Life-long conversion - how the gospel is as full as our capacity to receive it

Have you ever wondered why young children are so exhausted at the end of the day? It’s not only because they have shorter legs but because they have more open and fillable minds. They have vacuumed up a daily world of new information and their minds are frazzled from the torrent of new information that has poured in. From the ant they noticed crawling out of a crack in a brick to the new flavour they tasted at dinner (and maybe spat out!) – they are continually discovering and delighting in it.

What if you were told today that you would never see or do or learn anything new?

What if today was the end of any opportunity to develop and better your-self?

What if all of the uplifting and meaningful experiences you had up ‘til today; were all you would ever have? That you could draw only on memories but not look forward to anything else?

These are scenarios that would make me incredibly sad if they were true. I delight in the concept of ongoing progression and development. Not only in the eternities, but in my life here and now. I love the idea that tomorrow there is something new to learn, a fresh experience, a different view.

And yet… I don’t always show this in my behaviour. I’m often comfortable in routine and repetition. I’m usually willing to stick to the old habits and similar processes. There are 45billion web pages on the internet. If I started today and read a page a minute, non-stop, it would take me 85,000 years to read them all. There’s a wealth of information available to me and yet I only use 5-6 of those 45billion pages.

Elder Hugh B. Brown said: “I admire men and women who have developed the questing spirit, who are unafraid of new ideas as stepping stones to progress… Thoughts and expressions compete in the marketplace of thought, and in that competition truth emerges triumphant… Neither fear of consequence or any kind of coercion should ever be used to secure uniformity of thought in the church. People should express their problems and opinions and be unafraid to think without fear of ill consequences. . . . We must preserve the freedom of the mind in the church and resist all efforts to suppress it.”
Hugh B. Brown, “An Eternal Quest—Freedom of the Mind,” Brigham Young University, 13 May 1969

I love the imagery of having a questing spirit and discovering stepping stones to progress. Elder Uchtdorf said:

“…we continually seek truth from all good books and other wholesome sources. “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”… In this manner we learn the truth “precept upon precept; line upon line.” And we will learn that intelligence cleaves unto intelligence, and wisdom receives wisdom, and truth embraces truth."

What Is Truth? CES Devotional, Jan 2013

And Joseph Smith said: "One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from where it may."
History of the Church, 5:499

I want you to imagine your mind is like a cup or glass. Perhaps, at birth, it might be a small thimble sized receptacle which is why it can be quickly filled to overflowing with something as amazing as discovering you can move your own fingers. As we go through life and as we continue to learn new things, our minds, like muscles, have the ability of stretching and growing.

For each of us, the fullness of the gospel is, in effect, all of the living waters we can receive in our personally sized mental and spiritual cups.

Cups and water are symbols that run throughout the scriptures. The psalmist said: “my cup runneth over.” (Psalms 23:6) (D&C 10:66 Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely).

A 1974 Ensign article discusses the different translations through the ages of Psalm 23: 

One version says: “Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be brim full.” … The expression “brim full” is delightful and possibly acceptable, were it not for the more excellent alternative in the Geneva text (which influenced the King James translation): “my cup runneth over.” The goodness of the Lord is limited if the cup is filled only to the brim; his graciousness actually exceeds our capacity to receive… The very sound of the words… suggests the full and overflowing cup.

Margaret Tuttle Sánchez, “How the Psalms Were Prepared for King James,” Ensign, Mar 1974

If our cup is full, to the point of running over, what should we do? Turn off the tap or get a bigger cup?

Psalm 119 talks about growing our heart to receive truth, in a similar analogy to a growing cup.

33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes… (34) Give me understanding… I shall observe it with my whole heart. (32) I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

Elder Uchtdorf said: "Brothers and sisters, as good as our previous experience may be, if we stop asking questions, stop thinking, stop pondering, we can thwart the revelations of the Spirit… We can block the growth and knowledge our Heavenly Father intends for us. How often has the Holy Spirit tried to tell us something we needed to know but couldn’t get past the massive iron gate of what we thought we already knew?"
What Is Truth? CES Devotional, Jan 2013

He went on to say…

“We have some measurable ways to indicate activity in the Church, such as sacrament meeting attendance, ordination to the priesthood… Perhaps the more accurate indicators of real growth in the gospel of Jesus Christ are those that we can’t measure as easily, such as… love at home and for our neighbor, and personal experiences with Christ’s Atonement. These are recorded not by a clerk in Church records but in our hearts and in heaven.”

https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-leadership-training/2012/01/acting-on-the-truths-of-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

God has prepared a way for all of his children to enjoy an eternal progression towards a better self. Howard W. Hunter said, "We believe there is a spiritual influence that emanates from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space. (See D&C 88:12.) All men share an inheritance of divine light. God operates among his children in all nations, and those who seek God are entitled to further light and knowledge, regardless of their race, nationality, or cultural traditions."
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1991/10/the-gospel-a-global-faith?lang=eng

Alma taught that “…the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true." (Alma 29:7-8) 

His close friend, Ammon, taught that “God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth.” (Alma 26:37)

President Uchtdorf elaborated on this principle when he taught that:

“Latter-day Saints believe that all human beings are God’s children and that He loves all of us. He has inspired not only people of the Bible and the Book of Mormon but other people as well to carry out His purposes through all cultures and parts of the world. God inspires not only Latter-day Saints but also founders, teachers, philosophers, and reformers of other Christian and non-Christian religions. The restored gospel holds a positive relationship with other religions. Intolerance is always a sign of weakness. The Latter-day Saint perspective is that of the eleventh article of faith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may” (Articles of Faith 1:11).”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (Aug 2003, The Church in a Cross-Cultural World)

My mission president taught, in a slightly yoda-style phrase: Grow you must or shrink you will; we were never designed to just stand still.

The process of conversion does not end on the day we are baptised. Nor on the day we go to the temple. It is my hope that does not even end the day after we pass from this life into the next. The word Conversion means to “Change or be able to change from one form to another.”

What is conversion really for? Why should we change? To what end?

In a parting piece of advice to Peter, Jesus said “…when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

There are many ways to use our talents and abilities. Using them to improve our own lives has merit… but using them to improve the lives of others has even more.

1 Corinthians 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail… whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away… 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. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Nephi was taught by his father, Lehi, that “…the weakness of their words” would be made “strong in their faith…” (2 Nephi 3:21) Nephi later repeated this message when he taught that “…the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good.” (2 Nephi 33:4)

"O man, what is good, and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:6-8

When I think of all of the amazing things available to learn and experiences to gather; when I realise that it would take 10s of 1000s of years to discover all the information in the world (never mind the universe) I hope I am able to prioritise those things that persuade me to do good. When thou art converted, strengthen each other. Neither instruction is a completed action. We can continue changing and converting; we can continue supporting and strengthening throughout our lives. As our "cup runneth over" let us both expand our cups to receive more and share the living waters we have already have to refresh the lives of others around us.

Accepting the obvious implications of "Big-tent mormonism."

If we want the church to become a 'broad tent' then we have to accept that the people all the way over on the other side of the tent need space made for them too. I'm quite glad that they're all the way over the other side... but they still need their champions.

I realise that at the moment the tent seems to be dominated by people all the way over the other side. But... I hear stories of units where (straight) unmarried-cohabiting active members were not excommunicated/disfellowshipped. Or a gay young adult (who might not be single/celibate) was still administering the sacrament and given a home teaching assignment. These are very few and very far between. I've heard of a few more but don't know enough about them to know if they're apocryphal or not. They usually go way under the radar.

This may evolve into one of those 'turn a blind eye' things for certain pockets. Like in the UK, 70mph is the speed limit but a policeman told me he would never book someone doing 80-85 on the 'motorway.'  On the other hand the official government speed cameras would as you can't build in official lenience.

Eventually there may be a cultural change in attitude first and then some change or lenience accepted (officiall or not). Until then we have to accept that the diversity we desire in the tent means the attitudes of others might clash with our own.

Reminding myself to not expect too much after Elder Uchtdorf's recent talk

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2013/10?lang=eng&vid=2721983168001&cid=12

Despite the brilliance of Elder Uchtdorf's talk at conference yesterday, I have to accept that next Sunday the 3 hours at church will be no different to last week. Most people will not have watched the talk and even if they did will have tuned out the bits that cause cognitive dissonance. Of course people make mistakes, they might say (assuming the prophet occasionally eats a bit too much or acts impatiently). Many members will continue to make the same assumptions about other members with doubts or who don't attend.

For today, I don't care. I'll deal with that next week. I'll even ignore some of the divisive messages that other apostles said during the same conference weekend. Because I'm still in my bubble.

And for tomorrow... I'll accept that the church is a huge and immobile ocean liner. It will not be able to do a U-turn in a few months or even years. It will be nudged, slowly, by degrees towards a more inclusive and universal place. I believe it needs to or it will eventually sink on the iceberg of obstinance and irrelevance. It may not do it soon enough for many of us. Some of us will simply have to accept that, as ships pass in the night, we give out an SOS and change vessels. A different ship but still heading for the same port.

“God operates among his children in all nations, and those who seek God are entitled to further light and knowledge, regardless of their race, nationality, or cultural traditions.”
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1991/10/the-gospel-a-global-faith?lang=eng

“While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of God’s instrumentalities for making known the truth yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend. … All the great teachers are servants of God; among all nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God’s children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them.” http://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/08/a-latter-day-saint-perspective-on-muhammad?lang=eng

So here's the question: If Mormonism is not the only ship headed towards the divine port; if the Mormon ship is going to take a long time to turn and take our preferred route, then why stay? My answer today is in part an echo of the answer from President Uchtdorf yesterday: because being on this particular vessel persuades me to do good and even more because I have a particular fondness for many of the passengers on the Mormon ship.

Elder Uchtdorf: Doubt, faith, mistakes, leaving and staying

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2013/10?lang=eng&vid=2717004184001

1:33:17

I heard about this talk from a couple of forums. I sat and watched it as soon as I heard about it.

My highlights:

"The church provides opportunities for doing good. Believing in God is commendable but most people want to do more than listen to inspirational sermons of dream of their mansions above they want to put their faith into practice... and that is what happens when they join with us. They have many opportunities to transform their talents, compassion and time into good works. 

"There are some who leave the church they once loved. If the gospel is so wonderful, why would anyone leave? Sometimes we assume it is because they have been offended or lazy or sinful. Actually, it is not that simple. In fact there is not just one reason that applies to the variety of situations. Some of our dear members struggle for years with the question whether they should seperate themselves from the church. In this church that honours agency so strongly... we respect those that honestly search for truth. It may break our hearts when their journey takes them away from the church that we love... but we honour their right to worship the Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience just as we claim the privilege for ourselves.

"Some struggle with unanswered questions about things that have been said or done in the past. We openly acknowledge that in nearly 200 years of Church history — along with an uninterrupted line of inspired, honorable, and divine events — there have been some things said and done that could cause people to question. Sometimes questions arise because we don't have all the information.

"A question that creates doubt in some... can build faith in others. And to be perfectly frank there have been times in the church when members or leaders have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that have not been in harmony with our values, principles or doctrine. I suppose the church would only be perfect if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect and his doctrine is pure. But he works through us, his imperfecty children and imperfect people make mistakes."

"Stay a little longer."

I was smiling at parts of it. Then it got to the section that talked about the legitimacy of respecting people making choices to leave and worship and other ways, followed by the part on the issues in the history of the church and the mistakes of the past and starting crying violently. It felt like 18 months of pain and anxiety came flooding out. It was cathartic.

I wondered how I, as a 'middle-wayer,' could use and share this talk with other members who may have missed it? I suddenly feel like I want to "Hasten the Work" too. I wanted become a member missionary. Facing in not out. I want to share the best of Uchtdorf and educate the membership on the beauty of the gospel through his expression of Mormonism.

I will follow his call to stay a little longer.

The prophet can never lead us astray... Really?

I remind myself when consodering questions like this of Hugh Nibley's quote:

"There's no office in the Church that qualifies the holder to give the official interpretation of the Church. We're to read the scriptures for ourselves, as guided by the Spirit. 

Joseph Smith himself often disagreed with various of his brethren on different points, yet he never cracked down on them, saying they'd better change this or that, or else. He disagreed with Parley P. Pratt on a number of things, and also with Brigham Young on various things." 

Hugh Nibley

http://mimobile.byu.edu/?m=5&table=books&bookid=103&id=1154

It doesn't matter to me if Joseph was 50% wrong on everything he said. Given I probably have an even higher miss rate I can't really be too critical. 

The point is that I do follow many of the Mormon standards but not simply because "the prophet said so." At least not any more. 

I select and apply teachings that I believe to aid me in my progress on my path to godliness. Lots of them are via the standard works and Joseph's perspectives. But I do so because they work for me. Not because I am bound to follow the words of another imperfect human.  

I've come to the conclusion that the LDS prophet actually never can lead me astray. Only I can do that. I often say to the kids (after they blame bad behaviour on a sibling) "if he'd told you to jump off a cliff would you have done it?"

I know there are some Mormons who say they would metaphorically jump off a cliff for the prophet. That's still not the prophet's fault. It's the person's choice to follow. 

I have absolutely no idea, in absolute terms, where the words of revelation ends and the words of a fallible humans start. I don't know what is true. But I do know what works (for me). I keep applying the things that work. Many happen to be things taught by Mormon prophets. But it's still my choice and responsibility. 

What if I'm wrong? It's probable...

What if, I sometimes wonder, Mormonism really is the "only true church?" The only way to exaltation? My answer to this largely depends on what version of "Mormonism."

I think I understand Mormonism to a reasonable level. At least in so far as I can in my weakness and limited view. I might be wrong, I presume that it's likely. But if Mormonism, as I perceive it, is true then when I meet God I would ask him to give me a moment to turn and welcome the majority of the human family to the same place. 

- I will revel and celebrate in the diversity that brought each of us to the same point. 

- I will thank the Taoists for their wisdom and congratulate the Atheists for their independently created moral compass. 

- I will express appreciation to the Pagans and Humanists for their respect for the planet and its inhabitants

Etc etc

- I will thank many of the Mormon prophets of the past for teaching me the scope of eternity and the importance of finding my independent self

If on the other hand it turns out that the strict Mormonism of temple recommends and obedience is the only way to reach the highest degree of living with God then I will feel a bit surprised and then turn away and find out what's in store for the 99.9% of humanity that were given other vehicles by God to travel the path of eternities. 

I sometimes feel the fear that I'm unravelling the one true way to exaltation. That I'm sullying the pearl of great price. But then I read the many quotes from our leaders that say Mormonism isn't God's only instrument. 

The evidence for Mormonism being the only way for all of humanity pales in comparison to the evidence that it is not. 

It may be the only one for me, for now. But I don't believe for a moment that it is the only way for everyone.