Does more knowledge cause greater pain?

There is a saying that the more you know, the less you know. Kant or possibly Schopenhauer said that the less intelligent a person is, then the less likely they are to question reality or not to accept life as it is.

As I have transitioned I’ve thought about if I would rather go back to when I had a “pure” testimony with my simple black and white view of the world. While I was blissfully ignorant and happy in that perspective, I would never want to go back despite the increased pain and loss I feel now.

This :thumbup:

Much of my viewpoint was based on incomplete narratives and an ethnocentric view of the world that I no longer identify with.

I am still sorting out what I identify with. I figure I will be at it in the heavy-duty phase for another 6 months or so and then I will hit another developmental phase and see how it goes. I choose to accept that I no longer see the world the way I did before – because I am redefining the world. I think that I am still working through spiritual shock/denial as well. Instead of feeling more overwhelmed and shattered, I am asking, “What do I really believe – right now? – what are the absolute truths still in my life?” I remind myself frequently that there is no haste in making a decision here – I choose to believe that God exists and that He understands where I am in this process. If God is not as involved as I think He is, then I still can take my time in defining my beliefs – greater time and care is actually expected for the best outcome(s) in this process.

In summer 2016, I had an experience with extreme shock just after giving birth to my daughter unexpectedly in our bathroom. I was loosing a lot of blood (normal part of the process) and needed to relocate myself from my bathroom to our front porch to be loaded onto a stretcher. I was able to walk, so I very shakily took about 5-10 steps out of the bathroom. I had EMT’s just in front of me and behind me prepared to catch me if/when I fell. I was shaky and numb, but I could focus on those steps and the purpose of getting out of the situation. I wound up pausing and leaning on the EMT just before I passed out. [When I came back to consciousness, my first thought was “I must have had the baby because I am on my back and I can breathe comfortably”.] The EMT’s started to tell me to lay down on a sheet and they would carry me the rest of the way – but I sat up very shakily and scooted on my butt as far as I could before I was loaded into the sheet, then onto the stretcher and off into the ambulance. I learned that focusing on 1 step at a time was key to success. That I could find great strength in me as I remained focused. A reason I could do so much was because I was surrounded by EMT’s who were qualified in guiding me from their greater comparative strength – that I could do what I felt I could do from the safety of knowing they would take over when I couldn’t do anymore. I held my baby on my chest during the first 20 minutes of the 45 minute ride, but then I felt so weak I didn’t feel I could hold her safely anymore. So I explained the situation, and the female EMT with me held my little girl and talked to me – told me what she was doing and how perfect she was and took the sting of not being able to hold my newborn baby during the “golden hour” of bonding away.

My faith transition I view in a similar light. It was unexpected, and catastrophic on quite a few levels. It is not fun. But if I stay focused on figuring out what I believe and why in an authentic fashion – those are my steps. And some of you wonderful folks have had the equivalent of EMT training in this area

I believe understanding and following truth, having a more complete view of how things really are, will lead to a greater sense of satisfaction and happiness in the long run even if gaining that knowledge causes some increased pain along the way. Perhaps going through the struggle of a faith transition is what allows for a greater sense of fulfillment on the other side. You must go through the sorrow to experience the greater joy.

I completely 100% agree with this quote – thank you!

I’d say more knowledge increases your capacity to feel joy, pleasure, sorrow, and pain.

I think the answer is clear from our own scriptures — Adam and Eve could live in this false paradise called Eden, or they could eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and Evil, experience hardship, but potentially, be exhalted. Eve’s decision is heralded as the wise decision.

Bringing it to Adam and Eve had never occurred to me. I have, for quite some time, viewed the Garden of Eden as a symbol for childhood. This is a really cool parallel you have pointed out.

What “forbidden fruits” are there in the church besides the writings of critics?

Talking about the endowment, and second anointing in public that must be two.

[SD shared good thoughts on how not having all knowledge is like Adam and Eve in the garden without full knowledge. Also shared a comparison to a movie with Anthony hopkins when a plane crash stranded them on the island and he finds out his friend was having an affair with his wife and even tries to kill him but gets killed in a pit designed to kill a bear. Hopkins character was the lone survivor and when reporters ask what happened to the others he says “They died saving his life.” which had double meaning to it.] …Then H13 mistakenly blew up the post and deleted it by mistake. I’m a doofus. :thumbdown: Sorry SD.

As the press gathered around him, they asked “What happened to your friends”. He could have shared all the dirty laundry, but instead stated “They died saving my life”.

So is that ok for him to lie about the events?

Is that a lie? Is it white-washing? Is there similarities to someone wanting to revere the prophet Joseph Smith by giving the truth “from a certain point of view” to be respectful and uplifting?

Would someone who found evidences of events on the island (bear traps, skeletons, etc) who wants to go back and recreate the history with the facts call Anthony Hopkins a liar and deceiver?

It’s an interesting comparison of how events can happen and how people retell them, SD…and is there similarity to a white-washed church history?

I’ve always maintained the church leaders did not lie by choosing to teach the history they did, they had their reasons and there was no internet or other communication tools like we have now.

Not sure that changes how it stings now that we do find out, but that is just part of being in a new age. We have to adjust to the new info we have…but I’m not sure there is blame or deceit to heap on the church about it.

What do you all think?

I think that what is sometimes called higher biblical criticism rocked the Christian churches 30 or 40 years back. They have largely had time to adjust.

Conversely we completely missed out on those conversations. We smugly taught that, of course Adam, Eve, and Job were literal people. We have modern revelations that confirm that. We looked down our noses as many in the Christian world grappled with these new thoughts. We “held our ground” and “stayed the course” until all the support structures beneath us eroded away.