Saturday, October 8, 2011

Learning from Others Who See Things in Very Different Ways

As I have contemplated my New Year's Resolution to understand more fully that I am not better in God's eyes than any of his other children, I remembered a quote I read a few years ago.  It encapsulates a lot of how I view humility and faith, so I want to share it this month as part of my resolution: 

“You do find, every once in a while, someone who has actually thought about the same problem in a very different way”—and that can be the most important sort of catalyst: the kind that leads to new discoveries.” (Harvard Magazine)  

There is MUCH we can learn from each other, even from those with whom we disagree strongly about many things, if we simply open ourselves up to opportunities to listen to and learn from those who have thought about and see some things differently than we do.  There is an element of a belief in on-going revelation that I believe is manifested in our openness to learn from others around us - not just from God.  I believe that He can and does reveal "many great and important things" through others, and I believe we miss so much growth and progression when we insist on learning and receiving "further light and knowledge only from God - or in "religious" situations. 

1 comment:

Voni said...

You are so right. When I was young, we were told that we all could receive inspiration and I think it has changed over the years. It is much better to have an open mind and question things and put different things together to figure out what is most logical. I never have been one to just blindly believe all I've been told.

If a church leader has been told something from another church leader --who he trusts-- and he was told by another person he trusted... etc. etc... It might be that the first person misunderstood or misinterpreted something... and his "truth" was not exactly right. The others, in repeating what he said, are not lying or trying to misprpresent anything, they just repeated the regularly accepted belief.

Joseph believed that the BofM took place in all of North and South America, now scholars say that it couldn't have been so, the distances are too great. Brigham Young thought there were men on the moon. That didn't make it so. He was mistaken. His opinion was not necessarily what Heavenly Father told him to say. Men have opinions of their own.

I hope I can always keep an open mind to new ideas! Thanks! Discussion is so important!