Wow, it's kinda been a while since I wrote anything here. I need to get better at that. But hey, if this was my actual journal, it would've been 1 1/2 years, instead of just 1 1/2 months, so that's something, right?
So this last semester I took a class entitled "American Christianity" which I found rather interesting. One of the main current Christian... trends, I suppose you could say, is evangelicalism. They're very big on the whole 'praising Jesus' and 'being saved' stuff. It didn't make much sense the whole time the teacher was explaining it, I'm not gonna lie; but the very last class we had actual evangelicals come and explain it in their own words.
Now, I'm not gonna lie, there's a lot about evangelicals that annoys me, a lot I vehemently disagree with (most notably the rejection of anything even halfway intellectual by many of them). However, as we were having this class discussion the topic of Jesus came up, and the professor said something very interesting. One of the girls had actually converted to the LDS Church and had mentioned to the professor that there had been church services where she hadn't heard Christ's name even once; and entire three hours without talking about Christ.
This got me thinking: have we, as Latter-Day Saints, strayed too far in the other direction? Certainly we must address ways in how we, as individuals and as a whole, can improve; but what about Christ? After all, whatever we attain in faith, virtue, charity, etc. is only a gift provided through the magnificence of the Atonement. I personally feel that evangelicals have strayed too far into the praise-Jesus realm at the expense of the how-can-I-grow/become-better realm; but have I strayed too far in the other direction? (I fully realize that I'm part of the problem.)
I am not saying that Latter-Day Saints do not love Christ or lack a personal relationship with him, but how often is that expressed at church? I think this could play a particularly large role in our bearing of testimonies: Imagine instead of telling some random story followed by a rote recitation of "I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet," or "I know Jesus Christ lives," you could say "Jesus Christ saved me. My world was dark, dreary, and without hope; my world is bright, joyful, and without impossibilities." Imagine the passion you would put behind the latter statement. For nor matter how great your world may seem right now, when compared with what God could make of it through the Atonement of Christ, it would seem dark, dreary, and without hope.
So, again i ask: Have we strayed too far away from "praising Jesus?" I leave it to you to answer that for yourself.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Miracle of Forgiveness
So I ponder the interplay of justice and mercy a lot, how the two work with each other and against each other at the same time. You can't have one without the other, yet the two so rarely exist in a given situation at the same time.
Being as religious as I am, I especially ponder the mercy and justice of God. I came across an interesting realization as I thought about the scriptures that talk about this interplay.
If you read verses on justice, most of them say something to the effect of "God is a just God" or "God has to be a just God." (See, for example, Alma 42; there it states justice could not be destroyed or God would cease to be God, or in other words God has to be just.) If you read verses on mercy, however, they say something far different. Many of them say "God wants to save us" or "God wants to be a merciful God." (See, for example, D&C 43:24-25.)
Interesting that God has to be a just God, but He wants to be a merciful God. He wants to forgive us, show us mercy, but we have to do what's necessary.
I wonder if we are the same way. Do we want to forgive people? Do we want to show them mercy? My opinion is that we rarely want to forgive someone; if God does, however, shouldn't we as well? We shouldn't need a reason to forgive someone; rather we should need a reason to not forgive them, and a very compelling reason at that.
Being as religious as I am, I especially ponder the mercy and justice of God. I came across an interesting realization as I thought about the scriptures that talk about this interplay.
If you read verses on justice, most of them say something to the effect of "God is a just God" or "God has to be a just God." (See, for example, Alma 42; there it states justice could not be destroyed or God would cease to be God, or in other words God has to be just.) If you read verses on mercy, however, they say something far different. Many of them say "God wants to save us" or "God wants to be a merciful God." (See, for example, D&C 43:24-25.)
Interesting that God has to be a just God, but He wants to be a merciful God. He wants to forgive us, show us mercy, but we have to do what's necessary.
I wonder if we are the same way. Do we want to forgive people? Do we want to show them mercy? My opinion is that we rarely want to forgive someone; if God does, however, shouldn't we as well? We shouldn't need a reason to forgive someone; rather we should need a reason to not forgive them, and a very compelling reason at that.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Campaigning in Colorado
So this last weekend I went to Colorado to campaign for Barack Obama. One of the awesome advantages to living in Utah is that campaigning here is pointless; it's going to go Republican anyway. Luckily, this year Colorado is a big swing state. Obama and John McCain are polling evenly there, so we take trips to Colorado to help it swing for Obama.
The trip was awesome. I went on three different canvassing routes, which basically consists of knocking on people's doors and asking who they are planning on voting for. The goal is two-fold: 1)make sure all the Obama supporters are registered to vote, and 2)finding the indecisive voters and convince them that Obama is the better choice.
It's way cool to take part in the political process, especially when you're doing it with a group of friends. It's like a road trip with a purpose; I highly recommend it.
The trip was awesome. I went on three different canvassing routes, which basically consists of knocking on people's doors and asking who they are planning on voting for. The goal is two-fold: 1)make sure all the Obama supporters are registered to vote, and 2)finding the indecisive voters and convince them that Obama is the better choice.
It's way cool to take part in the political process, especially when you're doing it with a group of friends. It's like a road trip with a purpose; I highly recommend it.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Books and Writing
So this past week I took my friend's advice and decided to read a Kurt Vonnegut book. The one I chose to read first was Cat's Cradle. I started it on Monday, figuring it would be a good book to read while I was commuting, thinking that I could make it last for the better part of a month that way. Needless to say, I was done with it three days later.
I still need to read more of his books (I now have Slaughterhouse 5), but he may well become my new favorite author, provided the rest of his books are as good as Cat's Cradle, and I expect that they will be.
More than that, however, Vonnegut showed me that I'm not crazy to write the way I do. See, I've long toyed with the idea of writing a book, but I've never really been able to get it going because I've tried to alter my writing to be more like the authors I've read. See, until Vonnegut, I had never come across an author who wrote like me, so I thought I had to change my writing in order for it to be good.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm as good an author as Vonnegut; I'm just saying that I have a similar style to him. It's kinda cheesy to say this, but his book liberated me as far as writing is concerned.
Before reading his book, I had come up with a few book topics and written a few pages here and there, but I could never really get into it. In the few days since reading his book, however, I've doubled the amount of written. On top of that, I have a clear view of the storyline of my book.
It's a weird sensation, having such a clear view of what I want to do in my book. I've never had it before, and it's making it really hard to think of anything other than my book. I think I now know what I'm going to be occupying all my free time with next semester.
I still need to read more of his books (I now have Slaughterhouse 5), but he may well become my new favorite author, provided the rest of his books are as good as Cat's Cradle, and I expect that they will be.
More than that, however, Vonnegut showed me that I'm not crazy to write the way I do. See, I've long toyed with the idea of writing a book, but I've never really been able to get it going because I've tried to alter my writing to be more like the authors I've read. See, until Vonnegut, I had never come across an author who wrote like me, so I thought I had to change my writing in order for it to be good.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm as good an author as Vonnegut; I'm just saying that I have a similar style to him. It's kinda cheesy to say this, but his book liberated me as far as writing is concerned.
Before reading his book, I had come up with a few book topics and written a few pages here and there, but I could never really get into it. In the few days since reading his book, however, I've doubled the amount of written. On top of that, I have a clear view of the storyline of my book.
It's a weird sensation, having such a clear view of what I want to do in my book. I've never had it before, and it's making it really hard to think of anything other than my book. I think I now know what I'm going to be occupying all my free time with next semester.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Motivations
My mom is an incessant worrier. Something is wrong if she has nothing to worry about. Now, this is okay except for the fact that her worrying causes everyone around her to worry as well. On top of that, I have somewhat inherited her constant angst. And on top of that, my parents still try to dictate my life to a large extent.
So I am at college now, but my parents pay for everything (for which I am extremely grateful). They give, however, one stipulation: I have to keep my grades up. If I don't, then I'm punished (they stop paying for school). Imagine the anxiety this causes. I'm constantly asking myself, "Are my grades high enough? How long do I have to study in order to get an A?" and so on.
First off, school should be about learning, not about grades. Grades are a decent measurement of progress, but the point of school should not be to get good grades, but rather to get a good education.
But that's not even the point of this post. My main point is that there has to be a better motivator than worry. It seems as though my parents have done things that have only caused more worry and more anxiety, yet is this really the most powerful motivator there is? Can't we find a better way to motivate people to do well in school? at work? in general? Do we really want everyone in the world to be gray by their 30th birthday?
It seems to me that, at least as far as an education is concerned, a love of learning would be a much better motivator than worry. For work, a love of work would be a better motivator, or a desire to be able to provide for one's family.
So why do people still try to motivate through fear and worry? It is entirely underproductive. If you want someone to do something, show them why it's important, why they should care, why it's interesting; don't punish them for not living according to your standards. Eventually, people will do what they want anyway, so the only way to enlist people's help is by helping them to want to help.
How does one do that, you ask? Well, basically, it depends on the person; there is no one right way to accomplish this. But this is the way it must be done.
So I am at college now, but my parents pay for everything (for which I am extremely grateful). They give, however, one stipulation: I have to keep my grades up. If I don't, then I'm punished (they stop paying for school). Imagine the anxiety this causes. I'm constantly asking myself, "Are my grades high enough? How long do I have to study in order to get an A?" and so on.
First off, school should be about learning, not about grades. Grades are a decent measurement of progress, but the point of school should not be to get good grades, but rather to get a good education.
But that's not even the point of this post. My main point is that there has to be a better motivator than worry. It seems as though my parents have done things that have only caused more worry and more anxiety, yet is this really the most powerful motivator there is? Can't we find a better way to motivate people to do well in school? at work? in general? Do we really want everyone in the world to be gray by their 30th birthday?
It seems to me that, at least as far as an education is concerned, a love of learning would be a much better motivator than worry. For work, a love of work would be a better motivator, or a desire to be able to provide for one's family.
So why do people still try to motivate through fear and worry? It is entirely underproductive. If you want someone to do something, show them why it's important, why they should care, why it's interesting; don't punish them for not living according to your standards. Eventually, people will do what they want anyway, so the only way to enlist people's help is by helping them to want to help.
How does one do that, you ask? Well, basically, it depends on the person; there is no one right way to accomplish this. But this is the way it must be done.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
5 Years Later
So it's now been five years since the start of the War in Iraq... and where are we? 4,000 Americans and over 80,000 Iraqi civilians later, where are we? Was it worth it? Is Iraq truly better now than it was 5 years ago? I'm constantly amazed at how willing people are to simply fight. I'm amazed at how little a human life means to some people, let alone 90,000.
But then, I guess that's not the question facing us today. I guess the question now is: Where do we go from here? Do we stay there for the next hundred years? Or do we get out now? Would getting out now be better, or do we stay until the current government is stable enough to take care of itself? Will it ever be?
And not only in Iraq, but what will be our future foreign policy? Do we continue starting wars like the one in Iraq and the one we had in Vietnam? When do we try diplomacy? The military?
These are tough questions, ones that I wish I had the answers to. One thing I do know: We, the United States of America, have fought so many wars over the last 50 years that war has become the norm. Being in a state of war is our normal state of affairs in this country. That is incredibly sad. War should be the exception, not the norm.
But then, I guess that's not the question facing us today. I guess the question now is: Where do we go from here? Do we stay there for the next hundred years? Or do we get out now? Would getting out now be better, or do we stay until the current government is stable enough to take care of itself? Will it ever be?
And not only in Iraq, but what will be our future foreign policy? Do we continue starting wars like the one in Iraq and the one we had in Vietnam? When do we try diplomacy? The military?
These are tough questions, ones that I wish I had the answers to. One thing I do know: We, the United States of America, have fought so many wars over the last 50 years that war has become the norm. Being in a state of war is our normal state of affairs in this country. That is incredibly sad. War should be the exception, not the norm.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Pointless Responsibilities
Ever feel like you have a pointless responsibility? Or perhaps even more than one? I do. So I'm the ward mission leader in my ward. (Just for explanation, a 'ward' is what we call the local congregation in my church.) Basically, I'm in charge of making sure that people share our teachings/faith with others (oh, yes, that aspect is that integral).
However, being at BYU, as you can imagine, there aren't very many 'nonmembers,' as we call them (though I'm not sure we should). In fact, in my ward, there are NO nonmembers. Thus, there is no one to share the 'Gospel' with ('Gospel' is our term for the sum total of our beliefs/teachings/etc.).
Basically, I feel like I have incredibly useless responsibilities. What am I supposed to do? There is no one to share the Gospel with. I go to monthly meetings to report absolutely nothing. GAAHHHH!
However, being at BYU, as you can imagine, there aren't very many 'nonmembers,' as we call them (though I'm not sure we should). In fact, in my ward, there are NO nonmembers. Thus, there is no one to share the 'Gospel' with ('Gospel' is our term for the sum total of our beliefs/teachings/etc.).
Basically, I feel like I have incredibly useless responsibilities. What am I supposed to do? There is no one to share the Gospel with. I go to monthly meetings to report absolutely nothing. GAAHHHH!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)