Believers and Knowers

I had several opportunities this past week to share my beliefs with others, not that they were interested in conversion (in fact, they were blatantly opposed to it), they were simply curious and interested.

Doing so reminded me of how much I believe in the basic tenets of Mormonism, even when my perception of some of them may differ from the majority of members. I also am convinced of the power for good that Mormonism has been in my life. As I thought about this, I realized that what binds us together is greater than what tears us apart.

Of course, this thought was put to the test at Church, when the high councilman taught in Elder’s Quorum from a fundamentally different perspective than I have, leading to some challenging phrases and ideas. As I was sitting there thinking that my ideas are better/more accurate/deeper/etc. I realized that I was unfairly judging his spirituality and that of countless other Mormons in exactly the same way that I have been unfairly judged by some who think differently than me (read: almost everyone).

So I decided that I should develop a Pros and Cons list for these two generalized groups of thinking, for a two fold purpose: first, to humble me and allow me to see the dangers and problems within my own framework and second, to build respect for the opposite view, so that I can better interact and relate to those that don’t question everything like I do.

Those that Believe (The Skeptics)

Pros	Cons
Able to respond to questions and doubts of others	Critical
Relate more easily to LAs, PostMos and ProgMos	Aloof and disengaged
Nuanced faith	Loner mentality- outside the community
Able to blend historical facts with their faith	Easily disaffected
Always thirsting for more knowledge	Difficult to be Orthodox/Orthoprax
Think critically to help push the Church to better places	Negative
	Tendency to tear down and not build up
	Like to point out the flaws in others arguments

Those that Know (The TBMs)

Pros	Cons
Obedient	Tendency to compartmentalize
Unquestioning	Frustrated by/with those that doubt
Satisfied with the basics, standard narratives	Blame doubting on sin or a desire to sin
Not worried about past or future cultural/historical changes- if it happens, it happens	Can be destroyed by newfound knowledge that shatters their worldview
Steady and unwavering	Contempt for learning from uncorrelated sources
Commit immediately to new assignments/responsibilities	May inadvertently offend those of other faith traditions
Want everyone to feel their uncomplicated joy	Difficult to relate to “Those that Believe”

We need both sides to work together to create the Zion, Christ-like Community that is necessary for salvation. It can be hard to understand and relate to those that don’t share the same basic framework for viewing the world, but hopefully this gives a bit of insight.

I still struggle tempering my critical nature and holding myself back from showing off my “shiny pin of skepticism” (to borrow a phrase from Bruce C. Hafen), as well as recognizing that it’s ok to not ask the questions that I ask.

There are many ways to grow faith and increase spirituality, just like people feel the spirit in different ways, they are challenged and learn in different ways. For me that involves hours of pondering and thinking, asking questions and searching for answers, usually only to find more questions. Others may not learn or grow this way and I need to accept that, as hard as it can be to wrap my mind around someone simply not caring one way or the other about women’s ordination, claiming the end result makes no difference to them.

Ultimately, both sides are grounded in spiritual gifts- one, the gift to know and the other, the gift to believe on the words of those that know. If God sees both as a gift, why can't we?

Testimonial of Tempting Tentacles

A mere 16 pages apart in March’s Ensign, two references to ‘tentacles’ can be found. Tentacles. Like an octopus. One reference suggests that they are tentacles of temptation, while the other calls them the tentacles of Divine Providence, which I’ll likely refer to as the tentacles of testimony, for alliteration’s sake.

“In some regards, Satan is like an octopus trying to capture us. If one tentacle does not work, he will try another and another until he finds one that takes hold. Following are some of the tentacles of the evil one designed to cause us to break God’s standard of morality.” Elder Tad R. Callister, March 2014 Ensign, “The Lord’s Standard of Morality” (emphasis mine)

“Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return.”

Elder Orson F. Whitney, quoted in March 2014 Ensign, “Faithful Parents and Wayward Children” Elder David A. Bednar (emphasis mine)

The following are several examples from pop culture that prominently feature tentacles. With our newfound knowledge of the possibility of the tentacles representing temptation or testimony, we can find all sorts of fun, surprising connections (or completely inaccurate Gospel analogies, whatever floats your boat [until some tentacles of temptation come and sink it]).

The Darkness believe in a thing called love. Perhaps their love vanquishes these tentacles of temptation, blasting from their guitars like a concentrated laser beam? (The relevant portion starts at 2:49. It is a music video, so be aware.)

Captain Nemo and his crew fight valiantly against the giant squid. Although, perhaps the squid was simply extending the tentacles of testimony and Divine Providence, hoping to bring them back to the truth and they refused to see the light, resisting by any means necessary.

Jack sacrifices himself to the Kraken and its tentacles. But is he going to a better world or symbolically giving in to his dark side? (Tentacles come in around 1:30)



Davy Jones is Tentacles. And the Kraken strikes again. Temptation or Testimony?

Ursula. A list of Tentacled creatures/people wouldn’t be complete without her. Temptation. Hands down. Unless, I’ve been misled my entire life and she is actually the heroine that suffers a tragic fate…

A brief exploration of tentacles. Be aware next time you feel something reaching out and encircling you ask yourself- is this a tentacle of temptation or testimony?

My Articles of Faith

I was thinking the other day about what my standards of faith are, or how I look at and evaluate others’ faith (something I try not to do, since it always involves speculation and unfair judgments) as a clue to what I value. This is not an exhaustive list, but serves as some sort of guidance to what presently strike me as my own ‘articles of faith’.  

 

A billiard ball because, why not? offsetjournal.com

1.     God is Love and love will always overcome fear. (1 John 4:8, 18)

2.     “The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.” Erich Fromm

3.     “It’s natural to have questions — the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding,” Uchtdorf

4.     Truth should be embraced whatever its source. All Truth comes from God and truth is what makes us free. (John 8:32)

5.     God is the Divine Masculine (Heavenly Father) and Divine Feminine (Heavenly Mother). Both pieces necessary to complete God.

6.     God speaks to all of us, if we are willing to listen. This revelation can serve to enlighten our minds and better our lives.

7.     Scripture is an account of God inspiring the minds of people throughout history and what they learned. Scripture encompasses much more than the ‘canon,’ including everything that teaches Truth- be that literature, poetry, film, art, music, nature, etc.

8.     Questions may be our Answers. Life is like a game of Jeopardy. We are given all these things that don’t seem to make sense and we need to ask the right questions to make sense of them. Finding questions is the goal. Not finding answers to those questions. “That Detective, is the right question.”- I, Robot

9.     The fundamentals of the Gospel include: Faith (extending to the triad of Faith-Hope-Charity), Repentance (we all make mistakes), Baptism (a reminder of the need to immerse ourselves in the Gospel), Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost (the constant process of seeking and following, not just the ordinance) and Enduring to the End (As Rocky reminded us, “Ain’t nothin’ over till it’s over”).

10. Life did not begin with birth, nor will it end with death.

11.  Knowledge and belief have different powers and insights. A declaration of belief is not less than a declaration of knowledge, nor a declaration of knowledge less than that of belief.

12. Christ is our Savior, brother and friend. He atoned for our sins and prepared the way for us to return to our Heavenly Home.

13. It is not for us to judge, but to love.

Books: Glimpses of Heaven

Library of the Dutch Parliament, atlasobscura.com

What is Heaven like? What is my vision of Heaven? I’ve been thinking about this recently, due to a comment in Church. The instructor asked everyone to think about what their idea of heaven was, to visualize it. Immediately, I thought of a library, huge ceilings, with shelves filled with books and some scattered odd paraphernalia (superhero stuff, a wand, a sad Jesus from Lithuania, lightsaber, a gavel, etc.). Of course, the shelves would have sliding ladders on them and the library’s windows would be massive, with beautiful stained glass at the top and alcoves built in to nestle with a book, comfortably, while the sun shines in or the rain pounds and the lightning strikes.

Perhaps that isn’t Heaven for everyone, but it captures much of what I hope for. Virginia Woolf seems to share my sentiments, for what that’s worth.

“When the Day of Judgment dawns and people, great and small, come marching in to receive their heavenly rewards, the Almighty will gaze upon the mere bookworms and say to Peter, “Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them. They have loved reading.”

Why is a library my vision for Heaven?

Well, I LOVE books. And reading. So that’s a substantial bit of the reason. But that seems rather superficial, and my Heaven may as well be filled with pizza, Converse All Stars, movies, shrimp, and popcorn. Lots of buttery, salty popcorn. Yet, I thought of a library. I think part of it is that I still view literature and reading as a more refined interest than film (although that opinion varies depending on the sorts of films one is interested in and in no way diminishes my own love and appreciation for film and the value it serves as an art-form. My perspective is more due to past stereotypes still ingrained in my subconscious.).

Anyway, some quotes capture some of the feelings that I have about reading and why I connect it with Heaven and an eternity of peace, joy and love.

“We read to know that we are not alone.” – William Nicholson

This is a large part of my attraction to reading, I think. Perhaps this is because I can more easily connect with characters in a book than real-life people. In times that I have felt like no one really understands my experience, I have found solace in reading, feeling that I am no longer alone.

“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” — Madeleine L’Engle

Books and reading represent knowledge and Truth, which as Jesus taught, will set us free. As I search for what is true, hoping to come closer to God and know what I need to do to better follow Him and bless the lives of others, books assist me on that journey. I think that the search for and understanding of Truth continues far past this mortal world, hence being a part of Heaven.

“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” — Joyce Carol Oates

A part of that search for Truth and losing loneliness is slipping into the life of another. Books give us the ability to live countless lives that we would never be able to actually live or may not want to literally live. It’s fantastic. Basically, reading can be reincarnation, without the worry of karma. Yet, as Oscar Wilde cautioned,

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”

Wilde captures the power of reading. It transforms us and shapes who we are. May we all read great books and just maybe, this could be Heaven for everyone.