Both Sides New

Failed Saints

I went to the temple a little while back. The temple is a magical place. I feel that within those walls we covenant to a higher level of discipleship.

Is this higher level of discipleship easy? No. Like many things in life, these covenants are not particularly easy or convienant. I remember one time on my mission, I was teaching a young man in the small Isaan town of Yasothorn. I was on exchanges with a young, jittery but good Elder. He was talking to this investigator, a nice but highly unreliable fellow, about how he had been unable to meet with them lately. His tongue tied, he told us about how his work was extremely demanding.

I turned to him and asked "Do you think there will be a time where keeping the commandments will be convenient?"

He stumbled on his answer.

"Well after this week it should be better. I should be able to keep the commandments after that."

But that's not the way the world works is it? Keeping the commandments isn't something easy or convenient. It won't be next week or even next year. We have a conscious decision to make. Mormonism isn't about punishment. It's about the development of a Saint. Granted, we all are failing sainthood. I am not a perfect Saint. We all have sin. We all have weaknesses. But the joy of Mormonism is that weaknesses aren't sins- weaknesses are morally neutral. It is what we decide to do with these weaknesses that will lead us to Sainthood.

Rambling. Again.

Life is just that way

I love this song. This is an ode to a friend who has a struggle I never knew he had.

Sunstone Proof

This is proof that I attended Sunstone. Angel Moroni. Made from BALLOONS.

Why I love Mormonism

Today while I was sitting in on a session of the Sunstone Symposium. Upon returning home, I was in awe at the religious devotion of the presenters at the Symposium. I met the doubters, the faithful, the active, the inactive and everyone on the Mormon spectrum. But somehow, we all feel connected to this religion. And what brings about this intense connection?

As I began to write this post, I thought of the past two years on my mission in Thailand. I thought of those hot days where I walked around in the sun hearing the same response from Thai people everyday. Every religion teaches us to be good. I thought of Thonburi. And I remember how I went out with my naive greenie to convert the world. Not because I am naive myself or because I felt that the world needed saving by me. But I feel that Mormonism brings a great deal of goodness to the table. I know that there are principles which are true.

I have friends that hate the word know. They think it sounds too concrete. And maybe to some it does. Anyway. That's a topic for a different day.

Then I thought of the days I taught Elephant, a stubborn investigator. The days I taught Number One, a young man full of potential. The days I taught Promise and Full of Merit. If one speaks of knowing, I know that these people were changed by the Gospel. I saw as Elephant became less stubborn, Number One was full of love, and Promise and Full of Merit repaired their broken marriage.

And then I flashed back to Gethsemane. BYU. My friend suffering in agony, admitted to the hospital. I thought of how Mormonism, while frustrating at times to this dear friend, loved her too. Loves her too. Then I remember getting a letter from her on my mission as she struggled with the temple. And my heart ached to help her. That's Mormonism in action.

And then I thought of my own personal pains. But in the end, the beauty of Mormonism lies in the fact that it is a great journey. A journey so beautiful that I cannot begin to describe it. Sunstone taught me that we are all in various phases of that journey. I love the Gospel.