Dad-Welcome to Parkerville ( with a few thoughts on Job and Alma 29)
I started keeping a journal a year or so ago to both collect and reflect on meaningful experiences I've had while serving as Bishop and also to record insights that came to me during my reading that I thought worth saving.
I've occasionally come across something I thought our family and a few friends might also enjoy and went looking for an easy way to share these. Starting a blog seems the best way to do this.
I plan to post something once a week or thereabouts. I'd like to get your thoughts on these posts, since we're a family of readers and thinkers so please be liberal in attaching comments. I will read them all gratefully and will learn in the process.
Further, I have added all of you as authors and would love to have any of you post ideas too, particularly those related to issues of spirituality or understanding the way to live and serve.
And with that....
Came across a great reading of Alma 29:4, that "God granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life...., yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction". This fits squarely into the "be careful what you ask for" department and is a reminder that in our faith agency is primary. We choose our path and the world/cosmos as configured gives us what we asked for.
If we trust God and keep our covenants it is the path to joy, if we don't, then we are on our own. One way to win and infinite, personalized ways to fail. This reading of these verses ties in nicely with an interview with Adam Miller re: the Book of Job. We all know that Job is about suffering, but he makes the point that sin is the way we cope with suffering. This to me is a profound idea. The usual trope is that sin is about selfishness or hedonism of some kind, and surely that is not completely wrong (I loved partying with my buddies). But, if we consider the Buddha's notion that all life is suffering (and the effort to escape it) then sin can indeed be seen as a reaction to suffering. Reminds me of that line from Princess Bride (from a book and screenplay by William Goldman), "Life is pain and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something".
On reflection, those of my friends with destructive habits seemed to develop those as a way of masking pain, dealing with deep insecurity or other ways of thinking that make us afraid to take life head on. On this point, I've found that working with folks with porn addictions, invariably the triggers are stress, fatigue or boredom, and other forms of suffering. Reflecting on my own life, decisions I wish I could make over were usually driven by some insecurity or fear. Miller continues that if we take our suffering to God, he will help us bear it up and work through it. In fact, Moroni taught that as we struggle through our weaknesses with faith, God will turn those weaknesses into strengths and further that this is why we have them (Eth 12:27).
Thanks so much for sharing and starting this blog! I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog posts. Should be a fun blog! The idea of sin being a way to cope with suffering is really interesting. I think that's true and it's not something I've thought about before.
ReplyDeleteThis post is a great way to kickstart your blog. It really speaks to the heart of who Christ is, and what He alone has to offer.
ReplyDeleteThe quote from Hamilton's poem says it all. Nothing brings us as close to the Savior as suffering patiently in faith, out of love for God, neighbor, and self. (I remember reading somewhere that I, myself, am one of the people I am called by God to love!)
I think the painful reality is that Christ can only heal us internally when we are truly humble before Him, and to be truly humble we have to be abased by suffering in ways we would never choose. But the joy that comes from being like a child in His care, and allowing Him to transform us from the inside out, makes all the pain worth it.
You could put it this way: no suffering, no Christ. Apart from Christ, you can have all the good things in life, but still feel mysteriously empty, isolated, irritable, disconnected, and controlled by your fears and addictions. Or, you can suffer in union with Christ, and as you glorify Him and invite him inside of your heart, you are set free to finally see and live as a child of God.
There will be suffering....what do you do with it? God has shown us that, in Christ, He has a plan to work all things for the good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Very good points. I really like your point that when we forgive, we need to forgive ourselves as well. This is a very difficult thing to do. I've noticed this is my current calling working with people, and personally as well, Parker's are notoriously hard on themselves. There is a theory of the Atonement that claims the reason God sacrificed his son (the thing most precious to him) was to convince his other children (us) that we were worth saving and that he meant his promise to forgive us so that we would indeed forgive ourselves. An interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteExcited to be part of this blog family. Really important insight here in terms of sin as a response to suffering. When I think of my own life, I can attribute most sin (or other undesirable behavior) to "self-medicating" in one form or another.
ReplyDeleteBtw, for you other other folks who live in Parkerville, I'd like to introduce you to gnp (see above) which stands for Greg Pal, one of my Councilors in the Bishopric (recently released after serving with me and the previous Bishop for what must have seemed forever). Greg is a dear friend and has the biggest heart of anyone I know one of the reasons I wanted to invite him to contribute to our little conversation. Welcome Greg!
ReplyDeleteA very good BYU Devotional from November 8, 2022 with many good points throughout. As it relates to the topics discussed above, listen at 19:40. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jenet-erickson/designed-for-covenant-relationships/
ReplyDeleteGreg, thanks for this. The focus here, a most powerful idea is that the Covenant is about relationship with God (and that sin is what separates us from Heavenly Father). Interesting that this is something that we're talking alot more about since President Nelson (covenants in general and specifically the impact on relationships). I don't remember any of this when I served my mission. The covenant was the path to eternal life and that was about it. This isn't new doctrine, just a matter of emphasis. And, how can you not love someone that namechecks Adam Miller multiple times?
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