- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
I find myself wanting to use them often in church related conversations. I agree with Edward Kimball, certainty can be a burden. I consider myself to be a believing Mormon, but there are so many things that I don’t know and I don’t understand. I had an experience recently where I was talking to a stake leader during Sunday school. In our conversation he brought up how there is so much about the atonement that he simply cannot understand. He said he cannot grasp how the sacrifice of the Savior can pay the price for our personal sins. But at the same time he is thankful for the grace that it offers and the process of repentance. I really appreciated this admission.
I am most comfortable using similar language: “I don’t know, but I appreciate what it represents!”
Boy Orson, I can hear you bearing your testimony; “I don’t know the church is true, I don’t know that Joseph was a prophet…” 😆 (of course I’m ribbing you…considering my sig line re certainty — I’m right there witcha!)
Agreed. My children hear that regularly, as well. When I speak or bear my testimony, I often include something along the lines of:
Quote:“There are a lot of things I can’t say I know or understand very well yet, but . . .”
I’ve found that pretty much everyone understands that sentiment – and they immediately open up to what I share afterward a little bit more than they might have if they felt I was “preaching at them”. I don’t do it as a manipulation in any way; I really mean it.
Ha ha Rix! I know you’re with it. I don’t need to question if Joseph was a prophet, I just don’t know the specific details and distinctions of what a prophet actually is. All these things I try to understand. It is what it is. Prophets are still human, and they have a way of connecting elements of the divine to broader humanity. And… “i don’t know!” – one of my father’s favorite phrases when I asked him questions as a child! Quote:“I don’t know” are some of my favorite words…
Amen!
My Dad told me a story once. A kid goes to his Dad and asked: Son: “Dad, why doesn’t God let us see him?”
Dad: ‘I don’t know son, I honestly don’t know”.
Son: “And how is it that Jesus was able to suffer for my sins, when they are my mistakes?”
Dad: “That’s a good question son, I honestly don’t know?”
Son: “And Dad, why can’t I see the golden plates so I can know for myself they actually existed?”
Dad: “That’s a good question, I don’t really know!”
Son: “Dad, I’m sorry for asking you all these questions. I hope you don’t mind”.
Dad: “No problem son, you’ll never know if you don’t ask!”
That is a valid point SilentD, and cleverly constructed. The missing half however, is that we can and do benefit from things that we don’t fully understand. There is more power in the symbol than I think we can grasp in any one moment. . . .
And FWIW, here are some alternate answers to the questions:
Son: “Dad, why doesn’t God let us see him?”
Dad: “I do see him, I see evidence of his work everywhere I go.”
Son: “And how is is that Jesus was able to suffer for my sins, when they are my mistakes?”
Dad: “Maybe it was his WILLINGNESS to take upon himself our sins that is the gift, and our example to emulate.”
Son: “And Dad, why can’t I see the golden plates so I can know for myself they actually existed?”
Dad: “That is an excellent question, and one that I hope you will ponder. We know the way things actually are on earth – is for our greatest benefit.”
Son: “Dad, I’m sorry for asking you all these questions. I hope you don’t mind”.
Dad: “Mind?? I cherish sincere and searching questons! I hope you will continue to search and to dig throughout your life! This is why we live, it is a PITY when people are either too afraid or too “busy” to search out meaningful answers!”
Orson wrote:I find myself wanting to use them often in church related conversations. I agree with Edward Kimball, certainty can be a burden. I consider myself to be a believing Mormon, but there are so many things that I don’t know and I don’t understand…
The most honest and realistic answer to many questions people care about is definitely, “I don’t know, and neither do you.” However, it seems like people often have a strong aversion to ever admitting their own limitations so in many cases they would rather just assume that they know things they really don’t and make up explanations for almost everything unknown.
You don’t have to look very far to find self-appointed experts spreading all kinds of questionable opinions as if they are undeniable facts and this kind of conviction is often contagious. Don’t believe the hype; sometimes no answer is the best answer and there really is no way to know for sure. Opinions and faith-based beliefs are fine as long as people recognize that this is what they really are. Personal beliefs like this are basically just a guess based mostly on speculation or intuition not some irrefutable truth that we should ever expect everyone to agree with.
Orson wrote:The missing half however, is that we can and do benefit from things that we don’t fully understand. There is more power in the symbol than I think we can grasp in any one moment.
That is incredibly brilliant, Orson. Well said.Isn’t it interesting that I find it very profound to hear someone say they don’t know, but there is personal benefit and meaning in the symbolism which makes me start thinking about the symbolism…but when someone else says, “I know with certainty” than my first reaction is to question the person or challenge them on how they can be so certain?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.