following the prophet doesn't mean I blindly give my allegiance to him and do everything he asks without question.
It simply is a disposition. I am disposed to give the prophet the benefit of the doubt. Upon my own searching and prayer, I will then take action.
What we are taught as Church members is that, if you search and pray, you will find the same answers that the prophet has given.
What happens when you don't get those same answers?
Implication is you need to wait for a time. you need to trust in the Lord. Perhaps there is something in your life that is not in line with the commandments? This is where the difficulty arises.
If I am not living the commandments, the Church says my understanding of God's word to me may be influenced by my unrighteous thinking or actions. Like looking through a dirty lens.
On the other hand, if I feel that my actions are not sinful, then I may question the validity of the prophet. I think this is where many people are at today. They do not see how their actions are sins. They think their ideas are good, they are right, and it is the prophet and apostles who are living in a false tradition that has passed out of fashion.
What about me? I believe that God speaks to me. There are many habits and attitudes that I believe would be healthy for me to live, that I do not live. I then question my ability to judge the rightness or wrongness of what the prophet says is a good way to live. Until I can live in the way my conscience tells me I should live, I feel unqualified to make a judgment on anyone else's life or ideas.
But I give the prophet the benefit of the doubt. I lean towards the side of believing the prophet.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Saying how you feel is different than saying what you think.
That's what I'm learning lately.
Until recently, I've always told people about my thoughts. I experience a feeling. Then I examine my thoughts. Then I talk about how my thoughts are connected to the feeling. But I'm not really talking about the feeling itself.
I've lived a lot of my life with the idea that feelings are caused by what happens to me. If someone does something I don't like, then I feel uncomfortable or angry or frustrated.
So then I tell someone that what they did was wrong because it resulted in me feeling badly. And that doesn't usually go over well with people. So. When I tell people just a simple emotion that I'm feeling, the outcome is different.
For example, if I open with, "You did 'x' and I'm angry about that," then people get defensive. It's not the words that I use. It's an attitude: the attitude of "you were wrong to do 'x'."
If I say, "I'm angry," then I'm not starting the conversation with a judgment. And then people around me can respond sympathetically, which allows me to focus on my feelings, instead of on what the other person did.
That's what I'm learning lately.
Until recently, I've always told people about my thoughts. I experience a feeling. Then I examine my thoughts. Then I talk about how my thoughts are connected to the feeling. But I'm not really talking about the feeling itself.
I've lived a lot of my life with the idea that feelings are caused by what happens to me. If someone does something I don't like, then I feel uncomfortable or angry or frustrated.
So then I tell someone that what they did was wrong because it resulted in me feeling badly. And that doesn't usually go over well with people. So. When I tell people just a simple emotion that I'm feeling, the outcome is different.
For example, if I open with, "You did 'x' and I'm angry about that," then people get defensive. It's not the words that I use. It's an attitude: the attitude of "you were wrong to do 'x'."
If I say, "I'm angry," then I'm not starting the conversation with a judgment. And then people around me can respond sympathetically, which allows me to focus on my feelings, instead of on what the other person did.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Mystified Gratitude
Adara broke her arm on Halloween day. Today I called to find the latest total for the three appointments she had. I was surprised to learn my balance was zero, as I had not submitted it to my healthcare ministry.
Medicaid paid the bill in full. I don't know why. We used a Medicaid from October 2015 to April 2016 because a jon had been fired from his job. I don't know why, 6 months after our eligibility ended, they paid the bill. I am happy they did.
Adding to the mystery is that the same child saw a doctor in June for a ruptured eardrum. We paid out of pocket for that (our insurance at that time was mostly catastrophic insurance). Why would Medicaid pay the broken arm but not the burst eardrum? Again, I don't really care about the reason.
Medicaid paid the bill in full. I don't know why. We used a Medicaid from October 2015 to April 2016 because a jon had been fired from his job. I don't know why, 6 months after our eligibility ended, they paid the bill. I am happy they did.
Adding to the mystery is that the same child saw a doctor in June for a ruptured eardrum. We paid out of pocket for that (our insurance at that time was mostly catastrophic insurance). Why would Medicaid pay the broken arm but not the burst eardrum? Again, I don't really care about the reason.
Friday, January 6, 2017
2017 Goals
1. Diet
Feeling: Feed my body like it was a newborn baby body.
***Practice: Find one new vegetable, or a new method or recipe that maximizes nutrition, tastes pretty good, is on the easy-ish side to prepare and keep on-hand, and is sustainable over several months of eating.
****Easy, one-time goal -- get a good multivitamin routine started
(Also - supplements that support healthy hair)
***Deadline: April 30, 2017
2. Exercise
****Feeling: My mind and body are healthy when I'm happy with what I'm doing
****Practice: Find fun ways to move my body with my kids. YouTube videos on dance, martial arts, balance balls, yoga. Swimming, biking, gymnastics, roller blading. Hiking, rock climbing, weight lifting, pilates ...
(Also - look for how to tone abdominal muscles)
****Deadline -- Do activity with kids at least 2 times each week, before Saturday
3. Relationships
****See the world with mindful energy (that light in your eyes when you're doing something you love) in day-to-day tasks, including and especially, in my interactions with children and husband, and also with people in general.
ALSO -- the more energy you put into life, the more energy you have.
Feeling: Feed my body like it was a newborn baby body.
***Practice: Find one new vegetable, or a new method or recipe that maximizes nutrition, tastes pretty good, is on the easy-ish side to prepare and keep on-hand, and is sustainable over several months of eating.
****Easy, one-time goal -- get a good multivitamin routine started
(Also - supplements that support healthy hair)
***Deadline: April 30, 2017
2. Exercise
****Feeling: My mind and body are healthy when I'm happy with what I'm doing
****Practice: Find fun ways to move my body with my kids. YouTube videos on dance, martial arts, balance balls, yoga. Swimming, biking, gymnastics, roller blading. Hiking, rock climbing, weight lifting, pilates ...
(Also - look for how to tone abdominal muscles)
****Deadline -- Do activity with kids at least 2 times each week, before Saturday
3. Relationships
****See the world with mindful energy (that light in your eyes when you're doing something you love) in day-to-day tasks, including and especially, in my interactions with children and husband, and also with people in general.
ALSO -- the more energy you put into life, the more energy you have.
****Practice: Read with kids. Play puzzles. Singing / playing piano. Pattern games, math games coloring together as a family. Sewing. Drawing. Art time. Science games. strategy games .... find ways to enjoy one another that everyone is happy with, and doesn't involve just "watching t.v."
****Deadline -- Do at least ONE of this type of activity every week. Perhaps on Sunday morings. Or Monday evening?
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Equality and Relativism. Mormonism and Atheism
Rough Draft -- thoughts after reading this article:
http://happiness-seekers.com/2017/01/02/the-alarming-truth-behind-anti-mormonism/
The question of equality is one that particularly has concerned me. This issue first came to my awareness when I was studying the Civil Rights movement. I'm still exploring the ideas of equality, but one thing you said was helpful. "Simply put, society will be governed completely by what individuals think they want and need—as opposed to a sense of duty and obligation to some higher truth about good and evil or directives from Heaven."
I've heard this basic idea from my atheist friends. "Social rules are the result of human evolution" is how I understand it. That, of course, means that social rules are subjective. And that means the rules can change. So, for example, with the abolition of slavery, we changed the rules. That's a good thing. Women having more equal treatment. Also good. Disabled people, LGBT, different religions -- all are alike. This is an idea from scripture that we believe is true. Only in scripture the idea is that all are alike unto God. Which means there is a standard. God is the standard. If people decide what the standard is ... I'm pretty sure I don't trust any one person, or any group of people, to create a better standard than the one God has made. If they try to reinvent God's standard, well, okay, except for people tend to get distracted, especially over long periods of time. I just don't trust people. I guess I don't understand why atheists do?
I do believe people can improve, they can grow and become more gentle, patient, just and merciful at once. And I believe they become such by following the standard of conduct decreed by the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. I guess I don't see how humankind, as a whole, will ever agree to a common standard of conduct that will bring people to ever greater fulfillment .
http://happiness-seekers.com/2017/01/02/the-alarming-truth-behind-anti-mormonism/
The question of equality is one that particularly has concerned me. This issue first came to my awareness when I was studying the Civil Rights movement. I'm still exploring the ideas of equality, but one thing you said was helpful. "Simply put, society will be governed completely by what individuals think they want and need—as opposed to a sense of duty and obligation to some higher truth about good and evil or directives from Heaven."
I've heard this basic idea from my atheist friends. "Social rules are the result of human evolution" is how I understand it. That, of course, means that social rules are subjective. And that means the rules can change. So, for example, with the abolition of slavery, we changed the rules. That's a good thing. Women having more equal treatment. Also good. Disabled people, LGBT, different religions -- all are alike. This is an idea from scripture that we believe is true. Only in scripture the idea is that all are alike unto God. Which means there is a standard. God is the standard. If people decide what the standard is ... I'm pretty sure I don't trust any one person, or any group of people, to create a better standard than the one God has made. If they try to reinvent God's standard, well, okay, except for people tend to get distracted, especially over long periods of time. I just don't trust people. I guess I don't understand why atheists do?
I do believe people can improve, they can grow and become more gentle, patient, just and merciful at once. And I believe they become such by following the standard of conduct decreed by the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. I guess I don't see how humankind, as a whole, will ever agree to a common standard of conduct that will bring people to ever greater fulfillment .
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