This Is Life Eternal

Most Christians know about the intercessory prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane recorded in John 17. In it Jesus says,

[T]his is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

I have often thought about what knowing God means. Like some others, I also say that I have a certain knowledge about the existence of God — perhaps more specifically the love he has for his children (all of them).

The more I read, study and pray, the more I feel that whatever I can say on the subject pales in comparison with the experiences I have of God’s love. I love the Holy Scriptures, because they teach me to understand better the boundless nature of Father’s love.

And after all is said and done, I believe I only know just a little bit of what there is to know of our Father and his love. His gospel message has saved me — in more literal ways than you could ever imagine possible — and continues giving me a constant feeling of peace and happiness as life goes on.

However, I don’t want you to misunderstand me. Life is not easy for me, either. It’s just that when the sun seems to be setting and the night gathering over me, I know from sure experience that the sun also rises. That gives me more strength to wait for the morning.

There have also been times, when Father has needed the love of others to prop me up, too. Times, when I have been reluctant to feel his love; times when I have turned away, perhaps proud and angry.

That has brought me to think, that perhaps the most Godlike characteristic given to mortals — whom he created in his own image, after all — is the capacity to love.

Love, however, is a word most misused. How many times have we said/heard the words, “well, if you loved, me, X” (or something to that effect)? “If you loved me, it wouldn’t matter to you if I [insert your favorite sin that your loved one is trying to talk you out of].”

Well, the love of God means that there is nothing we can do to diminish it. Otherwise, we are free to choose. He is not going to force us to feel his love.

But the day will come, when this mortal life is over. How certain am I, that I will be conscious of something after the medics have pronounced me DOA? I could shift the comma here or there, but it will always be just that one little bit short of a full round 100%. Just enough that I need to take whatever steps I take mostly by faith. It is true that certain experiences are powerful, but how certain can I be, that they don’t erode like the granite cliffs that also look so sound?

(If you thought you were getting a short and simple answer, now’s the time to reconsider that notion…)

We have this thing called empirical science, that means, to put it simply, that for something to be called scientifically proven, it must be repeatable in a test in a controlled environment, in a laboratory.

The laboratory that we call mortality has one limitation from that point of view. We can not control the environment much. I have often thought how different it would be for us, if we could take even one random day from our lives and relive it.

There are mistakes that I wish I hadn’t made. At the same time, I feel that I know some things because of what I have gone through as a result of such mistakes. Would I choose not to make those mistakes, if I could “repeat” the experiment? I know that the experiences have been difficult enough to make me want to avoid certain mistakes if I can help it, but let’s say that with the experience came the knowledge; I am glad, actually, that I don’t have that option as of now.

I am coming back to the knowledge thing here. What is knowledge? When my head hits the pavement, it sure feels hard, but I also know that given enough time it will erode. In that respect, we have to think of eternity as something we can only vaguely begin to grasp.

Likewise, I guess I will have to consider God something that I can only vaguely begin to understand little “pieces” of. The whole is something much too big for my limited mind to contain. I’m pretty sure that some more esoteric ideas of God came to people because of this fact.

Those “pieces” are like little bursts of light that I experience, when I feel I finally understand something; when an idea becomes clear. They increase my understanding, but it would be a gross exaggeration to say I have the final picture. But I can keep experiencing those bursts, feel the feelings of fulfillment that come with them.

My thought is, that it is only in the future, after I have experienced mortality in its full — in other words, “passed on” to use the common euphemism — that I will be able to say that I am 100% certain of anything. As for now, I would quote Paul, who says,

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1. Cor 13:12)

This is the kind of glass we can step right through. If we do, we will leave behind some, who will point fingers of scorn. Pay no attention.

Who Am I — Who Are We in the Eyes of Others

I know that I might get burned — in a number of ways — by letting this out in the open here, but here goes: My great grandmother was not a “white” person; rather, she was what her peers considered a “person of color” although she hardly really stood out of the crowd. She was of the Roma people — the most widespread European indigenous people AFAIK.

Commandments; The Why, Part 3

Well, I find it hard not to come back to this idea again. Why has God given us commandments? Let’s reiterate:

• He wants to protect us. Some may be trying to convince you that the commandments are holding you down, keeping you from reaching your full potential. Let’s look at this proposition.

  In my 30 years as a Mormon, I have never once regretted not having a drink. I have done so after taking one. Not everyone who uncaps a beer bottle becomes an alcoholic, but then we don’t play too loosely with sticks of dynamite either. God makes no mistakes; He knows we have challenges, afflictions etc. and he has prepared for us a way to overcome and to be healed. Keeping his commandments helps us humble ourselves and become healed, both spritually — receiving a forgiveness of sins, and with it peace to our souls — and physically. We may have to wait for the latter till the Resurrection, but can somebody offer something better?

• He wants to help us learn new things.

  We learn new things when we try to do something we haven’t known how to do before. Every gym member can tell you, “no pain — no gain” is true. Your muscles will only grow if you work them to exhaustion. Same is true for our spiritual powers.

God’s most important commandment is to love Him. Some would say that this is an indication of a sophomoric, angsty teen of a God, who needs your adoration somehow. That is not how it is. He is our loving Father, so of course he wants to have a relationship with us. He is poorer in a way that a spurned parent is, if we do not want a relationship with him; however, if we do not, we can not grow spiritually in this life. And if we willfully rebel against God, we may not have the opportunity to grow in the worlds to come.

Is it that I am cynical when Pascal’s Wager seems a good offering to me? If I am happy and have peace in my heart in this world — and can feel myself a successful human being, my economic circumstances notwithstanding — there are only downsides to other ways of life in my view.

In closing, let me assure that I do not try to follow Jesus Christ out of a fear of punishment or some such. I do it, especially these days, when I have “proved him in days that are past” (quote from LDS hymns #), out of a deep love and gratitude, because he has made me whole.

Finally, pared down to under 500 words, there it is. I hope it makes sense.

Commandments, the Whys Part 2

Okay, so I didn’t talk much about the whys of the commandments. Why do we need them? There are a few ways to look at it. Commandments protect us from our own follies, for example. Like, if we want to steal something, and don’t have any other reason (fear of getting caught etc.) not to, we have a commandment.

Now, you can see that the same commandment protects the one I would steal from. Moreover, I would say that there is another side to the commandments. A spiritual side, that is. The Lord states quite clearly, for example, that the law of tithing will prepare us for the law of consecration. We get used to the idea, that what we have is not necessarily all ours.

Commandments; What And Why?

I watched the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a question in my mind. I wanted to understand the role of commandments better. And what, specifically, our commandments are. Let’s start with the “what”, because that seems a bit easier.

Culture, Folklore or Doctrine?

If this is not the first time you read my blog, you’ll know I’ve visited this topic before. I am not sure how much I am covering the same ground here (yeah, I can read as well as anybody, and I just read the article), but I think this is an interesting subject in its own right.

Some Diversion

I decided to create some diversion for myself. I created a blog about “Mormon Issues” on the Internet, that are not related to religion, as far as I can detect. Except, yes, it is intertwined, but that is more of a cultural thing.

You can take a peek here. Be advised, that I can be very frank. Polite, but frank.

Weaknesses, Temptations And Succor

I have tried to make a habit of reading the scriptures daily. There are days, when I have trouble getting up, and only do so when I have to go somewhere, so my study becomes superficial at times. Well, this morning was one of those, when I had trouble not so much getting up as being able to sleep longer than 5 hours.

Why Should We Go to The Temple?

I just came back from a visit to the temple. For us it’s not a trivial thing to go there — think 9-10 hours one way — and it tends to require certain sacrifices to get there. But the rewards are worth more than any sacrifice I have made so far.

Are Faith And Doubt Always Mutually Exclusive?

First off, I want to say, that it is not my intention to be negative about what has been said about the subject.

We heard in the conference – again – that faith and doubt can not coexist in the same heart. I both agree and disagree, based on my personal experience and from reading the Scriptures and Church magazines and literature.