My latest D&D character is a Half-Orc named Kregg (or Craig, when he's around humans). In the D&D universe, there are multiple deities that each had a hand in creating the world. In this world, Orcs were created by a god named Gruumsh, who loves violence, and created Orcs with a burning desire to fight other creatures for no other reason than just for the sake of fighting them. Even Half-Orcs, who are typically half-human, as Kregg is, cannot fully escape Gruumsh's influence; they all feel the urge to fight. However, Kregg came to own a magical, sentient sword named Peacekeeper, who now acts as Kregg's moral compass. She telepathically teaches him a better way to behave than listening to Gruumsh. Kregg sometimes feels conflicted, hearing two conflicting voices in his head whenever a situation could, but shouldn't, be answered with violence. In this way, Kregg somewhat represents us all.
We all have at least two voices in our heads, in addition to our own. On one hand, the devil attempts to tempt us to do evil, and on the other hand, the spirit inspires us to do good. These conflicting voices can sometimes make it difficult to make choices, causing a daily struggle between right and wrong. As I roleplay Kregg, I'll make sure he chooses good more often than not, but I'll also make those choices at least as difficult for him as they sometimes are for me. That way, I can use Kregg as a sort of role model, a Paladin of Self-Control. Because if Kregg can hear good and evil voices in his head and choose to listen to the good, then maybe the rest of us can, too.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Only Love That Comes Close
Despite what I said yesterday about latching onto quotes and taking them out of context, I believe that there are some quotes, perhaps many, that don't need context to be profound and worth studying. Case in point: In the first talk of the Saturday Morning Session of the April 2017 General Conference, President Eyring said "Though earthly families are far from perfect, they give God’s children
the best chance to be welcomed to the world with the only love on earth
that comes close to what we felt in heaven—parental love."
I believe that there's a reason why God goes by the title of "Heavenly Father." Earthly families create excellent parallels that help us understand God's love for us and why He does what He does. I'm not sure we can comprehend how much God loves us, but we can have some idea how much our earthly parents love us, and (I assume) we can keenly feel the love we have for our children. Having some grasp of the extent and power of parental love, we gain a frame of reference for imagining our Heavenly Father's love for us.
My earthly family isn't perfect. I don't think anyone's is. But I feel a good deal of love and support from my family, and it makes me think, "If my mortal family loves me this much, how much must my Heavenly Father love me?" Of course, there are differences. My Heavenly Father has a more complete knowledge of my sins and failings, and He has a lower tolerance for some of my eccentricities than some of my family members do, but I imagine that He still loves me at least as much as my mother does, and that feels like a fairly decent amount of love.
I'm blessed to have such a strong sense of love in my life, and I'm grateful that it helps me understand God's love for me. Without my family, I'm not sure I would have any real concept of what love is, and I certainly wouldn't have any way to comprehend how much love God has for me. I am richly blessed by God's love, and a big part of how I know that is because I am also richly blessed by parental love.
I believe that there's a reason why God goes by the title of "Heavenly Father." Earthly families create excellent parallels that help us understand God's love for us and why He does what He does. I'm not sure we can comprehend how much God loves us, but we can have some idea how much our earthly parents love us, and (I assume) we can keenly feel the love we have for our children. Having some grasp of the extent and power of parental love, we gain a frame of reference for imagining our Heavenly Father's love for us.
My earthly family isn't perfect. I don't think anyone's is. But I feel a good deal of love and support from my family, and it makes me think, "If my mortal family loves me this much, how much must my Heavenly Father love me?" Of course, there are differences. My Heavenly Father has a more complete knowledge of my sins and failings, and He has a lower tolerance for some of my eccentricities than some of my family members do, but I imagine that He still loves me at least as much as my mother does, and that feels like a fairly decent amount of love.
I'm blessed to have such a strong sense of love in my life, and I'm grateful that it helps me understand God's love for me. Without my family, I'm not sure I would have any real concept of what love is, and I certainly wouldn't have any way to comprehend how much love God has for me. I am richly blessed by God's love, and a big part of how I know that is because I am also richly blessed by parental love.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Weaknesses and Progression - Thinking Too Much
In his most recent talk to the women of the church, President Eyring said something that made me pause for thought: "Those who do not see their weaknesses do not progress."
This makes a certain amount of sense. After all, if you don't know what the problem is, you can't fix it. But I'm not sure how to reconcile this teaching with the concept of eternal progression. God is perfect. God has no weaknesses to see. Yet, God is progressing. Then, was President Eyring's claim incorrect? Does it apply only to humans? Or am I misunderstanding the definition of "progress," "perfection," and/or "weakness"?
The word that was translated as "perfect" in some translation of the Bible was translated as "complete" in others. Can a thing be "complete" but still have weaknesses? More to the point, does God have any weaknesses? What is the definition of "weakness" (specifically, as President Eyring meant it to be defined)?
Is it possible that God is not progressing? One who has no weaknesses, and thus "do[es] not see their [non-existent] weaknesses]," cannot overcome them, and thus cannot progress. Perhaps God has the same problem King Louis of Disney's animated classic The Jungle Book claimed to have: He reached the top and had to stop.
Yet, if that is true, the inability to improve upon perfection could be considered a weakness or a limitation, and if one could overcome that inability, they would be making progress, so a situation in which progress is impossible is theoretically impossible.
I'm probably putting way too much thought into this. President Eyring was speaking to people, and for people, his statement is true. If a person, who certainly has plenty of weaknesses, fails to recognise any of those weaknesses, he or she cannot actively work on overcoming them, which is probably pretty close to what President Eyring meant. I'd be surprised if President Eyring meant for his statement to be taken literally and over-analyzed. Perhaps I ought to listen more to the main themes of Conference messages rather than latching onto a single thought or phrase and reading far too much into it.
This makes a certain amount of sense. After all, if you don't know what the problem is, you can't fix it. But I'm not sure how to reconcile this teaching with the concept of eternal progression. God is perfect. God has no weaknesses to see. Yet, God is progressing. Then, was President Eyring's claim incorrect? Does it apply only to humans? Or am I misunderstanding the definition of "progress," "perfection," and/or "weakness"?
The word that was translated as "perfect" in some translation of the Bible was translated as "complete" in others. Can a thing be "complete" but still have weaknesses? More to the point, does God have any weaknesses? What is the definition of "weakness" (specifically, as President Eyring meant it to be defined)?
Is it possible that God is not progressing? One who has no weaknesses, and thus "do[es] not see their [non-existent] weaknesses]," cannot overcome them, and thus cannot progress. Perhaps God has the same problem King Louis of Disney's animated classic The Jungle Book claimed to have: He reached the top and had to stop.
Yet, if that is true, the inability to improve upon perfection could be considered a weakness or a limitation, and if one could overcome that inability, they would be making progress, so a situation in which progress is impossible is theoretically impossible.
I'm probably putting way too much thought into this. President Eyring was speaking to people, and for people, his statement is true. If a person, who certainly has plenty of weaknesses, fails to recognise any of those weaknesses, he or she cannot actively work on overcoming them, which is probably pretty close to what President Eyring meant. I'd be surprised if President Eyring meant for his statement to be taken literally and over-analyzed. Perhaps I ought to listen more to the main themes of Conference messages rather than latching onto a single thought or phrase and reading far too much into it.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Inner Peace Despite External Troubles
When President Eyring spoke about the peace the Savior said He would leave with us, I don't think he was talking about the peace that comes from not having problems. We would all like that kind of peace, I'm sure, but unfortunately, that wouldn't really be good for us. We came to Earth to grow, and that requires that we face obstacles and opposition. However, through the Holy Spirit, we can still have a form of peace, despite regularly experiencing troubles.
This inner peace is centered on hope and an eternal perspective. It reminds us that the troubles of this life are temporary, and if we endure them well, the rewards are eternal. It encourages us to have faith in God and His plan and timing. It comes from having a quiet conscience and remaining worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, who is also called "the Comforter." He gives us comfort when we suffer afflictions in the course of serving God. Through the Spirit, we can have inner peace despite external troubles.
Trouble is unavoidable. Even if you don't get into trouble yourself, others will make it for you. However, even in the face of such problems, we can have a deep and powerful peace. I long for that kind of peace, especially when I think of the problems I've had. I'm sure the same is true for you. Thankfully, we can have inner peace, no matter what we're going through. The key is to keep the Spirit with us, and we do that by doing things that attract the Spirit, including repenting and making covenants. When we have the Spirit with us, we can have peace, no matter what is going on around us. We may not be able to get rid of our problems, but we can get the companionship of the Spirit, and that will bring us a form of peace.
This inner peace is centered on hope and an eternal perspective. It reminds us that the troubles of this life are temporary, and if we endure them well, the rewards are eternal. It encourages us to have faith in God and His plan and timing. It comes from having a quiet conscience and remaining worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, who is also called "the Comforter." He gives us comfort when we suffer afflictions in the course of serving God. Through the Spirit, we can have inner peace despite external troubles.
Trouble is unavoidable. Even if you don't get into trouble yourself, others will make it for you. However, even in the face of such problems, we can have a deep and powerful peace. I long for that kind of peace, especially when I think of the problems I've had. I'm sure the same is true for you. Thankfully, we can have inner peace, no matter what we're going through. The key is to keep the Spirit with us, and we do that by doing things that attract the Spirit, including repenting and making covenants. When we have the Spirit with us, we can have peace, no matter what is going on around us. We may not be able to get rid of our problems, but we can get the companionship of the Spirit, and that will bring us a form of peace.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Back to Work
It was fun while it lasted. I enjoyed the week my Mom and I spent on the road, visiting friends and relatives, and not having to worry about much of anything except how far it was to the next gas station. But the vacation is over now, and while I'm glad to be back in my familiar home with my other friends and relatives, this also means it's time to get back to work.
Two days ago, I made an analogy comparing returning home from vacation to returning to our heavenly home from mortality. Unfortunately, this concept of going back to work fits the analogy fairly well. Mortal life has plenty of work in it, and some of us are almost eager to "rest in peace," but I'm not sure how much "rest" we're actually going to get. We know that missionary work will continue on the other side of the veil, and eternal progression takes an eternity of effort. I don't think we're really going to get an opportunity to rest from all our cares and labors any time soon. Cares, maybe; labors, no.
Naturally, the nature of our work may be significantly different on the other side. For example, we won't need to work for a living any more, so that's something to look forward to. The work in the post-mortal work will be spiritual rather than physical. In that sense, it may be said that we will experience physical rest, but if our bodies and spirits are connected in such a way that what happens to one will in some way affect the other, I'm not sure how much of a consolation that will be. Perhaps our spiritual work will begin to feel like physical work.
However you slice it, the afterlife isn't going to be an eternity of resting. We may get some rest, but we will also get plenty of work, and while the work may be very different than the kinds of work we're used to here, it still isn't likely that, after we die, we're going to literally "rest in piece." More likely, not long after we die, God's going to put us right back to work.
Two days ago, I made an analogy comparing returning home from vacation to returning to our heavenly home from mortality. Unfortunately, this concept of going back to work fits the analogy fairly well. Mortal life has plenty of work in it, and some of us are almost eager to "rest in peace," but I'm not sure how much "rest" we're actually going to get. We know that missionary work will continue on the other side of the veil, and eternal progression takes an eternity of effort. I don't think we're really going to get an opportunity to rest from all our cares and labors any time soon. Cares, maybe; labors, no.
Naturally, the nature of our work may be significantly different on the other side. For example, we won't need to work for a living any more, so that's something to look forward to. The work in the post-mortal work will be spiritual rather than physical. In that sense, it may be said that we will experience physical rest, but if our bodies and spirits are connected in such a way that what happens to one will in some way affect the other, I'm not sure how much of a consolation that will be. Perhaps our spiritual work will begin to feel like physical work.
However you slice it, the afterlife isn't going to be an eternity of resting. We may get some rest, but we will also get plenty of work, and while the work may be very different than the kinds of work we're used to here, it still isn't likely that, after we die, we're going to literally "rest in piece." More likely, not long after we die, God's going to put us right back to work.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Easter vs Christmas
I feel like I should blog about Easter, but I'm not sure what I could say that hasn't already been said, better, by general authorities. Except that I wonder why Easter isn't as big a holiday as Christmas is. Celebrating the birth of Christ is important (even if He wasn't actually born in December), but it's almost certainly even more important to celebrate the single greatest achievement of His, or anyone's, life. Easter is a day on which we commemorate the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the first Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ broke the bands of sin and death, making sure that we wouldn't have to be bound by them for eternity (though we, for hopefully brief periods of time, will each be bound by each of them). Through the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can all overcome every problem and challenge that faces us. Without the Atonement and Resurrection, Jesus Christ would have been little more than just another teacher. Without Easter, there would be little reason to celebrate Christmas.
Of course and unfortunately, I know the reason why Christmas is more celebrated than Easter is: commercialism. Easter sells some decorations and candies. Christmas sells decorations, candies, and millions upon millions of gifts. So retailers advertise Christmas more than the advertise Easter, and Christmas ends up playing a much larger role in Western society than Easter does. It's unfortunate, but I think that's the reason why Easter isn't quite as big as Christmas.
However, not being as widely or as festively celebrated as Christmas doesn't make Easter any less important than Christmas. In fact, for reasons I've stated before, it may be even more important. Christmas celebrates Jesus coming to Earth; Easter celebrates what He came here to do. Christmas reminds us that Jesus lived on Earth once; Easter reminds us that we can all live in Heaven forever. Christmas focusses our attention on a Babe in a manger; Easter focuses our attention on our risen Lord and Master in all His glory.
Now, there's nothing wrong with Christmas. It's a great holiday and it's well worth celebrating. But to the Christians who believe in Jesus' triumph over sin and death, and look forward to our own similar triumphs, Easter may be even more important than Christmas is.
Of course and unfortunately, I know the reason why Christmas is more celebrated than Easter is: commercialism. Easter sells some decorations and candies. Christmas sells decorations, candies, and millions upon millions of gifts. So retailers advertise Christmas more than the advertise Easter, and Christmas ends up playing a much larger role in Western society than Easter does. It's unfortunate, but I think that's the reason why Easter isn't quite as big as Christmas.
However, not being as widely or as festively celebrated as Christmas doesn't make Easter any less important than Christmas. In fact, for reasons I've stated before, it may be even more important. Christmas celebrates Jesus coming to Earth; Easter celebrates what He came here to do. Christmas reminds us that Jesus lived on Earth once; Easter reminds us that we can all live in Heaven forever. Christmas focusses our attention on a Babe in a manger; Easter focuses our attention on our risen Lord and Master in all His glory.
Now, there's nothing wrong with Christmas. It's a great holiday and it's well worth celebrating. But to the Christians who believe in Jesus' triumph over sin and death, and look forward to our own similar triumphs, Easter may be even more important than Christmas is.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Heading Home
Mom and I are heading home today, but in a way, we've been "heading home" since we left it. Every day spent with friends and relatives, every hour spent on the road, took us closer to the time of our return. This could be discouraging in that the time of our vacation has been counting down since it started, but it can also be kind of encouraging in that we are going home. I like vacations, and I'm certainly going to enjoy the rest f our vacation for as long as it lasts, but I also like my home, and I look forward to getting back to it when the time comes.
The same could be said about our lives on earth. In a way, we were drawing closer to the time of our deaths since the moment we were born, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Life on earth is good, and we should certainly enjoy it for as long as it lasts, but it will eventually end, and when our time on earth is up, we're going to go home.
I don't think I'm ready to come home yet. There are still a few things I want to get done first. But I don't dread going home, either. I have a good home with a loving family, and as long as we're talking about our heavenly home and family, we all do. I look forward to being with my home and family again. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to rush my return. I still have one day left on my road trip, and I still have at least some time left in my mortal life, and I plan to enjoy the time I have left and make the most of it. I'm glad Mom and I are heading home, but I'm also glad that we're not quite there yet.
The same could be said about our lives on earth. In a way, we were drawing closer to the time of our deaths since the moment we were born, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Life on earth is good, and we should certainly enjoy it for as long as it lasts, but it will eventually end, and when our time on earth is up, we're going to go home.
I don't think I'm ready to come home yet. There are still a few things I want to get done first. But I don't dread going home, either. I have a good home with a loving family, and as long as we're talking about our heavenly home and family, we all do. I look forward to being with my home and family again. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to rush my return. I still have one day left on my road trip, and I still have at least some time left in my mortal life, and I plan to enjoy the time I have left and make the most of it. I'm glad Mom and I are heading home, but I'm also glad that we're not quite there yet.
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