Connection Reestablished

Being without access to the internet from home for a while has caused me to think about the Zoramies who "were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel," and believed that, because they weren't allowed to enter the synagogues, they could not worship God. Alma and Amulek went to talk to those people, and one of the things they taught them was that the could worship God anywhere, whether they were at home, in their fields, or out on the streets. While we had lost our connection to the internet at home, we could still access the internet at a number of places, including the school's library and Starbucks and McDonalds, if we brought our own devices. Mom was the best-prepared of all of us. She has a smartphone, so she was able to connect to the internet from anywhere, even from home.

We each have our own spiritual smartphones. We can connect to God, no matter where we are. We have unlimited access to the greatest source of information the world has ever known, and sometimes, it takes a brief disconnection to a lesser, but still amazing, source of information to remind us of that. I'm thankful that we can always reach God when we need Him. Let us try to make sure that He can always reach us. Try to maintain your connection to heaven so you don't miss any important messages. If you feel like you've lost your connection, repent and reestablish it. It's very important. Even through this outage, I haven't gone a day without connecting with the internet. We should never let a day go by in which we don't connect with God.

"Good Times"

I serve my church as a leader of the 11-Year-Old Boy Scouts in our Troop. Usually, we don't meet up with the older Scouts often, but two nights ago, we sat with them as they recalled several bicycle trips they've gone on, most of which involved flats tires, bike wrecks, and some injuries. After most of their stories, there was much laughter and the comment, "good times." One of the Scouts noticed this, remarking that most of the times they said "good times," they were referring to a time when things went wrong and someone either did get or almost got injured. These events could not have been pleasant or humorous at the time of experiencing them, but now they were good memories, and since that night, I've thought a little bit about how that could be.

Part of the answer is in chronological distance. The longer ago our past pain was, the less we remember it, so the memory hurts less, though we may still remember the funny parts about the experience and the lessons we learned from it. We keep some of the good, but over time, we lose the bad.

I wonder if the afterlife will be like that. In life, there are many experiences that go badly for us. These events are unpleasant and sometimes painful while we're experiencing them, but afterwards, we can look back on them and say "those were good times. They didn't feel like good times in the moment, but I can see that they were good times now." When we cross over, I wonder how much of our lives will match that description. How many trials and hardships, or even just mortal inconveniences, do we go through that we'll eventually look back and say "that was fun," or "wow, I learned a lot from that experience." It reminds me of camping. When we go camping, we purposefully go without modern conveniences and endure some discomfort, mostly just to experience it, and to spend some time in a beautiful place. When we think back on our camping trips, we might remember colds nights and mosquito bites, but partly just to laugh at the experiences. And most of us who have gone camping have willingly chosen to go camping again, so, with some perspective, the experiences really couldn't have been all that bad.

In life, we go through a lot of "bad times." We experience trials, pain, and inconveniences. But after those trials are over, we can look back on them and think of how much we learned from them, and even laugh at our own misfortune. After the "bad times" are over, we may look back and decide that they were "good times." So try not to be too miserable when you're going through a hard time. It may end up to be like a camp out or a cycling trip. Life may be full of "bad times" now, but I'm sure that many of them will look like "good times" later.

Doors and Windows and Bread

When Maria was asked to leave the abbey where she was learning to be a nun, to go be a governess for the Von Trapp family, she said, "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." A few days ago, the Lord "closed the door" on our internet connection. This has proved to be an inconvenience for my family and me, given our online classes and desire to keep in touch with others. It turns out that we just can't do the things we need and want to do without the internet. Thankfully, we have we have portable, web-enabled devices that can take advantage of the free wi-fi offered at various locations, and we have access to the internet through computers at libraries. It's less convenient than using the internet at home, but it's still doable. We can still meet our commitments, and even enjoy some more recreational uses of the internet, even though our own internet connection is down.

God is never going to confront us with an impossible task. If He gives us something to do, He will give us the tools we need to do it. If those tools break, He'll give us other tools. They may not work as well or as easily, but they'll get the job done.

Today, I was trying to figure out how I was going to blog and do my math homework, despite having limited time in which I could access the school's library's computers. I wanted to attend an Institute class (partly because I was counting on the Institute's bread to serve as my lunch today), but it looked like I'd have to choose either staying at Institute and having lunch or blogging, and I had to blog. Just then, my brother arrived at the Institute and allowed me to use the laptop on which I'm writing this blog post. This allowed me to stay for a devotional message and a class on Proverbs, and a delicious slice of warm bread, while still managing to blog today. As far as I'm concerned, that's  something of a miracle.

I'm grateful for experiences that allow us to learn from hardships and inconveniences. I'll probably blog about learning from hardships tomorrow, or some other time soon. In the meantime, I'm going to get a slice of bread, and thank God and my brother for making it possible for me to stay and enjoy it.

What We Were Born As or Born to Be

Yesterday, I watched a BYU Devotional talk in which one General Authority (I already forgot which one) spoke of our Identity and Destiny as children of God. Afterward, I had a conversation with a young woman who considers herself a young man. Toward the end of the conversation, we began talking about my stance on the tolerance of those with differing gender identities, and I eventually concluded that I believe that people should strive to be what they were born to be, not necessarily what they were born as.

I should probably apologize to that person for being intentionally vague. They took me to mean that I believed that if a person was born to be male, then they should be, or at least act, male, even if they were born female, but that's not what I actually believe. I believe that our genders are an essential part of our identities, and if we were born as a particular gender, then we were most likely born to be, and remain, that gender for all eternity. A woman may have many masculine traits, perhaps more masculine traits than they have feminine traits, but that doesn't change that they were born as, and born to be, a woman.

What I actually meant is that we were all born human - flawed, imperfect people, with the occasional evil inclination - but that's not what we were born to be. We were born to become Gods and Goddesses, pure and perfect. Rather than embracing our flawed, human nature (what we were born as), we should each strive to become our perfected selves (what we were born to be).

In terms of transgender/homosexual issues, I believe that people were generally born to be the gender they were born as, though we are certainly not meant to keep all of the inclinations we were born with. It may be "natural" for a certain person to be attracted to people of their own gender or for them to feel like they're a member of the other gender, but those are among the feelings that I think we were meant to overcome. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I see homosexuality or transgenderism (is that the right word for it?) as a trial or a vice, whom the individual will become stronger and more god-like by overcoming. Similar to other vices, like avarice or lust, it may be something that you feel like you were born with, and that may or may not be the case - I'm not sure, but it's not the kind of attribute a God or Goddess should have, and it is a part of our nature that we should strive to overcome.

I don't mean to sound intolerant of homosexuals or transgender people. We each have to make our own decisions and choose our own paths, and I'm not going to stone anyone for choosing a different path than the one I've chosen. I believe in fair and equal treatment for all. What that means in terms of marriage licenses and the alteration of birth certificates, I'm not sure. I don't want to stand in the way of other people's choices, but at the same time, I can't, in good conscience, support them. I'm reminded of a blog post I once wrote in which I explained my opinion that everyone ought to act according to their beliefs. If you feel that you ought to support gay marriage, it's certainly your right, and perhaps even your responsibility to do so, but I feel morally obligated to oppose it. It's not personal. It's just what I believe.

On a lighter note, the GA's message on Identity and Destiny reminds me that we do not need to permanently remain the way that we are now. We can all change. No matter what we were born as or what traits we were born with, we can all become what we were born to be and develop the traits that we were born to have. We can even overcome and remove from ourselves traits that we were born with that we were not meant to have permanently, which is good news for any and all of us who were born with a few flaws. I am in the process of becoming what I believe God intended me to become. That has meant overcoming flaws and resisting inclinations. It's been hard, but the struggle has been worth it. God is turning me into something much greater than what I was born as, and that's something that I can hope for everyone.

Pondering Paths

Previously, I blogged about considering your ways, thinking about what you're doing, and using that contemplation to help you make wise choices. At first, I thought that President Thomas S. Monson's talk, Ponder the Path of Thy Feet, would be another message along those same lines, but it wasn't. It had much more to do with following the Savior's example than with - Wow. Was I really about to say that?

I was about to say that President Monson's talk had more to do with following the Savior's example than with making wise choices, but seriously, what wiser choice could we possibly make? Jesus is our exemplar, our perfect example. He marked the path that leads to salvation and exaltation. For me to imply that following Him isn't a wise choice would be insane. I must have gone temporarily insane a few moments ago.

Being given the gift of agency, each of us want to make our own choices and decisions, and certainly we're each entitled to do that. But if we want to make wise choices, we should look to people who are more wise than we are for examples and advice. Deeper wisdom is found in acknowledging that some people's wisdom is deeper than our own. Sure, we could choose our own path and walk our own way, but that may not go so well for us as it would if we followed a trustworthy guide. Making our own choices, we're bound to make mistakes, but I know that we'll make fewer mistakes and wrong turns if we follow the guidance of the One who never once stepped off of the path of righteousness.

It's true that there's wisdom in considering our choices and thinking carefully about them before we make decisions, but when it comes time to make the decision, how will we choose? Will we do what we think is best, or will we do what we think the Savior would do? Hopefully, those two things will lead you to the same choice, but if they don't, which choice will you make?

Going back to that Tea or Poison question, I know that Jesus would never commit any sin, no matter how small, even if His life depended on it. If drinking tea really is a sin, Jesus would have taken the poison, if there really was no other choice. Knowing that, if I were now faced with the choice of adding one more sin to my permanent record or going back home to face my Eternal Judge without having fully repented of my other sins, I think I'd just have to take my chances with the mercy of the Almighty. Now that I think about it, every sin ever committed puts more weight on Jesus' back as He bore our sins through the Atonement. I should rather die than add to that burden, even if that means being judged before I feel fully ready.

Thankfully, we all have better options than dying or sinning. We can live and do good. We can live and not sin. Jesus did it, and as we follow His example, with His help, so can we. I'd be very surprised if any of us were forced to choose between drinking tea or poison. Very few people in history were ever faced with the choice of committing sin or being put to death (and most of them probably would have been put to death anyway). We can choose righteousness. Even if there are dire consequences, choosing the right will always be the right choice, and it will always mean following the Savior.

When we "consider our ways," we should consider Isaiah 55: 8-9.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As we choose our path, may we take the higher road by following the path marked by the Savior.

Tea or Poison?

Last night, I played The Question Game with a few members of my family. For those of you who don't know, to play The Question Game, each person writes a question on a slip of paper, and then everyone gets a random question and writes an answer on another slip of paper. The questions and answers are once again shuffled (separately), and everyone gets a question and an answer. The players then take turns reading questions and answers that don't go together, usually with humorous results.

One of the questions I wrote was "Delicious Tea or Deadly Poison?" This was a reference to Uncle Iroh, a character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, who finds a plant that either makes delectable tea, or is poisonous. Having a great lover of tea, he struggles with the choice of whether or not to make tea out of the plant and potentially poison himself. He chose to make the tea and it did turn out to be poisonous. However, he quickly found another plant which would either cure the poison or make him blind. His nephew and traveling companion, Zuko, took the second plant from him, declaring "We're not taking any more chances with these plants!" resolving to take him to an actual herbalist. My brother used the line about not taking chances to answer my tea or poison question last night, but since then, I've thought more about that question and about the moral implications of choosing either. Suppose you had to choose between drinking delicious tea or deadly poison. Which would you choose?

For most of the world, this question would be a no-brainer, but for those of us who are commanded to live the Word of Wisdom, which involves complete abstinence from some drinks, including tea, the question is much harder to answer. The question for us becomes "would you rather die or do something you believe to be a sin?" Phrased that way, the question again appears obvious, but now with a different answer. It is better to die than to sin. It's better to lose your life (which you're going to get back through the resurrection) than to lose your soul.

Then again, this is tea we're talking about. Tea is, by most modern and ancient studies, harmless. Drinking tea is my go-to example for a sin that we have no idea why God has condemned it as a sin. In terms of how serious a sin it is, it's probably on par with other violations of the Word of Wisdom, like eating too much meat or eating fruit out of season. Potentially, it's as bad as drinking coffee or alcohol, or smoking or doing drugs, but none of those sins measure up to a far more serious sin: taking a human life. If no one were forcing you to drink either tea or poison, but you still had to choose to drink one or the other, I'm pretty sure most people, including God, would prefer that you drank the tea.

But in my hypothetical situation, I kind of took it as a given that you were being forced to choose one or the other, that those were the only two options, and  basically, if you didn't drink the tea, you would die. In that case, it still might be better to drink the tea because if you die right now, you won't live long enough to do any more good for the world. You have lives to bless and hearts to touch. If you died, you wouldn't be able to fulfill your purpose as a human being. Drinking the tea may be a sin, but it's a sin by which you might enable yourself to do a lot of good. Then again, it's still a sin. And knowing that it's a sin to drink it makes it that much worse of a choice to make. You can repent of sins, of course, but repenting of a choice that you willingly made, despite knowing that it's a sin, is a lot harder than repenting from a slip-up.

Unfortunately, I'm out of time to continue discussing this with you. I have to get to class. Maybe we'll pick the discussion up again later, but probably not. If I had to choose now, I think I'd drink the tea. Yes, I know it's a sin. Just add it to the pile. I have worse sins than that to repent of, and I'd rather face my Maker having drunken tea once than still carrying the sins that trouble me now. If there's still hope for me to repent of those sins in this life, I would rather drink tea than poison.

I Believe That Paladins Make Good Role-Models

I'm in a rather unique English writing class, in which our writing prompts have been a bit out of the ordinary. Over the last two weeks, we've been writing "love letters," not to people we know and/or admire, but to things. Some of us wrote essays declaring our love for peanut butter, steak, our bikes, and other things we like. I wrote my "love  letter" to the genre of Fantasy, explaining how much I enjoy its freedom and how much I appreciate how fantasy inspires me to be more like a paladin.

This week, we're going to be writing papers expressing one of our beliefs. Right now, I'm feeling a bit tempted to write about my belief that paladins make good role-models, highlighting the Christlike attributes that paladins possess and their undying commitment to the cause of good. I might not end up writing about that, though, because I already mentioned paladins in my previous writing assignment. I don't want the others to think that paladins are the only thing I think about. Then again, I do think about paladins fairly often, and I certainly should think about them more.

Without really deciding whether I'm ultimately going to write about paladins again or not, I think I'll write about them this morning, either to get it out of my system or to organize my thoughts for the paper I'm about to write.

The first reason I consider paladins to be good role-models is that they are undeniably good. They do the right thing for the right reason, even if it's dangerous. They uphold high standards of conduct, and they try to encourage others to choose the right as well. Paladins are good role-models because they are good, and they often try to act as role-models to others.

Another thing that makes paladins worth emulating is that they're honorable. Their high standards include a commitment to honesty and integrity. They're very honest. They respect authority figures, just as we our counselled to honor our parents, respect church leadership, and obey the laws of the land.

Finally, paladins are inspiring for their vigor in the fight against evil. They battle evil whenever it appears, not letting it linger to tempt or harm them or others. This is the manner in which paladins have been most helpful to me. While the phrase "What would a paladin do?" has helped me to be more good and honorable, thinking of my battles against temptation as literal battles and gaining strength from the idea of fighting evil like a paladin has helped me to win more of those battles than I might have won with some other tactic.

The sad part is that I already wrote about how following the examples of paladins has helped me win spiritual battles, so I don't want to write about it again. Not so soon afterwards. Instead, I'll probably write about why I believe commas are important in the English language, since the other part of this week's lesson is a grammar lesson on the usage of commas, and I'm the lead student for this week. Being able to talk about commas at the same time I read my paper on something that I believe in would kill two birds with one stone and help add some coherence to the lesson I'm supposed to lead.

Still, just for the record, I think that paladins make great role-models, which is why I've chosen to follow their example. Paladins inspire me. They help me be a better person than I might otherwise have been. Despite their being mostly fictional and a bit too aggressive and judgemental at times, I think that most aspects of paladins are aspects worth having, and that it's a good idea for me to keep following their example. Eventually, I hope to one day be an example for others to follow, and to inspire others the same way paladins currently inspire me. In short, I hope to one day be a paladin, at least in many ways. Paladins are my role-models, and that seems to be working out pretty well for me.