Answering two questions begets how many more?

ah...I'm finally writing in the time of space for which this blog was named :)



It's been an edifying day and an answering night :)



Bro. Camp's lesson today concerned Patriarchal Blessings, and the meanings and influence that they have for us. They ARE personal scripture.



Also, I performed Our Savior's Love in Sacrament Meeting today xD
Didn't tell my parents until the morning before ;P (Although I really should have told grandparents...)




But, it was Bishopbric Youth Discussion that was the big kahuna. I mean, the very first question was, "I have everything I want, but I'm not happy. Why?"

And others, like, "How can faith help us choose the right crowd and friends?"

and, "How can I juggle school and the church at the same time?"

And others... (Note, to record more on the bishop's revelation concerning: "You are no good to me if you can't maintain your health...work your job...or care for your family...")



But, it was my question, that I had texted the bishop a week before (Due to the urgency that he needed to hear and know it before the meeting) that was what I and the rest of us had been waiting for...

"How can we treat gays and lesbians as children of God, but not respect their social choices?"

Garin Lee, my cousin, has been struggling with same-sex attraction for some time now. He recently posted a video on facebook, which consisted of homosexuals speaking their minds concerning loving one another, quoting scripture, and other loving deeds and requirements that they were being released from.

So, the way that the bishop took the discussion was, "What is God's position on this question?"
- Read: The Family: A Proclamation to the World

What the end results were:

As Long as you are not breaking the law of chastity, you have full fellowship in the church.

The feelings are not the sin, the actions are.

"I can't understand my feelings, but I will take my own cross to bear. I know that if I stay in the light, the Lord will watch over me."





The further explain to me, Deval made an analogy using his motorcycle:

He was going to go on a ride one day, and noticed that the tread on the front tire had worn out, and the tire itself was under-pressurized, as well as the back tire. He ignored it, putting it off for another time, and hopped on the bike.

While riding, every pothole and bump on the road that he ran into, when the bike hit them, it kind of...swerved with the bump. It would take some manuevering of the handlebars by Deval to right the motorcycle again, just before the next bump.

When he got home, the tires were even more deflated, and he took the time to change them. He replaced the tires, filled them with air, and took them out for another run.

This time, Deval said, "It was like riding a different bike." The bike still went over the same bumps and potholes, and Deval still had to manuever the handlebars a bit, but it was distinctly easier, due to the fact that the tires didn't wander in the direction of the bumps; They were far easier to handle.



This, he related to the "Crosses that we all carry." We may not be addicted to drugs, but we all have those addictions and problems that would lead us astray. If we do not keep our tires pumped, WHEN we run into those problems, we are likely to fall to them. But if we monitor ourselves, and maintain our safety, it will be far easier to survive the onslaught of badly monitored asphalt roads (I'll leave it up to your imagination to what that is).



Also, after the meeting, Brad took me to the front room where he told me about his sister, who had married Ms. Perkins, my second-grade teacher. He told me about how the best thing that they could do was continue to invite them to come to church, and to be examples to them. She was excommunicated, and it devastated the both of them, but the odd thing was that THEY were the ones that pushed away...It wasn't Brad and the rest of his family.







So I got that question answered :)



But another that I have never really had answered, was, perhaps more fundamental than the previous, yet far more poignant.

It concerned Science and Religion. How could Science and Religion both be "two paths to the same end"?



Now, I've been told the answer to this question multiple times (and later, I shall have to gather those scattered questions, evidence, and answers), but it was never explained enough to satisfy my curiosity.



Oddly enough, a renowed scientist told me how :)

See: "We Lived With God" on the LDS website, concerning John Lewis.




He gave a specific answer to my question with real, undeniable evidence, that I also found pleasing to myself, as well as an analogy to help understand. Specifically, this is what he said:



"The universe and the scriptures are God's handiwork. Therefore, Science and Religion are two independant witnesses of creation. The Old Testament tells us that two independant witnesses are required to certify the truth. They are not opposites, but like the vision seen from your two eyes. If you close one eye, then close one another, alternate back and forth, you don't see the same thing with the two eyes. But it is the combination of those views which give you: Three-dimensional perception, and shows you a bit of things that neither eye by itself see."

Also, "The more we learn about the universe, the less it looks like a great machine, the more it looks like a great thought." Sir Arthur Eddington.










I need to find some new questions :)

Social Requirements of My Significant Other

You know, I used to believe for the longest time, that I had no desire for social interaction with people. Now, of course I understand the necessary conversations with parents, teachers, close friends, etc...but...when given the choice between being alone and being with someone I wasn't all that fond of;...

I chose alone everytime.

I guess, I thought it was easier. A wall doesn't have feelings. Maybe it can't love me, but it can't hate me either.

I can hug a tree and feel good...it just won't hug me back.



I don't know whether it was the soccer tournament (Where I could have easily swindled myself out of going), or some other occurence [probably these loooong summer days after trek, eng state, and efy], but right now I have a real desire to talk to people. Not just to have an online conversation, where I see a non-moving picture, and some words pop up on a screen...but faces, voices, feelings.




Oh...Yeah, the main reason I'm feeling this is that I just watched Where the Wild Things Are.




"It's not a children's movie. It's a movie about childhood." -Spike Jonze.




The point of the monsters was to exaggerate and magnify the good, wonderful, sad, and terrible feelings that we have...whether it be happiness, fun, contentedness, or rage, anguish, guilt, and jealousy...

Oddly enough, it didn't make me want to run, as Max did at first (And how I felt when I first saw it). I saw it as...a challenge :)




Human Beings are complex creatures. We have a physical body that pumps blood and oxygen throughout our system to keep us alive, but we also have a brain with thoughts, emotions, and feelings. And of course, we have our imperceptible spirit.

We have to be careful with others- Say something mean and they will feel bad, and their thought about you will lessen. But say something nice, and they will feel good, their about you will expand, get better.

And more than that- Do something good, and they feel a positive feeling from your action, and vice versa.



And...I really want that complexity. I want to be challenged around every turn. Because if I'm not, I'll never know how high I could have really soared. Never know whether or not I COULD have been a good person, or not.











While I was thinking about writing this, I pondered over that desire I have to discuss a book that I just read with someone, even if (or especially if) they didn't read it...And the same for a movie, tv show, anything...

I don't know, I just...Simply reading or watching it isn't enough. There's so much more that I think about, so much to compare, analyze, or apply.




My thought process slid from there to that condition in someone else, my significant other. I have heard people that make a list of the traits that they want in the person that they marry, yet who they married was nothing like any of them.

That beautiful daughter of God that I find will have that trait. I know that, because that will most likely be what connects us. Going to the movies with any average date, we will comment and say "Yeah, that was a good movie." But when I find her, I will be able to ask her, "What did the movie make you feel like? What did you learn?"

Not only will she answer completely, really getting into the heart of the matter, but she'll ask me the same question, and then add a question of her own.



We'll...converse :) I know that for a fact because the Spirit told me :)




*sigh* Felt good to BLOG....(Say that by sticking out your tongue and make the most obnoxious sound possible while still saying blog.)

Although I'd rather talk to someone, and not type to myself, this works...for now :)