"I’ve been looking through windows into the night sky Wondering if all the prayers that I pray ever reach that high ‘Cause sometimes life can get so crazy, I can hardly make sense of it These are the times when I really discover what believing is I use my faith to find the answers to the harder things I lift my questions to the sky and find the peace it brings I do my best to solve the problems that are in my hands And I leave the rest up to Jesus, and He understands" - "Faith To Find The Answers," Cherie Call
This song is actually not on YouTube (at least not that I could find). How crazy is that? If you can find a way to listen to it, then great. The general message of this song is that we must turn to our faith when we need answers the most.
I had a great discussion with a friend on Friday night about a similar concept. We had been talking about our respective New Testament classes from last semester, and how differently they were taught (and it was a big difference). We mainly focused on authorship of the Epistles, and how many of them are uncertain. Soon, of course the topic turned to gospel principles and how sometimes we can be unsure of some of the most obscure of those. We talked about how sometimes it seems people receive contradictory revelations, and sometimes opinions are published as fact.
I really just want to discuss a point that our conversation came to more than once: admitting we don't know, and we might never find out in mortality. Sometimes it seems we can go to God with opinions and not get a "no" answer. I don't believe that necessarily means we are right. It might be what we need at that time, or it might be a small piece of a greater truth that our mortal minds cannot comprehend. There is an infinite number of ways to experience mortality, and to perceive it, and at some level, all are valid. Why, then, would that same principle not persist in eternity? There are the base truths, and our personal experience can build any direction from there.
Sometimes we don't know exactly what the answer might be, and we don't even know what we personally believe. In this situation, there are two options: to struggle and learn and attempt to form an opinion or belief, or to sit back and admit that we may never know, and let our faith carry us. Both are valid paths to take.
In the first path, we are striving towards an expansion of knowledge. We do learn useful things and become more knowledgeable along this path. We find ourselves in new places, meeting new people, and enriching our mortal experience. We may find an opinion that suits us, that we can live by, or we may not. Either way, attempting to learn is not a bad idea.
In the second path, we are striving towards an expansion of faith. This path, taken properly, means that we must have cultivated and nurtured our faith. We must be living and learning the Gospel every day. And we must be humble. Admitting some matters are out of our reach is an expression of our mortal imperfection, and a way of saying that we need God and Christ in our lives, to help us believe though we don't understand. This isn't an easy path either. In a way it is harder to admit that we may never understand, that we have to rely on the Plan of Salvation purely on faith in God's goodness, at least in the matter at hand.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Sunday Series: Hunting For Eternal Treasure
"For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith." (D&C 98:12)
In the book "The Holy Temple" by Boyd K. Packer, it says this:
"When a contractor is to construct a building, he has beforehand...the plans and specifications. It is common procedure for these to be complete in great detail. They show the elevation...to indicate how it will appear from the front, and the sides, and the back...He can then see how the architect envisions the building will look when it is completed. The plans are carefully and minutely drawn, with details included...for electrical outlets, parts of the plumbing and heating systems, etc...This is not so with prophets."
Using the contrast of construction, President Packer is illustrating the principle of "line upon line, precept upon precept." The Lord alone holds all the plans for the details of salvation. We, however, cannot even begin to comprehend such a big picture, especially all at once. So instead, the Lord gives it to us in ways that allow us to grow in understanding.
The way I read it brought to mind a treasure hunt- not the kind with pirate maps, but the kind that I set up as a kid. Each clue (usually written on a sticky note) led to the next clue, which led to the next, and so on. As kids, my siblings and I loved to have treasure hunts, especially for our parents' birthday presents. We'd set up the clues, and most likely, we'd wrapped the first one to give to mom or dad. Then we'd all run throughout the house, following the clues until we reached the end of the line. My parents did this to me for one birthday. It was always a lot of fun, especially because we knew what lay at the end.
For visiting teaching this month, my companion and I shared a message from Elder Pino's conference talk. It's titled "The Eternal Perspective of the Gospel." He quotes President Kimball saying "If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective." The message of eternal perspective is an important one, especially when we understand the nature of our lives.
A long treasure hunt would surely be very frustrating if we did not understand the end of it. Surely we would get distracted and forget about the clues to go play other games. But the gifts at the end of the hunt are often the greatest, and the people you hunt with will make that time into wonderful memories. These are things we cannot understand without eternal perspective. We have to know first of all what the nature of a treasure hunt is, and that the work is worth it for the ending. Then we must follow the clues, line upon line and precept upon precept, until we reach the final goal. And, in addition to the classic treasure hunt, the gospel also expands our minds and teaches us eternal truths. Each "clue" builds upon the one before it, helping reveal the end.
Life is a treasure hunt, and eternity is the goal. This plan of salvation is so beautiful, and its nature so wonderful to us, allowing us to create joy and memories while learning about our goal. My challenge to you is to keep that in mind this week, and perhaps to share it with someone else.
Happy hunting!
In the book "The Holy Temple" by Boyd K. Packer, it says this:
"When a contractor is to construct a building, he has beforehand...the plans and specifications. It is common procedure for these to be complete in great detail. They show the elevation...to indicate how it will appear from the front, and the sides, and the back...He can then see how the architect envisions the building will look when it is completed. The plans are carefully and minutely drawn, with details included...for electrical outlets, parts of the plumbing and heating systems, etc...This is not so with prophets."
Using the contrast of construction, President Packer is illustrating the principle of "line upon line, precept upon precept." The Lord alone holds all the plans for the details of salvation. We, however, cannot even begin to comprehend such a big picture, especially all at once. So instead, the Lord gives it to us in ways that allow us to grow in understanding.
The way I read it brought to mind a treasure hunt- not the kind with pirate maps, but the kind that I set up as a kid. Each clue (usually written on a sticky note) led to the next clue, which led to the next, and so on. As kids, my siblings and I loved to have treasure hunts, especially for our parents' birthday presents. We'd set up the clues, and most likely, we'd wrapped the first one to give to mom or dad. Then we'd all run throughout the house, following the clues until we reached the end of the line. My parents did this to me for one birthday. It was always a lot of fun, especially because we knew what lay at the end.
For visiting teaching this month, my companion and I shared a message from Elder Pino's conference talk. It's titled "The Eternal Perspective of the Gospel." He quotes President Kimball saying "If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective." The message of eternal perspective is an important one, especially when we understand the nature of our lives.
A long treasure hunt would surely be very frustrating if we did not understand the end of it. Surely we would get distracted and forget about the clues to go play other games. But the gifts at the end of the hunt are often the greatest, and the people you hunt with will make that time into wonderful memories. These are things we cannot understand without eternal perspective. We have to know first of all what the nature of a treasure hunt is, and that the work is worth it for the ending. Then we must follow the clues, line upon line and precept upon precept, until we reach the final goal. And, in addition to the classic treasure hunt, the gospel also expands our minds and teaches us eternal truths. Each "clue" builds upon the one before it, helping reveal the end.
Life is a treasure hunt, and eternity is the goal. This plan of salvation is so beautiful, and its nature so wonderful to us, allowing us to create joy and memories while learning about our goal. My challenge to you is to keep that in mind this week, and perhaps to share it with someone else.
Happy hunting!
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Sunday Series: Come What May And Love It
"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility." (2 Nephi 2:11)
"And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet" (D&C 29:39)
"And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good." (Moses 6:55)
Last night, I went over to a friend's apartment and watched the last half of "Patch Adams," an old Robin Williams movie. One of the scenes really stuck with me (as it was meant to) and I'd like to talk about what I thought of in that moment (if you haven't seen the movie, you ought to watch it before reading this).
It takes place after Carin dies, when Patch, full of grief, goes to stand on the edge of a cliff. In this moment, Patch is on the verge of suicide. He calls out to God, begging for answers and mercy, asking why man must suffer so much pain, why man cannot just be compassionate. Now, throughout the portion of the movie that I'd seen thus far, I'd gotten the impression that life had been good for Patch Adams. It felt as if he'd never had sorrow or cruelty touch his life, in a truly personal way. In this moment, he wasn't sure what to do with all that he felt. Eventually Patch gives up on praying and turns to leave, when he sees, on his bag, a butterfly. This revitalizes Patch, as to him, butterflies are sort of a symbol of hope, as well as a reminder of Carin. He returns to the hospital and begins his work anew.
This scene struck a chord in me. Once, I might've thought it would be nice to live in a world without sorrow or pain, a world of only kindness and love, but at this point in the movie, I realized I no longer believe that to be true. Now I realize that love cannot truly exist, cannot thrive without the opposition of pain and grief. Love is so precious because of the potential for hurt that it brings. I've heard it said that people with depression will laugh louder, smile bigger, and try to make others happier, and I believe it's true. I believe that through their struggles, they have learned how to truly and deeply love. This can also be true for victims of tragedy, as Patch Adams was. Those who see that darkness and choose to move forward with hope become the strongest and most compassionate people. Knowing pain and choosing to love in spite of it results in a deeper, truer love than any other- that is what I believe.
So in the end, I think, seeing both the light and the darkness of our world is necessary to our growth as human beings. By being hurt, and choosing to move forward, we nurture our humanity. Our hearts become stronger, and because of that, because they can hold more pain, they can also hold more love. So in the end, evil is not entirely bad, because it can teach us how to love. And isn't it true that light is always brighter and more appreciated after being in darkness for a while? We see the night, and we must choose to look forward to the dawn.
I guess in the end, I truly believe that you must see both sides of this world in order to truly love it.
"And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet" (D&C 29:39)
"And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good." (Moses 6:55)
Last night, I went over to a friend's apartment and watched the last half of "Patch Adams," an old Robin Williams movie. One of the scenes really stuck with me (as it was meant to) and I'd like to talk about what I thought of in that moment (if you haven't seen the movie, you ought to watch it before reading this).
It takes place after Carin dies, when Patch, full of grief, goes to stand on the edge of a cliff. In this moment, Patch is on the verge of suicide. He calls out to God, begging for answers and mercy, asking why man must suffer so much pain, why man cannot just be compassionate. Now, throughout the portion of the movie that I'd seen thus far, I'd gotten the impression that life had been good for Patch Adams. It felt as if he'd never had sorrow or cruelty touch his life, in a truly personal way. In this moment, he wasn't sure what to do with all that he felt. Eventually Patch gives up on praying and turns to leave, when he sees, on his bag, a butterfly. This revitalizes Patch, as to him, butterflies are sort of a symbol of hope, as well as a reminder of Carin. He returns to the hospital and begins his work anew.
This scene struck a chord in me. Once, I might've thought it would be nice to live in a world without sorrow or pain, a world of only kindness and love, but at this point in the movie, I realized I no longer believe that to be true. Now I realize that love cannot truly exist, cannot thrive without the opposition of pain and grief. Love is so precious because of the potential for hurt that it brings. I've heard it said that people with depression will laugh louder, smile bigger, and try to make others happier, and I believe it's true. I believe that through their struggles, they have learned how to truly and deeply love. This can also be true for victims of tragedy, as Patch Adams was. Those who see that darkness and choose to move forward with hope become the strongest and most compassionate people. Knowing pain and choosing to love in spite of it results in a deeper, truer love than any other- that is what I believe.
So in the end, I think, seeing both the light and the darkness of our world is necessary to our growth as human beings. By being hurt, and choosing to move forward, we nurture our humanity. Our hearts become stronger, and because of that, because they can hold more pain, they can also hold more love. So in the end, evil is not entirely bad, because it can teach us how to love. And isn't it true that light is always brighter and more appreciated after being in darkness for a while? We see the night, and we must choose to look forward to the dawn.
I guess in the end, I truly believe that you must see both sides of this world in order to truly love it.
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