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| At The E-Center - West Valley City Utah |
Enduring to the End
And the Dangers of the Obedience Test
Why are we here? What is the purpose for all creation? Actually, those fundamental questions can be answered simply; to learn. But what are we here to learn? Hmm... there are as many answers to that question as their are people, past, present, and future... and it takes a complete lifetime to answer it just for ourselves.
One thing I believe we all have in common is that our Eternal Father wants us to gain practical knowledge. You know, the kind that helps us develop common sense... not just book smarts. There is no sense in learning anything if we don’t understand what it means and how it effects us personally.
This type of practical knowledge requires active learning, that is to say, learning by doing. Human beings are terrible messes but we are messes by design. Getting messy, taking chances, and making mistakes are all required to uncover the secrets behind morality’s do’s and don’ts. It’s the why’s and not the what’s that grant us wisdom.
Now, I am not saying we shouldn’t learn from other people’s mistakes when we can. I’m just saying we all have our blind spots... those areas of our psyche where we just can’t look ourselves. In those select situations, we can only see what’s real and right and what’s not through error and repentance. That just defines us as human.
I know there are a lot of different ideas out there as to what the act of “repentance” really entails. The etymology of the word only confounds the issue. Conceptually, it’s actually astonishingly simple and quite contrary to what we have been lead to believe. Repentance is the act of learning from our mistakes... no more, no less. No deal making with God. No expressions of guilt and remorse. And certainly no periods of probation. True repentance is a joyous realization and, in the very real sense, IS the very act of learning itself.
If we understand the principles of progression as outlined in the Plan of Salvation, we know the active learning process never ends until perfection is achieved and it is predicated on choice.
Choice is synonymous with free agency. Now, this is really important... to have free agency, we must have real choice. The choice between right and wrong... good and evil... eternal life and everlasting darkness aren’t real choices. Who would chose wrong, evil, and everlasting darkness?
For proper and healthy learning, there must be viable options in which we may operate to work out our own salvation. We must learn to live honestly, question openly, and repent candidly free from judgement or reprisal. In essence, we must be allowed to repeatedly step beyond the comfortable and into the unknown to grow in wisdom and spirit knowing the only wrong choice is not choosing.
Good intentions aside, religious institutions always risk robbing us of our free agency in exchange for the “safe” harbor of orthodoxy. They promise a pre-determined plan to exaltation; the hard work done, the trail blazed and paved, convenient road map provided. Basically, all that is left for us to do is subscribe and follow... “enduring to the end” as if everything we need to know has been laid before us. Our only dues for such a service is our obedience.
Like shopping the supermarket meat counter and calling it hunting, there is a disconnect. The what’s become more important than the why’s. Uniformity of thought and action become prized above the human tendency to question and explore. Error and repentance take on a negative connotation. The cycle of learning is broken.
God does not reward blind obedience. Lower animal life can be trained to do all sorts of things. As His offspring, He wants much more from us. Life is not about obedience. It isn’t about surrendering control of one’s life to the whims of anyone... oddly, not even God’s. We all hate a Yes-Man. God wants us to mature and think for ourselves. He wants us to uncover the truths behind the commandments. If we just learn the rules and live by them, we risk missing the whole point of living.
“What’s right for most people in most situations
isn’t right for everyone in every situation!
Real morality lies in following one’s own heart.”
~ Portia Charney
