The Dance of Opposition Within Us

When we begin to awaken to the light of the soul, life takes on a new depth. The losses we have suffered, the delight and peace we have experienced, the beauty we have known, all things belong together in a profound way. One of the greatest treasures in the world is a contented heart. When we befriend the twilight side of the heart, we discover a surer tranquility where the darkness and the brightness of our lives dwell together. We gain the courage to search out where the real thresholds in life are, the vital frontiers, the parts of our life that we have not yet experienced. Beyond work, survival, relationships, even family, we become aware of our profound duty to our own life. Like the farmer in spring, we turn over a new furrow in the unlived field. We awaken our passion to live and are no longer afraid of the unknown, for even the darkest night has a core of twilight. We recover within us some of the native integrity that wild places enjoy outside. We learn to befriend our complexity and see the dance of opposition within us not as a negative or destructive thing but as an invitation to a creative adventure. The true beauty of a person glimmers like a slow twilight where the full force of each color comes alive and yet blends with the others to create a new light. A person's beauty is sophisticated and sacred and is far beyond image, appearance or personality.  - John O'Donohue, "Beauty: The Invisible Embrace"

2 Nephi 2:11 says that there must be opposition in ALL things.  "All things" would include the Church, would it not? It also would include opposition within each individual member.

Perhaps the lack of struggle we crave so much isn't a good thing in the long run - or even possible. Perhaps learning to be at peace with external AND internal opposition is one of the great liberators of the Gospel ("Good News") - the idea that the inherent turmoil that "must needs be" is unavoidable and reconciled ("atoned for") already in the eternal scheme of things. 

In that light, a good friend of mine once wrote:

We devour the beautiful and enticing fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. It is no longer on the tree, shining in appearance. Have we destroyed it? No. We took it inside ourselves. We digest it, and it is assimilated into our being, into every cell. The experience is described as the assimilation of opposites. In order to truly live, we must also die. In order to have joy, we must weep. It's a tension of opposites that plays out like a fractal diagram expanding, creating a life experience. We can fear this. We can find beauty and wonderment in it.

I say we are on a hero's adventure, not sitting in a study hall taking a pass/fail proficiency exam.

A Truly Profound Post: Becoming an Adult of God

A friend of mine, whom I admire greatly for her insight into life and the Gospel, wrote the following almost three years ago.  I thought it was one of the most profound things I'd ever read at the time, and I came across it again and decided to post it here.  I hope it resonates as deeply for those who read it here as it did for me when I first read it: 

We talk in the church about being a child of God, and there are many scriptures about becoming childlike or having the faith of a child. But I think many of us have found that at some point, child-like faith isn't sufficient for us. We want the promise of eternal progression implied in the most basic LDS doctrine. We want to become adults of God. We no longer want to be spoon-fed history or basic doctrines, but we want to become responsible for our own spiritual journey. We want to lead and to have our own vision.

The stage between childhood and adulthood is called puberty. And it can be ugly and difficult. In that stage, we think we know much more than our parents and teachers. We enjoy smarting off to authority figures. We see every mistake our elders made as evidence of them not getting it. We know we would never be like that if we were in charge. When I was a teenager, I was pretty mouthy and disrespectful at times. As an adult, I was able to go back to one of my Sunday School teachers, and I apologized for how awful I was when he was teaching us. He put up his hand and said, "Never apologize for what you do as a teenager. It is a necessary part of becoming a responsible adult. You have to distance yourself from the adults who are in authority over you so that you can become an adult. You have to make many attempts at this before you are ready to be an adult."

All humans, including those of us on this site are at various stages toward spiritual adulthood. This analogy helps us to know that there is progress to be had through the seeming regression of the transitional age between "simple faith" and "mature faith". As it says in Corinthians 13:

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

How I Would Describe My Testimony and Feelings for the Church in Non-religious Terms

I am convinced the LDS Church literally provides what it claims to provide for many of its members - an assurance that they need in this life based on a vision of the next life. I believe it literally provides for me what I want from it - a wonderful theological framework, a community in which I find joy in serving, a symbolic compass that enthralls me, a flawed community and organization that still manages to provide great leadership opportunities to many, a place where improvement is possible and multi-faceted evolution can occur, etc.

I really don't care much about it being "literal" in a universal sense and from an intellectual standpoint, as long as I literally can get from it what I want to get from it (and become through it what I want to become through it) - and, even though I want to get some things that aren't available yet, the LDS Church does so (for me) far better than other Christian constructs and has provided some deeply personal, spiritual, cosmic experiences for which I am grateful.

Understanding Better the VIsit of the Resurrected Lord to the People of the Book of Mormon

The Great and Marvelous Change of 3 Nephi 11:1 - Jeff Lindsay (Mormanity)

I don't agree with all of the conclusions of the author whose paper Jeff links in this post, but I agree whole-heartedly with the major conclusions and with Jeff's interest in it.  There is much that is assumed about Jesus' visit that simply doesn't match the actual text, and it's good to read a paper and a post that address some of those assumptions.

Judging Others As Being Judgmental

I have lived in two wards where judgmentalism was a big issue, but I have lived in at least five wards that were anything but judgmental. It's a mixed bag, and we need to acknowledge that to begin to understand the big picture, I believe.

I just want to point out the danger of describing others in judgmental terms while railing against those who are judgmental. I had a friend who left the Church because, in his own words, "They are hypocrites" - because they didn't live perfectly the ideals they taught. That ward was FULL of loving, caring, kind, Christians - but my friend left because "they" dared to teach an ideal they couldn't live. I failed completely in helping him see the disconnect between what he condemned in them and his own reaction to their imperfections - and it haunts me to this day.

A Different Look at Sheep and Shepherding

Traditionally, sheep have been used in many ways to personify unthinking obedience.  "Like lambs to the slaughter" and "mindless sheep" are common images, but that image is not what is described in our scriptures when a shepherd enters the picture.

In our scriptures, the use of sheep to make a point about our relationship to leaders (principally, the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Master) does not give such a portrayal - and I believe the exact nature of the relationship between a shepherd and the sheep gets glossed over too much.  If I am to "watch over the flock more diligently" this month, I first need to examine that portrayal more closely before I can model it more effectively.

The following are a few verses that describe the relationship between a good shepherd and his sheep, with my comments about each verse:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  (John 10:27) 

To watch over the flock more diligently, first my voice must be heard - and recognized.  Second, I must know them well enough to lead them to where they need to go.  Those whom I "shepherd" in some way must know me in such a way that when they hear my voice they understand that I know them - and, understanding I know them, they will follow me as I lead.  (That is a powerful picture many people don't consider - that a good shepherd doesn't "drive" sheep anywhere from behind; rather, he leads in front and they follow.)  In a way, what I say must be relevant to them and touch them in such a way that they know I have their best interests at heart - they must trust that I know them well enough not to lead them into harm.

That should concern me enough to be extra "diligent" in the way I speak to them.

I know my sheep, and they are numbered. (3 Nephi 18:31) 

There are multiple verses that mention how the sheep are "numbered".  The most obvious definition of this word is "counted", but there is another connotation that I really like - to be "included".  If I know the flock and watch over them diligently, in a very real way I must "include" them in my life and be "included" in theirs.  I can't shepherd without spending significant time with the sheep. 

Shepherds don't lead sheep from afar; they walk among them.  They serve them.  They are not distant, authoritarian rulers.  They serve their sheep.  In fact, their entire job and purpose is to protect the sheep and allow them to thrive.  If there is a totally self-less position, it is that of shepherd - and this is exemplified in the idea of "numbering" them.

The thread that runs through all of the possible references is encapsulated in the following scripture, to which I will not add any commentary:

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him:

Feed my sheep.  (John 21:15-17)

The Effect of Personal Debt on Zion

Many people don't stop and consider the service side of debt - that every dollar I pay in interest is a dollar I can't give to someone in need. Thus, every dollar of personal debt inhibits my ability to help establish Zion fully. 

That alone is worth being debt-free, imo - although I certainly understand the need for some debt for a house, an education and, perhaps, a car. 

There is SO Much to Ponder in this Linked Post

The Work of Healing - J. Stapley (By Common Consent)

A Different, Simple Look at Unrealistic Expectations

I think we set ourselves up for failure when we set others up for failure.

"Unrealistic expectations" is just another name for judgment.

A Wonderful Blog with Pictures and Stories of Missionaries in Africa

Our Very Own Stripling Warrior Sons - "Grammy and Papa Frogley" (Called to Serve)