Striving for sainthood, imperfectly
My son Ben gave a talk for the ages at church today. He works with special needs youth, and is working on finishing his degree. He has grown immeasurably in the last several years. A proud moment, for a proud father. Not that I had anything to do with that. I suspect much has to do with his wonderful wife, Tausha.
I read a study that showed that atheists are far more close minded than religious types. That stands to reason, of course, as to be a true believer in nothing, requires a complete rejection of the world around us. The world testifies of God, or if you would rather, intelligent design. Believing that life just happened seems to me harder to believe than that God created the world.
I am content to wait and learn the mechanics of creation, and not get into the details that no one can know with certainty now.
God is our Father. Whether you choose to believe or not, has NO impact on the fact that He IS our Father. He provided a plan for us to come to earth, to gain a body, to be able to choose right or wrong. Knowing that we would make mistakes, He provided His Son as a Savior to pay the price so that we can return to live with Him, conditioned on repentance, and Faith. His plan also included a path for those that never had the opportunity in mortality to accept Him. This is one of the most beautiful parts of the plan. They will have a chance to learn, and to accept Him, and His Atonement. For coming to earth, our agency, or ability to choose, is not taken from us, even after death.
The restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith, beginning in 1820, provided authority to perform all ordinances necessary to return to live with our Father. We have a prophet on the earth today, to provide guidance and direction. We were given the Book of Mormon, which stands as a second witness to the Bible of our our Savior.
We have the ability to choose our actions, but we can't choose the consequences.
His love for us is endless and eternal. As mortals, we struggle with those concepts. The idea of no beginning and no end makes us uneasy, at least it makes me feel that way. Knowing that His love is eternal, and that the Atonement of His Son is far more than forgiveness of sin. That forgiveness is incomprehensible to us. Christ suffered our pain. Our grief. He knows our pain, and is ready to comfort us. He walked this earth and felt every pain that is part of mortality. He knows.
What does He ask of us? That we forgive others. That we purge our hearts of judgement. We must be wise in our dealings of course, but there are few judges in Israel. The rest of us need to remember that being forgiven depends on us forgiving others. He asks us to love as He loves. That we look past the pain that others have caused us, to see their pain, and to comfort them, as He comforts us.
We cannot achieve perfection in this life. Of course that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. And as we try, our labors will be acceptable to God.
I read a study that showed that atheists are far more close minded than religious types. That stands to reason, of course, as to be a true believer in nothing, requires a complete rejection of the world around us. The world testifies of God, or if you would rather, intelligent design. Believing that life just happened seems to me harder to believe than that God created the world.
I am content to wait and learn the mechanics of creation, and not get into the details that no one can know with certainty now.
God is our Father. Whether you choose to believe or not, has NO impact on the fact that He IS our Father. He provided a plan for us to come to earth, to gain a body, to be able to choose right or wrong. Knowing that we would make mistakes, He provided His Son as a Savior to pay the price so that we can return to live with Him, conditioned on repentance, and Faith. His plan also included a path for those that never had the opportunity in mortality to accept Him. This is one of the most beautiful parts of the plan. They will have a chance to learn, and to accept Him, and His Atonement. For coming to earth, our agency, or ability to choose, is not taken from us, even after death.
The restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith, beginning in 1820, provided authority to perform all ordinances necessary to return to live with our Father. We have a prophet on the earth today, to provide guidance and direction. We were given the Book of Mormon, which stands as a second witness to the Bible of our our Savior.
We have the ability to choose our actions, but we can't choose the consequences.
His love for us is endless and eternal. As mortals, we struggle with those concepts. The idea of no beginning and no end makes us uneasy, at least it makes me feel that way. Knowing that His love is eternal, and that the Atonement of His Son is far more than forgiveness of sin. That forgiveness is incomprehensible to us. Christ suffered our pain. Our grief. He knows our pain, and is ready to comfort us. He walked this earth and felt every pain that is part of mortality. He knows.
What does He ask of us? That we forgive others. That we purge our hearts of judgement. We must be wise in our dealings of course, but there are few judges in Israel. The rest of us need to remember that being forgiven depends on us forgiving others. He asks us to love as He loves. That we look past the pain that others have caused us, to see their pain, and to comfort them, as He comforts us.
We cannot achieve perfection in this life. Of course that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. And as we try, our labors will be acceptable to God.
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