“Our participation in temple worship is a sacred privilege, not an entitlement, or simply part of our established routine. We do not come to the temple to hide from or escape the evils of the world. Rather we come to the temple to receive the power of godliness through priesthood ordinances that enable us to confront and conquer the world of evil.” (Elder David A. Bednar: Returning to the Temple, 4:11, https://youtu.be/_97I5BG4EGM?t=251)
Stephanie was reading this from the epilogue of The Way of Kings. It was not the first time she has shared it. I think it is instructive into the hubris of humans.
Wit began playing the enthir. "Let us have a conversation to pass the time. Tell me. What is it that men value in others?"
The music played toward an audience of silent buildings, alleys, and worn cobblestones. The guards didn't respond to him. They didn't seem to know what to make of a black-clad, lighteyed man who entered the city just before evening fell, then sat on boxes beside the gates playing music.
"Well?" Wit asked, pausing the music. "What do you think? If a man or woman were to have a talent, which would be the most revered, best regarded, considered of the most worth?"
"Er… music?" one of the men finally said.
"Yes, a common answer," Wit said, plucking at a few low notes. "I once asked this question of some very wise scholars. What do men consider the most valuable of talents? One mentioned artistic ability, as you so keenly guessed. Another chose great intellect. The final chose the talent to invent, the ability to design and create great devices."
He didn't play a specific tune on the enthir, just plucks here and there, an occasional scale or fifth. Like chitchat in string form.
"Aesthetic genius," Wit said, "invention, acumen, creativity. Noble ideals indeed. Most men would pick one of those, if given the choice, and name them the greatest of talents." He plucked a string. "What beautiful liars we are."
The guards glanced at each other; the torches burning in brackets on the wall painted them with orange light.
"You think I'm a cynic," Wit said. "You think I'm going to tell you that men claim to value these ideals, but secretly prefer base talents. The ability to gather coin or to charm women. Well, I am a cynic, but in this case, I actually think those scholars were honest. Their answers speak for the souls of men. In our hearts, we want to believe in - and would choose - great accomplishment and virtue. That's why our lies, particularly to ourselves, are so beautiful."
He began to play a real song. A simple melody at first, soft, subdued. A song for a silent night when the entire world changed.
One of the soldiers cleared his throat. "So what is the most valuable talent a man can have?" He sounded genuinely curious.
"I haven't the faintest idea," Wit said. "Fortunately, that wasn't the question. I didn't ask what was most valuable, I asked what men value most. The difference between those questions is both tiny and as vast as the world itself all at once."
He kept plucking his song. One did not strum an enthir. It just wasn't done, at least not by people with any sense of propriety.
"In this," Wit said, "as in all things, our actions give us away. If an artist creates a work of powerful beauty - using new and innovative techniques - she will be lauded as a master, and will launch a new movement in aesthetics. Yet what if another, working independently with that exact level of skill, were to make the same accomplishments the very next month? Would she find similar acclaim? No. She'd be called derivative.
"Intellect. If a great thinker develops a new theory of mathematics, science, or philosophy, we will name him wise. We will sit at his feet and learn, and will record his name in history for thousands upon thousands to revere. But what if another man determines the same theory on his own, then delays in publishing his results by a mere week? Will he be remembered for his greatness? No. He will be forgotten.
"Invention. A woman builds a new design of great worth - some fabrial or feat of engineering. She will be known as an innovator. But if someone with the same talent creates the same design a year later - not realizing it has already been crafted - will she be rewarded for her creativity? No. She'll be called a copier and a forger."
He plucked at his strings, letting the melody continue, twisting, haunting, yet with a faint edge of mockery. "And so," he said, "in the end, what must we determine? Is it the intellect of a genius that we revere? If it were their artistry, the beauty of their mind, would we not laud it regardless of whether we'd seen their product before?
"But we don't. Given two works of artistic majesty, otherwise weighted equally, we will give greater acclaim to the one who did it first. It doesn't matter what you create. It matters what you create before anyone else.
"So it's not the beauty itself we admire. It's not the force of intellect. It's not invention, aesthetics, or capacity itself. The greatest talent that we think a man can have?" He plucked one final string. "Seems to me that it must be nothing more than novelty."
“I have discovered in my ministry that those who have become lost [and] confused are typically those who have most often … forgotten that when the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve speak with a united voice, it is the voice of the Lord for that time. The Lord reminds us, ‘Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same’ [D&C 1:38].” ("Stay in the Boat and Hold On!", M Russell Ballard, GC Oct 2014)
"the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve" will never "lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Ensign 2 [July 1972]:88).
Yesterday, my son and daughter were introduced to the KnoWhy series that is hosted by Book of Mormon Central yesterday in their seminary class. My daughter was not aware of it before. I love that there are simple, short videos on a variety of topics. Book of Mormon Central is listed by the church as a trusted source for answers. (See the ** at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/si/objective/doctrinal-mastery/gospel-sources?lang=eng)
I referred to "Gospel Topics, Essays, and Other Resources" when I was a full time teacher. I have been substituting seminary the last few days. Today I shared https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-the-ammonites-covenant-not-to-take-up-arms as a relevant example of a question a student might ask, "Why did the Ammonites Covenant Not to Take Up Arms?"
I have a set of slides I used a couple years ago to more fully address How do I “Seek Further Understanding through Divinely Appointed Sources”? See my post from Sep 2018.
I have been thinking about what it means to speak evil of the Lord's anointed. I have two gut responses to this.
I think a balance of these responses is the following in the "Race and the Priesthood" article.
"Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
It completely disavows racists ideas without disavowing anyone who happened to say them.
Humans instinctively seem to huddle to their tribe when we feel threatened. I have seen this within the church and with those that have chosen to disassociate themselves with it.
I love the example Henry B Eyring gave when he was first sustained to the first presidency. "we can be open. We can be direct. We can talk about differences in a way that you can't anywhere else because we're all just looking for the truth. We're not trying to win. We're not trying to make our argument dominate. We just want to find what's right."
https://richalger.blogspot.com/2007/10/here-are-prophets-of-god-and-theyre.html
I highly recommend the video that goes with it.-
When something makes you uncomfortable — whether it’s as simple as hearing a condescending comment from a friend or as life-altering as being cheated on by a partner — most people immediately develop a particular narrative about what they’ve just experienced. They’ll feel insulted, betrayed, hurt. They’ll tell themselves the story of why this unpleasant thing happened, and often, the gut-reaction narrative soon impacts our self-worth. “He doesn’t respect me,” for example, morphs into, “I’m not worthy of respect.” “She doesn’t love me,” can become, “I’m not lovable.”
Researcher and best-selling author Brené Brown has seen (and even experienced) this type of narrative on various scales. As she tells Oprah on “SuperSoul Sunday,” the reason why we tell ourselves these lies comes down to one primitive thing: survival.
“Our brain is wired, above all else, for survival. So, the minute we have a threat, whether it’s anxiety, fear, shame, whatever that threat is, our brain says, ‘Give me a story,’” Brown says. “Our brain recognizes the pattern of a narrative: Beginning, middle, end. ‘Give me a story that tells me who’s safe, who’s good, who’s bad, who’s dangerous.’”
Typically this story forms in an instant, she continues. “It’s really about trying to make sense of things very quickly,” Brown says.
However, in this haste, our brain overlooks something very important.
“What our brain does not take into consideration is the need for discomfort and vulnerability in real relationship,” Brown says.
You may want to sidestep the discomfort, but Brown says that doing the exact opposite is actually what will help you overcome the feeling and rise above the pain.
“It’s he or she who’s willing to be the most uncomfortable can rise strong,” Brené says. “Discomfort: the way home.”
It may be more tempting to lean away from discomfort with “a glass of red wine, or six,” Brené jokes, but leaning in is far more powerful. This is a concept that Oprah articulates back to Brené with just a few words.
“Leaning into it actually helps you eventually push through,” she says.
“It does,” Brené nods. “It can revolutionize the way you live, the way you love, the way you lead, the way you parent. It has completely changed everything for me.”Oprah asked Brene Brown, "What is the greatest truth that you practice regularly; that you embrace in your daily life?". Her response is "Be Brave, Show up" (https://youtu.be/LYFRcK4hDes at 2:39)
Do not all Christian churches advocate Christlike behavior? Is that not what the Sermon on the Mount is all about? If it is blasphemous to think we can become as God, then at what point is it not blasphemous to become like God—90 percent, 50 percent, 1 percent? Is it more Christian to seek partial godhood than total godhood? Are we invited to walk the path of godhood—to “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”—with no possibility of ever reaching the destination?-
("Our Identity and Our Destiny", Tad R. Callister, 14 Aug 2012, BYU Devotional. YouTube link)
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/tad-r-callister/our-identity-and-our-destiny/https://youtu.be/h_gt2p9Oy3I
This Research Animate pulls together some of the key sexual economics arguments made by social scientists, including Roy Baumeister, Kathleen Vohs, Timothy Reichert, Mark Regnerus, and George Akerlof.
Essential to the mission of the Austin Institute is the dissemination of both thought-provoking and rigorous academic research on family, sexuality, social structures and human relationships. In order to engage a wider audience, we are developing select research projects into a medium amenable to our digital age.
