A New Book

[Anonymous]

I’m reading a new book this summer titled: When Heaven Feels Distant by: Tyler J Griffin.

He is an associate teaching professor at BYU in the Department of Ancient Scripture.

It is a light read & follows the “party line”. It has a lot of fluff & there are some interesting thoughts

that he presents. For example:

Quote:

God could make everything flow smoothly for us, but He doesn’t. He could instantly answer

every question we ask and grant every request we make, but He doesn’t. He could ensure that

none of our loved ones stray from His fold, but He doesn’t. He could stop all abuse and prevent people

from using their agency to hurt others, but He doesn’t. He could miraculously transport all of us to heaven

in an instant to live with Him again, but He doesn’t.

Like all great historical heroes, we must face the specific wilderness God has prepared for each of us,

press forward toward our own promised land, and strive to develop godly attributes throughout the journey.

He quotes a talk by Elder Bednar. In it he said: “The most important learnings in life are caught – not taught”.

Is anyone else familiar with this author?

[Anonymous]

Never heard of him…but the post you made prompted other thoughts in me which I’ll make a separate thread…

[Anonymous]

I sincerely hope I don’t offend…

What’s the difference between a god that doesn’t intervene (presumably to give us space to grow) and an environment in which there is no god at all? Is god the safety net? A position to fall back on when the feeling of being left to our own devices becomes overwhelming?

I’ll just take one of those as an example:

God could make everything flow smoothly for us, but He doesn’t.

God could make everything flow smoothly for us, but there’s no God.

In both scenarios, things did not go smoothly. Is god’s role more of a placebo that gives people hope that there’s a master plan or is god’s role something more tangible?

That placebo comment is a bit too harsh. Perhaps I should have said hope instead. Giving people real hope that allows them to overcome hardship.

[Anonymous]

Haven’t heard of him. Frankly, don’t like the quote. I see it almost in the opposite way:

With our unique view of God, he actually can’t do those things, since it would destroy real growth and understanding and charity and everything else involved in Mormonism’s unique view of God and Their children.

[Anonymous]

If nothing else, I found it generates more questions than answers.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been thinking more about both quotes:

As a father, it isn’t my job to make my children’s lives go smoothly when bad things happen.

At the same time, it isn’t my duty to ignore it when it goes bad. That’s the part I have

problems with.

I do like Bednar’s quote about some of the important lessons are caught not taught.

For me, that is the purpose of teaching in parables. I’m sure there were people that heard

them & had no idea what he was talking about. Then, running it through their head for

days or years thinking about them until the real meaning was revealed or understood.

[Anonymous]

nibbler wrote:

God could make everything flow smoothly for us, but He doesn’t.

God could make everything flow smoothly for us, but there’s no God.

In both scenarios, things did not go smoothly. Is god’s role more of a placebo that gives people hope that there’s a master plan or is god’s role something more tangible?

I had thought that I had already responded to this thread but maybe I didn’t get it all typed out.

Belief in God allows for belief in a purpose for life beyond accumulating wealth, experiencing joy/pleasure, or propagating the species.

A sense of purpose and meaning allows individuals to better endure periods of suffering and despair with a glimmer of hope.

Life is hard. What is it all for? Enter God.

[Author]

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