Why I Don't Want Time Travel

I recently watched a video about a game called "5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel," which is almost exactly what it says on the box. It's chess, except that the pieces can move back in time to create branching timelines. Checkmate any opposing king in any timeline, and you win, but bear in mind that the king might travel back in time to escape what might otherwise have been a checkmate, or the king that you put in check in the past may receive reinforcements from the future. It's insane. But what's interesting is that, according to the video essayist, there's a consensus in the 5D chess community that using time travel just isn't worth it. Creating a new timeline somehow helps the opponent more than it helps you. The essayist speculates that there may be a deeper meaning to be gleaned from the strategic unviability of time travel in 5D Chess:

Perhaps the game's true purpose is to teach us that time travel wouldn't actually fix our problems after all, that it only ever makes them more complicated, and that the best option is to fix them now, in the present, without dwelling on the impossible fantasy of rewriting your own past.

I have a few mistakes in my past that I'd like to rewrite, but doing so would change my life in unpredictable and possibly undesirable ways. I am the person that I am partly because of the mistakes I've made and the lessons I've learned from them. I'd definitely be tempted to rewrite the past if I could, but I have no idea what that would mean for my new future, so I'm probably better off leaving my past as is.

Yet, that doesn't mean that I can't learn from the past. I can take my past as is, mistakes and all, and build myself a better future. I can use my past mistakes to learn to make better choices in the present, which will lead me to a better future. I can't change my past, but I can determine my future.

There are some aspects of my past that I'd like to change. Doubtless, you do, too. But even if we could change our pasts, we have no idea how our lives would turn out differently if we did. Perhaps it's best to leave the past as it is and to work toward a better future. I've made bad decisions, but I'd like to think I'm learning from them. If my past mistakes ultimately help me become a better person than I would have been without them, then I hope I would be wise enough not to change them, even if I could.

Love and Loss

In our scripture reading tonight, we read D&C 42:45, which speaks of love and loss: "Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection."

It's normal to mourn for those we lose, just as it's normal to miss those that move to another city or state. We want to spend time with them, but we can't, at least not for a while. Even if we know that they've gone to a place where they're happier, the separation can still be painful, even if it's temporary. I'm glad for our knowledge of the afterlife and resurrection and for the comfort that that knowledge brings, but I still expect to feel pain when I'm separated from those I love. I'll miss them. And it's okay to miss them. I'm just glad that I won't have to keep missing them forever.

Our Advocate With The Father

Tonight, in our Family Scripture study, one of the scriptures we read reminded us that Jesus described Himself as our advocate with the Father (D&C 110:4). I don't know exactly what our Final Judgement will look like. I don't know who all will be demanding justice. I don't know whether we'll plead on our own behalf or whether we'll be our own harshest critics. But I do know that we'll have at least one person in our corner, and He's the same person who made it possible for us to escape the grasps of sin and justice.

Jesus Christ paid for our sins, and He would very much like those sins to be forgiven. He made an immeasurable sacrifice for us, and He doesn't want that sacrifice to have been in vain. He opened the gates of heaven for us, and He wants us to go through them. No matter what we've done, He wants us to repent, forsake the sins He paid for, and become clean and acceptable before God, having reached Final Judgement with a miraculously spotless record.

I'm thankful that, no matter how badly we think of ourselves, there's always at least one person who's pulling for us and advocating for us. I'm thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful for His Sacrifice, for His forgiveness, and for His support. Without Him, I could never reach the gates of heaven. And heck, if not for His advocacy, I doubt I would dare to pass through those gates. I am not my strongest advocate. Thankfully, Jesus Christ is.

Ask Why It Was Sent

Tonight, my family watched DreamWorks' Prince of Egypt, and while there are at least half a dozen blogworthy songs and scenes in that movie, a line sung by the queen of Egypt stood out to me tonight. She, believing in ancient Egypt's brand of polytheism, sang: "When the gods send you a blessing, You don't ask why it was sent." But, in many cases, it kinda makes sense to.

God gives us blessings, not only for our own benefit, but also so that we can use those blessings to help others. The rich should help the poor. The strong should bolster the weak. The educated should teach the uneducated. Anyone who has any blessing should use that blessing to help those who don't have it. Moses was given the blessing of freedom, and it was his responsibility to use his freedom to free others.

We should consider the blessings in our lives and then ask God what He wants us to do with them. Personally, one example is that I have some skill for writing (or so say the teachers who have given me good grades), and one thing that God wants me to do with that blessing is to blog, to share faith-inspiring or at least vaguely-spiritual messages with the apparently dozen-ish people who read this blog, including myself. Naturally, I have other blessings, and there are other ways God wants me use them. Doubtless, the same is true with you. If you're feeling daring and think you can handle having one or two more things on your plate, you might consider one of the blessings God has given you and, with real intent, ask why it was sent.

Salvation Is Partly Up To Us

Tonight, for Family Scripture study, we read about how Jesus Christ saves mankind from the Fall, yet, it's important to note that that's partly up to us.

The Fall of Adam and Eve has two parts: Physical and Spiritual. Physically, the Fall means that mankind became mortal. With very few exceptions, every human being will eventually die, if they haven't already. However, every human being will also be resurrected (or at least transformed or translated or whatever), if they haven't already. Resurrection is a free gift from Jesus Christ, made possible when He Himself broke the bands of death and became "the first fruits of them that slept." That part's taken care of.

The part that's up to us is the Spiritual aspect of the Fall. Spiritually, the Fall means that we are separated from God, and that separation grows or shrinks based on our wickedness or righteousness. As we make bad choices, we drift farther away from God, spiritually, but as we repent and make good choices, we draw closer enough. Ultimately, if we are righteous enough and repent enough, we can finally return to live with God again. However, this is almost entirely up to us. We can get some help from God and Jesus, but we also get some hindrance and temptation from the devil. In the end, it's up to us what we do and where we end up. It's possible for us to be saved from the spiritual aspect of the Fall, but it's entirely up to us.

So, to say that Christ saves mankind from the Fall is mostly true. He saves us from the Physical Fall, and He makes it possible for us to be saved from the Spiritual Fall, but it's ultimately up to each of us to determine whether we'll be Spiritually saved or not. Not all people will choose to be saved, so even though Jesus made it possible for them to be saved, He won't necessarily save them. We are already guaranteed to be saved from the Physical Fall, and we can also be saved from the Spiritual Fall, but that part it mostly up to us.

Perseverance and Patience

This morning, I had a small problem - tiny, really. I had just gotten a new phone, and, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to make the notifications from one of my apps visible, but not audible. The setting to do that seemed not to exist. Either the notification would make an annoying chime, or there would be no notification at all. I'm ashamed to say that I was frustrated by this. It was a minor problem, yet it seemed that there must be a simple solution, and yet, I couldn't find one.

Thankfully, I finally found a way to make the phone do what I wanted, but not until after I had wasted my whole morning on it, frustrated, and with a bad mood. This was not a good way to spend my morning, or rather, it was not a good state to spend my morning in. The task was somewhat worthwhile, and I persevered in accomplishing that task. Yet, I wasn't patient.

The Guide to the Scriptures defines Patience as "Calm endurance; the ability to endure affliction, insult, or injury without complaint or retaliation." I met only half of that definition. I endured, but not calmly. I suffered an "affliction," albeit an incredibly minor one, but I complained about it to everyone in earshot. I persevered (mostly out of stubbornness), but not patiently.

I should work on being more patient. I should work on remaining calm, regardless of circumstances. I should learn to complain less and to retaliate never. I trust that I will face greater afflictions, insults, and injuries than the one I suffered this morning. I hope I will endure those more patiently then how I endured this one.

Change

Change is a tricky thing. Some changes are for the better, and some changes are for the worse, and sometimes, it's hard to tell which way a change will turn out until after the change is made. Yet, for all the variability and uncertainties of change, I can think of a handful of constants about it. Change always requires some adjustment, some "getting used to." And change is always an opportunity to grow, at least in wisdom. We can learn from every change we make and from every change life throws our way.

I'm not a huge fan of change. I'm not fond of the adjustment period, and I've experienced enough negative changes to not be too optimistic about any given change. But, love it or hate it, change is inevitable. We cannot always escape change, and we can't put it off forever. Perhaps, then, I ought to change my opinion about change. Since change is inevitable anyway, I might as well look forward to learning and growing from them, as well as to the possibility that any given change could be a change for the better.

Change is a tricky thing, and I don't typically like it, but, considering the inevitability and the potential upsides of change, I might do well to change my attitude about change.