There has been some talk about how 2016 hasn't been the best year ever, and I technically agree. There have been, and will be, better years. But I don't think 2016 has been all bad, and I don't think it was the worst year in human history, not by a long shot. I agree, however, that 2016 could have been better and that 2017 can be better, if we make it so.
So, let's move forward. Let's put the past behind us insomuch as we can, and let's learn from it as much as we can. Instead of harping on how bad things are or were, let's work together to make the future as good as it can be. 2017 will have its problems. Everything has problems. But I believe that we can work through them, or at least learn from them, to make 2017 and the years that follow it good years.
2016 wasn't the best year ever, and 2017 probably won't be, either, but I don't think 2016 was as bad as some people say it was, and I believe that 2017 will be better. But we're going to have to be positive to make that happen. We're going to have to look to the future with the hope that we can make things better. And if we can keep making things better than they are now, we can eventually make a year that's better than any year before it. 2016 wasn't the best year ever, but some future year will be, and I look forward to helping all of you make that year happen.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Friday, December 30, 2016
Giving Blessings
Tonight, I went to give my sister a Priesthood blessing, but while I was there in the hospital room with her, I was able to help her in other ways, too. But anything I did, including giving her Priesthood blessings, pales in comparison to what our mom has done for her. Mom has hardly left her side, staying close enough to help her, advocate for her, and bring her comfort. Mom may not have been able to give her daughter any Priesthood blessings, but she has given her many other blessings, which may have helped just as much. Priesthood blessings can be powerful, but we should never underestimate our ability to help people, even without them. There are many kinds of blessings we can give, and Priesthood blessings are only one of them.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Another Possible Reason - XP
Another reason God gives hard trials to His most righteous followers may be reflected in how high-level role-playing characters earn XP.
In many role-playing games, characters become stronger by earning experience points, or XP, for overcoming challenges. The tougher the challenge, the more XP you gain. However, as characters gain experience and level up, they become increasingly more capable of handling challenges, so they have to face tougher challenges in order for their challenges to be "tough" or "challenging" at all. Some game systems reflect this by having higher-level characters gain less XP for the same challenges, and some do it by having higher-level characters need more XP to level up further. Some do both. In any case, the result is that the characters need to face tougher challenges in order to keep progressing at the same rate.
It's like exercising. If you lack physical strength, lifting even relatively light weights can help you become stronger, but if you're already strong, you'll need to lift heavier and heavier weights in order to grow stronger. If you're strong enough, lifting light weights won't increase your strength at all.
Maybe that's part of the reason God gives His toughest challenges to His strongest followers -- Because that's what it takes to help them become even stronger. I suppose that's basically the same as what I said yesterday, that if something is already fairly pure, it needs an especially effective purifying process to make it any purer. I thought of mentioning spiritual inertia again, drawing an analogy from the fact that if something is moving quickly, it takes more energy to get it moving even faster. It's all the same idea.
So when God gives hard challenges to good people, that may be because that's what it takes to help them become stronger. Or maybe there are other reasons, like giving them the opportunity to prove how good and faithful they are, or giving them an opportunity to earn the blessings God wants to give them. Whatever God's reasons are, it's a fact of life that bad things happen to good people, but when they do happen, it can be comforting to know what some of the possible reasons are, and it can be encouraging to know that God may intend to use these challenges to help us become stronger and to prove to us just how strong we really are.
In many role-playing games, characters become stronger by earning experience points, or XP, for overcoming challenges. The tougher the challenge, the more XP you gain. However, as characters gain experience and level up, they become increasingly more capable of handling challenges, so they have to face tougher challenges in order for their challenges to be "tough" or "challenging" at all. Some game systems reflect this by having higher-level characters gain less XP for the same challenges, and some do it by having higher-level characters need more XP to level up further. Some do both. In any case, the result is that the characters need to face tougher challenges in order to keep progressing at the same rate.
It's like exercising. If you lack physical strength, lifting even relatively light weights can help you become stronger, but if you're already strong, you'll need to lift heavier and heavier weights in order to grow stronger. If you're strong enough, lifting light weights won't increase your strength at all.
Maybe that's part of the reason God gives His toughest challenges to His strongest followers -- Because that's what it takes to help them become even stronger. I suppose that's basically the same as what I said yesterday, that if something is already fairly pure, it needs an especially effective purifying process to make it any purer. I thought of mentioning spiritual inertia again, drawing an analogy from the fact that if something is moving quickly, it takes more energy to get it moving even faster. It's all the same idea.
So when God gives hard challenges to good people, that may be because that's what it takes to help them become stronger. Or maybe there are other reasons, like giving them the opportunity to prove how good and faithful they are, or giving them an opportunity to earn the blessings God wants to give them. Whatever God's reasons are, it's a fact of life that bad things happen to good people, but when they do happen, it can be comforting to know what some of the possible reasons are, and it can be encouraging to know that God may intend to use these challenges to help us become stronger and to prove to us just how strong we really are.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Why God Gives Good People Hard Trials
When someone passes through a trial, it can be difficult to understand God's reasons for letting the trial occur. This is especially true when those most affected by the trial are innocent and righteous people, yet those are the people to whom God seems to subject to the most intense suffering.
One possible reason this may be true is that things which are already pure take extra effort to purify further. A liquid that has already passed through a sieve will need to pass through a tighter sieve in order to become more pure.
It follows that a person who is already largely devoid of unchristlike attributes would have to pass through ever more severe trials to be refined further. If that's the case, God would have to put His most righteous followers through the most difficult purifying trials in order to help them become more pure.
So if you find yourself or a loved one facing especially difficult trials, that may be because you or your loved one were already fairly righteous at the start, so it takes more pressing challenges to help you become even better.
Of course, this analogy falls apart when one considers that we can choose how we want to live, and the most righteous people are often those who require the least prodding to convince them to do good and become better. However, those people can still find comfort in their most difficult trials by remembering that God's help is always available to them. We may not know why God gives us the trials He gives us, but we know that God will always be willing to help us get through them.
No matter how good we become in this life, God will always work with us to help us become better, and sometimes that means forcing us to face difficult trials. We must remember that God always wants what's best for us and He has an eternal perspective. Our trials can be extremely painful, but they're designed for our benefit, and the benefits we gain from them will far outweigh the pain of enduring them.
Whatever His reasons are, God often gives His hardest trials to His most faithful followers, so if you're facing hardship, take heart. It may mean that God thinks you're doing something right.
One possible reason this may be true is that things which are already pure take extra effort to purify further. A liquid that has already passed through a sieve will need to pass through a tighter sieve in order to become more pure.
It follows that a person who is already largely devoid of unchristlike attributes would have to pass through ever more severe trials to be refined further. If that's the case, God would have to put His most righteous followers through the most difficult purifying trials in order to help them become more pure.
So if you find yourself or a loved one facing especially difficult trials, that may be because you or your loved one were already fairly righteous at the start, so it takes more pressing challenges to help you become even better.
Of course, this analogy falls apart when one considers that we can choose how we want to live, and the most righteous people are often those who require the least prodding to convince them to do good and become better. However, those people can still find comfort in their most difficult trials by remembering that God's help is always available to them. We may not know why God gives us the trials He gives us, but we know that God will always be willing to help us get through them.
No matter how good we become in this life, God will always work with us to help us become better, and sometimes that means forcing us to face difficult trials. We must remember that God always wants what's best for us and He has an eternal perspective. Our trials can be extremely painful, but they're designed for our benefit, and the benefits we gain from them will far outweigh the pain of enduring them.
Whatever His reasons are, God often gives His hardest trials to His most faithful followers, so if you're facing hardship, take heart. It may mean that God thinks you're doing something right.
'Tis the Season for Family
Today was the last day of Christmas, and I spent almost all of it with family. We hung out, ate together, played with legos and toy swords, and played card games. We shared smiles, movie quotes, and many laughs. Not much was said about Christ, however, which makes me slightly worried that we didn't fully capture the Spirit of the holiday, at least not today. But we did capture one element of the holiday. Christmas is a time for worshipping Christ, which we did Sunday, and it's also a time for exchanging gifts, which we did yesterday, but it's also a time to spend with family, which is what we did today. Next to worshipping Jesus, spending time with family may only be a secondary aspect of Christmas, but it is an important aspect of Christmas, so I'd say that, for a holiday, today was a day well spent.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Repenting of Oaths
Earlier this month, I had a conversation about the Rockettes, at least some of whom don't want to perform at Trumps inauguration. The problem is that they may have a contractual obligation to perform at the inauguration, since their producer (or whomever their boss is) signed them up. If they do have such an arrangement where they are legally bound to perform wherever their producer (or whomever) decides, they may have effectively made an oath to do something that they now feel would be morally wrong to do. Speaking about this reminded me of a question I had while reading the scriptures: Can a person "repent of an oath" and remain in good standing with the Lord?
As Latter-Day Saints, we tend to take promises fairly seriously. If someone makes a promise, they have a moral (and sometimes a legal) obligation to keep it. In fact, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies demonstrated that a belief that it's better to die than to break a promise. However, there is one upstanding Book of Mormon hero who did break an oath without losing his place as a Book of Mormon hero. In fact, the book is literally named after him.
Mormon 5:1, Mormon records that he "did repent of [an] oath which [he] had made." Upon further review, I learned just now that the "oath" of which Mormon was repenting wasn't really a oath, per se, but still, it was enough to make me ask the question and now I think I have an answer to it. I think that there are cases when a person can go back on their word and remain in good standing with the Lord. To illustrate this opinion, I'll use an extreme example, also from the Book of Mormon.
Amalickiah, the king of the Lamanites, had once sworn that he would drink the blood of Captain Moroni, one of the best of the heroes of the Book of Mormon; however, I don't think God considered him morally bound to that oath. If Amalickiah had defeated Captain Moroni and had an opportunity to kill him and drink his blood, I think God would have considered it far more evil for him to keep his oath by killing Captain Moroni than to break his oath by letting Captain Moroni live. Similarly, I don't think God would consider any of us morally bound to keep an oath if we foolishly promised to do something evil. In other words, I think that it's less evil to break a promise than to keep a promise to do something morally wrong.
It is important to keep our word, but it's more important to obey God's words. If He commands us to do something, we should do it, even if we promised not to. If He commands us not to do something, we shouldn't do it, even if we promised to. Though our oaths do and should hold a considerable amount of weight, we can and should "repent" of them when we have a moral obligation to do so, and we should neither make nor keep an oath to do anything that's morally wrong.
Personally, I don't know what the Rockettes should do, and I don't care much what they decide to do, but I wouldn't want to force them to do anything they consider morally wrong. They may or may not have a legal right to refuse to perform the inauguration (I haven't really looked into it much), but I'd say that if they truly feel that strongly about not performing at the inauguration, they may well have a moral right, and perhaps even a moral obligation, to break the oath they may have made.
As Latter-Day Saints, we tend to take promises fairly seriously. If someone makes a promise, they have a moral (and sometimes a legal) obligation to keep it. In fact, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies demonstrated that a belief that it's better to die than to break a promise. However, there is one upstanding Book of Mormon hero who did break an oath without losing his place as a Book of Mormon hero. In fact, the book is literally named after him.
Mormon 5:1, Mormon records that he "did repent of [an] oath which [he] had made." Upon further review, I learned just now that the "oath" of which Mormon was repenting wasn't really a oath, per se, but still, it was enough to make me ask the question and now I think I have an answer to it. I think that there are cases when a person can go back on their word and remain in good standing with the Lord. To illustrate this opinion, I'll use an extreme example, also from the Book of Mormon.
Amalickiah, the king of the Lamanites, had once sworn that he would drink the blood of Captain Moroni, one of the best of the heroes of the Book of Mormon; however, I don't think God considered him morally bound to that oath. If Amalickiah had defeated Captain Moroni and had an opportunity to kill him and drink his blood, I think God would have considered it far more evil for him to keep his oath by killing Captain Moroni than to break his oath by letting Captain Moroni live. Similarly, I don't think God would consider any of us morally bound to keep an oath if we foolishly promised to do something evil. In other words, I think that it's less evil to break a promise than to keep a promise to do something morally wrong.
It is important to keep our word, but it's more important to obey God's words. If He commands us to do something, we should do it, even if we promised not to. If He commands us not to do something, we shouldn't do it, even if we promised to. Though our oaths do and should hold a considerable amount of weight, we can and should "repent" of them when we have a moral obligation to do so, and we should neither make nor keep an oath to do anything that's morally wrong.
Personally, I don't know what the Rockettes should do, and I don't care much what they decide to do, but I wouldn't want to force them to do anything they consider morally wrong. They may or may not have a legal right to refuse to perform the inauguration (I haven't really looked into it much), but I'd say that if they truly feel that strongly about not performing at the inauguration, they may well have a moral right, and perhaps even a moral obligation, to break the oath they may have made.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Figurative Followers
The final Light the World challenge is to follow Jesus Christ. His disciples did this literally, by leaving their nets by the seashore and following Christ as He travelled and taught. Many others also followed Him, even into the mountains, to hear Him teach. These days, we don't have the option of literally following Jesus, and thankfully, we don't have to. Back in those days, the only way to hear the words of Christ were to literally follow Him and listen, but these days, we can read and hear His words by making a few taps and swipes on our smartphones. We don't have to hike over rough terrain to listen to Him; we can just go to LDS.org and follow almost any link from there. Our access to Christ's words is so effortless, we no longer need to literally follow Him to maintain it. However, we do need to figuratively follow Him to make any good of it.
We have easy access to the scriptures, but they're not going to change our lives unless we choose to change our lives to match Christ's teachings. It takes effort to follow Christ's teachings, just as it took effort to literally follow Jesus Christ. In fact, I wonder if the difficulty of obtaining Christ's words took some of the difficulty out of living it. It's easier to cherish something we work hard to get than something that's just handed to us. Perhaps having so much access to the words of Christ has made it slightly more difficult to care about it and to choose to learn from it. Maybe we still have to climb a mountain to gain the benefit of Christ's teachings, but our mountain is more figurative than literal.
Still, let's be as diligent as Christ's early, literal followers by figuratively following Jesus Christ. Since we're not faced with any challenges in obtaining Christ's teachings, let's rise to the challenge of applying it. I know that as we figuratively follow Jesus Christ, our lives will literally change for the better. We don't have to literally follow Jesus Christ anymore, so let's follow Him figuratively instead.
We have easy access to the scriptures, but they're not going to change our lives unless we choose to change our lives to match Christ's teachings. It takes effort to follow Christ's teachings, just as it took effort to literally follow Jesus Christ. In fact, I wonder if the difficulty of obtaining Christ's words took some of the difficulty out of living it. It's easier to cherish something we work hard to get than something that's just handed to us. Perhaps having so much access to the words of Christ has made it slightly more difficult to care about it and to choose to learn from it. Maybe we still have to climb a mountain to gain the benefit of Christ's teachings, but our mountain is more figurative than literal.
Still, let's be as diligent as Christ's early, literal followers by figuratively following Jesus Christ. Since we're not faced with any challenges in obtaining Christ's teachings, let's rise to the challenge of applying it. I know that as we figuratively follow Jesus Christ, our lives will literally change for the better. We don't have to literally follow Jesus Christ anymore, so let's follow Him figuratively instead.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Small, Simple, Sincere
The penultimate Light the World challenge was to care for your loved ones, and part of me doubts that I adequately did this today since I didn't do anything special to show that I care for them. But I'd like to think that it doesn't take much to show you care. Small acts of service and kindness, if performed frequently, should suffice. So when I took several small opportunities to help and serve my family, I hope that was enough to show that I care for them.
As with many other Light the World challenges, I think that caring for loved ones is done just as well, if not better, by many small acts as than by a few grand acts. When it comes to showing love, doing so in frequent, simple ways is more convincing than by showing love occasionally and with grand gestures. Performing great acts of love and service is good, but serving frequently may be better.
I didn't go out of my way to care for my loved ones today, but I did serve them in small ways several times over the course of the day, so I'd say I met today's challenge. I'm 20 for 24. Tomorrow will be the last day of the challenge, and it will also be Christmas. I'm looking forward to that. It's fun to exchange presents, it'll be wonderful to celebrate Christmas on the Sabbath, and it's always nice to spend quality time with family, especially since spending time with them is one of many simple ways to show that you care.
As with many other Light the World challenges, I think that caring for loved ones is done just as well, if not better, by many small acts as than by a few grand acts. When it comes to showing love, doing so in frequent, simple ways is more convincing than by showing love occasionally and with grand gestures. Performing great acts of love and service is good, but serving frequently may be better.
I didn't go out of my way to care for my loved ones today, but I did serve them in small ways several times over the course of the day, so I'd say I met today's challenge. I'm 20 for 24. Tomorrow will be the last day of the challenge, and it will also be Christmas. I'm looking forward to that. It's fun to exchange presents, it'll be wonderful to celebrate Christmas on the Sabbath, and it's always nice to spend quality time with family, especially since spending time with them is one of many simple ways to show that you care.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Following Suggestions
Today was pretty easy; all I had to do was say nice things about people when they weren't necessarily within earshot. I accomplished that within the first few hours of being awake. 19 for 23. However, upon reviewing the list of suggestions this evening, I discovered that there was another way I could have been a peacemaker today.
One of the suggestions was to "Offer a compliment or a smile to someone who is having a rough day." Today, I interacted with such a person, and I don't think I complimented them, or even smiled to them, as I would have, had I remembered this suggestion.
At this point, I could easily blog about having room for improvement in that I could have been nicer to the person who was having a rough day, but I don't want to do that again. There have been many times when I've fallen short this month, and almost all of those times, I've blogged about how I should have done better. Tonight, instead, I want to blog about the morality of following these suggestions. In other words, I want to briefly explore whether or not the moral value of performing a good action varies depending on whether or not the action was suggested by another.
At first thought, I would say that it's better to do good without being prompted. Doing good because you're a good person is better than doing good because someone asked you to. But on the other hand, what difference does it make? Either way, you're doing good, and that's a good thing. However, doing good out of the goodness of your heart feels better than doing good at another's request. At least, it does for me. Could it be that the better feeling from doing good from my own volition is an indication from the Spirit that doing good "just because" is somehow better than doing good because someone else prompted me to?
I'm not sure, and one of the reasons I'm not sure is that I'm not sure it's even possible to do good without being asked or prompted to do it. Those of us who have been baptised have been given a gift by which the Spirit of God can be with us always. Through this gift, we can maintain a constant connection to the Holy Ghost, one of whose main jobs is to inspire others to do good. I suspect that He is frequently planting suggestions into our minds, giving us ideas of ways we can do good. I wouldn't be surprised if He was constantly giving us such suggestions as we've read and tried to follow during this Light the World challenge. If that's the case, it's virtually impossible to do good without someone asking you to do it, because the Holy Ghost is constantly suggesting ways in which we could do good.
So, really, the question of whether doing good on one's own is better than doing good at someone's request could be moot, because if we are doing good, we will never be on our own; we will always have a companion with us who frequently, if not constantly, suggests that we do good. I would say that the less prompting one requires to persuade them to do good, the better, but I'm not sure I can say if it's even possible to do good without receiving any prompting at all.
At the same time, though, doing good at another's request is better than not doing it at all. For example, while it would have been best if I had complimented or smiled at the person of my own accord, doing so because of the challenge would have been better than not doing it at all. So, naturally, I have some improvements to make, and one way I can make those improvements is by becoming better at following the Spirit's suggestions to do good.
One of the suggestions was to "Offer a compliment or a smile to someone who is having a rough day." Today, I interacted with such a person, and I don't think I complimented them, or even smiled to them, as I would have, had I remembered this suggestion.
At this point, I could easily blog about having room for improvement in that I could have been nicer to the person who was having a rough day, but I don't want to do that again. There have been many times when I've fallen short this month, and almost all of those times, I've blogged about how I should have done better. Tonight, instead, I want to blog about the morality of following these suggestions. In other words, I want to briefly explore whether or not the moral value of performing a good action varies depending on whether or not the action was suggested by another.
At first thought, I would say that it's better to do good without being prompted. Doing good because you're a good person is better than doing good because someone asked you to. But on the other hand, what difference does it make? Either way, you're doing good, and that's a good thing. However, doing good out of the goodness of your heart feels better than doing good at another's request. At least, it does for me. Could it be that the better feeling from doing good from my own volition is an indication from the Spirit that doing good "just because" is somehow better than doing good because someone else prompted me to?
I'm not sure, and one of the reasons I'm not sure is that I'm not sure it's even possible to do good without being asked or prompted to do it. Those of us who have been baptised have been given a gift by which the Spirit of God can be with us always. Through this gift, we can maintain a constant connection to the Holy Ghost, one of whose main jobs is to inspire others to do good. I suspect that He is frequently planting suggestions into our minds, giving us ideas of ways we can do good. I wouldn't be surprised if He was constantly giving us such suggestions as we've read and tried to follow during this Light the World challenge. If that's the case, it's virtually impossible to do good without someone asking you to do it, because the Holy Ghost is constantly suggesting ways in which we could do good.
So, really, the question of whether doing good on one's own is better than doing good at someone's request could be moot, because if we are doing good, we will never be on our own; we will always have a companion with us who frequently, if not constantly, suggests that we do good. I would say that the less prompting one requires to persuade them to do good, the better, but I'm not sure I can say if it's even possible to do good without receiving any prompting at all.
At the same time, though, doing good at another's request is better than not doing it at all. For example, while it would have been best if I had complimented or smiled at the person of my own accord, doing so because of the challenge would have been better than not doing it at all. So, naturally, I have some improvements to make, and one way I can make those improvements is by becoming better at following the Spirit's suggestions to do good.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Thanking God
Today's challenge is about gratitude, so I'd like to take a moment to go beyond forgiving God for letting me come to Earth and actually thank Him for it. (This will put me at 17 out of 22, by the way, just in case anyone is keeping track.)
As I said yesterday, mortality is tough, but it's also an incredible opportunity. Without this opportunity, we would literally have been damned. Our progress would have been permanently halted by our lack of mortal experience and our inability to gain it. But since we were born on Earth, we all have the opportunity to learn and grow in ways we couldn't have imagined.
And even without considering the eternal blessings we'll get out of having been alive, there are some pretty great temporal blessings, too. This world is wonderfully beautiful, having a body is amazing, and even with only a handful of decades to work with, life can be richly rewarding and/or a lot of fun.
Yesterday, I expressed complaints about some of the negative aspects of life, but in doing so, I largely ignored the positive aspects of life. Yes, mortality is often challenging, but those challenges help us develop strength that we couldn't develop in any other way. Life can be painful, but it can also be comfortable, and any pain we experience helps us appreciate our comfort even more.
The worst part about mortality is the risk of eternal damnation, but that risk is probably smaller than we think, especially if we care at all about it. If we are at all concerned about the importance of being righteous, then we're probably being righteous enough that we don't really need to be worried.
And that leads me to another thing to be thankful for: The Atonement. Not only did God give us the great opportunity to continue to progress, He also bent over backward to make sure that we wouldn't get hopelessly stuck on any of life's challenges. He made it possible, through the power of the Atonement, to overcome any obstacle, even the consequences of sin.
All told, mortality is a blessing for which it is well worth thanking God. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, and there are some risks involved, but it's an incredible opportunity and a thrilling ride. It has downsides, but it has plenty of upsides, too. It's challenging, but it's worth it. Yesterday, I forgave God for thrusting me into this world; today, I thank Him for doing so. This is the best world I can remember living in, and living in it has been the greatest experience I've ever had. That may not be saying much, but it says enough to convince me that I should say "thanks" to God.
As I said yesterday, mortality is tough, but it's also an incredible opportunity. Without this opportunity, we would literally have been damned. Our progress would have been permanently halted by our lack of mortal experience and our inability to gain it. But since we were born on Earth, we all have the opportunity to learn and grow in ways we couldn't have imagined.
And even without considering the eternal blessings we'll get out of having been alive, there are some pretty great temporal blessings, too. This world is wonderfully beautiful, having a body is amazing, and even with only a handful of decades to work with, life can be richly rewarding and/or a lot of fun.
Yesterday, I expressed complaints about some of the negative aspects of life, but in doing so, I largely ignored the positive aspects of life. Yes, mortality is often challenging, but those challenges help us develop strength that we couldn't develop in any other way. Life can be painful, but it can also be comfortable, and any pain we experience helps us appreciate our comfort even more.
The worst part about mortality is the risk of eternal damnation, but that risk is probably smaller than we think, especially if we care at all about it. If we are at all concerned about the importance of being righteous, then we're probably being righteous enough that we don't really need to be worried.
And that leads me to another thing to be thankful for: The Atonement. Not only did God give us the great opportunity to continue to progress, He also bent over backward to make sure that we wouldn't get hopelessly stuck on any of life's challenges. He made it possible, through the power of the Atonement, to overcome any obstacle, even the consequences of sin.
All told, mortality is a blessing for which it is well worth thanking God. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, and there are some risks involved, but it's an incredible opportunity and a thrilling ride. It has downsides, but it has plenty of upsides, too. It's challenging, but it's worth it. Yesterday, I forgave God for thrusting me into this world; today, I thank Him for doing so. This is the best world I can remember living in, and living in it has been the greatest experience I've ever had. That may not be saying much, but it says enough to convince me that I should say "thanks" to God.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Forgiving God
Today's Light the World challenge is to forgive others, which is a challenge for me for the best possible reason: I couldn't think of anyone I needed to forgive. I haven't been wronged in any serious way, at least, not that I can recall. Thinking of it now, there was that time someone stole the seat of my bicycle, but I've already forgiven them. I have no quarrel with anyone. I am a very lucky man.
However, there have been times when I've felt unlucky. There have been times when I've felt that life has been unfairly difficult and that this life wasn't what I had signed up for, or, if I had signed up for this, I doubted that I knew what I was getting myself into. In short, there have been times when I have felt angry at God, and now I think I should forgive Him for all that.
I don't know how well any of us knew what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed to come to Earth. Not having bodies yet, we would have no idea what it would feel like to feel pain or exhaustion. We would have had no idea what sin or hopelessness or worthlessness felt like. Having spent all our lives in the presence of God, we would have had no idea how it would feel to feel alone and abandoned. We could not possibly imagine how hard or how painful life in Earth would be. Yet, God knew, and He allowed us to agree to come here though He knew that we had no idea what it was that we were agreeing to.
I need to forgive Him for that. There really was no other way. The reason we didn't know what Earth would be like was because we didn't have any experience, and the only way we could gain experience (or a myriad of other blessings essential to our eternal progression) was to come to Earth. We had to come here, even though we didn't know how bad it was going to be, and God had to let us come here, even though He did know how bad it was going to be. That must have been painful for Him, to know that we would experience pain, when, at that time, we had no idea what pain even was.
And though I have felt alone sometimes, I know that I was never really alone. God has never abandoned me, though I have occasionally turned away from Him. Even when I was livid with Him and when I was sure He was disappointed in me, He was never farther than a prayer away. God had to send us to Earth, but He also sent, and is still sending us, all the help He can while we're here.
I forgive God for letting me come to Earth despite knowing how far I would fall and how hurt I would feel. I forgive Him for not doing more to protect me from myself, because I know He has been doing all He could. I forgive Him for letting me and all mankind suffer, because I know that this is all necessary for our eternal happiness.
I forgive God for everything He has done, or not done, that has caused me pain, and I thank God that He forgives me. I have done far more that has hurt Him than He has done to hurt me. I need far more of His forgiveness than He needs of mine. I am thankful that God and I are willing to forgive each other and continue to work together, and I'm thankful for both the peace I feel when He forgives me and the peace that I have felt for forgiving Him.
However, there have been times when I've felt unlucky. There have been times when I've felt that life has been unfairly difficult and that this life wasn't what I had signed up for, or, if I had signed up for this, I doubted that I knew what I was getting myself into. In short, there have been times when I have felt angry at God, and now I think I should forgive Him for all that.
I don't know how well any of us knew what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed to come to Earth. Not having bodies yet, we would have no idea what it would feel like to feel pain or exhaustion. We would have had no idea what sin or hopelessness or worthlessness felt like. Having spent all our lives in the presence of God, we would have had no idea how it would feel to feel alone and abandoned. We could not possibly imagine how hard or how painful life in Earth would be. Yet, God knew, and He allowed us to agree to come here though He knew that we had no idea what it was that we were agreeing to.
I need to forgive Him for that. There really was no other way. The reason we didn't know what Earth would be like was because we didn't have any experience, and the only way we could gain experience (or a myriad of other blessings essential to our eternal progression) was to come to Earth. We had to come here, even though we didn't know how bad it was going to be, and God had to let us come here, even though He did know how bad it was going to be. That must have been painful for Him, to know that we would experience pain, when, at that time, we had no idea what pain even was.
And though I have felt alone sometimes, I know that I was never really alone. God has never abandoned me, though I have occasionally turned away from Him. Even when I was livid with Him and when I was sure He was disappointed in me, He was never farther than a prayer away. God had to send us to Earth, but He also sent, and is still sending us, all the help He can while we're here.
I forgive God for letting me come to Earth despite knowing how far I would fall and how hurt I would feel. I forgive Him for not doing more to protect me from myself, because I know He has been doing all He could. I forgive Him for letting me and all mankind suffer, because I know that this is all necessary for our eternal happiness.
I forgive God for everything He has done, or not done, that has caused me pain, and I thank God that He forgives me. I have done far more that has hurt Him than He has done to hurt me. I need far more of His forgiveness than He needs of mine. I am thankful that God and I are willing to forgive each other and continue to work together, and I'm thankful for both the peace I feel when He forgives me and the peace that I have felt for forgiving Him.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
A Quick Quote About Potential
I'm pretty tired, so I'm just going to share a General Conference quote that my mom shared on Facebook and call it a night.
With all my capacity I encourage you to discover who you really are. I invite you to look beyond the daily routine of life. I urge you to discern through the Spirit your divinely given capacities. I exhort you to prayerfully make worthy choices that will lead you to realize your full potential.
Elder Richard G. Scott, Realize Your Full Potential, October 2003.
One thing I like about this quote is that it highlights the fact that we have divinely-given capabilities. We have natural gifts, sometimes referred to as talents, that God gave us perhaps even before we were born. These gifts frequently correspond to our life-long callings -- that for which we were specifically sent to Earth to do. If we can discover and develop our talents, we can use that information to discern what God sent us here to do, and we will be better prepared to do it. If we do that, we can fulfil our callings and thus reach our full earthly potential. We should all follow Elder Scott's advice by trying to discover our talents and figure out how God intends for us to use them. If we do, we can fulfil our earthly purposes, live a fulfilling life, and achieve our full earthly potential in the process.
With all my capacity I encourage you to discover who you really are. I invite you to look beyond the daily routine of life. I urge you to discern through the Spirit your divinely given capacities. I exhort you to prayerfully make worthy choices that will lead you to realize your full potential.
Elder Richard G. Scott, Realize Your Full Potential, October 2003.
One thing I like about this quote is that it highlights the fact that we have divinely-given capabilities. We have natural gifts, sometimes referred to as talents, that God gave us perhaps even before we were born. These gifts frequently correspond to our life-long callings -- that for which we were specifically sent to Earth to do. If we can discover and develop our talents, we can use that information to discern what God sent us here to do, and we will be better prepared to do it. If we do that, we can fulfil our callings and thus reach our full earthly potential. We should all follow Elder Scott's advice by trying to discover our talents and figure out how God intends for us to use them. If we do, we can fulfil our earthly purposes, live a fulfilling life, and achieve our full earthly potential in the process.
Planning to See Potential
Today's Light the World challenge, to see the potential in others, would be so much easier if today was a school day. One of the suggestions is to "Be a mentor or tutor for someone," and on school days, that is, quite literally, my job. Today, I'll have to go a bit beyond just doing my job or doing what I would normally do to meet the challenge. However, I will have a child with me today. Perhaps I'll have an opportunity to let her do a small part of my job or to help her learn to set goals. If not, perhaps I'll blog about our divine potential, since that's a favorite topic of mine. So, that's the plan and the back-up plan. Let's see how well I follow them.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Storms of Life
I didn't help anyone calm the storm today. I am 15 for 19, though I did listen to Motab's performance of "Master, the Tempest is Raging," so I did technically follow at least one of the suggestions for today's Light the World challenge. Maybe I should count that, but I don't really think that counts.
As I was reviewing the suggestions, however, one of them stood out to me. After the main three suggestions, the foremost of the "other ways to participate" was to "Consider ways to reduce contention in your home."
Of course, it was foolish of me to take the idea of this challenge too literally. Though winter is a season fraught with literal rain- and snow-storms, life is also a season fraught with emotional and spiritual storms. I know of a few family members who are currently going through some intense emotional storms. Perhaps I ought to send out a few messages tomorrow. I don't think there's anything I can do to help them, but at least I can let them know that I'm thinking about them.
And when it comes to emotional storms, that's often all one can do. We can't always calm the storms in others' hearts, but we can weather the storms with them. Sometimes, it's comforting enough just to know that you're not alone.
I didn't help calm the storm today, but I will do what I can tomorrow. I know that my sympathy won't do anything to help the situations my loved ones are facing, but maybe it'll help them get the strength they need to face them. We may not be able to calm all the storms of life, but at least we can reach out to each other and help each other endure.
As I was reviewing the suggestions, however, one of them stood out to me. After the main three suggestions, the foremost of the "other ways to participate" was to "Consider ways to reduce contention in your home."
Of course, it was foolish of me to take the idea of this challenge too literally. Though winter is a season fraught with literal rain- and snow-storms, life is also a season fraught with emotional and spiritual storms. I know of a few family members who are currently going through some intense emotional storms. Perhaps I ought to send out a few messages tomorrow. I don't think there's anything I can do to help them, but at least I can let them know that I'm thinking about them.
And when it comes to emotional storms, that's often all one can do. We can't always calm the storms in others' hearts, but we can weather the storms with them. Sometimes, it's comforting enough just to know that you're not alone.
I didn't help calm the storm today, but I will do what I can tomorrow. I know that my sympathy won't do anything to help the situations my loved ones are facing, but maybe it'll help them get the strength they need to face them. We may not be able to calm all the storms of life, but at least we can reach out to each other and help each other endure.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
A Christmassy Sabbath
Today's Light the World challenge is to honor the Sabbath, and I am certainly going to do that. By the end of the day, I will be 15 for 18. Today, I will honor the Sabbath by attending a local worship service, spending time with family, and worshipping the Lord through song. This is going to be a wonderful and worshipful day, and I'm blessed, not only to be able to pass the Light the World challenge so easily, but to do it in such an enjoyable way. I love this part of Christmas.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
A Call From Across the Couch
Today's Light the World challenge was to care for your mother, and one of the suggestions was to call her, so, despite having spent the whole day with her, I called her this evening - why we were both sitting on the same couch. It was silly, but that silliness brought a smile to her face. Kind gestures don't have to be grand or significant; they don't even have to make sense. As long as it brightens a person's day, it's probably worth doing, even if it's something as silly as calling your mother from across the couch.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Define Compassion
It's hard for me to judge whether or not I've shown compassion today. How do you show compassion? Some have defined compassion as "sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others." As such, compassion is usually invoked in the cases of those who are less fortunate, but I think this use of the term might be too narrow. We all suffer from time to time. We all have misfortunes. It's not only the especially unfortunate people who need compassion. We all do. Can one "show compassion" by, say, doing a chore for someone who's tired? I suppose, in a small way, I was sympathetic to the needs of others today. So, sure, why not? I "showed compassion" today. 13 for 16. But I'm still not fully convinced that I know what "compassion" even means. What does and does not count as an act of compassion? I'm open to your thoughts, and I'm open to unpacking this word further later, because I'm sure I don't understand compassion as well as I would like to.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Hallelujah - Praise God
Each year, millions of people celebrate Christmas by listening to Handel's Messiah and its iconic Hallelujah chorus. I've heard and appreciated it many times. But it has occurred to me that one element of the chorus that I may not fully appreciate is the meaning of the word "Hallelujah." We tend to use it to express joy or thanks to God, but what does the word actually mean?
A rudimentary search of the internet revealed that, translated literally, Hallelujah is an exhortation, addressed to several people, to praise God. It's not an interjection; it's a verb. When we say "Hallelujah," we are asking those who can hear us to praise God, and when we hear "Hallelujah," that's what we are being asked to do.
Of course, the same website that told me the word's literal meaning also told me that most Christians don't use it. The website states that "For most Christians, 'Hallelujah' is considered a joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injunction to praise him." And, naturally, we must take the speaker's meaning into account. If someone says "Hallelujah" at having heard some miraculously good news, we don't need to assume that they are asking us to praise God right then and there. Similarly, when we say "Hallelujah," we can can use it as an interjection or an invitation, if we have reason to believe that our listeners might recognize it as an invitation.
But now that we know that Hallelujah is sometimes use to exhort people to praise God, I hope we think of that definition as often as we hear the word. There is never a bad time to praise God, and there are few better times than at Christmastime. So, this season, when we hear the choir emphatically sing "Hallelujah" at the end of that glorious hymn, I hope we take a moment to accept that invitation.
A rudimentary search of the internet revealed that, translated literally, Hallelujah is an exhortation, addressed to several people, to praise God. It's not an interjection; it's a verb. When we say "Hallelujah," we are asking those who can hear us to praise God, and when we hear "Hallelujah," that's what we are being asked to do.
Of course, the same website that told me the word's literal meaning also told me that most Christians don't use it. The website states that "For most Christians, 'Hallelujah' is considered a joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injunction to praise him." And, naturally, we must take the speaker's meaning into account. If someone says "Hallelujah" at having heard some miraculously good news, we don't need to assume that they are asking us to praise God right then and there. Similarly, when we say "Hallelujah," we can can use it as an interjection or an invitation, if we have reason to believe that our listeners might recognize it as an invitation.
But now that we know that Hallelujah is sometimes use to exhort people to praise God, I hope we think of that definition as often as we hear the word. There is never a bad time to praise God, and there are few better times than at Christmastime. So, this season, when we hear the choir emphatically sing "Hallelujah" at the end of that glorious hymn, I hope we take a moment to accept that invitation.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
More Good Than Normal
It's working.
Today, the Light the World challenge was to clothe the naked, so I went through my dresser and pulled out several of the T-Shirts I no longer wear (and which are still fit to be worn) and put them in a bag to be donated to a thrift store. This was, arguably, a good thing, and it's a thing which I wouldn't've bothered doing for a long time, were it not for the Light the World challenge. Today, this challenge got me to do a good thing which I would not otherwise have done.
This challenge is being a good influence in my life. Much of the good it would have me do, I am already doing, and some of the good it would have me do, I just didn't, but today, and on at least one other day that I can recall, I did some small token of good, just because the challenge called for it. That's all we really need sometimes. Just one small push in the right direction can encourage us to do good that we might not otherwise have done.
Sometimes, it's the Holy Spirit that provides us with the encouragement to do good. Sometimes, it's a friend or family member, or maybe even a neighbor or coworker who gives you the push. And sometimes, it's challenges like these that get us to go beyond the amount of good we would normally do and that help us become even better.
As noted a few times earlier this month, there are some good things that I regularly do. But there are some good things I don't do as often as I should. This challenge has now, at least twice, helped me to do more good in the world. If that's what it was designed to do, and I'm inclined to think it is, it's working.
Today, the Light the World challenge was to clothe the naked, so I went through my dresser and pulled out several of the T-Shirts I no longer wear (and which are still fit to be worn) and put them in a bag to be donated to a thrift store. This was, arguably, a good thing, and it's a thing which I wouldn't've bothered doing for a long time, were it not for the Light the World challenge. Today, this challenge got me to do a good thing which I would not otherwise have done.
This challenge is being a good influence in my life. Much of the good it would have me do, I am already doing, and some of the good it would have me do, I just didn't, but today, and on at least one other day that I can recall, I did some small token of good, just because the challenge called for it. That's all we really need sometimes. Just one small push in the right direction can encourage us to do good that we might not otherwise have done.
Sometimes, it's the Holy Spirit that provides us with the encouragement to do good. Sometimes, it's a friend or family member, or maybe even a neighbor or coworker who gives you the push. And sometimes, it's challenges like these that get us to go beyond the amount of good we would normally do and that help us become even better.
As noted a few times earlier this month, there are some good things that I regularly do. But there are some good things I don't do as often as I should. This challenge has now, at least twice, helped me to do more good in the world. If that's what it was designed to do, and I'm inclined to think it is, it's working.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Need to Be Humble
Today's Light the World challenge was to be humble. Some of the suggestions were to learn to laugh at yourself and to be open to learning something new. I'm not sure how well I succeeded at that. Tonight, at my sister's suggestion, I made dinner, but I quickly grew impatient with my sister's guidance and instruction, and when the meal seemed to have turned out badly, I grew sullen. I could have handled that whole dinner situation better had I been more humble. 10 for 13.
However, I can gain and practice humility by learning from this experience. This is something I can work on. And if I'm humble enough to accept that I need to learn humility, that will help me develop that trait.
I should learn to be more patient when receiving directions, and I certainly need to improve my attitude in general, and particularly toward myself. Learning to be more light-hearted and more willing to listen to others' counsel will make my life smoother and bring me more peace. I'm grateful that I had this opportunity to learn this about myself. Now, hopefully, I'll be humble enough to accept and work on my need to become more humble.
However, I can gain and practice humility by learning from this experience. This is something I can work on. And if I'm humble enough to accept that I need to learn humility, that will help me develop that trait.
I should learn to be more patient when receiving directions, and I certainly need to improve my attitude in general, and particularly toward myself. Learning to be more light-hearted and more willing to listen to others' counsel will make my life smoother and bring me more peace. I'm grateful that I had this opportunity to learn this about myself. Now, hopefully, I'll be humble enough to accept and work on my need to become more humble.
Moral Luck
Today, I stayed home and studied for my Statistics Final. It was fairly boring, and I didn't accomplish much. Among the list of things I didn't accomplish today is today's Light the World challenge, teach others. Apart from some unimportant movie trivia, I don't think I taught anyone anything today. I am 10 for 12.
But I did learn something interesting, though. As part of my not-accomplishing-much, I watched a video about Moral Luck. Let me teach you about it. Let's suppose that two people both go to the same party and get drunk. They each drive home separately while intoxicated. One of them accidentally hits someone and kills them. The other person luckily gets home without incident. Now, considering that they both made the same decisions, but also that one of them caused someone's death and the other one didn't, do you think that one of them is more worthy of blame than the other, or do you think they're both equally blameworthy? If you decide that the person who caused the death of another is more blameworthy than the person who got home without causing harm, the latter can be said to have been morally lucky.
I have gotten morally lucky over the course of this month. There have been a few days so far where I haven't even tried to meet the Light the World challenge, but I succeeded anyway because that day's challenge was to do something I was already doing.
Today, however, I got morally unlucky. As a writing tutor, I teach college students how to write better essays. I literally spend a few hours teaching people each school day. On a normal Monday, I would have succeeded at today's challenge without even breaking from my normal schedule. But today was the first day of Finals Week. My last day of work for this semester was last Thursday. Ergo, I didn't teach anyone about anything today. It was just bad luck.
Yet, I don't think God takes "moral luck" into account. I don't think God would consider either of the two drunk drivers any more or less evil because they either got unlucky and hit someone or got lucky and didn't. I think He cares more about our intentions, desires, and actions, than He cares about the outcomes of our actions. My guess is that God would consider both of the drunk drivers equally wrong for having made the decision to drive drunk. But that's just my opinion.
I also think that moral luck eventually balances out anyway. Some days, we get lucky; some days we get unlucky. Over the years, we have enough lucky and unlucky days to balance each other out, making luck a non-factor, even if God did hold people accountable for the luck they either did or didn't have.
Today didn't work out for me so well. Other days did. In the end, God will look at the big picture, factor out the "moral luck," and judge us based on principles of justice and mercy, not random chance.
But I did learn something interesting, though. As part of my not-accomplishing-much, I watched a video about Moral Luck. Let me teach you about it. Let's suppose that two people both go to the same party and get drunk. They each drive home separately while intoxicated. One of them accidentally hits someone and kills them. The other person luckily gets home without incident. Now, considering that they both made the same decisions, but also that one of them caused someone's death and the other one didn't, do you think that one of them is more worthy of blame than the other, or do you think they're both equally blameworthy? If you decide that the person who caused the death of another is more blameworthy than the person who got home without causing harm, the latter can be said to have been morally lucky.
I have gotten morally lucky over the course of this month. There have been a few days so far where I haven't even tried to meet the Light the World challenge, but I succeeded anyway because that day's challenge was to do something I was already doing.
Today, however, I got morally unlucky. As a writing tutor, I teach college students how to write better essays. I literally spend a few hours teaching people each school day. On a normal Monday, I would have succeeded at today's challenge without even breaking from my normal schedule. But today was the first day of Finals Week. My last day of work for this semester was last Thursday. Ergo, I didn't teach anyone about anything today. It was just bad luck.
Yet, I don't think God takes "moral luck" into account. I don't think God would consider either of the two drunk drivers any more or less evil because they either got unlucky and hit someone or got lucky and didn't. I think He cares more about our intentions, desires, and actions, than He cares about the outcomes of our actions. My guess is that God would consider both of the drunk drivers equally wrong for having made the decision to drive drunk. But that's just my opinion.
I also think that moral luck eventually balances out anyway. Some days, we get lucky; some days we get unlucky. Over the years, we have enough lucky and unlucky days to balance each other out, making luck a non-factor, even if God did hold people accountable for the luck they either did or didn't have.
Today didn't work out for me so well. Other days did. In the end, God will look at the big picture, factor out the "moral luck," and judge us based on principles of justice and mercy, not random chance.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Personal Considerations in God's Cosmic Plans
I'm astonished how frequently the Light the World challenge lines up with something I was going to do anyway. Last week, I was asked to help out in Primary that Sunday. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to help again this week and next week as well, so this Sunday, the second hour of church found me in a classroom with a half-dozen Primary children, helping them learn about Moroni, the Gold Plates, and Joseph Smith. And it just so happens that today's Light the World challenge is to minister to children.
I wonder if God planned that. Probably not, since I'm only one person, and this Light the World challenge affects many. I don't think He tailored the challenge to match my opportunities, not do I think He tailored my opportunities to match the challenge. Why would He have given me this opportunity at this time when He could have just as easily given it to someone else? It's hard to imagine that God would have me factor into His great cosmic plans.
On the other hand, I'm not sure how strongly I believe in coincidences, either. God tends to plan things out; I doubt that He'd leave many things to chance, or that there could be many "happy accidents." For example, if God was planning whether or not it was going to rain on a given day, of course He would consider whose lives might be drastically affected by the rain, but I think He would consider the effect the rain would have on an individual's flower garden. I think He loves each one of us personally that He would take everyone into account while He's forming His cosmic plans.
Sure, things sometimes still don't work out. There are times when it feels like the universe is against you. But that's partly because we all share this one world. What might be good for one person might be bad for another, so God has to decide how to distribute His blessings and trials, knowing that what would be a blessing for one person could be a trial for another. Also, our trials can be blessings, if we let them help us develop personal strength and other Christlike attributes. Often, the trials we experienced are designed to create blessings for ourselves or others.
So, maybe God did factor me into the plan for this Light the World challenge. Maybe He created an absence in the Primary so I would be in the right place at the right time for me to have that convenience and end up writing a blog post about it. It's not impossible for God to have thought of that, considered it, and decided that that's the way things ought to be. Of course, I know that I'm not always going to be so blessed. Today, I got lucky. Tomorrow, I might be unlucky. But now, I believe it's all part of God's plan. We are all a part of God's plan, and He designs His plans around each and every one of us.
I wonder if God planned that. Probably not, since I'm only one person, and this Light the World challenge affects many. I don't think He tailored the challenge to match my opportunities, not do I think He tailored my opportunities to match the challenge. Why would He have given me this opportunity at this time when He could have just as easily given it to someone else? It's hard to imagine that God would have me factor into His great cosmic plans.
On the other hand, I'm not sure how strongly I believe in coincidences, either. God tends to plan things out; I doubt that He'd leave many things to chance, or that there could be many "happy accidents." For example, if God was planning whether or not it was going to rain on a given day, of course He would consider whose lives might be drastically affected by the rain, but I think He would consider the effect the rain would have on an individual's flower garden. I think He loves each one of us personally that He would take everyone into account while He's forming His cosmic plans.
Sure, things sometimes still don't work out. There are times when it feels like the universe is against you. But that's partly because we all share this one world. What might be good for one person might be bad for another, so God has to decide how to distribute His blessings and trials, knowing that what would be a blessing for one person could be a trial for another. Also, our trials can be blessings, if we let them help us develop personal strength and other Christlike attributes. Often, the trials we experienced are designed to create blessings for ourselves or others.
So, maybe God did factor me into the plan for this Light the World challenge. Maybe He created an absence in the Primary so I would be in the right place at the right time for me to have that convenience and end up writing a blog post about it. It's not impossible for God to have thought of that, considered it, and decided that that's the way things ought to be. Of course, I know that I'm not always going to be so blessed. Today, I got lucky. Tomorrow, I might be unlucky. But now, I believe it's all part of God's plan. We are all a part of God's plan, and He designs His plans around each and every one of us.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Clearing the Path
Today's Light the World challenge was to help people walk. Today, I did this by clearing the path from our front door to the side walk. Occasionally, that path gets obstructed, making it difficult and unpleasant for some members of my family to traverse. It didn't take long to clear the path, and it certainly wasn't difficult for me, but doing so made the things easier for others who have a harder time.
Throughout our lives, we all get opportunities to "clear the path" and make things easier for others. Sometimes, we do so by teaching them or guiding them. Sometimes, we do so by inventing some tool, technique, recipe, or method for others to use. And sometimes, we are literally clearing paths that we know others will follow. Let us take advantage of those opportunities so we can make life a little bit easier and more pleasant for others. Life is difficult, but we can make it a little bit less difficult by clearing paths for each other.
Throughout our lives, we all get opportunities to "clear the path" and make things easier for others. Sometimes, we do so by teaching them or guiding them. Sometimes, we do so by inventing some tool, technique, recipe, or method for others to use. And sometimes, we are literally clearing paths that we know others will follow. Let us take advantage of those opportunities so we can make life a little bit easier and more pleasant for others. Life is difficult, but we can make it a little bit less difficult by clearing paths for each other.
Friday, December 9, 2016
A Challenge to Get to Know the Lonely
This is only the second Friday of December, but so far, Fridays have been easy days for me. Today, the challenge is to visit the lonely, and I already planned to spend most of the day with the loneliest person I know. I don't think I'll invite that person to any special events, but I might ask them questions to try to get to know them better. We've known each other for quite some time, but I don't think either of us know all that much about the other, and t might be a good idea to change that. Reaching out to this person would be at least a somewhat charitable thing, and it would be something of a challenge, so I guess I'm getting a little bit of what I was asking for: A challenge to help me reach out of my comfort zone and be a better person than I normally am. Normally, I'd exchange pleasantries with this person, and perhaps discuss recent events, but the conversation would rarely go deeper than that. Today, I'll try to actually talk to this person, no matter how awkward or forced the conversation ends up seeming. I should try to get to know this person. I think Christ would take the time to try to get to know them.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
What Good Does Prayer Do?
Our Light the World challenge of the day was to pray for others, but I have a few minor issues with that. As I understood it (and maybe I didn't), these daily challenges were designed to inspire us to do good things to make the world a better place. But when a person prays, they aren't really doing much of anything. They're asking someone else to do something. And I'm not sure how much good the asking does, either. It seems to me that, in most cases, God was probably was already going to grant the blessing, or still won't, because He both knows and wants what's best for His children. God has probably already decided what blessings He will and won't grant, so our praying for blessings, either for ourselves or for others, doesn't do much to influence His decisions. So, praying for others doesn't do much good, and even if it does do good, we're not the ones that are doing it. So what gives? What does praying for others accomplish?
Several things. For starters, praying for the benefit of others may not be a sacrifice on our parts, and it certainly won't give us much experience with giving service, but it will help us learn compassion. When we pray for the welfare of others, we spend at least a little bit of time considering their needs. We also connect to God's love through prayer, so we can feel a bit of His love for them. These two factors work together to expand our hearts and help us become more charitable. Yet, that still doesn't help others directly.
But we can. Praying for others gives God the opportunity to tell us what they need and how we can help them. Often, we don't know exactly what we can do for a person, but if we pray for that person, God can respond by giving us a nudge in the right direction. When we pray for others, God sometimes answers by telling us what we can do for them.
Though, God does also occasionally answer prayers directly, just as we ask. For one reason or another, God has made some of His blessings contingent on asking for them. So, praying does, in some cases, unlock blessings that might not otherwise have been granted. Also, God has an amazing amount of power. He can do far more good in other's lives than we can. Enlisting God's help to bless someone might be the more effective thing we could do for them. Sure, we could bless them ourselves, and we still can, but if we can get God to bless them, that would be even better for them.
So, praying for others can have some practical benefits, both for ourselves and for those whom we ask God to bless. It still seems like an indirect and unreliable method of helping others, but it can do some good. And it doesn't take a lot of time or effort, either. Praying for someone can be quick and easy, but can still yield some positive results, like teaching us compassion, helping us learn how we can bless others, and possibly calling down the blessings of God. There may be more direct and impactful ways to serve others, but praying for them is an easy serve them, so I guess I'm glad that we were reminded and encouraged to do it.
Several things. For starters, praying for the benefit of others may not be a sacrifice on our parts, and it certainly won't give us much experience with giving service, but it will help us learn compassion. When we pray for the welfare of others, we spend at least a little bit of time considering their needs. We also connect to God's love through prayer, so we can feel a bit of His love for them. These two factors work together to expand our hearts and help us become more charitable. Yet, that still doesn't help others directly.
But we can. Praying for others gives God the opportunity to tell us what they need and how we can help them. Often, we don't know exactly what we can do for a person, but if we pray for that person, God can respond by giving us a nudge in the right direction. When we pray for others, God sometimes answers by telling us what we can do for them.
Though, God does also occasionally answer prayers directly, just as we ask. For one reason or another, God has made some of His blessings contingent on asking for them. So, praying does, in some cases, unlock blessings that might not otherwise have been granted. Also, God has an amazing amount of power. He can do far more good in other's lives than we can. Enlisting God's help to bless someone might be the more effective thing we could do for them. Sure, we could bless them ourselves, and we still can, but if we can get God to bless them, that would be even better for them.
So, praying for others can have some practical benefits, both for ourselves and for those whom we ask God to bless. It still seems like an indirect and unreliable method of helping others, but it can do some good. And it doesn't take a lot of time or effort, either. Praying for someone can be quick and easy, but can still yield some positive results, like teaching us compassion, helping us learn how we can bless others, and possibly calling down the blessings of God. There may be more direct and impactful ways to serve others, but praying for them is an easy serve them, so I guess I'm glad that we were reminded and encouraged to do it.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Sort Of Technically Feeding the Hungry at the Last Minute
I didn't do well today.
Today, I had an opportunity to buy food for people, or at least to share the food I had with people, but I just didn't think of it. I forgot that the goal today was to feed the hungry, and I didn't recognise the opportunity until it had passed.
But they probably weren't all that hungry anyway. And, to make up for my missed opportunity and to make sure today counted, I donated a small amount of money to my ward's Fast Offering fund (Isn't the Internet awesome?), which will certainly go toward feeding, or clothing, or otherwise assisting people who could definitely use the help. That counts. I'm 6 for 7.
But still, throwing a few dollars at my church's poor fund, while admirable, isn't quite as satisfying as helping people directly, and I'm not sure it's as effective at making me more like Jesus Christ. Jesus helped people personally; He didn't hold a fund-raiser to raise money to help the poor through intermediaries. I'll count today because at least I did something, but I'll try to do better tomorrow.
Today, I had an opportunity to buy food for people, or at least to share the food I had with people, but I just didn't think of it. I forgot that the goal today was to feed the hungry, and I didn't recognise the opportunity until it had passed.
But they probably weren't all that hungry anyway. And, to make up for my missed opportunity and to make sure today counted, I donated a small amount of money to my ward's Fast Offering fund (Isn't the Internet awesome?), which will certainly go toward feeding, or clothing, or otherwise assisting people who could definitely use the help. That counts. I'm 6 for 7.
But still, throwing a few dollars at my church's poor fund, while admirable, isn't quite as satisfying as helping people directly, and I'm not sure it's as effective at making me more like Jesus Christ. Jesus helped people personally; He didn't hold a fund-raiser to raise money to help the poor through intermediaries. I'll count today because at least I did something, but I'll try to do better tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Three Scriptures That Describe Me
One of the challenges of the day was to find three scriptures that represent me and to share them with someone close (or the entire Internet).
The first scripture that came to mind for me was Alma 26:12:
Another scripture that I would like to use to describe me is Alma 53:20:
I'm not sure about a third verse. I've covered weakness, and I've mentioned the stripling soldiers. What else is there to me besides being a far-too-human paladin?
Mosiah 2:17
Service can be tiring, frustrating, and discouraging, but it sure beats damnation. And I'd much rather be described as someone who gives too much service than as one who is doomed to be cast down to hell. There are worse scriptures, is what I'm saying.
I feel like those three scriptures, combined, describe me pretty well. I'm weak, except for when I get God's help. I'm young and active and physically strong, and generally a good person. And I give service. If you know of any verse of scripture that you think would describe me better than those first three do, feel free to suggest it in a comment, but until then, I think those may be the three verses of scripture which best describe me.
The first scripture that came to mind for me was Alma 26:12:
Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.I can definitely relate to the part about being weak, but I can also relate to the part about gaining strength from the Lord. I have been helped by God in my life frequently, and there have been many times when I was able to do something that I was only able to do because I had God's help.
Another scripture that I would like to use to describe me is Alma 53:20:
And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.This verse refers to the 2000 stripling soldiers, whom I read about during a special 15-minute scripture study session this morning. Much of it clearly applies to me; I am a young man abundant in strength and activity. I also have some courage, or so I would like to believe. I'm not sure if I am always true in everything with which I am entrusted. I always try to be honest, but I am not always faithful in meeting my obligations, especially when those obligations are given to me rather than taken upon myself. If you give me a task, I might not do it (unless I work for you), but if I give myself a task, I'm far more likely to try to stick with it.
I'm not sure about a third verse. I've covered weakness, and I've mentioned the stripling soldiers. What else is there to me besides being a far-too-human paladin?
Mosiah 2:17
And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.I could stand to learn more wisdom, but more than that, this verse describes me because I have devoted a lot of myself to service. I regularly serve my fellow beings, and I frequently serve God. In fact, that's one of the reasons I occasionally feel weak: I'm not good at turning down opportunities to serve (though I sometimes wish I was). But service isn't a bad thing to be known for. I'm glad God reminded me of that scripture, rather than, say, Alma 12:14:
For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.Or Moroni 9:4:
Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.Or basically any verse with the word "wo" in it.
Service can be tiring, frustrating, and discouraging, but it sure beats damnation. And I'd much rather be described as someone who gives too much service than as one who is doomed to be cast down to hell. There are worse scriptures, is what I'm saying.
I feel like those three scriptures, combined, describe me pretty well. I'm weak, except for when I get God's help. I'm young and active and physically strong, and generally a good person. And I give service. If you know of any verse of scripture that you think would describe me better than those first three do, feel free to suggest it in a comment, but until then, I think those may be the three verses of scripture which best describe me.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Character Test Cancelled
You know what? Not looking at the Light the World program ahead of time is a bad idea. Doing good is better than learning whether or not you would have done good anyway. Besides, what was I trying to prove, and to whom? My readers, some of whom know me quite well, already believe me to be a good person. And God already knows what kind of person I am, so testing myself on this challenge wouldn't really prove anything to Him.
I guess I was doing it for myself. I wanted measurable proof that I am a good person. That seems selfish of me, though it is important to have a good self esteem. Perhaps, rather than trying to prove to myself, with evidence, that I am a good person, I should just take your word for it. I'm not sure I would trust the evidence anyway, and I should also try to learn to trust your judgement. Besides, while it would be nice to have some evidence that I would be good just for the sake of being good, it would be even nicer to do good, even though I'm doing so partly just to participate in some seasonal program.
Not that it would've made much difference today. Today's goal was to heal the sick. I'm already an organ donor, I didn't really have time to donate blood today (though I could schedule an appointment for whenever I'll have time), and much of the rest of the suggestions for today seemed either too great to do (at least on short notice) or too small to be worth doing. I think I didn't quite cut it today. Four for Five. But I will make a conscious effort tomorrow, and I will start by acquainting myself with what I'm supposed to do.
I guess I was doing it for myself. I wanted measurable proof that I am a good person. That seems selfish of me, though it is important to have a good self esteem. Perhaps, rather than trying to prove to myself, with evidence, that I am a good person, I should just take your word for it. I'm not sure I would trust the evidence anyway, and I should also try to learn to trust your judgement. Besides, while it would be nice to have some evidence that I would be good just for the sake of being good, it would be even nicer to do good, even though I'm doing so partly just to participate in some seasonal program.
Not that it would've made much difference today. Today's goal was to heal the sick. I'm already an organ donor, I didn't really have time to donate blood today (though I could schedule an appointment for whenever I'll have time), and much of the rest of the suggestions for today seemed either too great to do (at least on short notice) or too small to be worth doing. I think I didn't quite cut it today. Four for Five. But I will make a conscious effort tomorrow, and I will start by acquainting myself with what I'm supposed to do.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
I Will Fight the Dragon
I attended a church service in my area, and I can, right now, make a goal to kneel in prayer every day for the rest of December, so today was pretty easy. I'm four for four. But that's not really what I want to blog about right now.
Driving over to a friend's house, I told my passengers that I wasn't going to try to get into the narrow driveway that was flanked by a brick and iron fence. Specifically, I said, "I'm not going to try the driveway." One of my passengers misheard me and asked "What was that about a dragon?" Another passenger, running with the miscommunication, said "He's not going to fight the dragon," and then added "Some paladin." A third passenger then said, "He's a peaceful paladin."
The reason I wanted to share that exchange was to state, for the record, that that isn't true. I am not a peaceful paladin. I will fight the dragon. In fact, I fight him almost every day.
In Revelations, and perhaps a few other parts of scripture, the term "the dragon" is used to refer to Lucifer, who became Satan, the devil. At times, I would prefer for there not to be a connection between dragons and Satan, because dragons are awesome and I like them, and Satan is not awesome and I don't like him. In fact, I often wish he would go to hell and stay there.
But I don't have to merely wish that he would leave me alone; I can make him leave. I can fight his influence and keep him out of my mind. I may not be able to completely eliminate all temptations from my mind, and even if I could, he would always come back with new ones, but though my adversary is relentless, I can fight him, and I can keep fighting him. I can't slay the dragon, but I can keep him at bay. At the very least, I can certainly try.
So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to try to keep Satan from influencing my decisions. I'm going to fight the dragon as often as he comes at me. And if I keep fighting him, I am guaranteed to beat him. Because I am a Paladin, I will fight the dragon, and moreover, I am going to win.
Driving over to a friend's house, I told my passengers that I wasn't going to try to get into the narrow driveway that was flanked by a brick and iron fence. Specifically, I said, "I'm not going to try the driveway." One of my passengers misheard me and asked "What was that about a dragon?" Another passenger, running with the miscommunication, said "He's not going to fight the dragon," and then added "Some paladin." A third passenger then said, "He's a peaceful paladin."
The reason I wanted to share that exchange was to state, for the record, that that isn't true. I am not a peaceful paladin. I will fight the dragon. In fact, I fight him almost every day.
In Revelations, and perhaps a few other parts of scripture, the term "the dragon" is used to refer to Lucifer, who became Satan, the devil. At times, I would prefer for there not to be a connection between dragons and Satan, because dragons are awesome and I like them, and Satan is not awesome and I don't like him. In fact, I often wish he would go to hell and stay there.
But I don't have to merely wish that he would leave me alone; I can make him leave. I can fight his influence and keep him out of my mind. I may not be able to completely eliminate all temptations from my mind, and even if I could, he would always come back with new ones, but though my adversary is relentless, I can fight him, and I can keep fighting him. I can't slay the dragon, but I can keep him at bay. At the very least, I can certainly try.
So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to try to keep Satan from influencing my decisions. I'm going to fight the dragon as often as he comes at me. And if I keep fighting him, I am guaranteed to beat him. Because I am a Paladin, I will fight the dragon, and moreover, I am going to win.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Statistics Homework is Evil
I believe that a thing is evil if it persuades people to do evil. Earlier this evening, my statistics homework frustrated me to the point where I became angry and told my sister, easily one of the nicest people I know, to "shut up." My statistics homework, or the frustration and anger it caused, persuaded me to do evil, and thus proved to be evil. However, even with an evil influence in my life, I have the power to make my own choices, and I should have chosen to control my temper. I am sorry for how I acted and what I said, and it's unfortunate that I still have at least one page of statistics homework left to do, but though I will soon be exposed to evil again, I hope that it won't prove to be evil a second time. My statistics homework is only evil if I let it persuade me to do evil, and I don't intend to let that happen again.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Light the World - A Test of Character
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't go out of my way to try to Light the World. Maybe I should just go about my business, doing what I normally do, and see how many of the days I participate in without even trying. It might be a good test of character. How often do I do the things that we, as Christians, are supposed to do? Also, making note of which days I missed will give me some ideas of where I could improve (as if I needed more ideas of where I could improve).
Today was about honoring your parents. One of the suggestions was to call your parents, which I totally should have done, but I didn't. What I did do was spend all day with one of my parents, helping him with errands and a doctor's appointment. Part of me thinks that that's nothing special because I do that almost every week, but another part of me thinks that that's special because I do it almost every week.
I'm discovering that service is part of my nature, both as part of my weekly schedule and as something I do impromptu when the opportunity comes up. Like a week ago, when a kid got a ball stuck in a tree, I didn't help him because I was supposed to; I helped him because I wanted to. I saw someone who could use help, and I just wanted to help.
This drive to help and serve others has gotten me into trouble a few times, and I sometimes wish my compulsion to service wasn't as strong as it is, but giving service is usually a good thing, and I do it rather often, so I can't be all bad.
Using the Light the World project as a test of character is a new idea, and I'm not fully committed to it, but it will be interesting to see which days I participate in naturally and which days I have to go out of my way to participate in. I'm two for two so far. Tomorrow is tainted as far as tests of character go because I saw that one of the suggestions is to help others see the virtues in them that they don't see in themselves, and now I'll never know if I'd have done that without hearing the suggestion. I'll do it anyway, of course, but I don't know if I should count it as something I would have done anyway. On the other hand, I did it today before learning that it was a suggestion for tomorrow. As with before, it just sort of came out naturally. I'm three for two, then, I guess.
But now I wonder, should I read the suggestions at the start of the day to make sure I participate, or should I wait until the end of the day to see if I participated without even trying to? Maybe I'll wait until the end of the day, check to see if I did it, and then, if I didn't, I'd go out of my way (if necessary) to make sure I do it the next day. For example, if I hadn't honored my parents today, I would go out of my way to honor them tomorrow. That might work. It's too late for me to do that tomorrow, but I might do it the next day. By not looking forward at the suggestions, I can make this test of character a true test.
I wonder how well I'll do. I'm doing well so far, but I wonder how long I can keep it up. I'm good at service, but I'm sure they'll test other Christlike attributes and behaviors as well. Still, I'm interested in seeing the results of this test. Therefore, I'm going to try to go into the test blind. Let's find out if I normally Light the World.
Today was about honoring your parents. One of the suggestions was to call your parents, which I totally should have done, but I didn't. What I did do was spend all day with one of my parents, helping him with errands and a doctor's appointment. Part of me thinks that that's nothing special because I do that almost every week, but another part of me thinks that that's special because I do it almost every week.
I'm discovering that service is part of my nature, both as part of my weekly schedule and as something I do impromptu when the opportunity comes up. Like a week ago, when a kid got a ball stuck in a tree, I didn't help him because I was supposed to; I helped him because I wanted to. I saw someone who could use help, and I just wanted to help.
This drive to help and serve others has gotten me into trouble a few times, and I sometimes wish my compulsion to service wasn't as strong as it is, but giving service is usually a good thing, and I do it rather often, so I can't be all bad.
Using the Light the World project as a test of character is a new idea, and I'm not fully committed to it, but it will be interesting to see which days I participate in naturally and which days I have to go out of my way to participate in. I'm two for two so far. Tomorrow is tainted as far as tests of character go because I saw that one of the suggestions is to help others see the virtues in them that they don't see in themselves, and now I'll never know if I'd have done that without hearing the suggestion. I'll do it anyway, of course, but I don't know if I should count it as something I would have done anyway. On the other hand, I did it today before learning that it was a suggestion for tomorrow. As with before, it just sort of came out naturally. I'm three for two, then, I guess.
But now I wonder, should I read the suggestions at the start of the day to make sure I participate, or should I wait until the end of the day to see if I participated without even trying to? Maybe I'll wait until the end of the day, check to see if I did it, and then, if I didn't, I'd go out of my way (if necessary) to make sure I do it the next day. For example, if I hadn't honored my parents today, I would go out of my way to honor them tomorrow. That might work. It's too late for me to do that tomorrow, but I might do it the next day. By not looking forward at the suggestions, I can make this test of character a true test.
I wonder how well I'll do. I'm doing well so far, but I wonder how long I can keep it up. I'm good at service, but I'm sure they'll test other Christlike attributes and behaviors as well. Still, I'm interested in seeing the results of this test. Therefore, I'm going to try to go into the test blind. Let's find out if I normally Light the World.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Coincidental Service
Today was the first day of the church's Light the World program, and today was all about service. If I had been super good and prepared and all that, I might have gone out of my way to do an extra act of service for someone, but that didn't happen. I didn't remember to do a special act of service today. However, I still did a small act of service for a friend.
I know a guy who runs a local card shop. Every so often, I hang out at that shop to join in conversation, play card games, and otherwise kill time while I wait for my bus. Lately, I've picked up a mini-project of sorting some of my friend's cards for him. Today, I cut up some index cards to make dividers to keep some his land cards organized. It wasn't much, and it wasn't planned, but I'd like to think that it was a kind gesture, and that maybe it was good enough to count as an act of service.
For the rest of December, I'm going to try to be more active in participating in the Light the World program. I won't promise to participate in the program every day, but I'll at least try to follow along with the program, and I probably will go out of my way to participate every so often, if only because it'll give me something to blog about, like it did today.
I didn't really plan on doing service today. It just sort of happened. Perhaps you, too, do service for others without even realizing it. It's in the nature of good people to be kind and helpful, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if many of you did service for others without really thinking about it. Today, I learned that it isn't always hard to do service for others, even when you're not even trying to.
I know a guy who runs a local card shop. Every so often, I hang out at that shop to join in conversation, play card games, and otherwise kill time while I wait for my bus. Lately, I've picked up a mini-project of sorting some of my friend's cards for him. Today, I cut up some index cards to make dividers to keep some his land cards organized. It wasn't much, and it wasn't planned, but I'd like to think that it was a kind gesture, and that maybe it was good enough to count as an act of service.
For the rest of December, I'm going to try to be more active in participating in the Light the World program. I won't promise to participate in the program every day, but I'll at least try to follow along with the program, and I probably will go out of my way to participate every so often, if only because it'll give me something to blog about, like it did today.
I didn't really plan on doing service today. It just sort of happened. Perhaps you, too, do service for others without even realizing it. It's in the nature of good people to be kind and helpful, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if many of you did service for others without really thinking about it. Today, I learned that it isn't always hard to do service for others, even when you're not even trying to.
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