ready to comfort and to help those who experience it. He will be there for you. No matter what your trial is or what caused it, all you need to do is pray to God, and He will come and comfort you.
In her October 2016 talk, never forget that a loving God is as close as a prayer."
In our times of trial, we need to remember to turn to God for comfort. He is eager and able to comfort us and sustain us through any and all of our trials; all we have to do is ask. Sometimes, the help we receive from out Heavenly Father isn't as complete as we would like it to be. Sometimes, facing our trials is still a struggle, even with God's help. But God has promised that He "will not leave you comfortless," but that He "will come to you," if you call (See John 14:18). In life, we will have to face trials, but we will never have to face them alone.
I am grateful for God's ever-accessible love and comfort. I don't access that comfort as often as I should, but I'm glad to know and to be reminded that it's always there, always within reach, never farther than a few sincere words away. I know that God knows, from personal experience, how hard life is, and that He is always ready to comfort and to help those who experience it. He will be there for you. No matter what your trial is or what caused it, all you need to do is pray to God, and He will come and comfort you.
Children of God - Sons and Daughters of God
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Yesterday, in Institute, our teacher shared a quote which I only half-remember, and I cannot remember who said it, but it goes something like “Genius is becoming what you were all along.” Having shared this in a gospel setting, our teacher then asked, “What were we all along?” to which someone replied “Sons of God.” There were no women in the classroom at the time, and actually, I'm glad there weren't, because otherwise, the answer might have been “Children of God,” which carries a different connotation in my mind than “Sons and Daughters of God.”
We are always, and will always be, children of God. We didn't do anything to earn that relationship, and nothing we or anyone else can do can destroy it. Part of our eternal identity is that we are children of God. Because we are His children, God loves us with an infinite amount of paternal love.
However, being God's children doesn't mean that we love Him. After all, Satan and his angels are also children of God. God still loves them, but they certainly do not love Him. So, being children of God doesn't say much about us. Everyone we know, other than God Himself and possibly the Holy Ghost, is a child of God. And I don't think it's possible for us to “become” children of God because we already are children of God. However, the way I see it, becoming Sons and Daughters of God means something completely different.
I think that we become Sons and Daughters of God by returning the love that He shows us. We become His Sons and Daughters by listening to Him, obeying Him, and ultimately becoming like Him. We become His Sons and Daughters by being His children in likeness as well as in lineage.
We were children of God since before we were born, but becoming Sons and Daughters of God is the reason for which we were born. We were sent here for many reasons, including to gain bodies and experience and to make choices and grow in righteousness. All of these things lead to us becoming more like our Heavenly Father, which is what makes us His heavenly children. We have the “children” part down. What we need to become is “heavenly.”
When I see myself as a Son of God, I see myself as more than just His offspring, though that part is certainly included. I see myself as someone much like Him, only younger and much less mature. I see myself as someone who can become like Him, develop all the traits that He has, and ultimately qualify for all the blessings He enjoys. A child of God is someone who came from heaven; a Son or Daughter of God is someone who is on the path of going back. We are all children of God. The purpose of God's plan is to make us His Sons and Daughters as well.
Yesterday, in Institute, our teacher shared a quote which I only half-remember, and I cannot remember who said it, but it goes something like “Genius is becoming what you were all along.” Having shared this in a gospel setting, our teacher then asked, “What were we all along?” to which someone replied “Sons of God.” There were no women in the classroom at the time, and actually, I'm glad there weren't, because otherwise, the answer might have been “Children of God,” which carries a different connotation in my mind than “Sons and Daughters of God.”
We are always, and will always be, children of God. We didn't do anything to earn that relationship, and nothing we or anyone else can do can destroy it. Part of our eternal identity is that we are children of God. Because we are His children, God loves us with an infinite amount of paternal love.
However, being God's children doesn't mean that we love Him. After all, Satan and his angels are also children of God. God still loves them, but they certainly do not love Him. So, being children of God doesn't say much about us. Everyone we know, other than God Himself and possibly the Holy Ghost, is a child of God. And I don't think it's possible for us to “become” children of God because we already are children of God. However, the way I see it, becoming Sons and Daughters of God means something completely different.
I think that we become Sons and Daughters of God by returning the love that He shows us. We become His Sons and Daughters by listening to Him, obeying Him, and ultimately becoming like Him. We become His Sons and Daughters by being His children in likeness as well as in lineage.
We were children of God since before we were born, but becoming Sons and Daughters of God is the reason for which we were born. We were sent here for many reasons, including to gain bodies and experience and to make choices and grow in righteousness. All of these things lead to us becoming more like our Heavenly Father, which is what makes us His heavenly children. We have the “children” part down. What we need to become is “heavenly.”
When I see myself as a Son of God, I see myself as more than just His offspring, though that part is certainly included. I see myself as someone much like Him, only younger and much less mature. I see myself as someone who can become like Him, develop all the traits that He has, and ultimately qualify for all the blessings He enjoys. A child of God is someone who came from heaven; a Son or Daughter of God is someone who is on the path of going back. We are all children of God. The purpose of God's plan is to make us His Sons and Daughters as well.
Nimble Innovator - Opportunities for Improvement
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Nimble Innovator is a rather unassuming Magic: the Gathering card. A 2/2 for four, it is an especially weak creature for its mana cost. Usually, when a creature has a high cost and low power and toughness, you can expect it to have a good ability. Nimble Innovator's ability is “When Nimble Innovator enters the battlefield, draw card.” This basically means that your reward for playing Nimble Innovator is that it gives you the chance of drawing something better. And considering Nimble Innovator's value as a card on it's own, your odds of doing so are fairly good.
Yet the Innovator's flavor text suggests that it is undaunted by its relative weakness, and that it's confident that the card you'll draw from its ability will be a good one. In fact, its flavor text demonstrates a wise and plucky attitude that we could all benefit from developing:
“A failure is simply another opportunity for improvement. Just wait until you see what I come up with next.”
We all have many experiences that the Nimble Innovator would call “opportunities for improvement,” and I'm sure that's exactly what God designed them to be. God sent us here so we could learn and grow, and we gain more growth and experience from failure than from success. God doesn't want our failings to discourage us. Rather, He wants us to use them as opportunities to improve.
What most impresses me about the Innovator's attitude, however, is not his attitude toward failure, but rather his willingness to try again. When he says “Just wait until you see what I come up with next,” he says not only that he will try again, but also that he thinks he will see at least some success on his next attempt. Many people, after having failed, would come to expect more failure, and may even grow to believe that they are a failure. But the Nimble Innovator doesn't have that problem. Despite being a below-average card, he is not held back by a fear of not being able to measure up. Even after failure, the Nimble Innovator is willing, even eager, to make subsequent attempts. Were they not a nameless fictional character printed on a common collectible card, I would expect that the Nimble Innovator would go far in life.
I think that if we were to develop the Innovator's attitude by looking at failure as an opportunity to improve and being willing, if not eager, to learn and to try again, we will ultimately accomplish a lot more than the Innovator would in a Magic deck. We, too, may be fairly weak and unimpressive now, but if we learn from our failings and us them as opportunities to grow, we will eventually grow more capable than we could ever dream of being. We have infinite potential, and we achieve that potential by learning from our mistakes. We can learn from our failures. We can use them. We can take advantage of our “opportunities for improvement” until we reach the point where improvement is no longer needed. I believe that if we adopt the Nimble Innovator's attitude toward failure, failure will no longer be such a negative experience for us, and over time, we will grow to experience it less frequently until we no longer experience it at all.
Nimble Innovator is a rather unassuming Magic: the Gathering card. A 2/2 for four, it is an especially weak creature for its mana cost. Usually, when a creature has a high cost and low power and toughness, you can expect it to have a good ability. Nimble Innovator's ability is “When Nimble Innovator enters the battlefield, draw card.” This basically means that your reward for playing Nimble Innovator is that it gives you the chance of drawing something better. And considering Nimble Innovator's value as a card on it's own, your odds of doing so are fairly good.
Yet the Innovator's flavor text suggests that it is undaunted by its relative weakness, and that it's confident that the card you'll draw from its ability will be a good one. In fact, its flavor text demonstrates a wise and plucky attitude that we could all benefit from developing:
“A failure is simply another opportunity for improvement. Just wait until you see what I come up with next.”
We all have many experiences that the Nimble Innovator would call “opportunities for improvement,” and I'm sure that's exactly what God designed them to be. God sent us here so we could learn and grow, and we gain more growth and experience from failure than from success. God doesn't want our failings to discourage us. Rather, He wants us to use them as opportunities to improve.
What most impresses me about the Innovator's attitude, however, is not his attitude toward failure, but rather his willingness to try again. When he says “Just wait until you see what I come up with next,” he says not only that he will try again, but also that he thinks he will see at least some success on his next attempt. Many people, after having failed, would come to expect more failure, and may even grow to believe that they are a failure. But the Nimble Innovator doesn't have that problem. Despite being a below-average card, he is not held back by a fear of not being able to measure up. Even after failure, the Nimble Innovator is willing, even eager, to make subsequent attempts. Were they not a nameless fictional character printed on a common collectible card, I would expect that the Nimble Innovator would go far in life.
I think that if we were to develop the Innovator's attitude by looking at failure as an opportunity to improve and being willing, if not eager, to learn and to try again, we will ultimately accomplish a lot more than the Innovator would in a Magic deck. We, too, may be fairly weak and unimpressive now, but if we learn from our failings and us them as opportunities to grow, we will eventually grow more capable than we could ever dream of being. We have infinite potential, and we achieve that potential by learning from our mistakes. We can learn from our failures. We can use them. We can take advantage of our “opportunities for improvement” until we reach the point where improvement is no longer needed. I believe that if we adopt the Nimble Innovator's attitude toward failure, failure will no longer be such a negative experience for us, and over time, we will grow to experience it less frequently until we no longer experience it at all.
What I Gained From Losing Access to the Internet
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
I took my laptop to school today, thinking that I'd be able to connect to the WiFi at the Institute, but apparently, they're having Internet troubles, too. A part of me thinks that was my fault. A part of me thinks that God has some special reason for not letting me connect to the Internet. I'm not sure what that reason is, but I have a few ideas of what it might be.
It may be that there's some lesson God wants me to learn from not being able to connect to the Internet. I sometimes see spiritual lessons in everyday experiences. Maybe there's a lesson God wants me to learn from this. I'm not entirely sure what that lesson might be, except that we can always connect to God, but maybe there's another lesson that God would like me to learn.
Or maybe God just wants me to take a break from regular Internet usage. I hear that the Internet can be addicting, and that, in order to overcome an addiction, a person has to abstain from the addictive substance or practice for an extended period of time. If God wants me to cut back on my Internet habit, maybe He's temporarily preventing me from accessing the Internet to help me get started.
It could be that there's something in particular about the Internet right now from which God is trying to protect me. Maybe there's a video on YouTube that I would watch, but that I shouldn't. Maybe there's a post on Facebook right now that would shake my faith if I saw it. It's possible that something online would have a strongly negative influence if I were to access it right now, and God is trying to protect me from it.
Of these three ideas, I think that the second one is the most likely. The Internet is a powerful tool for connecting people from around the world, but it is also good at building barriers between people who are sitting right next to each other. Before our Internet went out, I would spend most of my time in the evenings watching YouTube videos with headphones on. Since our Internet went out, our family started reading together between dinner and family prayer. It's been really nice. I often turn to the Internet for stress-relief and amusement. Maybe God wants me to spend more time with my family instead.
I don't think I'm going to fully disconnect from the Internet any time soon. For one thing, I'm going to have to post these blog posts eventually, and for another thing, the Internet is far too useful a tool to swear off completely. I will log on again. But hopefully, from now on, or at least for a little while after our Internet comes back on, I won't go online as frequently or stay online as long as I did and would like to. My family is more important than the Internet, so I should definitely spend more time with them than I spend online. Maybe that's the lesson God wanted me to learn from not being able to connect to the Internet.
I took my laptop to school today, thinking that I'd be able to connect to the WiFi at the Institute, but apparently, they're having Internet troubles, too. A part of me thinks that was my fault. A part of me thinks that God has some special reason for not letting me connect to the Internet. I'm not sure what that reason is, but I have a few ideas of what it might be.
It may be that there's some lesson God wants me to learn from not being able to connect to the Internet. I sometimes see spiritual lessons in everyday experiences. Maybe there's a lesson God wants me to learn from this. I'm not entirely sure what that lesson might be, except that we can always connect to God, but maybe there's another lesson that God would like me to learn.
Or maybe God just wants me to take a break from regular Internet usage. I hear that the Internet can be addicting, and that, in order to overcome an addiction, a person has to abstain from the addictive substance or practice for an extended period of time. If God wants me to cut back on my Internet habit, maybe He's temporarily preventing me from accessing the Internet to help me get started.
It could be that there's something in particular about the Internet right now from which God is trying to protect me. Maybe there's a video on YouTube that I would watch, but that I shouldn't. Maybe there's a post on Facebook right now that would shake my faith if I saw it. It's possible that something online would have a strongly negative influence if I were to access it right now, and God is trying to protect me from it.
Of these three ideas, I think that the second one is the most likely. The Internet is a powerful tool for connecting people from around the world, but it is also good at building barriers between people who are sitting right next to each other. Before our Internet went out, I would spend most of my time in the evenings watching YouTube videos with headphones on. Since our Internet went out, our family started reading together between dinner and family prayer. It's been really nice. I often turn to the Internet for stress-relief and amusement. Maybe God wants me to spend more time with my family instead.
I don't think I'm going to fully disconnect from the Internet any time soon. For one thing, I'm going to have to post these blog posts eventually, and for another thing, the Internet is far too useful a tool to swear off completely. I will log on again. But hopefully, from now on, or at least for a little while after our Internet comes back on, I won't go online as frequently or stay online as long as I did and would like to. My family is more important than the Internet, so I should definitely spend more time with them than I spend online. Maybe that's the lesson God wanted me to learn from not being able to connect to the Internet.
Decisions and Influence
Monday, October 17, 2016
I have once again been thinking about the duelling concepts of agency and obedience. It strikes me as odd that God gave us our agency, only to turn around and ask us to yield to His will anyway. However, I've realized that God's plan for each of us is not quite as strict or linear as I had thought. We still have a good deal of leeway, even when we are committed to following God's path.
And there's something else. Besides the many choices that God is okay with us making, there are many other choices that are not acceptable. These are the decisions that Satan tempts us to make. So, on the one hand, we could yield to God's influence and follow one of the many acceptable paths, or we could yield to Satan's influence and follow any other path. With every choice we make, we yield to either one or the other.
I had thought, and hoped, that I could make my own decisions – choose my own path, rather than being told what to do by some otherworldly influence. I felt that I didn't want to be restricted to the one path God wanted me to follow, but I had decided that I didn't want to follow the path that Satan would lead me down, either. However, even with an infinite set of options, those may be my only two choices. There are a host of good things that God would be happy to see me do, and Satan has a myriad of temptations. Between the two of them, every choice I could possibly make is advocated or opposed by one or the other of them.
If you remember a blog post of mine from ages ago, I blogged about agency through an analogy about red and green branches. Each branch on a tree is a choice that we could make. The green branches represent good choices, while the red branches represent bad ones. I had thought that there were at least some brown, or neutral, branches, but I don't think that's the case. I now think that all of the branches are either red or green, that all choices are either good or bad. At one point, I also thought (rather pessimistically) that there was only one green branch and that all the other branches were red, but now I don't think that's the case, either. I think that there are a lot of green branches, but still a lot of red branches, perhaps an even and infinite number of each.
I don't like the idea of having my choices made for me. I don't like the idea of there being only one good path that I'm supposed to follow. Besides, it just doesn't make sense, considering how important God thought it was for us to have our agency. I'm comforted by the belief that there are many choices I could make that would be good, and that I am free to make whichever choice I want. The idea that all branches are either red or green is also strangely liberating. It means that, for every choice I could make, there's someone who wants me to make that choice and someone else who doesn't. They each try to influence my decision, but I ultimately get to decide whom I follow. I always end up following someone else's influence, and that kind of stinks, but I get to decide whose influence I follow and how strongly I let their influence weigh into my decision.
Though rather deeply entrenched in the battle of good and evil, I still have surprisingly many options, and though each side pulls on me more strongly than I would like, I have the final say. I don't have to become a slave to either God or Satan. I can serve God and still be my own man. My freedom to choose is very important to me, just as it was to Him. I want to do the right thing, but I want that to be my choice, not His. In a way, I'm grateful that I don't always feel inspiration. If I did, I'd probably feel like God is always trying to tell me what to do. Instead, He gives me the freedom to make my own choices. I just hope He also blesses me with the wisdom to make the right ones.
I have once again been thinking about the duelling concepts of agency and obedience. It strikes me as odd that God gave us our agency, only to turn around and ask us to yield to His will anyway. However, I've realized that God's plan for each of us is not quite as strict or linear as I had thought. We still have a good deal of leeway, even when we are committed to following God's path.
And there's something else. Besides the many choices that God is okay with us making, there are many other choices that are not acceptable. These are the decisions that Satan tempts us to make. So, on the one hand, we could yield to God's influence and follow one of the many acceptable paths, or we could yield to Satan's influence and follow any other path. With every choice we make, we yield to either one or the other.
I had thought, and hoped, that I could make my own decisions – choose my own path, rather than being told what to do by some otherworldly influence. I felt that I didn't want to be restricted to the one path God wanted me to follow, but I had decided that I didn't want to follow the path that Satan would lead me down, either. However, even with an infinite set of options, those may be my only two choices. There are a host of good things that God would be happy to see me do, and Satan has a myriad of temptations. Between the two of them, every choice I could possibly make is advocated or opposed by one or the other of them.
If you remember a blog post of mine from ages ago, I blogged about agency through an analogy about red and green branches. Each branch on a tree is a choice that we could make. The green branches represent good choices, while the red branches represent bad ones. I had thought that there were at least some brown, or neutral, branches, but I don't think that's the case. I now think that all of the branches are either red or green, that all choices are either good or bad. At one point, I also thought (rather pessimistically) that there was only one green branch and that all the other branches were red, but now I don't think that's the case, either. I think that there are a lot of green branches, but still a lot of red branches, perhaps an even and infinite number of each.
I don't like the idea of having my choices made for me. I don't like the idea of there being only one good path that I'm supposed to follow. Besides, it just doesn't make sense, considering how important God thought it was for us to have our agency. I'm comforted by the belief that there are many choices I could make that would be good, and that I am free to make whichever choice I want. The idea that all branches are either red or green is also strangely liberating. It means that, for every choice I could make, there's someone who wants me to make that choice and someone else who doesn't. They each try to influence my decision, but I ultimately get to decide whom I follow. I always end up following someone else's influence, and that kind of stinks, but I get to decide whose influence I follow and how strongly I let their influence weigh into my decision.
Though rather deeply entrenched in the battle of good and evil, I still have surprisingly many options, and though each side pulls on me more strongly than I would like, I have the final say. I don't have to become a slave to either God or Satan. I can serve God and still be my own man. My freedom to choose is very important to me, just as it was to Him. I want to do the right thing, but I want that to be my choice, not His. In a way, I'm grateful that I don't always feel inspiration. If I did, I'd probably feel like God is always trying to tell me what to do. Instead, He gives me the freedom to make my own choices. I just hope He also blesses me with the wisdom to make the right ones.
Maintaining the Connection
Sunday, October 16, 2016
The storm on Saturday took out our local connection to the Internet, which made me unable to blog that day. But even with our Internet out, I still found a way to connect to it. In the past, I was able to blog from school or from a McDonald's. I browsed the Internet on Saturday, before the Internet went out. I looked something up on my phone on Sunday. And during the week, I was able to use my school's computers to access the Internet to do homework. Even without easy, convenient access to the Internet, we can figure it out.
We should be just as resourceful when it comes to connecting with God. Thanks in part to the Internet, we have access to multiple books of scripture at our fingertips. If we include General Conference talks, the amount of scripture we have access to is nearly immeasurable, and growing by the year. In addition, we can always, always, pray. We can always talk to God, and He can always talk to us (though He usually respects our wishes if we prefer to keep our distance). Our connection to God can be much stronger, and much more dependable, than our connection to the Internet.
I'm grateful for my brief stint without easy access to the Internet, and I'm thankful that I've still usually been able to connect to the Internet anyway, but I'm more thankful that I can always connect with God. I need Him a lot more than I need the Internet, so I should try even harder to stay connected to Him than I try to stay connected to the Internet. I constantly carry on my person a device that will allow me to connect to the Internet from anywhere. I should be just as devoted to maintaining my connection with God.
Look to the Son
Saturday, October 16, 2016
Today, I joined a few of the youth of our ward in going through a corn maze. Like most mazes, this one was full of complex turns, and it was easy to forget which direction I was facing. But I had a trick up my sleeve. Before entering the maze, I made a note of where the sun was in the sky (thankfully, the sky was cloudy enough that you could look at the sun, but not so cloudy that you couldn't see it). As long as I glanced at the sun occasionally, I could keep track of which way I was facing, which helped me keep track of where I was while navigating the maze. And, since I entered the maze from the sun's side, I could just head toward the sun when I wanted to exit the maze. Looking to the sun helped me navigate the maze effectively, and it helped me get out of the maze safe and sound.
Similarly, we can safely navigate the maze of life by looking to the Son of God. He lived a perfect life, and thus showed us the way that we should live. By following His example, we can avoid many of the pitfalls and dead ends of life, and we can ultimately get home safe and sound.
I was grateful to have learned the trick of looking to the sun for help in navigating a maze, and I'm thankful for God's help in learning the wisdom of looking to His Son for help in getting through life. I still have to learn to look to Him more frequently and trust in Him more completely, but I know that He knows the way that I should go, and I know that I won't get too terribly lost as long as I follow Him. So, whenever life feels like a maze to you, remember that Jesus Christ has gone through this maze before, and you can look to Him to lead you through it.
Today, I joined a few of the youth of our ward in going through a corn maze. Like most mazes, this one was full of complex turns, and it was easy to forget which direction I was facing. But I had a trick up my sleeve. Before entering the maze, I made a note of where the sun was in the sky (thankfully, the sky was cloudy enough that you could look at the sun, but not so cloudy that you couldn't see it). As long as I glanced at the sun occasionally, I could keep track of which way I was facing, which helped me keep track of where I was while navigating the maze. And, since I entered the maze from the sun's side, I could just head toward the sun when I wanted to exit the maze. Looking to the sun helped me navigate the maze effectively, and it helped me get out of the maze safe and sound.
Similarly, we can safely navigate the maze of life by looking to the Son of God. He lived a perfect life, and thus showed us the way that we should live. By following His example, we can avoid many of the pitfalls and dead ends of life, and we can ultimately get home safe and sound.
I was grateful to have learned the trick of looking to the sun for help in navigating a maze, and I'm thankful for God's help in learning the wisdom of looking to His Son for help in getting through life. I still have to learn to look to Him more frequently and trust in Him more completely, but I know that He knows the way that I should go, and I know that I won't get too terribly lost as long as I follow Him. So, whenever life feels like a maze to you, remember that Jesus Christ has gone through this maze before, and you can look to Him to lead you through it.
Open the Floodgates
For almost a week, my home internet has been out, so I haven't posted any blog posts in a while. However, I have written blog posts, so right now, I am going to flood you with nearly a week's worth of overdue blog posts.
Friday, October 14, 2016
"Shall He Find Faith?"
Early on in Sister Carol F. McConkie's Saturday Morning Session talk, she read from Luke 18: 1-8, a passage of scripture that ends with the question, "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
I sometimes wonder. Generally speaking, the world is not headed in the right direction. Many people doubt the importance of faith and question the wisdom of those who possess it. Personally, I doubt the strength of my faith, and I sometimes wonder whether I will have enough wisdom to keep it. Forget the earth; when Jesus Christ comes again, will He find faith in me?
This is a question we must all ask ourselves. How strong is our faith, and how strongly will we hold on to it as doing so becomes increasingly difficult? The world is drifting away from God. Will we have the courage and wisdom to stand by Him and have faith in Him, even when others don't?
If Jesus is to find faith on the earth when He comes again, that faith will have to be held and preserved by those who have taken His name upon them. If we, as Christians, don't hold on to our faith in Jesus Christ, then no one will. If we want Jesus to find a God-fearing people on the earth at His coming, then we are going to have to be that kind of people. Will Christ find faith on the earth when He comes again? Only if He finds it in us.
I sometimes wonder. Generally speaking, the world is not headed in the right direction. Many people doubt the importance of faith and question the wisdom of those who possess it. Personally, I doubt the strength of my faith, and I sometimes wonder whether I will have enough wisdom to keep it. Forget the earth; when Jesus Christ comes again, will He find faith in me?
This is a question we must all ask ourselves. How strong is our faith, and how strongly will we hold on to it as doing so becomes increasingly difficult? The world is drifting away from God. Will we have the courage and wisdom to stand by Him and have faith in Him, even when others don't?
If Jesus is to find faith on the earth when He comes again, that faith will have to be held and preserved by those who have taken His name upon them. If we, as Christians, don't hold on to our faith in Jesus Christ, then no one will. If we want Jesus to find a God-fearing people on the earth at His coming, then we are going to have to be that kind of people. Will Christ find faith on the earth when He comes again? Only if He finds it in us.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Love and Suffering
Elder Robert D. Hales opened his October 2016 talk with a brief story and an unexpected question:
I'll start with the question Elder Hales actually asked. "If we love[d] the Savior more, [would] we suffer less?" The answer is "Yes." An increased love for the Savior would also increase our desire to follow Him and keep His commandments. God's commandments were designed for our protection, to keep us safe from spiritual, and sometimes even physical harm. So yes, if we loved Jesus more, and thus listened to Him more, we would suffer less.
But would He? Taking the grandson's original question and directing it at the Savior, we might ask, "If we loved Jesus more, would He suffer less?" The answer, again, is "Yes." In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus carried the burden of all our sins. If we loved Him more, and thus tried harder to avoid committing sin, that burden would be lighter. We can reduce our Savior's suffering by loving Him enough to avoid doing the things that caused it. Our Father in Heaven has similar motivations and heartaches as His Only Begotten, so if we loved God more, and by extension, loved His children more, we could reduce the pain our Father feels when He sees the pain we cause ourselves and each other. We can reduce the suffering of God and Jesus by increasing our love for Them.
But let's reverse it again. If God and Jesus loved us more than they already do, would we suffer less? This time, the answer is "No." Setting aside the fact that you can't increase a figure that is already infinite, our mortal suffering is actually a manifestation of God's love. Whom He loves, He chastens. Our suffering gives us experience and makes us stronger and thus, more like Him. Suffering is an essential part of God's plan for us. Of course, because He loves us, He doesn't want us to suffer any more than we have to, so He doesn't give us any more suffering than is good for us. Any suffering we experience in excess to that is inflicted on us by either our own actions or those of others, which are unaffected by God's love. God's love cannot override His children's agency, so no matter how much God loves us, we as a species will always be able to make decisions that cause unnecessary suffering. God already reduces our suffering to the extent that He can. Increasing His already-infinite love for us would not decrease our suffering.
Nor would it decrease His. I believe that God's intense love for us is the greatest cause of His suffering. Because He loves us, He doesn't want us to suffer, and He especially doesn't want us to cause each other to suffer. Watching us with the care and concern of a loving parent as we needlessly increase our own and each others' suffering must be completely heartbreaking to Him. If He somehow loved us more than He already does, watching us suffer and cause each other to suffer would make His suffering even greater.
So, even if God could love us more than He does now, it wouldn't do anyone any good. In contrast, we would do well to increase our love for God and our Savior, for both their sakes and ours. Increasing our love for our Savior and our Heavenly Father would decrease their suffering, just as it would decrease ours, which was Elder Hales' point. There is too much suffering in this world, and that suffering is felt as strongly by Those who created the world as it is by those who live on it. By increasing our love for God, Jesus, and our fellow man, we can decrease the suffering felt by all of those people, and ourselves as well.
Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel was in the hospital recovering from open-heart surgery when he was visited by his five-year-old grandson. As the little boy looked into his grandfather’s eyes, he saw his pain. “Grandpa,” he asked, “if I loved you more, would you [hurt less]?” Today I ask a similar question of each of us: “If we love the Savior more, will we suffer less?”Elder Hales' question was surprising to me because it reverses the formula set by Elie Wiesel's grandson. The grandson asked "if I loved you more, would you [hurt less]?" (emphasis added), while Elder Hales asked "If we love[d] the Savior more, [would] we suffer less?" (emphasis added). The original question ponders whether one person's love could have a reductive effect on the suffering of others, but for the sake of being thorough, I will consider four possible configurations of Elder Hales' question based on whose suffering might decrease based on whose love increases.
I'll start with the question Elder Hales actually asked. "If we love[d] the Savior more, [would] we suffer less?" The answer is "Yes." An increased love for the Savior would also increase our desire to follow Him and keep His commandments. God's commandments were designed for our protection, to keep us safe from spiritual, and sometimes even physical harm. So yes, if we loved Jesus more, and thus listened to Him more, we would suffer less.
But would He? Taking the grandson's original question and directing it at the Savior, we might ask, "If we loved Jesus more, would He suffer less?" The answer, again, is "Yes." In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus carried the burden of all our sins. If we loved Him more, and thus tried harder to avoid committing sin, that burden would be lighter. We can reduce our Savior's suffering by loving Him enough to avoid doing the things that caused it. Our Father in Heaven has similar motivations and heartaches as His Only Begotten, so if we loved God more, and by extension, loved His children more, we could reduce the pain our Father feels when He sees the pain we cause ourselves and each other. We can reduce the suffering of God and Jesus by increasing our love for Them.
But let's reverse it again. If God and Jesus loved us more than they already do, would we suffer less? This time, the answer is "No." Setting aside the fact that you can't increase a figure that is already infinite, our mortal suffering is actually a manifestation of God's love. Whom He loves, He chastens. Our suffering gives us experience and makes us stronger and thus, more like Him. Suffering is an essential part of God's plan for us. Of course, because He loves us, He doesn't want us to suffer any more than we have to, so He doesn't give us any more suffering than is good for us. Any suffering we experience in excess to that is inflicted on us by either our own actions or those of others, which are unaffected by God's love. God's love cannot override His children's agency, so no matter how much God loves us, we as a species will always be able to make decisions that cause unnecessary suffering. God already reduces our suffering to the extent that He can. Increasing His already-infinite love for us would not decrease our suffering.
Nor would it decrease His. I believe that God's intense love for us is the greatest cause of His suffering. Because He loves us, He doesn't want us to suffer, and He especially doesn't want us to cause each other to suffer. Watching us with the care and concern of a loving parent as we needlessly increase our own and each others' suffering must be completely heartbreaking to Him. If He somehow loved us more than He already does, watching us suffer and cause each other to suffer would make His suffering even greater.
So, even if God could love us more than He does now, it wouldn't do anyone any good. In contrast, we would do well to increase our love for God and our Savior, for both their sakes and ours. Increasing our love for our Savior and our Heavenly Father would decrease their suffering, just as it would decrease ours, which was Elder Hales' point. There is too much suffering in this world, and that suffering is felt as strongly by Those who created the world as it is by those who live on it. By increasing our love for God, Jesus, and our fellow man, we can decrease the suffering felt by all of those people, and ourselves as well.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
The Ordinary is Extraordinary
Ever sense I got the Magic card Aetherflux Reservoir, I wanted to blog about its flavor text:
President Uchtdorf seems to agree. In the first talk of the Saturday Morning Session of the October 2016 General Conference, he spoke of becoming accustomed to technology to the point where we take it for granted:
Albert Einstein is quoted as having said that "there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Everything is miraculous. Everything is extraordinary, especially the spiritual things, even if we've seen it often enough for it to appear ordinary to us.
While most power is used for ordinary, everyday tasks, one shouldn't underestimate its potential for the extraordinary.I wanted to take the message, reverse it, and apply it to spiritual things. Even though we usually think of the power of God as being used to work great miracles, it is also frequently used for ordinary things. Among those "ordinary things," I included the gaining of testimonies, the softening or strengthening of hearts, and the conveying of short, quiet, inspired messages. However, when I told a friend about my planned message, she replied that those "small, ordinary things" are actually extraordinary; we just don't realize how extraordinary they are because we've become accustomed to them.
President Uchtdorf seems to agree. In the first talk of the Saturday Morning Session of the October 2016 General Conference, he spoke of becoming accustomed to technology to the point where we take it for granted:
It seems to be human nature: as we become more familiar with something, even something miraculous and awe-inspiring, we lose our sense of awe and treat it as commonplace.He then warned us against making the same mistake with spiritual matters. He spoke of personal revelation, of our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, and of the fact that prophets are on the Earth. For those of us who were raised in the church, these things are almost normal to us. We grew up knowing about prophets, about the whisperings of the Spirit, and about God's plan for us. President Uchtdorf worries, probably with good reason, that we may be taking these extraordinary blessings for granted.
Albert Einstein is quoted as having said that "there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Everything is miraculous. Everything is extraordinary, especially the spiritual things, even if we've seen it often enough for it to appear ordinary to us.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Flying Through Fog
In his General Women's Session talk in the October 2016 General Conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke of the kind of faith I need to develop. He spoke of flying an airplane through thick fog, relying on his instruments and the guidance of the air traffic controller to let him know where he was and where he was going. He said:
Those who are blind would do well to follow the guidance of those who can see. God sees far more than I can see. He knows what's going to happen next, and He knows exactly what would be best for me. He wants to help me. He wants to guide me and give me direction. And I am sure that I need that direction.
We are all, figuratively, flying through fog. We all need to watch our instruments and listen to air control, or we are all going to crash. We need to learn to trust the One who is leading us so He can lead us safely to our destinations. He knows where we need to go, and He knows who to gets us there. What we need to do is to listen, to trust, and to act accordingly. It's not easy, but it's the only way to safely fly through this fog.
I had to follow the guidance of someone with more accurate information than I had. Someone whom I could not see but whom I had learned to trust. Someone who could see what I could not. I had to trust and act accordingly to arrive safely at my destination.I have not yet learned to trust God that much. Though I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going, I don't yet trust Him enough for Him to tell me where to go or what to do. I don't listen to His guidance often enough. I don't often hear it, and even when I hear it, I don't always follow it, even though I know I should.
Those who are blind would do well to follow the guidance of those who can see. God sees far more than I can see. He knows what's going to happen next, and He knows exactly what would be best for me. He wants to help me. He wants to guide me and give me direction. And I am sure that I need that direction.
We are all, figuratively, flying through fog. We all need to watch our instruments and listen to air control, or we are all going to crash. We need to learn to trust the One who is leading us so He can lead us safely to our destinations. He knows where we need to go, and He knows who to gets us there. What we need to do is to listen, to trust, and to act accordingly. It's not easy, but it's the only way to safely fly through this fog.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Study and Understand
In her talk, Rise Up in Strength, Sisters in Zion, Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson said, "We need to study and understand His Atonement and how to apply it daily." This goes well with some counsel a friends gave me in response to a recent blog post. After I expressed confusion about how the Atonement works, a friend of mine told me that the scriptures explain the Atonement fairly well -- just in bits and pieces scattered throughout the scriptures. Understanding the Atonement may be possible, but it will require diligent study.
I plan to study the Atonement some time in the future, if not in the near future. Sister Oscarson said that "there are answers to the questions being asked," and she gave the sisters a tip on how to find those answers: "Listen to the recent messages from our leaders." I have been doing that, but not with the Atonement specifically in mind. Perhaps I should revisit recent General Conference talks, looking for explanations of how the Atonement works. I'm not truly confident that I'll find a clear and complete explanation, but I might be able to find some clues.
As incomprehensible as the Atonement seems to be, I am beginning to believe that it may be possible, in some incomplete, mortal way, to understand it. I would like to have a greater understanding of the Atonement, especially since it's so essential to my salvation. It'd be nice to know how it works. But even if I never figure it out, I can at least figure out how to use it. If I can at least gain a more complete understanding of how to repent and be forgiven, I feel like that would be worth taking the time to study it out. I believe that it may be possible to understand the Atonement, and I know that it's possible to understand repentance, and those seem, to me, to be fairly important concepts to grasp.
I plan to study the Atonement some time in the future, if not in the near future. Sister Oscarson said that "there are answers to the questions being asked," and she gave the sisters a tip on how to find those answers: "Listen to the recent messages from our leaders." I have been doing that, but not with the Atonement specifically in mind. Perhaps I should revisit recent General Conference talks, looking for explanations of how the Atonement works. I'm not truly confident that I'll find a clear and complete explanation, but I might be able to find some clues.
As incomprehensible as the Atonement seems to be, I am beginning to believe that it may be possible, in some incomplete, mortal way, to understand it. I would like to have a greater understanding of the Atonement, especially since it's so essential to my salvation. It'd be nice to know how it works. But even if I never figure it out, I can at least figure out how to use it. If I can at least gain a more complete understanding of how to repent and be forgiven, I feel like that would be worth taking the time to study it out. I believe that it may be possible to understand the Atonement, and I know that it's possible to understand repentance, and those seem, to me, to be fairly important concepts to grasp.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
I Need to Go to Bed
I am tired, and I need to go to sleep so I can have the energy I need for a test tomorrow morning. I would like to share a spiritual message, especially if I could think of one inspired by the Conference talk I just watched, but no ideas are coming to mind, and I don't want to stay up any later trying to think of something. I'll write a better blog post tomorrow, I promise.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
The Trans-Chronal Atonement
In The Master Healer, Sister Carol M. Stephens shares the story of a faithful young woman who suffered a terribly painful experience. As her sympathetic mother repeatedly said that she would do anything to take this pain away from her, this young woman testified through her pain, "You don’t have to; Someone already has."
As powerful and touching as this story was, it got me thinking: How does the Atonement of Jesus Christ affect everyone? I mean, I can understand how the Atonement can affect us. We live after the Atonement. Many events go on to affect the future, even into the eternities. But how can any event affect what happened in the past?
How could our current or future pain be felt by Jesus at the time of His Atonement? For that matter, how did Jesus pay for sins not yet committed? Perhaps our present can affect His past because He foresaw our time. If He could see the future, perhaps He could feel the future, too, including our future pain. As for paying the price for sins not yet committed, perhaps He foresaw that, too, so He knew how much spiritual debt we would incur, and He paid that. Or perhaps, in a method that's far less complicated, and more scripturally supported, though no less difficult to understand, He somehow paid an infinite price, so He could cover all our sins, no matter how many we committed.
So, I get how Jesus' Atonement can affect us, and I kind of get how our actions can have affected Him, but what I still don't and may never understand is how the Atonement could alleviate the suffering that took place before it. There was suffering and sin long before Jesus was born, and while I can imagine souls having to wait until the Atonement to have their sins officially forgiven and paid for, I find it difficult to imagine how the future Atonement could have eased their past burdens.
But maybe it didn't have to. God has great power, and while forgiving sins is strictly an Atonement thing, alleviating suffering doesn't have to be. If God had the means, even before the Atonement, to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, maybe His omnipotence was sufficient to ease their other burdens, too. Maybe the relief that we normally ascribe to the Atonement could have been brought about some other way.
Or maybe there is a way that the Atonement could affect events that occurred before it, despite my lack of understanding of how that could have worked.
I guess it doesn't really matter how the Atonement works; we should just be grateful that it does. It's just hard for me to wrap my head around it. I don't understand how any event could affect what happened in the past. But that's okay. I don't have to understand it, so long as God does. God knew that things would work out for everyone who lived before the Atonement. It was all part of the plan. I know that God did, or will, make everything turn out alright somehow. Maybe I should just trust Him and stop trying to wrap my head around the infinite reach and power of the Atonement.
As powerful and touching as this story was, it got me thinking: How does the Atonement of Jesus Christ affect everyone? I mean, I can understand how the Atonement can affect us. We live after the Atonement. Many events go on to affect the future, even into the eternities. But how can any event affect what happened in the past?
How could our current or future pain be felt by Jesus at the time of His Atonement? For that matter, how did Jesus pay for sins not yet committed? Perhaps our present can affect His past because He foresaw our time. If He could see the future, perhaps He could feel the future, too, including our future pain. As for paying the price for sins not yet committed, perhaps He foresaw that, too, so He knew how much spiritual debt we would incur, and He paid that. Or perhaps, in a method that's far less complicated, and more scripturally supported, though no less difficult to understand, He somehow paid an infinite price, so He could cover all our sins, no matter how many we committed.
So, I get how Jesus' Atonement can affect us, and I kind of get how our actions can have affected Him, but what I still don't and may never understand is how the Atonement could alleviate the suffering that took place before it. There was suffering and sin long before Jesus was born, and while I can imagine souls having to wait until the Atonement to have their sins officially forgiven and paid for, I find it difficult to imagine how the future Atonement could have eased their past burdens.
But maybe it didn't have to. God has great power, and while forgiving sins is strictly an Atonement thing, alleviating suffering doesn't have to be. If God had the means, even before the Atonement, to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, maybe His omnipotence was sufficient to ease their other burdens, too. Maybe the relief that we normally ascribe to the Atonement could have been brought about some other way.
Or maybe there is a way that the Atonement could affect events that occurred before it, despite my lack of understanding of how that could have worked.
I guess it doesn't really matter how the Atonement works; we should just be grateful that it does. It's just hard for me to wrap my head around it. I don't understand how any event could affect what happened in the past. But that's okay. I don't have to understand it, so long as God does. God knew that things would work out for everyone who lived before the Atonement. It was all part of the plan. I know that God did, or will, make everything turn out alright somehow. Maybe I should just trust Him and stop trying to wrap my head around the infinite reach and power of the Atonement.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Panacea
The core message of Sister Carole M. Stephens' talk, The Master Healer, was that Jesus Christ could heal all our suffering, explicitly listing the pain caused by the realities of life, the sinful behavior of others, and our own sins. One of the great things about the Atonement is that it is a panacea. Not matter what our problems are, Jesus Christ can help us. Whether our problems are great or small; natural, self-inflicted, or inflicted on us by others, the solution is to turn to Christ. He is the Master Healer. His Atonement is a cure for all our mortal and spiritual ailments. No wonder Sister Stephens reminded those of us who suffer to turn to Him and to build "a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ." Many suffer more than they need to. All who suffer alone suffer more than they need to. Jesus Christ can help us face our afflictions, no matter what our afflictions are.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
The Wisdom of Withholding Judgement
Time to get started on the October 2016 General Conference!
In the General Women's Session, Sister Jean B. Bingham opened the Conference with a talk titled In this talk, Sister Bingham spoke of the wisdom and courtesy of withholding judgement. As an example, she spoke of how a young girl described a certain creature as a strange-looking chicken, only to be informed that the bird was actually a peacock, one of God's most beautiful creatures.
Wouldn't we feel foolish if we made such a mistake? Yet, we do so all the time. Every time we belittle or find fault in anyone, including ourselves, we are speaking badly of one of God's greatest creatures, just because we don't recognise them as such. It would be much wiser, and more kind, to withhold such judgement, and to offer compliments and encouragement instead of criticism.
We would each do well to learn to be cautious and courteous with our words, especially when we direct them at children of God. I think that if we saw ourselves and each other the way God sees us, we wouldn't be so quick to criticise people. Sure, people may have faults now, but we all also have the potential to overcome those faults, and encouraging words will help us along a lot better than critical ones will.
So let's try not to consider anyone a strange-looking chicken, especially when we are all really peacocks, waiting for a chance to fan out our feathers.
In the General Women's Session, Sister Jean B. Bingham opened the Conference with a talk titled In this talk, Sister Bingham spoke of the wisdom and courtesy of withholding judgement. As an example, she spoke of how a young girl described a certain creature as a strange-looking chicken, only to be informed that the bird was actually a peacock, one of God's most beautiful creatures.
Wouldn't we feel foolish if we made such a mistake? Yet, we do so all the time. Every time we belittle or find fault in anyone, including ourselves, we are speaking badly of one of God's greatest creatures, just because we don't recognise them as such. It would be much wiser, and more kind, to withhold such judgement, and to offer compliments and encouragement instead of criticism.
We would each do well to learn to be cautious and courteous with our words, especially when we direct them at children of God. I think that if we saw ourselves and each other the way God sees us, we wouldn't be so quick to criticise people. Sure, people may have faults now, but we all also have the potential to overcome those faults, and encouraging words will help us along a lot better than critical ones will.
So let's try not to consider anyone a strange-looking chicken, especially when we are all really peacocks, waiting for a chance to fan out our feathers.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
They Saved the Best for Last
In essays, and in speeches, quotes are used for a number of reasons. The use of quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the strength of an argument. Beginning or desperate writers sometimes use quotes to fill space. But that's not what I intend to do this evening. This evening, I would like to quote Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's concluding talk from the April 2016 General Conference, in its entirety, for the third reason writers use quotes in their essays: because the writers of those essays could not possibly say what the person whom they are quoting has said any better than the way the person whom they are quoting had said it.
Of course, I am not going to copy and paste Elder Holland's entire talk. It would be a great disservice to you if I did. You need to hear it. I will give you a link to his talk, in case you would like to read it, but reading this talk is not the best way to experience it. Also on that page to which I just gave you a link, you can watch the video recording of his talk or listen to the audio recording of it. I would highly recommend doing one of those things. In case neither of those work, here is a link to the Youtube video through which I listened to the talk. And in case that doesn't work either, I am downloading the video and will attempt to embed it here. It is worth watching.
Now, I must warn you that the talk is twenty minutes long. Some of you may not have that kind of time. If that's your case, then perhaps you might still be able to listen to the talk while engaging in other pursuits. If that's not possible, either, then you can at least read these few, short quotes from that talk, even though these quotes sound much better the way he says them than they could ever look on a screen.
Here is the video. I hope it works. I hope you watch it. This talk is really, really good.
Of course, I am not going to copy and paste Elder Holland's entire talk. It would be a great disservice to you if I did. You need to hear it. I will give you a link to his talk, in case you would like to read it, but reading this talk is not the best way to experience it. Also on that page to which I just gave you a link, you can watch the video recording of his talk or listen to the audio recording of it. I would highly recommend doing one of those things. In case neither of those work, here is a link to the Youtube video through which I listened to the talk. And in case that doesn't work either, I am downloading the video and will attempt to embed it here. It is worth watching.
Now, I must warn you that the talk is twenty minutes long. Some of you may not have that kind of time. If that's your case, then perhaps you might still be able to listen to the talk while engaging in other pursuits. If that's not possible, either, then you can at least read these few, short quotes from that talk, even though these quotes sound much better the way he says them than they could ever look on a screen.
Here you are, there you are, hour after hour, in your Sunday best, being your best. You sing and you pray. You listen and you believe. You are the miracle of this Church. And we love you.
. . .
With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.
. . .
Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out like Alma, “O Jesus, … have mercy on me.”7 He will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek.
. . .
My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength.
. . .
President George Q. Cannon once taught: “No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do so]. … He will [always] stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them.”
. . .
So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.
Here is the video. I hope it works. I hope you watch it. This talk is really, really good.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Resurrection Is Awesome
If Elder Paul V. Johnson's talk, And There Shall Be No More Death, sounded familiar to me when I listened to it this morning, that's because I already blogged about a few days after he gave it. Still, I'd like to blog about it again because something that he said still blows me away:
What will it be like to have mind, body, and soul all working to the peak of their potential? How strong will we be? How fast and how long will we be able to run? How smart will we be? How well will we remember things? How quickly will we be able to learn? How emotionally healthy will we be? How stable and wise will we become?
I think that that experience will be incredible. I'm greatly looking forward to it, and I'm a physically fit, reasonably intelligent, and emotionally average young man. I can't even imagine how much I'd look forward to the resurrection if I had some of the "physical, mental, and emotional limitations and weaknesses" that some of my friends and relatives have. We will all, effectively, be superhuman, and that will literally be incredible (pun intended).
The only bad part about resurrection is that most of us will need to die first, and many of us aren't quite ready to do that. We still have some repenting to do and some progress to make. So, as awesome as having a resurrected body will be, I'm glad the resurrection (and the final judgement) aren't going to happen to soon. Still, any apprehensions I have about the final judgement are slightly mitigated by the fact that, even if I'm consigned to spend eternity in hell, at least I'll have an amazing, perfected body when I get there. I wouldn't mind putting it off for a few more decades, but when my time comes, being resurrected will be awesome.
Each of us has physical, mental, and emotional limitations and weaknesses. These challenges, some of which seem so intractable now, will eventually be resolved. None of these problems will plague us after we are resurrected.Isn't that amazing? None of the problems have now, at least none of the "physical, mental, [or] emotional limitations and weaknesses" we have now will trouble us after we're resurrected. I wonder what that'll feel like.
What will it be like to have mind, body, and soul all working to the peak of their potential? How strong will we be? How fast and how long will we be able to run? How smart will we be? How well will we remember things? How quickly will we be able to learn? How emotionally healthy will we be? How stable and wise will we become?
I think that that experience will be incredible. I'm greatly looking forward to it, and I'm a physically fit, reasonably intelligent, and emotionally average young man. I can't even imagine how much I'd look forward to the resurrection if I had some of the "physical, mental, and emotional limitations and weaknesses" that some of my friends and relatives have. We will all, effectively, be superhuman, and that will literally be incredible (pun intended).
The only bad part about resurrection is that most of us will need to die first, and many of us aren't quite ready to do that. We still have some repenting to do and some progress to make. So, as awesome as having a resurrected body will be, I'm glad the resurrection (and the final judgement) aren't going to happen to soon. Still, any apprehensions I have about the final judgement are slightly mitigated by the fact that, even if I'm consigned to spend eternity in hell, at least I'll have an amazing, perfected body when I get there. I wouldn't mind putting it off for a few more decades, but when my time comes, being resurrected will be awesome.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Blog Before Math
I bet that at least a hundredth of my blog posts are about how or why I'm bad at blogging or what I could and should do to be a better blogger. This post will be part of that figure.
In an attempt to make good use of my time tonight and yesterday night, I did some of my math homework. Granted, it takes hours, and this particular batch of math homework is due on the day after tomorrow, so getting it done as soon as possible isn't necessarily a bad idea. However, doing my math homework before I blog that day is. Both last night and tonight, I did math before blogging, and then almost forgot to blog at all, and I'm sure my blog posts have suffered for it.
There's a reason high-priority tasks take priority. There's only so much time in a day, and a person only has so much energy. If you perform the tasks at the top of your To-Do list first, there's no guarantee that you'll have enough time and energy to also complete the tasks at the bottom.
So, long story short, I should blog before I do math homework. Doing homework is important, but it's not quite as important to me as blogging. As with keeping my other spiritual commitments, blogging does, or at least should, take priority.
In an attempt to make good use of my time tonight and yesterday night, I did some of my math homework. Granted, it takes hours, and this particular batch of math homework is due on the day after tomorrow, so getting it done as soon as possible isn't necessarily a bad idea. However, doing my math homework before I blog that day is. Both last night and tonight, I did math before blogging, and then almost forgot to blog at all, and I'm sure my blog posts have suffered for it.
There's a reason high-priority tasks take priority. There's only so much time in a day, and a person only has so much energy. If you perform the tasks at the top of your To-Do list first, there's no guarantee that you'll have enough time and energy to also complete the tasks at the bottom.
So, long story short, I should blog before I do math homework. Doing homework is important, but it's not quite as important to me as blogging. As with keeping my other spiritual commitments, blogging does, or at least should, take priority.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Joy In Every Circumstance?
This Conference, I heard that it's possible to have joy in every circumstance because our joy comes not from the circumstances of our lives but from the focus of our lives, which is, or at least should be, Jesus Christ. This confuses me a bit. How is it possible to have joy in every moment of our lives, even the monotonous or tragic moments? I understand that having an eternal perspective can minimize one's negative feelings about their current circumstances and help them look forward to the joy they'll experience hereafter, but it's hard to feel joyful when I'm doing math homework or when things are going wrong. Maybe I'm confusing the concept of joy with some other feeling. Maybe I'm not focussed enough on the Savior. But it seems to me that not everything about life is joyful, and that a person would have to have a strong eternal perspective to be able to look past the tedium and tragedies of this life and look forward with joy to the life to come. I don't know whether I need to adjust my focus or whether I need to try to become content despite the hardships of life, but as far as I'm concerned, joy is pretty hard to come by. I'm not sure how one could have joy in every circumstance.
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Taking Notes by Laptop
Last year, almost to the day, I blogged about how and why I found taking notes by hand on paper to be more effective for me than taking notes on my laptop. However, I've heard that the most effective notes are the ones you actually go back and read. Going back to read my notes is a lot more convenient on my laptop, especially since that's the device on which I'm most likely to blog about the talks on which I'm currently taking notes. If I take notes on my laptop, like I did today, it'll be much easier for me to go back and read these notes later, when I blog about the talks I've been listening to. It's possible that taking notes by hand is more effective in some ways, such as recording spiritual impressions rather than witty quotes, but I can attempt to duplicate those benefits here on my laptop, which should enable me to, with practice, get the best of both note-taking methods. Discovering what works best for me is a work in progress, but I think I'm making progress, and that's what life is really all about. Hopefully, taking notes by laptop will enable me to write better blog posts without jeopardizing my opportunity to write down spiritual impressions about which I am sure to forget.
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