On Thu, 2003-11-06 at 05:38, Danelle Brown wrote:
> Oh yeah, HAPPY GUY FAWKES DAY! (yesterday) (Man, I wish I was in Britain burning
> stuff to celebrate.)
>
> Man, it's late, I've been grading awful introductory physics midterms for the last 6
> hours or so, and I also took a midterm myself today, and my day is nearing a 24-hour
> day, but I just can't help getting involved in this lively discussion. Curses. So
> I guess I might as well pull an all-nighter. Sure. Why not.
>
> See, I've been preparing for a talk this Sunday about how getting secular knowledge
> can increase your testimony. (Sounds kinda like an oxymoron, and HEY, I didn't pick
> the topic, it picked me through the 2nd counselor of the bishopric, real great guy.
> Teaches astronomy at a local community college...they just got a new, state of the
> art planetarium and I'm trying to talk him into letting me run it every now and
> again. It's great for watching movies, too! Just get a projector, hook yourself
> up, and you've got your own little theater playing Star Wars IV in reclined seats.)
> Ya, back to topic.
>
> Specifically, it's on D&C 88:118 (already, I apologize to those of you who hate to
> see it written "D&C"...deal with it) and I've been studying it in a kinda abstract
> way and found some interesting stuff that relates to this topic on one level or
> another.
>
> (Blind obedience vs. faith) - What's the diff?
>
> 88:188 "...seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye
> out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by
> faith."
>
> That's the topic. But see, the first part of that verse was omitted, and I think
> it's one of the most important parts...
>
> "And as all have not faith,..."
>
> So I guess the reason some of us study hard looking for answers is because, well,
> "as all have not faith...". Of course, I'm not saying we should blindly follow
> advice from Joe-Shmoe who quotes "the elders" or Mormon-myth sleepover-party advice.
> "The hitchhiker said to get a two-year food storage!!! He looked like one of the
> three Nephites!" (Unless it rings true with us. Who knows, maybe it really
> happened. Those three Nephites have to be somewhere doing something. And the
> prophet's been warning us about food storage for YEARS!)
>
> We should sustain the prophet and leaders of the church, and our stake prez and
> bishop, etc. Those men that hold certain keys of stewardship over us. And if we
> know they're transgressing the laws of God, we need to do something about it, i.e.
> bring it up with them first, and then if they don't change, take appropriate action
> with those over them or the public. (D&C 42:88-90)
>
> "And if thy brother or sister offend thee, thou shalt take him or her between him or
> her and thee alone; and if he or she cconfess thou shalt be reconciled.
>
> 89 And if he or she confess not thou shalt deliver him or her up unto the church,
> not to the members, but to the elders. And it shall be done in a meeting, and that
> not before the world.
>
> 90 And if thy brother or sister offend many, he or she shall be chastened before
> many."
>
> Anyway, I definitely think that faith is more important than learning. But the two
> ARE related. When we have faith, the Lord can reveal things to us, thus increasing
> our knowledge and learning. The spirit most definitely can teach us things. And
> having charity also beats out learning anyday. We need charity to be able to enter
> the celestial realm. We need these things to become quickened. And we grow from
> faith to faith, until it's from faith to a perfect knowledge, and we can comprehend
> even God himself...
>
> 88:49 "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not;
> nevertheless, the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened
> in him and by him."
>
> The light's always there shining, but are our eyes opened to comprehend it? There
> could be concourses of angels around us RIGHT AT THIS VERY MOMENT! (I think that's
> so cool.) 2 Kings 6:17.
>
> "17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.
> And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain
> was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
>
> How receptive are we to this "light" that pervades the universe. As perceptive as
> we let ourselves be, I believe. There are good things in life, and then there are
> the best things in life. Don't let the good things in life rob you of the best
> things. I'll return to this point in a moment...
>
> I know we can study all we want about a mountain, its strata, its fault lines, its
> composition, and we can KNOW all there is to KNOW about that mountain, but only
> faith can actually MOVE that mountain. Faith is power more powerful than knowledge.
> But ironically, faith isn't a perfect knowledge. But it's more powerful than
> knowledge? How does that work? Well, since we're like ants trying to comprehend a
> ______ (fill in blank - DVD player?) when we're humans trying to comprehend the
> nature of God, I'd say there are more than a few things that we'll HAVE to take on
> faith and faith alone, cuz if we WERE to see the big pic, we'd be SO OVERWHELMED!
> It would be like my poor beginning physics students looking at Quantum Mechanic
> Dirac bra-ket notation. I mean, I freak out as it is, and I've been doing physics
> for HOW LONG!? And I learned it before a year ago. That's why we are led by faith.
> If we were shown or told, we probably wouldn't do it, follow whatever path we're
> suppo
> sed to find for ourselves. (My bro-in-law calls it the Danelle-factor. I won't
> allow myself to be manipulated, especially during a friendly game of cards.)
>
> Some of us need the rational bits, the 'why's and the 'how's. The reason behind
> things and the path that gets us from A to B. I definitely love to ask the question
> WHY. I wanna know why things are the way they are. But I think when you learn to
> rely more on the Lord and the whisperings of the spirit, then we can be as Nephi,
> "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
>
> Nevertheless he went forth.
>
> I know as life goes on, it becomes more and more apparent how I am led by the
> spirit. It gets kinda creepy how some things have worked out like clockwork because
> I felt impressed to do something.
>
> Anyway, this was the exegesis of just one verse, D&C 88:118.
>
> Oh, it gets better. Then we expand outward from that verse to get the bigger
> picture...
>
> Above the scripture, it talks about calling in your solemn assemblies... below, all
> about "a house of learning, a house of God." Clearly refering to the temple. So
> the stuff in the middle is also about the temple, as a great place - dare I say -
> one of the best for learning. So all that stuff in the verse about learning out of
> the best books, teaching one another words of wisdom, etc., that sounded so
> "academia-ish" & secular-like, nestled right inside other temple scriptures... it's
> refering to the temple. This is a good place to do our learning. (I just found all
> this stuff on Sunday during fast & testimony mtg. And Yes, i paid attention to the
> testimonies too.)
>
> Likewise, BoM. Most correct of any book. A really good thing to be reading. I
> mean, you can still read other stuff (personally I like classics, cosmology (not
> cosmotology) non-fiction and Nibley Egyptology articles), but this BoM should also
> be a staple of your bookworm diet.
>
> Yes, we can't always be reading our BoMs all the time or be in the temple 24-7, and
> we need the good happy music that doesn't necessarily invite the spirit (at least I
> know I do), but I think our level of faith and commitment is reflected in how much
> time we set aside to study and ponder out the things contained in that "most correct
> of any books," along with the time we spend in the "best house" for learning. And
> if we are *truly worthy* to enter the temple, then we would be worthy to inherit the
> celestial kingdom. The blood of the Lamb would atone for our sins.
>
> There's so much good to be done. Get out there and do it. "Don't let the good
> things rob you of the best things." and "Small deeds _done_ are better than great
> deeds planned."
>
> Okay, real quick. Look even further before, TONS of last days/second coming stuff
> preceding the temple stuff. Signs of the times too. Look after D&C 88:118. All
> about preparing for it. How to prepare ourselves. This is the stuff that *really*
> matters. Are we preparing? All the rest is just details. Who in the heck CARES
> what your major is? Seriously, Pom Pom. Are you following the advice in these
> scriptures? Even blindly, if you aren't sure it's working? It's really good
> advice. In fact, it's not even advice, it's commandment.
>
> One last item:
>
> 88:64 "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is
> expedient for you;
>
> 65 And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your
> condemnation."
>
> Just this past year my dad told me about how when he was a newly-returned
> missionary, he wanted nothing more than to be healed from crippling arthritis (which
> he 'lovingly' refers to as Arthur) and to have a sure witness. He fasted and prayed
> for two weeks, and then (he's kinda headstrong) went and hiked Y-mount up on top in
> the pass ... by himself ... to go pray. He didn't get an answer. As he was hiking
> back down, the sun set and his body temperature lowered so that he was having the
> onset of hypothermia. His prayers changed to "help keep me alive, for I am very
> stupid for hiking alone after fasting for two weeks." It was then revealed to him
> that the Lord would give him a sure witness if he wanted it, to his condemnation. I
> think it was the same thing about his arthritis. It has seriously been his humbling
> "thorn in his flesh." But he knows that all he has today is because of it. He was
> pretty wild before; I think if he would have been healed he would have screwed h
> is life up with his high tolerance for adrenaline. (Man, glad I didn't inherit
> THAT. I think I have an abnormally low tolerance for adrenaline. Else I would be
> jumping out of planes with a parachute right now. Or one of those awesome flying
> squirrel suits, superrad.)
>
> "retire to thy bed early" <-- ha, that's a BIG one I have to work on. I know I'd be
> happier and more focused if I did. When I stay up late, I get depressed and have
> mood swings.
>
> And those are my thoughts about that. I've said my piece, amen.
> -Danelle
>
> ALL I KNOW IS THAT THIS GOSPLE *ISN'T* ABOUT TEARING OTHER PEOPLE DOWN. IT'S ABOUT
> SEEING THEIR AMAZING POTENTIAL.
>
> (Man, my faith really HAS grown over this week, studying this topic on Sunday and
> then trying to apply it all week... seriously, my sorry trash-of-a-can was seriously
> saved on two midterms when I didn't see a way I could possibly do good. I thought I
> was doomed to fail 4 sure. Can I just thank my good friend Joel for TOTALLY bailing
> me out? He's one of the coolest grads ever! Out of the kindness of his heart he
> would review with me an hour or two before the tests, and I hadn't even looked over
> my notes or old hw b/c I have NO FREAKIN' TIME TO and the few problems we went over
> ended up on the exam {well, not ALL of them, but a vast majority}.) I mean,
> seriously, I should have died with a big fat ZERO. And I have a million other
> stories like that where I did ALL I COULD and then just said, "Lord, please let it
> work out somehow. I don't see how it possibly can, but I know that 'with God (and
> faith the size of a mustard seed), all things are possible.'" Dang, I'm studying t
> o be an astrophysicist. Seriously, all things are possible. That means more than
> moving a mountain to me.
All I can say is. . . What the crap.
Perhaps we should have a special window that restricts posting between
the hours of 3 and 6 AM?
Dude, Danelle, get some sleep. :)
Greg
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