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VIEW PERSONAL BELIEFS
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POSTED BY:
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HiJolly
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DATE:
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04.07.2008 |
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SUBJECT:
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HiJolly comes clean |
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LOCATION:
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SL County, United States
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It is undeniable, that after one studies deeply the early history of the Church, that one has to face the naked, stark truth:
The Church is not what I had thought it was; The early history is not what I thought it was; The leaders were not and are not what I thought they were/are; Religion is not what I thought it was; God is not who I thought He was. I do not mean to say that there was a problem in what I was taught, what I mean is that I understood the teachings in an immature, naive way. My understanding HAD to change. No one can go "line upon line, precept upon precept" unless they failed to fully, completely understand in the first place. We ALL do it. It is part of the human condition.
God allows us to misunderstand. It is part of agency, a part of the spiritual growth process.
I view this as a basic element of growing up (regardless of biological age). When you're sitting in Primary or Sunday School, there's no way on earth you can properly understand things exactly as they truly are. This is why we have scriptures about "seeing through a glass, darkly" (1 Cor. 13: 12 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.
In buddhism, this is sometimes illustrated by the phrase "If you meet the Buddha in the way, kill him!". We must follow the Socratic method and the Zen Buddhist deconstruction of our belief, if we are evern to truly "know as we are known". It is a global, even absolute, truth. Therefore, I see that some people may not be as lost as some here might suppose.
Perhaps they had to lay aside the whole thing, to be able to expunge the error. If they are now in the 'dark night of the soul', well! This is not the end of things, as long as they continue to value TRUTH. That standard, should we ALL keep it flying high, will see us through, in the end, for God is a God of truth.
This is my testimony. I was able to see this as I studied religion and God through many lenses, and it all led me back to the Church with a firm, even unshakeable testimony that the Church is true. Not like an image of what men think a Church should be, but like an arrow that is perfectly straight. Extremely functional. That is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it truly is.
HiJolly
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