Things As They Truly Are

Walking Away  "If you keep not my commandments, the love of the father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness."  Doctrine & Covenants 97:12 When I read this verse earlier this week I reacted negatively. I know God loves me even when I fall short. Worse, this felt manipulative, like, "Do what I say or I won't love you anymore." Yuck. Then I read it again this morning during Gospel Doctrine class and I saw it with new eyes. When I walk my own path away from God (and reality) it does not lead me to light but to darkness. If I walk away from light it does not mean the light has stopped shining. The light never stops shining. God never stops loving me. He does not withhold his love. Ever. But I may be too far away to feel it.  Seen this way it softens my heart. It sounds more like, at the very least, a reminder that God wants me to stay close to him. And I know from experience that the moment I turn around the light is instantly there.

"And truth is knowledge of things as they truly are...."  Doctrine & Covenants 93:24  This scriptures stood out to me in Gospel Doctrine class this morning because it touches on something that has been very meaningful to me. Some years ago while listening to a podcast on Buddhism I heard something that has stuck with me ever since: that Buddhisim doesn't require its adherents to believe anything that isn't true. The emphasis was on the practical side of Buddhism, that it is a religion of experience rather than one of dogma. That really struck me then and continues to guide me now.  What about my religion? Does belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints require me to believe any things that aren't true? Or perhaps more accurately, does my religion require me to believe things that I can't know for myself through personal experience? For me, happily the answer is a resounding no.  This has been both challenging and freeing. Challenging bec...