This week, we talked about the miracles of feeding the 5000 and the 4000. In doing so, we talked about how God can magnify our sacrifices and leave us with more than we had when we started. However, I'm not sure how this is possible. I know that God can give us more energy and alter the physical characteristics of the world, but it's hard to imagine God repaying a sacrifice of time. God's miracles can repay any physical sacrifice, but they're not going to turn back the clock.
However, I've realized that I'm thinking about this on the wrong timescale. God doesn't always reward people right away. Sometimes, the ultimate rewards don't come until the afterlife, and one thing we already know about th afterlife is that, at that point, we'll be immortal. Mortal life is short; we only have so much time in mortality, but we will have an infinite amount of time hereafter, whether we make any sacrifices of time or not.
So, yes, right now, our time is precious, but in the eternal scheme of things, this Earthly life is only a very short amount of time compared to the amount of time we're going to be given. A sacrifice of a few hours, or even several hours, isn't all that long in comparison with the time God had already given us and will yet give us. Giving God and the needy our time does require a sacrifice, but it's a sacrifice of a resource of which we will someday have an infinite supply.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Voices in Our Heads
I recently found out about a musical called Be More Chill, in which a High Schooler named Jeremy puts an A.I. in his brain so it can give him relational and life advice, which, by the end of the musical, he also gets from his friends, family, and other peers. In the last song of the musical, Voices in my Head, Jeremy sings about how he has several voices in his head, telling him what to do and how to act, but he doesn't worry about it. As he says, he can just deal with the voices and/or tune them out and make up his own mind anyway because as he put it, "of the voices in my head, the loudest one is mine!"
Like Jeremy, we all have voices in our heads. Some are from our friends, families, and peers, and some are from beyond the veil. We can never make these voices go away completely. Both heaven and hell and everyone else will always try to influence us, whether we want them to or not, but we can choose whether or not we listen to them, and we can choose what decisions we make, regardless of what the voices in our heads say.
It's kind of a bummer that we're stuck with these voices, even the ones we don't want, but we can tune them out and ignore them. Regardless of how others try to influence us, we can and should make our own decisions. Of course, there are some voices we should listen to, including the voice of the Spirit, but even then, we shouldn't just obey any of the voices in our heads blindly. We can choose to trust the Spirit and heed its promptings, but we should do so because we choose to, not because He tells us to. We should never surrender our agency, not even to God. The various voices in our heads can give us welcome or unwelcome advice, but it's always up to us to choose which voices we listen to or ignore and to ultimately make up our own minds.
Like Jeremy, we all have voices in our heads. Some are from our friends, families, and peers, and some are from beyond the veil. We can never make these voices go away completely. Both heaven and hell and everyone else will always try to influence us, whether we want them to or not, but we can choose whether or not we listen to them, and we can choose what decisions we make, regardless of what the voices in our heads say.
It's kind of a bummer that we're stuck with these voices, even the ones we don't want, but we can tune them out and ignore them. Regardless of how others try to influence us, we can and should make our own decisions. Of course, there are some voices we should listen to, including the voice of the Spirit, but even then, we shouldn't just obey any of the voices in our heads blindly. We can choose to trust the Spirit and heed its promptings, but we should do so because we choose to, not because He tells us to. We should never surrender our agency, not even to God. The various voices in our heads can give us welcome or unwelcome advice, but it's always up to us to choose which voices we listen to or ignore and to ultimately make up our own minds.
Friday, March 29, 2019
Between the Extremes of Morality
Lately, I've been thinking about two characters who fall somewhere between the ultimate extremes of morality: Krusk Bloodfist and Job of the Old Testament.
Krusk is, as you probably know, my D&D character for the Pirate campaign I'm playing in. You also probably remember that D&D's morality system (or alignment system, as it's called in the game) covers both good vs evil and lawful vs chaotic. In terms of good vs evil, Krusk is mostly neutral in that he doesn't often go out of his way to help or hurt anyone, but he leans toward evil because he doesn't mind hurting those who cause problems for him or who merely get in his way. But that's probably a topic for another day.
For tonight, I want to explore where Krusk stands in terms of law and chaos. As a pirate, he acts against the law, but as the captain of his ship, his word basically is the law, at least for his crew. He mostly looks out only for himself, which is chaotically individualistic, but he also looks out for his wife and his crew, which is somewhat lawfully collectivistic. He recently made a promise of devotion and obedience to a deity, which is a lawful act that got me seriously questioning where he stands in law vs chaos, but his devotion is to a deity who is, herself, chaotic. So, Krusk is in a strange middle area where he does some things for chaotic reasons and other things for chaotic reasons. He is both lawful and chaotic in different ways at different times.
Job, on the other hand, is much easier to fit into a simple quadrant. Job is lawful good. He is a very good person who serves God (a lawful good deity) with unshakable devotion. The extremes of morality are, or can be, quite extreme, but I think it's still fair to say that Job was and is extremely good. However, he wasn't perfect. Only one human being ever was. For my Bible Study class, I'm writing a paper in which I am to "analyze the extent of Job’s greatness [of character]." That means that I need to talk about how good he was, exactly. He was very good, but even his goodness had a limit, and my assignment is to find that limit. He wasn't perfectly good any more than Krusk is perfectly chaotic.
In fact, I don't think anyone is perfectly anything. No one is all good or all evil. Even the best people have moral failings, and even the worst people have some good in them. We tend to idolize or demonize people for simplicity, but people aren't that simple; nothing ever is. The Godhead is perfectly good, and Satan is probably perfectly evil, but literally everyone else is more complex than that. Most people are generally good or generally evil, but everyone ultimately falls somewhere between the extremes of morality.
Krusk is, as you probably know, my D&D character for the Pirate campaign I'm playing in. You also probably remember that D&D's morality system (or alignment system, as it's called in the game) covers both good vs evil and lawful vs chaotic. In terms of good vs evil, Krusk is mostly neutral in that he doesn't often go out of his way to help or hurt anyone, but he leans toward evil because he doesn't mind hurting those who cause problems for him or who merely get in his way. But that's probably a topic for another day.
For tonight, I want to explore where Krusk stands in terms of law and chaos. As a pirate, he acts against the law, but as the captain of his ship, his word basically is the law, at least for his crew. He mostly looks out only for himself, which is chaotically individualistic, but he also looks out for his wife and his crew, which is somewhat lawfully collectivistic. He recently made a promise of devotion and obedience to a deity, which is a lawful act that got me seriously questioning where he stands in law vs chaos, but his devotion is to a deity who is, herself, chaotic. So, Krusk is in a strange middle area where he does some things for chaotic reasons and other things for chaotic reasons. He is both lawful and chaotic in different ways at different times.
Job, on the other hand, is much easier to fit into a simple quadrant. Job is lawful good. He is a very good person who serves God (a lawful good deity) with unshakable devotion. The extremes of morality are, or can be, quite extreme, but I think it's still fair to say that Job was and is extremely good. However, he wasn't perfect. Only one human being ever was. For my Bible Study class, I'm writing a paper in which I am to "analyze the extent of Job’s greatness [of character]." That means that I need to talk about how good he was, exactly. He was very good, but even his goodness had a limit, and my assignment is to find that limit. He wasn't perfectly good any more than Krusk is perfectly chaotic.
In fact, I don't think anyone is perfectly anything. No one is all good or all evil. Even the best people have moral failings, and even the worst people have some good in them. We tend to idolize or demonize people for simplicity, but people aren't that simple; nothing ever is. The Godhead is perfectly good, and Satan is probably perfectly evil, but literally everyone else is more complex than that. Most people are generally good or generally evil, but everyone ultimately falls somewhere between the extremes of morality.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Learn and Grow
As a writing tutor, I help students improve their writing; however, I need to be careful not to give them too much help. It's sometimes tempting to simply correct the errors, but that's not my job. My job is to teach my students how to correct the errors themselves and avoid making those errors in the future.
God has a similar job. He could easily correct our mistakes or prevent us from making them, but what He really wants is to teach us and for us to improve. The goal is growth, not results. If all we wanted was perfection, and it didn't matter how we got there, then we could have gone with Satan's plan. It's far more important that we do this ourselves and have the opportunity to learn and grow.
God has a similar job. He could easily correct our mistakes or prevent us from making them, but what He really wants is to teach us and for us to improve. The goal is growth, not results. If all we wanted was perfection, and it didn't matter how we got there, then we could have gone with Satan's plan. It's far more important that we do this ourselves and have the opportunity to learn and grow.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
The Remaining Tennis Balls
I'm making plans for my tennis balls. I plan to keep the eighth one. I want to keep at least one, and this one is special in that it represents contentment and diligence and other lessons I've learned from this experience. Another four haven't found homes yet, and might just stay in ours, but the remaining three have already been given away.
Yesterday, after successfully claiming the eighth tennis ball, I told a coworker of mine about my experience and showed him my spoils. Knowing that there's little sense in keeping so many tennis balls when I don't even play tennis, I offered him some. He took three and told me that he's going to use them to play with his niece. It's weird to think this about tennis balls, but it warms my heart to think that they're going to do some good and make people happy. It's so wholesome. I never realized that tennis balls could give people joy.
I'm not sure what I'll do with my four remaining tennis balls (not counting the eighth). Perhaps I'll give them away too. Or maybe I'll put them to work as fabric softeners here at home. Whatever I do with them, I want them to do some good.
And that's probably exactly what God wants from each of us. God gave us a lot of freedom when He sent us here. He generally lets us conduct our lives as we choose. Naturally, He wants us to do some good with our lives, but what form that good takes is largely up to us. Caring for youngsters is certainly a worthy endeavor, as is working to build and maintain the Kingdom of God, including our own homes. These are lofty goals for tennis balls, but they can do their part, and we can do ours.
Service does not need to be great in order to be good. Even the smallest and least significant among us (if any of us can truly said to be "least significant") can do a great deal of good, probably more good than we know. I don't think the tennis balls know how much good they're doing, and I don't think that we know, either. We may feel smaller than a handful of tennis balls, but we still have a place in this world, and God has work for each of us to do. If even tennis balls can do a small amount of good in this world, we certainly can as well.
Yesterday, after successfully claiming the eighth tennis ball, I told a coworker of mine about my experience and showed him my spoils. Knowing that there's little sense in keeping so many tennis balls when I don't even play tennis, I offered him some. He took three and told me that he's going to use them to play with his niece. It's weird to think this about tennis balls, but it warms my heart to think that they're going to do some good and make people happy. It's so wholesome. I never realized that tennis balls could give people joy.
I'm not sure what I'll do with my four remaining tennis balls (not counting the eighth). Perhaps I'll give them away too. Or maybe I'll put them to work as fabric softeners here at home. Whatever I do with them, I want them to do some good.
And that's probably exactly what God wants from each of us. God gave us a lot of freedom when He sent us here. He generally lets us conduct our lives as we choose. Naturally, He wants us to do some good with our lives, but what form that good takes is largely up to us. Caring for youngsters is certainly a worthy endeavor, as is working to build and maintain the Kingdom of God, including our own homes. These are lofty goals for tennis balls, but they can do their part, and we can do ours.
Service does not need to be great in order to be good. Even the smallest and least significant among us (if any of us can truly said to be "least significant") can do a great deal of good, probably more good than we know. I don't think the tennis balls know how much good they're doing, and I don't think that we know, either. We may feel smaller than a handful of tennis balls, but we still have a place in this world, and God has work for each of us to do. If even tennis balls can do a small amount of good in this world, we certainly can as well.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
The Eighth Tennis Ball
It was still there.
As my train approached the station, I watched for that eighth tennis ball, and sure enough, it was still there. So, in the first few minutes of the half-hour I had before I had to get to work, I walked to the wall, set up some bleachers to use as a stepping stool, retrieved the stick with the hook-like thick end, and hooked down the ball. Here's the thing though: It only took one try.
The ease with which I retrieved the ball was shocking in contrast with the difficulty I had had in trying to get it down the day before. However, I think there were three main factors that made this last retrieval attempt so easy: Preparation, Practice, and Patience.
Yesterday, I spent a lot of time gathering the materials I used in today's attempt. I spent time walking across campus and back to fetch the sticks. I spent time trying the sticks out to find out which one worked best. And it took time for me to realize that the set of portable bleachers at the side of the tennis court was, in fact, portable and actually pretty easy to set up. Having already spent that time getting my tools together, I had an easy time setting them up as soon as I got onto the tennis court.
As part of that preparation, I had also gotten in a solid ten to fifteen minutes of practice using the hook-stick. I knew what angle to approach the ball from, and I knew how to hold and pull the stick just right to get a good grip on the tennis ball without risking breaking the stick.
And this attempt was also different from the other attempts because I wasn't pressed for time. I didn't have to rush myself. I wasn't shaky. I was able to take it slow, keep it under control, and do it right.
These three Ps can also help with other tasks in life. Spending enough time preparing for and/or practicing a task and exercising enough patience during the attempt can make the difference between success and failure. When you have the right tools and know how to use them, in theory and in practice, and when you take the time you need to do the job right, anything can happen, even easily retrieving the previously irretrievable eighth tennis ball.
As my train approached the station, I watched for that eighth tennis ball, and sure enough, it was still there. So, in the first few minutes of the half-hour I had before I had to get to work, I walked to the wall, set up some bleachers to use as a stepping stool, retrieved the stick with the hook-like thick end, and hooked down the ball. Here's the thing though: It only took one try.
The ease with which I retrieved the ball was shocking in contrast with the difficulty I had had in trying to get it down the day before. However, I think there were three main factors that made this last retrieval attempt so easy: Preparation, Practice, and Patience.
Yesterday, I spent a lot of time gathering the materials I used in today's attempt. I spent time walking across campus and back to fetch the sticks. I spent time trying the sticks out to find out which one worked best. And it took time for me to realize that the set of portable bleachers at the side of the tennis court was, in fact, portable and actually pretty easy to set up. Having already spent that time getting my tools together, I had an easy time setting them up as soon as I got onto the tennis court.
As part of that preparation, I had also gotten in a solid ten to fifteen minutes of practice using the hook-stick. I knew what angle to approach the ball from, and I knew how to hold and pull the stick just right to get a good grip on the tennis ball without risking breaking the stick.
And this attempt was also different from the other attempts because I wasn't pressed for time. I didn't have to rush myself. I wasn't shaky. I was able to take it slow, keep it under control, and do it right.
These three Ps can also help with other tasks in life. Spending enough time preparing for and/or practicing a task and exercising enough patience during the attempt can make the difference between success and failure. When you have the right tools and know how to use them, in theory and in practice, and when you take the time you need to do the job right, anything can happen, even easily retrieving the previously irretrievable eighth tennis ball.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Seven Tennis Balls
I almost was an hour late coming home from school today, all because of a tennis ball.
The campus I attend has tennis courts near the light rail station. One of the features of one of the courts is a solid wall against which one can bounce their tennis balls to practice their control. However, in the case that their control could use more practice, there is a tall chain-link fence around the wall's area and the other tennis courts. So, if you try to hit the wall, but miss, perhaps by overshooting the wall, the ball will hit the fence instead. And, given the size of the average tennis ball and the size of the gap between the linked chains of the chain-link fence, it's possible for a ball to be hit hard enough to get stuck in the fence.
Apparently, that happened to one or more unlucky souls a total of at least eight times, because as I was walking to the light rail station, I noticed that there were eight tennis balls stuck in the chain-link fence above the wall in the tennis courts. Because of how the regional transit system's timing doesn't quite match up with mine, I arrived at the light rail station half an hour before I had to catch a train, which gave me plenty of time to try to get those tennis balls. I wanted those tennis balls because they're fun to bounce and roll around, and besides, I mostly just wanted to succeed at the challenge of retrieving them.
And retrieving them proved to be a rather strenuous challenge. Naturally, they were too high up to reach. I tried climbing the fence to reach them, but to no avail. My hands didn't like trying to climb the fence, and my feet couldn't get enough traction to help. I needed a tool. Some kind of stick, perhaps. Fortunately, there are many trees on my campus, some of which occasionally drop sticks of a considerable size. I walked from one side of campus to the other, grabbed several sticks I thought might be long enough and/or thick enough to be useful, and walked back, though I ultimately only needed one. It was a long stick with a thick end and a skinny end. The thick end had an almost hook-like shape to it, which let me hook onto a tennis ball and kinda roll it out of the fence. One tennis ball down, seven to go.
The others couldn't be rolled out, but I did manage to knock several of them out by hitting them with the thick end of the stick. Unfortunately, one tennis ball was too high up to hit with the stick. I walked around to the other side of the fence, where the elevation was slightly higher, and tried to hook the tennis ball and roll it out. I worked on that tennis ball longer than any of the others, probably about ten minutes. Eventually, I realized that I either had to give up on that tennis ball or risk missing my train. Had I missed that train, I would have also missed my connecting bus, and the next one wouldn't come by for another hour. I decided that that final tennis ball wasn't worth getting home an hour late, so I stashed the stick behind the wall, gathered up the seven tennis balls I had already hooked and knocked down, and just barely caught my train, still sweating from the exertion of trying to get that last tennis ball, which, to my knowledge, is still in that fence right now. If it's still there tomorrow afternoon, I might go get it then.
Still, as I boarded the train, I was very aware of how my pockets were practically bursting with seven tennis balls. One would have been a fun toy. Two tennis balls could race each other down slopes. Three were enough to juggle. But I hardly knew what to do with seven whole tennis balls. It seemed almost foolish to spend so much time trying to retrieve an eighth.
We all have a lot of blessings. We are alive. We have bodies. We have families. We all have places where we can live, at least temporarily, including wherever we happen to be at the moment. And we all occasionally find some food to eat. Most importantly, we all have a Heavenly Father who loves us, a Savior who redeems us, and a Comforter who guides us. Even without accounting for an abundance of material possessions, we are all richly blessed.
Yet, we sometimes still think about that eighth tennis ball, just out of reach, and we sometimes devote too much time and too much effort into trying to get it. Had I been satisfied with the other seven tennis balls, or even just one, I could have spent the rest of that time throwing the tennis ball against the wall and generally having a lot of fun. Similarly, if we spent more time counting our blessings and less time pining after the blessings that we haven't yet received, we might all be a lot happier. As it stands, I have more tennis balls than I know what to do with and more blessings than I can count. Perhaps I'll leave the eight tennis ball for someone else to retrieve and be more than satisfied with the seven tennis balls I have now.
The campus I attend has tennis courts near the light rail station. One of the features of one of the courts is a solid wall against which one can bounce their tennis balls to practice their control. However, in the case that their control could use more practice, there is a tall chain-link fence around the wall's area and the other tennis courts. So, if you try to hit the wall, but miss, perhaps by overshooting the wall, the ball will hit the fence instead. And, given the size of the average tennis ball and the size of the gap between the linked chains of the chain-link fence, it's possible for a ball to be hit hard enough to get stuck in the fence.
Apparently, that happened to one or more unlucky souls a total of at least eight times, because as I was walking to the light rail station, I noticed that there were eight tennis balls stuck in the chain-link fence above the wall in the tennis courts. Because of how the regional transit system's timing doesn't quite match up with mine, I arrived at the light rail station half an hour before I had to catch a train, which gave me plenty of time to try to get those tennis balls. I wanted those tennis balls because they're fun to bounce and roll around, and besides, I mostly just wanted to succeed at the challenge of retrieving them.
And retrieving them proved to be a rather strenuous challenge. Naturally, they were too high up to reach. I tried climbing the fence to reach them, but to no avail. My hands didn't like trying to climb the fence, and my feet couldn't get enough traction to help. I needed a tool. Some kind of stick, perhaps. Fortunately, there are many trees on my campus, some of which occasionally drop sticks of a considerable size. I walked from one side of campus to the other, grabbed several sticks I thought might be long enough and/or thick enough to be useful, and walked back, though I ultimately only needed one. It was a long stick with a thick end and a skinny end. The thick end had an almost hook-like shape to it, which let me hook onto a tennis ball and kinda roll it out of the fence. One tennis ball down, seven to go.
The others couldn't be rolled out, but I did manage to knock several of them out by hitting them with the thick end of the stick. Unfortunately, one tennis ball was too high up to hit with the stick. I walked around to the other side of the fence, where the elevation was slightly higher, and tried to hook the tennis ball and roll it out. I worked on that tennis ball longer than any of the others, probably about ten minutes. Eventually, I realized that I either had to give up on that tennis ball or risk missing my train. Had I missed that train, I would have also missed my connecting bus, and the next one wouldn't come by for another hour. I decided that that final tennis ball wasn't worth getting home an hour late, so I stashed the stick behind the wall, gathered up the seven tennis balls I had already hooked and knocked down, and just barely caught my train, still sweating from the exertion of trying to get that last tennis ball, which, to my knowledge, is still in that fence right now. If it's still there tomorrow afternoon, I might go get it then.
Still, as I boarded the train, I was very aware of how my pockets were practically bursting with seven tennis balls. One would have been a fun toy. Two tennis balls could race each other down slopes. Three were enough to juggle. But I hardly knew what to do with seven whole tennis balls. It seemed almost foolish to spend so much time trying to retrieve an eighth.
We all have a lot of blessings. We are alive. We have bodies. We have families. We all have places where we can live, at least temporarily, including wherever we happen to be at the moment. And we all occasionally find some food to eat. Most importantly, we all have a Heavenly Father who loves us, a Savior who redeems us, and a Comforter who guides us. Even without accounting for an abundance of material possessions, we are all richly blessed.
Yet, we sometimes still think about that eighth tennis ball, just out of reach, and we sometimes devote too much time and too much effort into trying to get it. Had I been satisfied with the other seven tennis balls, or even just one, I could have spent the rest of that time throwing the tennis ball against the wall and generally having a lot of fun. Similarly, if we spent more time counting our blessings and less time pining after the blessings that we haven't yet received, we might all be a lot happier. As it stands, I have more tennis balls than I know what to do with and more blessings than I can count. Perhaps I'll leave the eight tennis ball for someone else to retrieve and be more than satisfied with the seven tennis balls I have now.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Not Impossible, But Not Easy
In church today, I heard someone mention Luke 1:37, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." and I remember thinking "Sure, but nothing shall be easy, either." God likes challenging us. His main interest is our eternal growth, and we can't grow while we're not being challenged. So while God will always make sure it's possible for us to overcome our challenges, He will also make sure it's still at least enough of a challenge to help us grow. So, if you're facing tough challenges, and I'm sure you are, remember that those challenges are probably tough by God's design and that, with His help, you can still overcome them. God wants us to struggle, but ultimately, He also wants us to succeed, so if we follow His plan for us, yes we will struggle, but ultimately, we will also succeed.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Ape Out - An Understandable Conflict
This afternoon, I watched a playthrough of a game called Ape Out. I don't recommend this game to any of you because it's probably far too violent for your tastes, but the reason I want to blog about this game is that its violence makes sense for the story it tells.
In Ape Out, the player controls an ape attempting to escape a lab by fighting its way through a small army of deadly guards. I can sympathize with this ape because its desire for freedom is easy for me to relate to. I would hope that the fight for freedom wouldn't involve any actual fighting, but I understand that that is sometimes necessary, and besides, the ape is mostly fighting in self-defense. As soon as the guards see the ape out of its enclosure, they respond with deadly force, giving the ape only two options: kill or be killed.
On the other hand, I can understand why the guards try to kill the escaping ape. This is a powerful and unpredictable creature. If it escaped, it would threaten many human lives. In fact, at the moment of the confrontation, the ape is actively threatening several human lives, the lives of the guards. In theory, the guards could preserve their own lives by not attacking the ape, and then perhaps the ape would let the guards and the other humans live. Maybe the guards could just let the ape escape, and everything would still be fine. However, it would be extremely selfish and foolish for the guards to take that risk. The only reason the guards are there in the lab is, presumably, that the ape is potentially dangerous, and they may be called upon to contain that danger, by any means necessary.
So, I understand both the ape's perspective and the guards' perspective, and their actions all make logical sense, even though that brings them in conflict with each other. I think that most human conflicts could be understood in such a way.
People are mostly rational. We generally have reasons for doing the things we do. Those reasons may not always be good reasons, but they usually exist. Sometimes, two or more individuals or groups have valid reasons to oppose each other, usually because they have different value systems or maybe just different perspectives. In Ape Out, the ape values its life and freedom more than the lives of the guards, and the guards value their own lives and the lives of the general public more than the ape's life and freedom. Thus, the ape acts in a way that it hopes will bring about some good (it's freedom), and the guards act in a way that they hope will bring about grater good (personal and public safety). Neither side is necessarily evil, and both parties seem fairly justified. Unfortunately, understanding this conflict doesn't get me much closer to a solution, but it does help me think about real-world conflicts from a different perspective.
Just as both the ape and the guards have fairly logical reasons for their actions, so do most humans. Even humans who do things we consider morally reprehensible can have good reasons to do those things. Similarly, we have good reasons to do many of the things we do, even though there are others who disagree with us. It's mostly just a matter of having different values and perspectives. Freedom and safety are both good things. The question of which is more important is a matter of opinion and perspective.
There are an unfortunate amount of conflict in modern society, but I think that the solutions to many of those conflicts can be found by exercising empathy and by considering others' perspectives.
In Ape Out, the player controls an ape attempting to escape a lab by fighting its way through a small army of deadly guards. I can sympathize with this ape because its desire for freedom is easy for me to relate to. I would hope that the fight for freedom wouldn't involve any actual fighting, but I understand that that is sometimes necessary, and besides, the ape is mostly fighting in self-defense. As soon as the guards see the ape out of its enclosure, they respond with deadly force, giving the ape only two options: kill or be killed.
On the other hand, I can understand why the guards try to kill the escaping ape. This is a powerful and unpredictable creature. If it escaped, it would threaten many human lives. In fact, at the moment of the confrontation, the ape is actively threatening several human lives, the lives of the guards. In theory, the guards could preserve their own lives by not attacking the ape, and then perhaps the ape would let the guards and the other humans live. Maybe the guards could just let the ape escape, and everything would still be fine. However, it would be extremely selfish and foolish for the guards to take that risk. The only reason the guards are there in the lab is, presumably, that the ape is potentially dangerous, and they may be called upon to contain that danger, by any means necessary.
So, I understand both the ape's perspective and the guards' perspective, and their actions all make logical sense, even though that brings them in conflict with each other. I think that most human conflicts could be understood in such a way.
People are mostly rational. We generally have reasons for doing the things we do. Those reasons may not always be good reasons, but they usually exist. Sometimes, two or more individuals or groups have valid reasons to oppose each other, usually because they have different value systems or maybe just different perspectives. In Ape Out, the ape values its life and freedom more than the lives of the guards, and the guards value their own lives and the lives of the general public more than the ape's life and freedom. Thus, the ape acts in a way that it hopes will bring about some good (it's freedom), and the guards act in a way that they hope will bring about grater good (personal and public safety). Neither side is necessarily evil, and both parties seem fairly justified. Unfortunately, understanding this conflict doesn't get me much closer to a solution, but it does help me think about real-world conflicts from a different perspective.
Just as both the ape and the guards have fairly logical reasons for their actions, so do most humans. Even humans who do things we consider morally reprehensible can have good reasons to do those things. Similarly, we have good reasons to do many of the things we do, even though there are others who disagree with us. It's mostly just a matter of having different values and perspectives. Freedom and safety are both good things. The question of which is more important is a matter of opinion and perspective.
There are an unfortunate amount of conflict in modern society, but I think that the solutions to many of those conflicts can be found by exercising empathy and by considering others' perspectives.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Unique Character
I've put a non-zero amount of effort into making sure my Planeswalker character is unique. I've considered the abilities of the official Planeswalkers, thought of how my Planewalker's abilities might be similar to or different from theirs, and tried to ensure that my Planeswalker's abilities would be sufficiently different from theirs, both mechanically and thematically, so my Planeswalker wouldn't be just some cheap knock-off of any other Planeswalker.
Fortunately, we ourselves don't have to worry about trying to make sure we're unique because we already are. There is no one else on Earth who is exactly like you. Never has been, never will be. You have a set of talents and traits that no one else will ever perfectly match. Everyone who every lived is unique from everyone else who ever lived. We are all individuals, not half-baked, cobbled together clones of other people.
God knows each of us personally, and He knows us inside and out. He, of all people, knows best that each person is a unique individual. We don't have to try to be unique or different from others. We already are.
Fortunately, we ourselves don't have to worry about trying to make sure we're unique because we already are. There is no one else on Earth who is exactly like you. Never has been, never will be. You have a set of talents and traits that no one else will ever perfectly match. Everyone who every lived is unique from everyone else who ever lived. We are all individuals, not half-baked, cobbled together clones of other people.
God knows each of us personally, and He knows us inside and out. He, of all people, knows best that each person is a unique individual. We don't have to try to be unique or different from others. We already are.
From Novices to Gods
I am a novice DM. I'm not all that great at it. I'm currently terrible at managing pacing, and I second-guess myself too much. However, I'm learning. When a session goes moderately well, I try to learn why it went well so I can keep doing that. When a session goes somewhat poorly, I try to learn what went wrong so I can avoid that in the future. With careful analysis and practice, I expect to improve over time. In the meantime, I'm going to be patient with myself. After all, I'm only getting started.
Furthermore, from a certain perspective, I'm a novice person, too. I've only been alive for a few decades. Some people have been alive for several decades. But we are all eternal beings, and from an eternal perspective, we're only getting started. Naturally, we have a lot to learn, and we will literally spend ages learning it. Starting right now is a great idea, but we shouldn't get discouraged if we seem pathetic now or only make progress slowly. We're still growing and learning. As long as we keep learning from our experiences and keep progressing, there's no telling how far we can go or how much we can improve. We're novices now, but we have the potential to become gods. Progress can be painfully slow sometimes, but we won't stay novices forever so long as we keep evaluating ourselves and keep learning from our novice mistakes.
Furthermore, from a certain perspective, I'm a novice person, too. I've only been alive for a few decades. Some people have been alive for several decades. But we are all eternal beings, and from an eternal perspective, we're only getting started. Naturally, we have a lot to learn, and we will literally spend ages learning it. Starting right now is a great idea, but we shouldn't get discouraged if we seem pathetic now or only make progress slowly. We're still growing and learning. As long as we keep learning from our experiences and keep progressing, there's no telling how far we can go or how much we can improve. We're novices now, but we have the potential to become gods. Progress can be painfully slow sometimes, but we won't stay novices forever so long as we keep evaluating ourselves and keep learning from our novice mistakes.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
The Gift of Misfortune
I have recently experienced a few minor disappointments. I won't describe the disappointments in detail because they're far too minor to be noteworthy, so let it suffice to say that I had wished that events had gone a bit more favorably. I say that I "had wished" that events had gone differently because I no longer wish that. I'm kind of glad the events turned out the way they did. Sure, the experiences weren't what I would have wished for, but they weren't insufferable, and by now, I have reaped some benefits from those experiences, including a small measure of appreciation for how good my life normally is. Unfortunate experiences happen to everyone, and there's generally a lot we can learn from them. With enough time passed to dull the pain of the experiences and gain some perspective about them, we can even grow to be thankful for the misfortune we endured. In the grand scheme of things, mortality itself could be seen as a period of hardship and suffering, but by the time it's over, we'll be glad we had an opportunity to experience it. Life is full of misfortune, but ironically, we're somewhat fortunate that it is.
The Meanings of Parables
This week, we're learning about the parables of Jesus Christ. These are all semi-abstract stories with moral lessons that are mostly up to the readers to find. Some of the parables are given clear interpretations, but some aren't, so the reader has to find out the meanings of those parables themselves. This generally results in parables taking on whatever meanings convey the messages the readers need to hear. Even the ones that have clear interpretations can also have other interpretations, depending on the readers' creativity and/or needs. That is, I think, part of the reason Christ taught in parables so often, so they can be interpreted and reinterpreted by each reader, and so each parable can mean whatever the readers need them to mean. I'm glad that not all of the lessons in the Bible are rigid and specific. Sometimes, people need answers to questions that don't often come up in The Bible. In those cases, we can turn to parables, even the interpreted ones, and possible be inspired with whatever meanings we happen to need.
Monday, March 18, 2019
What Is Faith?
I don't think I understand faith. At least, I'm not sure how to define it. I've heard it said that "Belief is thinking that He can, but Faith is knowing that He will," but that can't be true because, sometimes, He doesn't. God does what's best for us, regardless of what we ask Him to do, no matter how much faith we have.
However, when we have faith, that doesn't mean that we have faith that God will answer our prayers on the way we want Him to; we have faith in God, period. I've also heard it said, from a far more reliable source (Elder Neil A. Maxwell), that "Faith in God includes faith in His timing." I might add that faith also includes faith in His wisdom, even His wisdom in saying "no" when we ask Him for things that aren't good for us. Having faith certainly doesn't mean that we can always get God to do what we want.
Then, what does it mean? What, exactly, is faith? Alma 32:21 says that faith is "hope for things which are not seen, which are true." So, basically, faith is hope. So, what is hope? True to the Faith says that "When we have hope, we trust God’s promises." So, hope is trust. What is trust? The Guide to the Scriptures says that to trust is "To rely upon or place confidence in someone or something." So, by extension, having faith in God means relying on Him and having confidence in Him. We can certainly rely on Him to keep His promises and covenants, but what about that other part? What does it mean to having confidence in God? Is that just referring to our belief in His ability, i.e. knowing that He can do anything He has promised to do?
I could follow the chain of definitions forever, but that won't get me much closer to understanding what faith is in a religious context. I would guess that it mostly means trusting God. God has made some bold claims and promises. Believing that those claims and promises are true can take a lot of faith. So, I suppose faith in God means trusting that God isn't lying to us when He tells us things, particularly about the stuff that's going to happen. If faith means trusting in God's promises and believing His claims, I suppose that's a good enough working definition. Still, I think this question is worth more pondering. For it being a central tenet of our doctrine and the first principle of the Gospel, you'd think I'd have a better understanding of the true nature of Faith.
However, when we have faith, that doesn't mean that we have faith that God will answer our prayers on the way we want Him to; we have faith in God, period. I've also heard it said, from a far more reliable source (Elder Neil A. Maxwell), that "Faith in God includes faith in His timing." I might add that faith also includes faith in His wisdom, even His wisdom in saying "no" when we ask Him for things that aren't good for us. Having faith certainly doesn't mean that we can always get God to do what we want.
Then, what does it mean? What, exactly, is faith? Alma 32:21 says that faith is "hope for things which are not seen, which are true." So, basically, faith is hope. So, what is hope? True to the Faith says that "When we have hope, we trust God’s promises." So, hope is trust. What is trust? The Guide to the Scriptures says that to trust is "To rely upon or place confidence in someone or something." So, by extension, having faith in God means relying on Him and having confidence in Him. We can certainly rely on Him to keep His promises and covenants, but what about that other part? What does it mean to having confidence in God? Is that just referring to our belief in His ability, i.e. knowing that He can do anything He has promised to do?
I could follow the chain of definitions forever, but that won't get me much closer to understanding what faith is in a religious context. I would guess that it mostly means trusting God. God has made some bold claims and promises. Believing that those claims and promises are true can take a lot of faith. So, I suppose faith in God means trusting that God isn't lying to us when He tells us things, particularly about the stuff that's going to happen. If faith means trusting in God's promises and believing His claims, I suppose that's a good enough working definition. Still, I think this question is worth more pondering. For it being a central tenet of our doctrine and the first principle of the Gospel, you'd think I'd have a better understanding of the true nature of Faith.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Other Kinds of Fasting
The traditional fast is a 24-hour period of time (or something close to it) in which the person who is fasting goes without any food or drink, typically skipping two meals. However, such a fast is not always practical. Some people have medical conditions that require them to eat or drink at certain times. Some people get faint when they go too long without water. A regular fast isn't possible for everyone. However, while it's not always possible to fast the normal way, it's always possible to fast in spirit.
The spirit of fasting isn't to go hungry; it's to resist an appetite. It is to resist temptation. It is to gain mastery over one's own body and choices. Going completely without food and drink isn't the only way to do that. We can (and usually should) resist other appetites instead, and we should always resist temptation. Those who can't fast the normal way may need to get creative, but it is possible to find other ways to fast.
Of course, one should fast regularly, if they can, but if they can't fast the normal way, there are alternatives. One can fast from food, but still drink water. One can fast normally, with the exception of eating only when it's medically necessary. One can fast from particular kinds of foods. And fasting doesn't actually have to be able food at all. Over the past several months, millions of members have been asked to participate in social media fasts. Any habitual behavior one can theoretically live without for a short while can become part of a fast. Fasting can mean other things than going without food and drink for a day. If you can't fast normally - for any reason(s) - instead pray, get creative, and find other ways to fast.
The spirit of fasting isn't to go hungry; it's to resist an appetite. It is to resist temptation. It is to gain mastery over one's own body and choices. Going completely without food and drink isn't the only way to do that. We can (and usually should) resist other appetites instead, and we should always resist temptation. Those who can't fast the normal way may need to get creative, but it is possible to find other ways to fast.
Of course, one should fast regularly, if they can, but if they can't fast the normal way, there are alternatives. One can fast from food, but still drink water. One can fast normally, with the exception of eating only when it's medically necessary. One can fast from particular kinds of foods. And fasting doesn't actually have to be able food at all. Over the past several months, millions of members have been asked to participate in social media fasts. Any habitual behavior one can theoretically live without for a short while can become part of a fast. Fasting can mean other things than going without food and drink for a day. If you can't fast normally - for any reason(s) - instead pray, get creative, and find other ways to fast.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Sunrise
I like to think that there are spiritual messages in just about everything. This is especially true about the rising and falling of the sun. Firstly, the sun is an obvious parallel for The Son, possibly symbolizing His death and Resurrection, and the promise of rebirth we all have because of His. Secondly, the pattern of light and darkness could remind us of the pattern of righteousness and wickedness that we see repeatedly in The Book of Mormon and in the world in general, especially on an individual level. But mostly, the one lesson I want to learn from this cycle is Hope. No matter how dark the night gets, the sun will rise again.
The world has a lot of darkness in it, as does just about every human heart. When this darkness surfaces, it's easy to get cynical, thinking that this darkness represents the person's true nature and/or how the real world really is. When darkness prevails, we sometimes think that the darkness is real and permanent and that the light is fleeting, if not illusory or imagined.
However, the light is just as real as the darkness is, and it always returns. Sometimes things have to get terribly dark before people return to the light, but the light always returns to us when we do. We sin daily, but the Spirit returns to us the instant we repent. There are some evil people, but there are just as many good people, even though that's an over-simplification. No one is all bad or all good. Light and darkness exist in all of us, and they surface in cycles, just like the rising and falling of the sun.
So, when light prevails, stay vigilant and alert to the threat of rising darkness, and when darkness prevails, hold on to the light inside of you and wait for the sunrise. The world is a dark place right now, but we have God's promise that the sun will rise again.
The world has a lot of darkness in it, as does just about every human heart. When this darkness surfaces, it's easy to get cynical, thinking that this darkness represents the person's true nature and/or how the real world really is. When darkness prevails, we sometimes think that the darkness is real and permanent and that the light is fleeting, if not illusory or imagined.
However, the light is just as real as the darkness is, and it always returns. Sometimes things have to get terribly dark before people return to the light, but the light always returns to us when we do. We sin daily, but the Spirit returns to us the instant we repent. There are some evil people, but there are just as many good people, even though that's an over-simplification. No one is all bad or all good. Light and darkness exist in all of us, and they surface in cycles, just like the rising and falling of the sun.
So, when light prevails, stay vigilant and alert to the threat of rising darkness, and when darkness prevails, hold on to the light inside of you and wait for the sunrise. The world is a dark place right now, but we have God's promise that the sun will rise again.
Not Like Other Wish-Granters
I just watched a movie with poorly-worded wishes and wish-granters that are sticklers about technicalities. Fortunately, God isn't such a stickler. When we pray for something, He knows what we mean, whether we actually say it that way or not. He is also kind enough and wise enough not to give us what we ask for when that's not what's best for us. Fictional wish-granters may not care whether the wishes they grant help people or not, but God does. Everything God does, He does for us, whether that means giving us what we ask for or not. I'm grateful that God is good and wise as well as powerful and that, when He answers our prayers, He does so with only the best of intentions.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Over- and Under-Estimating Challenges
Sometimes, challenges are more difficult than we thought they were going to be, and we have to struggle harder than we thought we'd have to to overcome them. Sometimes, challenges are less difficult than we thought they were going to be, and we realize that we wasted a good deal of time worrying about them and over-preparing for them. The important thing isn't to worry about how much we over- or under-estimated our challenges. The important thing is to face our challenges and work to overcome them, whether that's harder or easier than we thought it'd be, and then move on to the next challenge. Sure, we can compare our experiences against our expectations to try to make our predictions more accurate in the future, but we shouldn't worry too much about how far off our estimates were. To err is human. Live, learn, and move forward. The time we wasted struggling against a challenge that we thought would be easier, or over-preparing for a challenge we thought would be harder, is all water under the bridge by the time we've overcome the challenge, so at that point, it doesn't really matter whether we've under-estimated our challenges or over-estimated them. Just learn what you can from the challenge and then move on.
Good through Games
Last night, I asked myself a question: Can one do good through gaming? The situation that prompted that question was that I had been asked to help with with a Young Men's activity. The activity was playing Magic: the Gathering, but despite some interest in the game, none of the young men knew how to play the game. So, I let them each use a deck that I had built, I taught them the basic mechanics, and I walked them through the strategy of their decisions. Ultimately, they seemed to have a good time, and I count that as a good thing. In a small way, I did a minuscule amount of service through gaming. However, I don't know if I would have blogged about doing so if I hadn't passed up an opportunity to do so tonight.
Earlier this evening, I was at the comic book shop, waiting for the DM to arrive (the bus system gets me to the comic book shop early). Then I received a message telling me that the usual DM couldn't make it. Normally, that's not much of a problem. I've substituted for the normal DM the last several times he couldn't make it, and the adventure I created as a filler, backup, mini-adventure has now evolved into a grander story with a looming threat and an evil plot and lots more fun stuff that I won't describe in too much detail in case any of my players ever end up reading this.
However, perhaps I bit off more than I could chew, or maybe I was simply focusing on the wrong areas of the plan over the last few days. I was making tentative plans for the distant future, neglecting to make concrete plans for the immediate future. Sure, it's nice to have an idea of what might happen some time down the road, but it's essential to have an idea of what's happening right now and what's going to happen very, very soon. I neglected that part of the plan in that I didn't nail it down in time. So, when the usual DM let me know that he couldn't make it, I wasn't prepared to sub for him. Tonight's game was canceled because I wasn't prepared to run it. I had an opportunity to improve some people's evening, but I wasn't prepared to do so, and I missed an opportunity to serve them through gaming.
Of course, I hope that I can ultimately do more good through gaming than just helping a few people enjoy a fun evening. I want to actually improve people's lives and help others to improve themselves as people, and I think gaming can do that. D&D can force people into tricky moral dilemmas, and while some characters/players may not care much, I might be able to give them reasons to care. As the DM, I can largely influence the outcomes of the characters' behavior. I can reward good player/character behavior in realistic ways, like a non-player character being kind to the player character after the player has their character do something kind. By establishing rewards for good behavior, I can encourage good behavior, both in and out of the game.
That may be what I most want to get out of running D&D. I play D&D to become a better person (and because it's fun). I want to get to the point where I run D&D both to help others have fun and to help them become better people. That, I believe, would be a small service to humanity, a service I could render through games. I love gaming, and I plan to keep doing it, but I don't just want to play and run games. I want to accomplish good by doing so.
Earlier this evening, I was at the comic book shop, waiting for the DM to arrive (the bus system gets me to the comic book shop early). Then I received a message telling me that the usual DM couldn't make it. Normally, that's not much of a problem. I've substituted for the normal DM the last several times he couldn't make it, and the adventure I created as a filler, backup, mini-adventure has now evolved into a grander story with a looming threat and an evil plot and lots more fun stuff that I won't describe in too much detail in case any of my players ever end up reading this.
However, perhaps I bit off more than I could chew, or maybe I was simply focusing on the wrong areas of the plan over the last few days. I was making tentative plans for the distant future, neglecting to make concrete plans for the immediate future. Sure, it's nice to have an idea of what might happen some time down the road, but it's essential to have an idea of what's happening right now and what's going to happen very, very soon. I neglected that part of the plan in that I didn't nail it down in time. So, when the usual DM let me know that he couldn't make it, I wasn't prepared to sub for him. Tonight's game was canceled because I wasn't prepared to run it. I had an opportunity to improve some people's evening, but I wasn't prepared to do so, and I missed an opportunity to serve them through gaming.
Of course, I hope that I can ultimately do more good through gaming than just helping a few people enjoy a fun evening. I want to actually improve people's lives and help others to improve themselves as people, and I think gaming can do that. D&D can force people into tricky moral dilemmas, and while some characters/players may not care much, I might be able to give them reasons to care. As the DM, I can largely influence the outcomes of the characters' behavior. I can reward good player/character behavior in realistic ways, like a non-player character being kind to the player character after the player has their character do something kind. By establishing rewards for good behavior, I can encourage good behavior, both in and out of the game.
That may be what I most want to get out of running D&D. I play D&D to become a better person (and because it's fun). I want to get to the point where I run D&D both to help others have fun and to help them become better people. That, I believe, would be a small service to humanity, a service I could render through games. I love gaming, and I plan to keep doing it, but I don't just want to play and run games. I want to accomplish good by doing so.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Morality and Legality
A lot of my students have come in to the Writing Center working on papers about hate speech, arguing whether or not it is or should be protected under the First Amendment and what policies public colleges and universities should make about it. Personally, I feel largely on the fence about it. On one hand, I think everyone should have a right to express their opinions, even their negative opinions about historically marginalized groups. They have, or should have, a right to speak their minds. On the other hand, hate speech is obviously morally wrong, and it serves no good purpose. It hurts people's feelings (not the worst sin in the world, but it's not saintly either), and it accomplishes nothing.
However, while it's clear to me that it's wrong to engage in hate speech, it's also clear to me that it's important to protect free speech, even when it's unpopular and, according to one study or another (I can find the source later, if you care), physically harmful. Hate speech may contribute to health problems like anxiety, depression, and high-blood pressure, but laws banning it would have to be worded very carefully to avoid irreparably handicapping public discourse. We are a republic. It's important for people to be free to exchange ideas.
This debate has highlighted for me, yet again, that there is a distinction between morality and legality. Not everything that is legal is moral. Not everything that is illegal is immoral. Not everything that is moral is legal. And not everything that is immoral is illegal. Nor, in the latter case only, should it be. I believe that everything that is moral should be legal. No one should be arrested for doing good things. However, I don't believe that everything that is immoral should be illegal, if only because the laws against those things would be difficult and disastrous to enforce. In general, I believe that more freedom is better than less. And, with my belief in the Final Judgment, I'm not too concerned with making sure wrong-doers are punished in this life. They will, soon enough, receive punishment enough.
In the meantime, I'm willing to respect their agency, at least on this topic. I don't like some of what some people say, but respect their right to say it. It's certainly immoral, but that alone, in my opinion, isn't enough of a reason to make it illegal.
However, while it's clear to me that it's wrong to engage in hate speech, it's also clear to me that it's important to protect free speech, even when it's unpopular and, according to one study or another (I can find the source later, if you care), physically harmful. Hate speech may contribute to health problems like anxiety, depression, and high-blood pressure, but laws banning it would have to be worded very carefully to avoid irreparably handicapping public discourse. We are a republic. It's important for people to be free to exchange ideas.
This debate has highlighted for me, yet again, that there is a distinction between morality and legality. Not everything that is legal is moral. Not everything that is illegal is immoral. Not everything that is moral is legal. And not everything that is immoral is illegal. Nor, in the latter case only, should it be. I believe that everything that is moral should be legal. No one should be arrested for doing good things. However, I don't believe that everything that is immoral should be illegal, if only because the laws against those things would be difficult and disastrous to enforce. In general, I believe that more freedom is better than less. And, with my belief in the Final Judgment, I'm not too concerned with making sure wrong-doers are punished in this life. They will, soon enough, receive punishment enough.
In the meantime, I'm willing to respect their agency, at least on this topic. I don't like some of what some people say, but respect their right to say it. It's certainly immoral, but that alone, in my opinion, isn't enough of a reason to make it illegal.
My Latest Mid-Term Assignment - Creative Writing Inspired by The Bible
The mid-term assignment for my Bible as Literature class is to write a short story or other short, creative work about one of the events or characters in the parts of the Old Testament that we've read so far.
I'm thinking about writing about David, as his story is arguably among the most complex, but I'm concerned about the length of the assignment. It's only supposed to be about two pages. I could easily write way more than that about David. I should set my focus closer, and maybe on some other character or event, one without as much richness or depth. I don't want to bite off a bigger project than I can cram into two pages. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them. We've read up to Job, skipping sections for time's sake, but if you have any story or event from the first several books of The Bible, I'd like to hear about it, and maybe write about it.
Thankfully, I have a good deal of time, about two weeks, so I've got a few days before I need to nail down a topic. I just hope I can find a good Bible story that hasn't been done to death that I can spend no more than two pages exploring.
I'm thinking about writing about David, as his story is arguably among the most complex, but I'm concerned about the length of the assignment. It's only supposed to be about two pages. I could easily write way more than that about David. I should set my focus closer, and maybe on some other character or event, one without as much richness or depth. I don't want to bite off a bigger project than I can cram into two pages. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them. We've read up to Job, skipping sections for time's sake, but if you have any story or event from the first several books of The Bible, I'd like to hear about it, and maybe write about it.
Thankfully, I have a good deal of time, about two weeks, so I've got a few days before I need to nail down a topic. I just hope I can find a good Bible story that hasn't been done to death that I can spend no more than two pages exploring.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
How Many Healings
This week, we studied just a few of Christ's many healing miracles; however, it's clear from what I've seen and heard that we've barely scratched the surface. Jesus may have only performed so many healings while He lived on the Earth, but His Priesthood power and the power of His Atonement have healed countless bodies, hearts, minds, and souls over the course of the two-thousand-some years since His mortal life. By the time this is all over, I don't think there will be a single person who ever lived on this Earth who wasn't healed by Jesus. In fact, if we count the Resurrection as a form of healing, I can guarantee it. Jesus is the Master Healer, and we all have felt, and will feel, His healing power.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Worth Every Sacrifice
The path of discipleship is difficult. There will be challenges, and we will have to make sacrifices, but President Brian K. Ashton of the Sunday School General Presidency testified that "striving to become like the Father is worth every sacrifice."
This is true largely because the blessing of eternity far outweigh the struggles of mortality. As President Ashton put it, "The sacrifices we make here in mortality, no matter how great, are simply incomparable to the immeasurable joy, happiness, and love we will feel in God’s presence." It's true that we have to do a lot of work to purify ourselves enough to stand confidently in God's presence, but if we can pull that off, it would definitely be worth the effort.
Life is hard, and in some ways, the life of a disciple is especially hard. We have to give up so much of our time, our possessions, and ourselves in order to become like our Heavenly Father and become worthy to live with Him again, but there can be no greater reward than that. Regaining our holiness and qualifying for all the blessings that come with it will be worth whatever sacrifices we have to make to accomplish that. Sure, the sacrifices we make here are painful now, but they help us qualify for blessings and glory and joy that will be ours forever.
This is true largely because the blessing of eternity far outweigh the struggles of mortality. As President Ashton put it, "The sacrifices we make here in mortality, no matter how great, are simply incomparable to the immeasurable joy, happiness, and love we will feel in God’s presence." It's true that we have to do a lot of work to purify ourselves enough to stand confidently in God's presence, but if we can pull that off, it would definitely be worth the effort.
Life is hard, and in some ways, the life of a disciple is especially hard. We have to give up so much of our time, our possessions, and ourselves in order to become like our Heavenly Father and become worthy to live with Him again, but there can be no greater reward than that. Regaining our holiness and qualifying for all the blessings that come with it will be worth whatever sacrifices we have to make to accomplish that. Sure, the sacrifices we make here are painful now, but they help us qualify for blessings and glory and joy that will be ours forever.
Friday, March 8, 2019
A Sure Way to Pass Our Tests
President Eyring's talk Try, Try, Try contains a message that relates to the one I shared last night. My blog post was about how our trials get harder the more capable we are, partly because God wants to really test us and Satan wants to destroy us. President Eyring also spoke of the difficulties of our trials, but he also offered us some reassurance:
My reassurance is this: the loving God who allowed these tests for you also designed a sure way to pass through them. Heavenly Father so loved the world that He sent His Beloved Son to help us. His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for us. Jesus Christ bore in Gethsemane and on the cross the weight of all our sins. He experienced all the sorrows, the pains, and the effects of our sins so that He could comfort and strengthen us through every test in life.Every trial we face in life, we can face with the aid and strength of Jesus Christ. We don't have to fight our battles alone. Satan is hell-bent on destroying us, but Jesus is devoted to helping us. And with His help, we can do anything we need to do, even defeat a countless-eons-old immortal demon who knows our weaknesses better than we do. God lets us face difficult challenges with infinitely-high stakes because He knows that, with the right help, we can win. In fact, if we get His help and make good use of it, we can't lose. So, yes, we fight difficult battles, and those battles will only get harder as time goes on, but as long as we team up with Jesus, we're unbeatable.
Satan's Greatest Foes
I've heard it said, and have probably mentioned in previous blog posts, that God gives His toughest battles to His strongest warriors, and that may be true, but I also think it's true that Satan fights the hardest against those whom he most wants to defeat, including God's strongest warriors, Satan's greatest foes.
It's true that God wants to strengthen us, and that He has to give tougher challenges to His more capable children because that's the only way to give them a decent workout, but God isn't the only source of life's challenges. Satan also challenges us, not too help us become strong, but to prevent us from doing so. He makes life difficult for those who are trying to be righteous in hopes that they get discouraged and give up. He wants to convince God's strongest warriors to give up the fight.
Fortunately, as always, Satan's plan backfires. The challenges he provides us are excellent workouts, whether that's what he designed them to be our not. Fighting Satan strengthens our spirits and makes us even more of a threat to him. So, when the adversary works against you, take heart. He's attacking you because he's afraid of you, and as he does so, he is unwittingly giving you the strength you need to defeat him.
It's true that God wants to strengthen us, and that He has to give tougher challenges to His more capable children because that's the only way to give them a decent workout, but God isn't the only source of life's challenges. Satan also challenges us, not too help us become strong, but to prevent us from doing so. He makes life difficult for those who are trying to be righteous in hopes that they get discouraged and give up. He wants to convince God's strongest warriors to give up the fight.
Fortunately, as always, Satan's plan backfires. The challenges he provides us are excellent workouts, whether that's what he designed them to be our not. Fighting Satan strengthens our spirits and makes us even more of a threat to him. So, when the adversary works against you, take heart. He's attacking you because he's afraid of you, and as he does so, he is unwittingly giving you the strength you need to defeat him.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
The (Un)Certain Future
This morning, I was a bit worried about running my D&D game tonight, mostly because I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Then I realized that that's really no different from anything else. No matter what the situation is, we can't be entirely sure how it'll turn out. There's only one person who knows what the future holds, and He's got it under control.
So, sure, we could worry about the future because we're not sure how it'll turn out, or we can trust that God knows what He's doing and that, if the future is bad enough that we should worry about it, it's also probably bad enough that God would pull whatever strings He needs to to make sure the future turns out differently.
Of course, God has different ideas than we do about what's acceptable and what's not. He sometimes allows great tragedies to happen (not that a botched D&D game would have been a great tragedy. I was referring to senseless deaths, such as wars, abortions, and shootings). God sometimes allows these things to happen because He sees farther into the future than we do. He sees the healing that comes, eventually, from heartache. He sees the strength that comes, eventually, from struggling. He sees good that comes, eventually, from bad situations, and He plans the future accordingly.
So, the future may not turn out exactly the way we want it to. In fact, it may sometimes turn out exactly as bad as we fear. When that happens, we can hold on to the fact that God both knows and can manipulate the future and that He has everyone's best interest at heart. The future may not turn out the way I want it to, but whatever future we get is good enough for God to allow it, and that's good enough for me.
So, sure, we could worry about the future because we're not sure how it'll turn out, or we can trust that God knows what He's doing and that, if the future is bad enough that we should worry about it, it's also probably bad enough that God would pull whatever strings He needs to to make sure the future turns out differently.
Of course, God has different ideas than we do about what's acceptable and what's not. He sometimes allows great tragedies to happen (not that a botched D&D game would have been a great tragedy. I was referring to senseless deaths, such as wars, abortions, and shootings). God sometimes allows these things to happen because He sees farther into the future than we do. He sees the healing that comes, eventually, from heartache. He sees the strength that comes, eventually, from struggling. He sees good that comes, eventually, from bad situations, and He plans the future accordingly.
So, the future may not turn out exactly the way we want it to. In fact, it may sometimes turn out exactly as bad as we fear. When that happens, we can hold on to the fact that God both knows and can manipulate the future and that He has everyone's best interest at heart. The future may not turn out the way I want it to, but whatever future we get is good enough for God to allow it, and that's good enough for me.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Amnon's Bad Example
There are two kinds of examples people can learn from: Good examples and bad examples. Good examples can teach us what we should be doing. Bad examples teach us what we should NOT be doing. Case in point, I recently wrote exactly 250 words about a guy named Amnon. He's this dude in the Old Testament who raped his half-sister and then got revenge-murdered by her brother, his half-brother. The moral of the story is that we shouldn't rape people like Amnon did. Not every person in The Bible is a saint that we should try to be like.
And that's okay. We can learn good morals from bad people. It just takes a bit more creativity sometimes. When we want to learn from good examples, all we have to do is identify what they did right and do our best to copy that. When we want to learn form bad examples, we have to identify what they did wrong, work out what they should have done instead, and do that. Alternatively, we can simply try not to do whatever the bad example did, and that might be enough, but we still have to do something instead, so figuring out what to do instead is still necessary. Fortunately, with a bad example like raping someone, figuring out what to do instead is very easy because literally almost any other choice one could make would be a better choice than that.
There are plenty of good role models, both in The Bible and elsewhere, and we should learn to be like them, but there are also plenty of bad examples, in The Bible and elsewhere, and we should learn to be different from them. Looking at their flaws and failings can help us learn how to avoid making the same bad choices that they did. In Amnon's case, how to do so is obvious. In other cases, the lesson to be learned is less obvious. But there's always a lesson we can learn from everyone, whether they're setting a good example or a bad one.
And that's okay. We can learn good morals from bad people. It just takes a bit more creativity sometimes. When we want to learn from good examples, all we have to do is identify what they did right and do our best to copy that. When we want to learn form bad examples, we have to identify what they did wrong, work out what they should have done instead, and do that. Alternatively, we can simply try not to do whatever the bad example did, and that might be enough, but we still have to do something instead, so figuring out what to do instead is still necessary. Fortunately, with a bad example like raping someone, figuring out what to do instead is very easy because literally almost any other choice one could make would be a better choice than that.
There are plenty of good role models, both in The Bible and elsewhere, and we should learn to be like them, but there are also plenty of bad examples, in The Bible and elsewhere, and we should learn to be different from them. Looking at their flaws and failings can help us learn how to avoid making the same bad choices that they did. In Amnon's case, how to do so is obvious. In other cases, the lesson to be learned is less obvious. But there's always a lesson we can learn from everyone, whether they're setting a good example or a bad one.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Protesting Death
At my school, there are two demonstrations going on. One group is protesting the legalization of abortion, and the other group is protesting the lack of criminal charges being filed against the officers who killed Stephon Clark. Both groups are upset about the lack of legal consequences for those who end the lives of those who didn't/don't deserve to die. I didn't join either group, for various reasons, but I sympathize with them. I, too, feel that it is important to value and protect human lives, especially the lives of the innocent. I am strongly against abortion as a cultural practice, and I am disheartened by violence between the police and communities of color. Too many people are being killed for no good reason at all. I'd hate to sound like a hippie, but I'd really love it if the killing would stop. I want unnecessary abortions to stop happening. I want racial violence to stop happening. I want people to respect the sanctity of human life, including the lives of those who make life difficult for them. Society can endure a bit of difficulty. It cannot long endure this much killing.
Avoiding Repetition in Prayers
This week, we learned about The Lord's Prayer. In our church, we don't recite The Lord's Prayer, mostly because of the whole "vain repetitions" thing. However, there are some prayers we do tend to repeat. Our morning and evening prayers can get repetitive, our opening and closing prayers at meetings seem a bit samey, and I'm pretty sure I've said the same meal-time prayer, word for word, several times. Fortunately, it doesn't take much effort to make these prayers unique. Usually, one can simply slip in some details unique to this particular day/meeting/meal. For example, instead of saying "Please bless this food," we could instead say, "Please bless this ravioli." We might even try to think of what we want to get out of said blessing, other than for the food to "nourish and strengthen our bodies," and ask for those blessings specifically. It does take extra effort, but avoiding vain repetition is possible. In theory, at least. I still need to work on it.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Imperfect Erasure
When I'm not writing in some digital form, I'm usually writing in pencil. I prefer writing in pencil because it's erasable. If I make a mistake or if I think of any revision I want to make, I can change a few letters, or even a few words or sentences, without too much trouble. However, the process of erasing pencils is not perfect. Sometimes, even after erasing, some hints of the past writing can still be seen, perhaps even read. This is unfortunate for those who strive for perfection, but being imperfect is why we write in pencil.
It's also why we repent. When we make moral mistakes, we can repent and have our wrongs erased. However, even after our sins have been forgiven, there may still remain some hints about them. We and others might still remember what was done. Some old habits, or even just old thoughts, might remain part of us, even after we've started to repent. Repenting of sins and mistakes doesn't change the fact that they happened, and there may still be some reminders that they happened, at least in our own memories.
This can be a good thing. Remembering our past can help us realize how far we've come. It can help us sympathize with others and give them solid advice born from personal experience. And remembering the mistakes we've made in the past can help us learn not to repeat them. God may not remember sins once they've been repented of, but we do, and there are several good reasons for that. We came to Earth to learn from our experiences. That wouldn't be possible if we kept forgetting most of them. We need to remember our shortcomings for as long as have lessons to learn from them. So while our sins can be completely erased from our Celestial records, they probably won't be erased from our memories, at least not in this lifetime, not so long as we can still benefit from those memories.
It's also why we repent. When we make moral mistakes, we can repent and have our wrongs erased. However, even after our sins have been forgiven, there may still remain some hints about them. We and others might still remember what was done. Some old habits, or even just old thoughts, might remain part of us, even after we've started to repent. Repenting of sins and mistakes doesn't change the fact that they happened, and there may still be some reminders that they happened, at least in our own memories.
This can be a good thing. Remembering our past can help us realize how far we've come. It can help us sympathize with others and give them solid advice born from personal experience. And remembering the mistakes we've made in the past can help us learn not to repeat them. God may not remember sins once they've been repented of, but we do, and there are several good reasons for that. We came to Earth to learn from our experiences. That wouldn't be possible if we kept forgetting most of them. We need to remember our shortcomings for as long as have lessons to learn from them. So while our sins can be completely erased from our Celestial records, they probably won't be erased from our memories, at least not in this lifetime, not so long as we can still benefit from those memories.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Structure Beats Juggling
I'm not good at juggling. Sometimes, I have too many events and assignments going on in my life at once, and I know I can do all of them, but when keeping track of them becomes a task of its own, I get overwhelmed. That's why, some semesters, I make a rotating To Do list I title "What's Due When." I write down the list of dates, chronologically, like "Fri Mar 1, Sat Mar 2, Sun Mar 3," etc. , and next to each date, I write down what's due that day. Each date gets its own line, and I go down as far as I feel I need to. As time passes, I delete past dates, so the whole list scrolls upward, reminding me which due dates are (literally) coming up next. This helps me focus on the most urgent assignments first and helps me understand exactly how much time I have left to work on any given assignment. Putting my assignments in a (chrono)logical order helps me remember what I should be working on next and lets me avoid having to juggle assignments.
Sometimes, the best thing we can do is put our challenges in some kind of order, almost any order really, and deal with them one at a time. They're more manageable that way. At least, that's what I've found. It works for me. If you ever feel overwhelmed, you might consider trying it, too.
Sometimes, the best thing we can do is put our challenges in some kind of order, almost any order really, and deal with them one at a time. They're more manageable that way. At least, that's what I've found. It works for me. If you ever feel overwhelmed, you might consider trying it, too.
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