In related news people are angry at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for speaking out on what they feel is a moral, not political, issue. This is very interesting to me. I might be biased, but I feel like I see a lot more hatred aimed at the Church from the so called gay community than I do vice versa. I would say that I don't see any hate from the Church toward the gay community, but I admit that there are probably members of the Church that (wrongfully) hate "homosexuals", but they do not represet the Church. Just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you hate them, am I correct?
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Is it possible to have NO state religion (ideology)?
Elder Neal A Maxwell about irreligion. He put into words (very eloquently I might add) the thoughts I have been having as of late. It seems impossible to NOT have ANY state religion. Wouldn't you agree? I use the word 'religion' very loosely here. Maybe a better word is ideology. Having Atheism as the states ideology is still an ideology (religion.)
In related news people are angry at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for speaking out on what they feel is a moral, not political, issue. This is very interesting to me. I might be biased, but I feel like I see a lot more hatred aimed at the Church from the so called gay community than I do vice versa. I would say that I don't see any hate from the Church toward the gay community, but I admit that there are probably members of the Church that (wrongfully) hate "homosexuals", but they do not represet the Church. Just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you hate them, am I correct?
In related news people are angry at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for speaking out on what they feel is a moral, not political, issue. This is very interesting to me. I might be biased, but I feel like I see a lot more hatred aimed at the Church from the so called gay community than I do vice versa. I would say that I don't see any hate from the Church toward the gay community, but I admit that there are probably members of the Church that (wrongfully) hate "homosexuals", but they do not represet the Church. Just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you hate them, am I correct?
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Plant the seed - Testimony
I have to write this down on here because it has had such a HUGE impact on my life. This is something my sister-in-law Tricia Burbank said and I LOVE it. It is so profound to me. It probably sounded better (and more profound) in the context of the discussion we were having, but alas.
The frustrating thing is when people try to force their own testimony of something onto someone who hasn't gained that testimony. You CAN'T give someone a testimony of something. I do believe people can borrow testimonies from others, but they have to accept it, it can't be given to them, if that makes sense. But eventually they need their own.
"Everyone has to gain their own testimony about each individual gospel principle." And I would add "...and this comes slowly, line upon line."
For example Tricia said she has gained a really strong testimony of the importance of watching/listening/looking at good entertainment. A few years ago she decided to only watch movies that have a rating of 4 and lower (I think) in all categories on kids-in-mind.com (because the MPAA rating system is a joke). Since deciding on this guideline she has seen why this is becoming increasingly important. Emily and I adopted the same family standard about 2 years ago. Before we started doing this I used to think "Eh, it isn't that big of a deal." But now that we have tried it out, I can say I have a testimony of it. This is where I could go off about why I think it is important but that isn't the purpose of this post, but I'll just say if you look at media today versus 5 years, 15 years, 35 years ago, it is ridiculous and becoming more so everyday! Think of something "wicked" and I'll bet you can see it portrayed as good somewhere in entertainment. And calling something that is bad, good enough times can have a dramatic effect.
On the flip side I know people who have a very strong testimony of the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy which to them means not watching sporting events, like, the Superbowl! I have a very weak testimony of this. I know I should probably change this, but I haven't yet. I guess I justify it because I actually don't care about the Superbowl, but I do love any excuse to get together with family, and spending time with family is also an important gospel truth, right?
So the key things I see is that people have to follow the Alma 32 approach and plant the seed and exercise faith, and then make a decision to try it out. You don't gain a testimony by just thinking about things. You have to try it out, exercise faith, and then you can ponder on whether or not you have a testimony of it, or in other words if it is True principle. This is the best way I have found to find out if something is "True" or not. But often people seem to try it the other way. For example I could have thought, "Is it really that important that I watch 'good' movies?" and I would conclude "nah, probably not". But when I try it out and then think about it, I get a different answer, a more correct one I believe.
The other key thing is to realize that people are at different stages in their lives and have stronger and weaker testimony of things than you do. It is okay...this is part of mortal life. It is fine to "teach people correct principles" but when you start forcing them to exercise faith, well, then you have a crossed the line!
I guess this is one of those things I have heard all of my life, but until Tricia said the above quote, it didn't really ring true. I think this will be increasingly important now that I am parent.
The other key thing is to realize that people are at different stages in their lives and have stronger and weaker testimony of things than you do. It is okay...this is part of mortal life. It is fine to "teach people correct principles" but when you start forcing them to exercise faith, well, then you have a crossed the line!
I guess this is one of those things I have heard all of my life, but until Tricia said the above quote, it didn't really ring true. I think this will be increasingly important now that I am parent.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Is understanding "why" important to faith or not?
Just a follow up on my last post. First I enjoyed this quote I got today and it is slightly related to the rest of this post:
Also, Salt Lake Tribune wrote an article a few days ago called "Mormons tackling tough questions in their history." It is very much related to the FAIR article I posted last time.
At my family Christmas party I had a discussion with one of my sisters about various gospel topics similar to the one above. It was sparked by this article. She talked about how she doesn't care about all the "why" questions (in relation to gospel discussions.) She said she is more concerned about whether or not something is "True." (I use capital "T" on purpose...this means it is a God given universal truth...that is another topic, but I don't have time right now to fully explain.) She went on to say "if it is True, then why does the "why" matter?" Man, this was a revelation of sorts to me. However, I continued to think about it, and for me the "why" is a small part of my coming to know something is True. I feel everything True has a logical explanation. I also accept that I may not be able to understand everything with my finite mind. ("...my awaysbhigher than your ways, and my cthoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).” But I feel that there is no harm in trying to understand. God gave us the ability to think and reason, why not use it?
I have been told that the "my finite mind may not understand" argument is a very convenient cop-out for Theists. It is true that it is convenient (although not really), but that does not mean that it isn't true. Try giving a 5 year old a school test about logarithms and when she fails and says "I don't understand this", don't go to her and say "That is a cop-out! That is just convenient for you to be able to say you don't understand."
However, I also discovered that I felt like my way was better than my sister's, and this is not true. They are just different approaches. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way my sister goes about her spiritual journey. While I don't have time to point out all the reasons, I actually admire my sister's faith. Some people would say "oh well, she is using blind faith and that is not smart", but I feel that by definition faith is partly blind. I am trying to think of a quick example. Here is one, but there is probably holes in the logic, but this is off the cuff to try and explain somewhat what I mean. If people are nice to each other the world will be a better place. I don't know EXACTLY why it makes the world a better place. I just kind of have an overarching feeling that it makes the world better. I don't know all the processes and minute details, but I do know it makes the world a nicer place. This overarching feeling is good enough for me. However, someone else might need to study it down to the nity grity to see why. Alright, pretty poor example, but it will have to suffice.
As long as someone comes to know something is True (and then acts accordingly) I believe they will be happy. It doesn't matter how they come to know it.
These are my random recent thoughts. I open to comments, as I am still on a journey to make this all make sense.
Anywho, I have some thoughts I'll post next time about "faith" as it is a topic I have been studying a lot lately. It is good to be blogging again.
"While understanding the “what” and the “how” of the gospel is necessary, the eternal fire and majesty of the gospel springs from the “why.” When we understand why our Heavenly Father has given us this pattern for living, when we remember why we committed to making it a foundational part of our lives, the gospel ceases to become a burden and, instead, becomes a joy and a delight. It becomes precious and sweet."
| --President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Forget Me Not", November 2011 Ensign |
Also, Salt Lake Tribune wrote an article a few days ago called "Mormons tackling tough questions in their history." It is very much related to the FAIR article I posted last time.
At my family Christmas party I had a discussion with one of my sisters about various gospel topics similar to the one above. It was sparked by this article. She talked about how she doesn't care about all the "why" questions (in relation to gospel discussions.) She said she is more concerned about whether or not something is "True." (I use capital "T" on purpose...this means it is a God given universal truth...that is another topic, but I don't have time right now to fully explain.) She went on to say "if it is True, then why does the "why" matter?" Man, this was a revelation of sorts to me. However, I continued to think about it, and for me the "why" is a small part of my coming to know something is True. I feel everything True has a logical explanation. I also accept that I may not be able to understand everything with my finite mind. ("...my awaysbhigher than your ways, and my cthoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).” But I feel that there is no harm in trying to understand. God gave us the ability to think and reason, why not use it?
I have been told that the "my finite mind may not understand" argument is a very convenient cop-out for Theists. It is true that it is convenient (although not really), but that does not mean that it isn't true. Try giving a 5 year old a school test about logarithms and when she fails and says "I don't understand this", don't go to her and say "That is a cop-out! That is just convenient for you to be able to say you don't understand."
However, I also discovered that I felt like my way was better than my sister's, and this is not true. They are just different approaches. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way my sister goes about her spiritual journey. While I don't have time to point out all the reasons, I actually admire my sister's faith. Some people would say "oh well, she is using blind faith and that is not smart", but I feel that by definition faith is partly blind. I am trying to think of a quick example. Here is one, but there is probably holes in the logic, but this is off the cuff to try and explain somewhat what I mean. If people are nice to each other the world will be a better place. I don't know EXACTLY why it makes the world a better place. I just kind of have an overarching feeling that it makes the world better. I don't know all the processes and minute details, but I do know it makes the world a nicer place. This overarching feeling is good enough for me. However, someone else might need to study it down to the nity grity to see why. Alright, pretty poor example, but it will have to suffice.
As long as someone comes to know something is True (and then acts accordingly) I believe they will be happy. It doesn't matter how they come to know it.
These are my random recent thoughts. I open to comments, as I am still on a journey to make this all make sense.
Anywho, I have some thoughts I'll post next time about "faith" as it is a topic I have been studying a lot lately. It is good to be blogging again.
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