The Spirit ?

[Anonymous]

The only answer that I can come up with is what the Dalia Lama says — we each must find our own path that makes us a better person and brings us closer to god. The religion that will do that is the best religion.

I think that is why we have SO MANY pathways and churches and religions, because, hopefully, we can find SOMETHING that will work for each person. yeah, these guys have some goofy ideas of forgiveness in my opinion, but if that is what is going to make them better people and bring them closer to god – so be it.

I wish I had a better answer.

[Anonymous]

cwald wrote:

Maybe and maybe not. This method of forgiveness doesn’t make sense to me for sure, but if it works for them and they can feel the spirit than I wish them well. And this is huge, if we are going to “get into the business of that we can look at different services or rituals, and break them down logically to whether they make sense to us or not,” as a method to determine are following god and the practice has validity and “truth” and if it’s from god, than I am really in trouble, because my own religion is way over there on the whole goofy scale. Not much of it makes any sense to me. Perhaps we should just start with the whole practice of polygamy and temples and go from there.

For me, there are 2 exercises I do simultaneously:

1) Break things down logically to see if that helps me learn the real meaning of things for my benefit and understanding. I get bored with surface statements like “I know the church is true” and instead want more meat to my testimony on what I truly believe…so I like the exercise to break things down.

2) My whole testimony cannot and never will depend solely on how I break things down logically or intellectually. There are spiritual experiences I have had, and while I can’t explain them sometimes, they are real to me and very powerful in how they move me. So I accept these experiences as they are…and don’t need to break it down. I just am grateful for them, and balance them with my thoughts on how I choose to believe and see things.

Because, as you say, cwald…I think my religion has just as many goofy things as other religions (if not more). But I still feel good being there (mostly), so I continue to choose to StayLDS, and have a new respect for all other religions and don’t find any benefit in comparing one to another, or trying to look at Andrew or GBSmith (or members of other congretations) and interpret for them what was or wasn’t important spiritually for them.

[Anonymous]

GBSmith wrote:

My sense is that when people go in to talk with their bishop about unresolved sins their expectation is that he’ll forgive them since he’s seen as a judge. It still comes down to whether the penitent truly is sorry, has fully confessed and wants to make a change. I see it almost as a limit on God’s power that He wants to forgive us by Christ’s atonement but it’s for us to make the final decision whether or not to accept the forgiveness.

Well said, GB Smith, that is my sense too. There may be times when serious sins need councils to evaluate the truly penitent, for purposes of temple worthiness or callings, but I think some of that is administrative. More important is the ability for the sinner to find peace and feel forgiven, so they can make a change and move in a better direction.

On Easter, I was to teach my class about Wilford Woodruff and how he had lots of accidents in his youth because the adversary was trying to prevent him from becoming a prophet (I wasn’t buying into that lesson message myself). I changed the message of the lesson to talk about the meaning of Easter, and Christ’s love for us. I felt the spirit strong, and many of the youth in the class were in tears as they were touched. I find the spirit strikes me most often when the messages are about Christ, and His love for us. Like Ray said, from whatever source we hear that message, that spirit can be felt. Different rituals may express that message differently to different people at different times…but the meaning conveyed through the ritual can invite the spirit. The mormon temple ceremony is a good example of this, IMO.

It is interesting to me sometimes, that some people hearing or witnessing the same lesson, message, or ritual, can feel differently about it. Some students in my class on Sunday were crying. Some were napping. The spirit isn’t universal, but personal.

[Author]

Posts