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Featherina wrote:
This is also why I can see how – broad is the way to destruction – many go that way – but narrow is the way to truth.
This is an interesting thought, Featherina. What do you mean by this, exactly?
Heber13 wrote:This is an interesting thought, Featherina. What do you mean by this, exactly?
Thanks, Heber.
I was paraphrasing Matthew 7:13-15.
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, & broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, & many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, & narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, & few there be that find it.”I’ll be the first to admit (especially today lol) that the truth is sometimes ugly & I often just don’t want so see it.
Who wants to admit their most shameful thoughts & weaknesses?
It’s too painful… Who wants to take an “escape” vacation to see poverty in Ethiopia?
Who wants to see any of the almost 1,000,000 starving – especially barely alive children that look like skeletons with bloated bellies? It’s heart breaking!
As are many other “truths” – which is why many “don’t want to go there.”
Which is why Christ is one who is annointed, after “descending below all things.” The only way we can reach out to love EVERYONE, is to consider where they’re coming from – even if it’s hell.
There’s this scripture that I never understood until recently…
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, & the daughter against her mother, & the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: & he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross & followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: & he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”– Matt 10:34-39 As an “independly” thinking LDS – I can sure relate!
As someone who opposes many things in society & even in LDS ignorance – that are becoming acceptable, yet IMO, are far from TRUTH/LIGHT… I can relate!
Sometimes, I wish I didn’t feel such a drive to know the truth so much – & I could just go on with the idea that “ignorance is bliss.”
Yet, ignor-ance is not truth & thus not real joy. It’s superficial. Still, it’s the most worn path – it’s so much easier to accept what everyone (even closest family) believe & not keep searching for truth. That’s why the path is so worn. Yet, if ignorance goes unchallenged, it will continue, gaining momentum – causing pain to more & more. If we really truly love GOD above all… If we truly love God, who is LOVE & TRUTH – we will “lose” our hang-ups with which truths are comfortable & which aren’t & strive to know & do what is best for everyone in the big picture.
I’ve spent the better part of 45 years studying the history and doctrine of the church and have gone from being a believing member to a non-believer to a believer. Several thoughts that may or may not be helpful with regard to the points you make. Why don’t people want to hear about he historical and doctrinal defects in the Church? I suppose there are many reasons: (1) some people are intellectual lazy, somewhere between 50 and 70% of people never read a book after graduating from high school or college, (2) some people have had enough experiences to convince them the gospel is true even if it does have defects, (3) some people like me while adopting position (2) realize that history is a pretty speculative thing. In a court of law both the prosecution and the defense take the same pieces of evidence and use them to tell opposite stories. Such is the case with all history. LDS history presents some special problems in that while many people documented what they believed was going on Joseph Smith did not. He didn’t like to write and so it is hard to get inside his brain to see what he was thinking with issues like Polyandry. Also many of the “dark” events come from second and third hand parties speaking years after events happened. I have been suprised the past several years to try and trace back “hard facts” that are reported by pro and anti-Mormons only to find it difficult to get to an original contemporary source. I have also concluded that the Lord works with the tools at his disposal. Some of the early leaders may not have been the sharpest knives in the drawer and made mistakes, albeit in many cases while trying to do the best they could. They Lord worked with what he had, however, those who were willing to join the church and put up the persecution and economic and social dangers membership entailed. I have learned in the past few years that there are very few official doctrines. Joseph Smith’s religion was based on experiences, not upon a codified theology. After his death many tried to take the pieces and put them together into a logical organized whole. I am not sure their efforts were successful, although I probably couldn’t have done any better. With a lay clergy (even at the top) individuals were more inclined to speculate in the early days then they are now. As a result some speculation has been adopted by some members as doctrine while instead it may be simply opinion or urban legend. Sometimes it is better to say “I don’t know” in response as to why the Lord, or a church leader did something then to try an answer that makes tries to make sense of difficult to understand doctrines or controversial church actions. In some ways I like the fact that the church in some ways is a broad umbrella that can accomodate various points of view on what true doctrine (versus opinion) really is.
Much of what I have said above also applies to the question of why some people don’t want to hear that some doctrine originates in myth or speculation. First of all it is not always easy to know what is truth versus what is speculation. There are a few codified basic doctrines such as the fact that God lives, and there was a restoration. Beyond that, there is not a great deal that we know for certain. I think the Lord teaches lessons through paradox. He wants us to struggle with seeming inconsistencies to achieve a level of understanding, patience and character not available in other ways. Someone on one of the blogs said that maybe life is not so much about being right as being wrong in the correct way. If that means that the struggles we have in pursuing truth are really designed to teach us how to treat people of differing perspectives in a loving manner, then I agree with that statement.
It appears to me that even the greatest church intellects with the highest level of spirituality still see through a glass darkly. I am frustrated at times that the Lord doesn’t give us more knowledge. I have had enough experiences to convince me with out any doubt that there is a God. I believe based on faith that he loves us and wants us to grow. I focus on those things I know, and (with some frustration) wait for the day I will understand more. I think it is good to ask questions, to explore different viewpoints, but bad to lock into any one perspective too early (at least on the speculative parts of the gospel). I like something Henry Eyring Sr. once said to me: “I believe in however it turns out to be.”
DennisonE wrote:…I think the Lord teaches lessons through paradox. He wants us to struggle with seeming inconsistencies to achieve a level of understanding, patience and character not available in other ways. Someone on one of the blogs said that maybe
life is not so much about being right as being wrong in the correct way.If that means that the struggles we have in pursuing truth are really designed to teach us how to treat people of differing perspectives in a loving manner, then I agree with that statement.
Paradox does seem to be a part of God’s teaching… or maybe it’s simply considering many points of view simultaniously instead of just either “true or false.”Your quote,
“life is not so much about being right as being wrong in the correct way”really struck me. It may involve lovingly considering other seemingly conflicting perspectives… or it may also relate to not being “luke warm” – but being either hot or cold… Not being too scared to make a mistake, but to LIVE, to experience, to LOVE, even if it’s not always right. Live & learn (the essence of gospel/good news).
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