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In his interviews John D. has often asked “what are the pillars of your faith?” For me they are:
1.
Quote:“Men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25)
2.
Quote:“God is love” (1 John 4:
and Love being the great commandment (combining the two great commandments). Perfection to me is becoming “whole” in Love (thanks Ray!)
I believe service can be a source of joy, and if we “serve” with a grudge we “obtain no reward.”
3.
Whether we are currently being taught some “false doctrine” in the church or not, I take comfort in the idea that the “true doctrine” is whatever is factually true.
Quote:”Mormonism is truth; and every man who embraces it feels himself at liberty to embrace every truth: consequently the shackles of superstition, bigotry, ignorance, and priestcraft fall at once from his neck; and his eyes are opened to see the truth, and truth greatly prevails…” also “Mormonism is truth, in other words
the doctrine of the Latter-day Saints, is truth. . . . The first and fundamental principle of our holy religion is, that we believe that we have a right to embrace all, and every item of truth, without limitation or without being circumscribed or prohibited by the creeds or superstitious notions of men…” (Joseph Smith RS/P manual p.264) As Henry Eyring’s father told him:
“You don’t need to believe anything that is not true.”I try to take comfort in that even though I won’t understand all truth in this life. God wants me to live true to my current understanding, whatever that is. Quote:…but the righteous fear them not (words of truth), for they love the truth and are not shaken. (2 Nephi 9:40)
…even when they differ from our current understanding.
So what about you . . . what are the pillars of your faith?
You said it all, brother. Truth. Love. Joy. Those are the three initiations into the mysteries of God, IMO. I have experienced these three in the mystical sense, and they have completely converted me. I’ve had many other experiences, but these are the pillars.
HiJolly
The pillars of my faith have been changed dramatically in the last year. Since the crisis of my faith, I stripped down my beliefs to what I truly believe in. The pillars of my faith are: 1. Believe in something bigger than yourself (God).
2. It is better to help others than to hurt others.
3. Try to leave this world better than you found it. Live your life so that when you die, people will have reason to mourn rather than rejoice in your riddance.
I don’t know what pillars others have, but as I tore down my irrational Tower of Babel I found great peace in building my beliefs on this firm foundation.
Putting myself out there as asking the dumb question. Pillars of faith (trust) in what? 😳 Or is that what the pillars are? The pillars are what we put our faith or trust in? I want to make sure I understand the question before I answer.If I define the Pillars of Faith as the duties I require of myself to uphold my faith (based on the teachings of the church I have internalized), then I believe there are 6 Pillars of my faith (in order of importance to me): 1. Love God and love my neighbor– this is more the inward feeling, seeking the change of heart, charity and the pure love of Christ within me. This could possibly be the center pillar more important than all the others, or “the Great Pillar”, if you like. Perhaps without any of the others, I could keep my faith propped up with just this one great pillar…but it is certainly strengthened and steadied by the others I mention below. 2. Serviceto my family first, then responsibilities from callings and positions in the community, then my neighbors (everyone I come in contact with). This would also include giving alms or donations to help the church help the poor, and also do my home teaching. 3. Seek wisdom and knowledge– reading scriptures and other good booksto learn the characteristics of God and seek truth in this life. 4. Pray/meditate– find peace in my soul by conversing with God, and finding stillness within me and my surroundings. 5. Attend church meetings(however, I allow myself to skip church periodically to experience other spiritual events). Physically going with my family on Sunday is a sign of my faith to make a commitment to go and worship. This also gives me a chance to serve others. 6. Attend the temple.I will admit, I have been only once in the past 12 months, and it was a disastrous experience for me…however, when I think of my faith, I believe the church teaches I should go regularly. This is a hard one for me, but just because it is hard, I don’t throw it out…I still feel it is expected of me to go regularly…I just need to work on making it a good experience. I do believe these are expected of me and my faith. However, I must say, I have had serious struggles in the past year with 4, 5, and 6. But just because I struggle with those, doesn’t mean to me that I have decided to just throw them out. I believe they are still the duties expected of me as a mormon as my pillars of faith. If I picture a table with 6 pillars holding it up…perhaps pillars 4, 5, and 6 are weak for me…but pillars 1, 2, and 3 can still uphold my faith while I work to strengthen the other pillars.
That is why I stay LDS. I am not perfect, and have let go of guilt or panic on trying to have all pillars equally perfect…and instead realize that they don’t all have to be at the same time. But I hope for a future when I can feel my prayers, church meetings and temple attendance are strong enough to improve my love, service, and wisdom. But I can only do so much at a time…so I have focused on love, service, and seeking truth for now.
Thanks for the questions, Orson. Great thread!
Okay, maybe I just have one pillar then. LOVE
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