controversy and compassion

Bold claims spark a lot of debate and criticism. 
Is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and all the truths that it entails, a bold claim? It depends on who you ask, but many would say that yes, it is. Saving grace? Infinite mercy? Loving Savior? Eternal life?

Bold, indeed. 

Our church gets a lot of attention. "Mormons" are starting to be nationally and even, in some places, globally recognized, especially in recent years. 

Are we nationally - even globally - positively being recognized? Ha. Not even close. 

We are even - and here's what I am kind of trying to address - bombarded with criticism, anger, and doubt coming from our own members. 

Some believe women are being oppressed in our church. "Ordain women!" They cry. 

Some believe we ought to be more accepting toward the gay community. "Equality for all!" They cry.

And there's more. These are just a couple of the biggest ones, but my point is that there's controversy and doubt surrounding our lovely church. 

Look, I don't care where you stand on ordaining women or gay rights or any of the other stuff. These subjects are complicated and touchy because we simply don't understand God and His eternal plans. And, quite frankly, we don't always understand our fellow humans and their internal struggles, and we aren't always very willing to try.

We know where the church stands, but sometimes we struggle. Doubts creep in and we dwell and we dwell until sometimes we don't know what to believe. 

I don't think we can ever truly understand God and why He does what He does, at least not while on this earth. 
We try to make sense of it. But we all make sense of it in different ways, which I think causes problems sometimes. For example, I know some people quite personally who hope for a day when women will be ordained. Do I hope for that? No. But I do understand that for some people, this is a real desire and a real struggle, and I try to at least acknowledge that and try to understand and reach out to them. 

Here's what I'm getting at, really: We're all different. We all have different opinions, and even within the church, some of us are going to disagree on doctrine and believe different things. 
If we could put on some sort of goggles that made it so we could suddenly see all things with God's perfect understanding and wisdom, that would be great. That would undoubtedly clear some things up. But unfortunately, that isn't possible. We are just going to have to trust and have faith and wait patiently and faithfully for the day when we will see all things as He sees them. 

In the meantime, let us be understanding of and compassionate toward our brothers and sisters who struggle and who believe different things than us. None of us have a perfect knowledge. None of us have perfect lives, and some of us believe in or hope for things that another person may not be able to understand or relate to. 
It's all part of the human experience, my friends. We aren't perfect, and we aren't the same. 

But here's what I think we can all agree on: 
God is good. He is over all, and He knows what He's doing. Jesus Christ is full of grace and mercy, and he understands and loves each and every one of us. 
I think we can all say that we love our family and our friends and that we want to be with them forever. 
I think we can all say that we love the gospel. 

The gospel is amazing, friends. And the church is amazing, too. It's run by and made up of imperfect people, but somehow it works. 
And it will continue to work and be an incredible vehicle for Christ's gospel, so long as we continue to support and love one another. 

So until Christ comes again, until we actually have a perfect knowledge and understanding, praise God. Because even with all the turmoil and controversy that's in the world - and even in the church, sometimes - God never changes. 
No matter what I struggle with, no matter what turmoil I have in my life, I will sing praises until I die. I have so many reasons to. God is so good to me, and so good to us all. 

So don't get caught up in little doubts and troubles. The gospel is good. It's true. It's simple. 



"Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me,
Let me be singing when the evening comes."

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman





Haley

empathize

If you could see others the way Jesus sees them, how would you treat them differently?
Would you be kinder? Would you think them more important? Certainly!

It is impossible for you to know all of the thoughts going through another's mind.
Even if you know them really well, even if they try to explain their emotions to you, there is still no way you could really know what it's like to be them.
People have so many different layers to them; so many different interwoven thoughts and stories and emotions.
Sometimes, when we look at them from the outside, people seem to do weird things.
Sometimes we can't fathom what their motives are for the decisions they make.

But know that just about everyone in the world, I'd say about 99.99% of the population, are just trying to do what's right. But people have different ideas of what's right, and sometimes people find themselves in sticky situations.
So don't judge others too harshly by their actions or their words.

They're just trying, they're just doing what they can.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has lovely things to offer the world. Everyone is important to God.





Let us all try a little harder to consider what others are going through, to see them as Jesus does, and to walk a mile in their shoes before we judge them.

People are good, they really are.


Haley

no contradiction

*make the video full-screen. it's far superior that way. just sayin'.

It is so interesting to me that people think science and religion contradict. Look, I'm no genius, but I have a pretty basic knowledge of many aspects of science - biology, chemistry, and physics especially, since I have taken all three in the last couple years. (Chemistry is boss, am I right?! Loved it.) :)
And I feel exceedingly more learned in religion than in science. But I still have a lot to learn about both!

But one thing I DO know is that religion and science explain each other beautifully, and the more I learn about one, the more faith I have in the other.
Make sense?


My physics textbook says the COOLEST thing. I came across the neatest paragraph when reading through my textbook a while ago and took a picture of it so I wouldn't forget it (this was probably back on like the second day of school, because the first week of school was pretty much the only time I actually read more than five words at a time from that textbook).

Oh, and this is a college textbook... Conceptual Physics, the Weber State custom edition. I guess that detail doesn't really change anything, but for some reason it seems cooler to me that I was reading for a college physics class I'm taking at Weber State.

Okay. Are you ready to hear the actual paragraph??

"When we study the nature of light later in this book, we will treat light first as a wave and then as a particle. To the person who knows a little bit about science, waves and particles are contradictory; light can be only one or the other, and we have to choose between them. But to the enlightened person, waves and particles complement each other and provide a deeper understanding of light. In a similar way, it is mainly people who are either uninformed or misinformed about the deeper natures of both science and religion who feel that they must choose between believing in religion and believing in science. Unless one has a shallow understanding of either or both, there is no contradiction in being religious and being scientific in one's thinking."

Wow! Right?!

The book says a lot of other cool things about how it's okay to not know the answers to everything - the author even says that "an important message in science... is that uncertainty is acceptable."
Even scientists don't claim to have all the answers.
The gospel gives me answers! But still, some things we will never know or fully understand until we leave this life.
But you know what? We know a lot now! When we keep an open mind and have faith in God and the answers He gives us - we learn for ourselves that they are true.


When sitting down to write this post, I really didn't plan on having it all about science and religion, haha.

My point is that everything we have here on earth - all the knowledge you have ever learned, every experience you go through, every little thing that was created - works together.

"Art is about cosmic beauty. Science is about cosmic order. Religion is about cosmic purpose. " 

-Paul G. Hewitt

What an incredible thing creation is!
How amazing it is that God had so many factors in mind when he made the Plan of Salvation!

Everything is the way that it is because that's how it should be!

YOU are YOU because YOU are perfect!

We each have our own thread that, in the grand scheme of things, is interwoven with everyone else's to form a beautiful tapestry that blankets the earth.

God doesn't make mistakes. Just like a machine, the world has no extra parts.


As far as learning is concerned, it is up to you to discern between truth and error.
But in the end, never forget that two true things do not and can not contradict each other.

I believe in the atom! haha! I think the human body is amazing!
I also believe in God and His timing and His creation!

God is truly the greatest scientist of us all.

A truly knowledgeable person has a well-rounded understanding of many subjects and understands that all things work together for the good of the world.

And God is in charge of it all!

What a lovely existence - to be in the hands of a God who understands so much!