The Meaning and Purpose of Life

1) There is a difference between meaning and purpose, and I think the answers we normally hear about the meaning of life generally deal with purpose instead of meaning. My own answer to the PURPOSE of life would be "to perpetuate the species of 'God'" - or, on a personal level, "to become like God". I then would clarify that the purpose of this mortal life is to learn lessons toward that end which only can be learned in this type of setting - to experience things only this sort of world can provide. 

2) On the other hand, the MEANING of (eternal) life, I think, can be summed up similarly as something like, "a state of existence that allows for change and growth". Humanity simply is one of the manifestations of life - more advanced than intelligences and spirits and animals and plants, but less advanced than resurrected beings, ministering angels and exalted beings. The main distinction, therefore, in the "meaning" of life for mortal (wo)man, is our place in the evolutionary process of becoming godlike - that we literally are spirit children of God , whereas other forms of life observable to us are not. (Whether they ever will be is open to debate, since we know absolutely nothing about the actual process used to create spirit children other than that they are created from "intelligences", but in their current state they are not "children of God".)

3) I think the Mormon take on these questions is radically different than any other Christian take on them explicitly because our very view of "life" (including Godlike life) is so radically different. The Mormon perspective is much closer to the Buddhist concept of a reincarnative journey toward universal oneness than the isolated and stagnant condition taught elsewhere - and that fundamental disagreement makes our answers to these questions incomprehensible to most who view life itself in such starkly different terms.

4) I don't think Mormonism has a "four minute answer" to the question of the meaning and purpose of life. I think we have about a "four second answer". It's the explanation of the answer that takes exponentially longer, in my opinion, since the answer itself is so counter-intuitive and illogical to most people that they simply can't understand it in its simplicity.

A Profound Discussion About Homosexuality and the Mormon Church

Zeitcast 3.9.0: MikeInWeHo, Part I - Scott B. (By Common Consent)

Part II will post on Thursday.

Letting Go of Knowledge and Returning to Faith

Often what gets called “faith” is not “faith”. “Faith” is not a certainty; it is “the substance of things hoped for” - and when we divorce “faith” from “hope”, I believe we get a mutant version that can be very destructive. 

Fwiw, one of the biggest theological mutations in the current Church that I think needs to be fixed is the over-emphasis on knowledge almost to the exclusion of faith. (I think that’s probably why the brethren seem to be emphasizing grace more and more recently - to return to faith in Him over confidence in self.) If you remove faith from the equation, you remove hope from your perspective - which means that when the black-and-white certainty of supposed knowledge shatters, there generally is no foundation of faith left on which to fall - since “hope” has been removed from the equation. 

To be clear, I am not saying we can't seek for and find knowledge in some things; I just think we try to hard to know everything and forget too often the need to accept that faith can be enough - that it's OK for some things to remain unseen but believed.  Malleable faith and hope can grow and be molded into ever-changing shapes as new perspectives are encountered and adapted; calcified knowledge shatters when struck or dropped.

Receiving God's Image Doesn't Destroy Individuality

I saw a very profound, short statement on the wall of a high school I was visiting yesterday, and I thought how it applies to my New Year's Resolution for this month.  It said:

You were (created) as an original.  Don't become a copy.

 

First, I absolutely LOVE this quote in and of itself, regardless of its application to my New Year's Resolution.  I understand and accept the need for communal conformity to certain, minimal standards; I really do.  However, at the most fundamental level, I am a unique child of God - and that uniqueness is important to me. 

What struck me about this quote and my resolution is that too many people see Zion as total uniformity / unanimity / homogeneity.  They see "being united" as being indistinguishable from each other in any important way.  They see becoming "perfect" as becoming exactly alike in every way.  At least, that is how they appear to believe, based on how they act toward those who are different than they are.

I disagree. 

My favorite General Conference talk of all time (as my children will attest, while rolling their eyes and exclaiming, "I told you so!") is Elder Joseph Wirthlin's "Concern for the One" - and the part that resonates the most within me is the analogy of the multiple instruments and harmonies that are necessary to create a beautiful orshestral sound.  Everyone playing the same instrument all the time - or even different instruments but the exact same notes at the exact same time all the time - even when technically mistake-free and precisely is NOT beautiful music; at best, it is a beautiful melody.  (At worst, it is soul-less.)  All kinds of very different instruments playing intricate harmonies, counter-melodies and even varying rhythms in synch with each other and with passion and expression . . . now THAT is beautiful music. 

I am reminded of the description of the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12 - where each and every part is said to be as important and critical as any other. 

Truly, there is a need for some kind of uniformity and communal standardization, but we were created as originals.  We can't allow ourselves to become copies.

I Don't Think of Tithing As Fire Insurance

I believe strongly that every single person on the planet should tithe to something, somehow - and that every member who can't afford to tithe should do so anyway and then receive assistance from the communal pot. In other words, I believe in the concept of tithing and fast offerings, and I think everyone should make a conscious choice to donate to the "cause" of their conscience. My tithing recipient is the Church, and my lifetime payment of tithing and fast offerings has been a big part of my willingness to accept and not feel bad about receiving church assistance when I was unemployed for far too long and had used up all of our savings. I've been on both sides, and I really believe in it.  

I believe in the principle, but I believe in it for the earthly benefits. I don't view it as fire insurance. I don't begrudge the need to tie it to an eternal reward, but I don't like to look at it that way. I prefer to see it as a way to bless the greater community in the here and now, rather than as a way to increase my chance for an eternal reward.

Learning from Those with Whom We Disagree

The End of an ERA - Sunny (By Common Consent)

Mormonism and Reincarnation

Reincarnation is one of the most compelling aspects of Buddhism to me, and I see Mormonism's stages of existence as the closest thing to reincarnation that exists in all of Christianity. I kind of see Mormonism as an institutionalized, Christian version of Buddhism - or, more precisely, I see Buddhism's reincarnation as derivative of a more fundamental concept of eternal progression. I certainly think we are exponentially closer in theory and construct to Buddhism in regards to our eternal existence than to orthodox Christian theology.  

I'm not saying I believe in the classic Buddhist concept of reincarnation (especially the idea of coming back as animals), but I certainly am open to the idea that our current mortal lives aren't our only opportunity to learn and grow.  

I absolutely loved "What Dreams May Come" - a movie from years ago starring Robin Williams as a man who journeys to Hell to "save" his wife who committed suicide and who learns to see his life in a completely different way. It ends with a reincarnative scene, and I was moved deeply by many of the concepts explored in the film (most of which do NOT deal with reincarnation).

A Very Moving Story

My Mother, the Beggar - Stephan M [Stephen M (Ethesis)]

Check out the links in the post.

The Book of Mormon Actually Supports the Latest DNA Findings

I look at the Book of Ether as reconciling the DNA issues of our day - once we move past the former assumptions of the early saints (including the leaders). The record states quite clearly that the Nephites were religious separatists by nature, so it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the Lamanites outnumbered them so heavily (despite disproportionate death in warfare) because the Lamanites assimilated some of the remnants of the Jaredite nation that didn't die in the great battle that destroyed the nation itself. That assimilation could even have been of a more numerous people (like the Nephites and the Mulekites), if the Jaredites lacked social cohesion and wanted social stability they had lost. In fact, I think that is the most logical conclusion, since even AFTER the Nephites assimilated the Mulekites the Lamanites STILL outnumbered them substantially.

There's no reason to demand that they all were wiped out in that battle (Coriantumr's claim notwithstanding) - that the Jaredites were any different than the Nephites (or any other hyperbolic historical description of total annihilation) in that regard. Many could have fled and refused to gather, joining a separate civilization instead. The Nephites certainly wouldn't have distinguished them as anything other than "Lamanites" in their records - since "Lamanites" meant "anybody not with us" right from the start.

Therefore, the "Lamanites" (as defined expansively by the Nephites themselves) not only would have outnumbered the Nephites, but they easily could have been primarily of Jaredite descent - and the description of the Jaredites leads me to believe they originated in the Upper East Asian steppes. (Hugh Nibley also reached this conclusion in "The World of the Jaredites".) If that is true, the "Lamanites" would have been primarily of Asian descent quite quickly in their existence, which the current DNA research indicates is the best possibility.

Songs of Redeeming Love: Please Contribute

Last week, I linked to one of my favorite hymns about redeeming love, "I Stand All Amazed".  Today, I want to link to three other songs I love.  I know the first one isn't about Jesus, directly, but I love the song and its message - and it's easy to listen to it in reference to the Redeemer of the World.

I hope you like and are moved by these songs as much as I am. 

"We All Need Saving" (Jon McLaughlin)








"Nearer, My God, to Thee" (Vocal Point)

"Oh, Holy Night" - David Archuleta

Please share your favorite songs of redeeming love - with a url or link, if possible.  At least, share the titles - and the lyrics, if you know them.