So today in church we learned about the prodigal son. I don't know what it is about this parable, but I absolutely love it and find so much meaning in it. Echoing my Bishop, I believe that at one point we are each the father, the prodigal son and the other son. We experience deep and profound forgiveness for others, we receive forgiveness from others and we are guilty of judging others when we believe that we are with out sin. That is quite possibly the worst sin there is and one that I know I am guilty of.
You believe what?! That's right, I do
This blog is devoted to my religious beliefs. I am a a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and want to share what I know and believe to others.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wasted Son
So today in church we learned about the prodigal son. I don't know what it is about this parable, but I absolutely love it and find so much meaning in it. Echoing my Bishop, I believe that at one point we are each the father, the prodigal son and the other son. We experience deep and profound forgiveness for others, we receive forgiveness from others and we are guilty of judging others when we believe that we are with out sin. That is quite possibly the worst sin there is and one that I know I am guilty of.
Forward with Faith
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Three Separate Entities
It is always interesting to me to hear what people think Mormons believe. I've heard theories about worshiping salamanders (which, btw, I can explain where this belief comes from. Its actually pretty interesting) to theories that we worship the prophet Joseph Smith. None of this is true.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
My Obsession with King Lamoni...and All Righteous Kings For that Matter
Not to be redundant or anything, but I am kind of obsessed with King Lamoni and all righteous kings for that matter. For example, one of the things I admire most about George Washington is that he refused to be king. I think it would be safe to say that he probably would not have abused his power, but he understood man's nature enough that he sought to figure out a way where man would be in check of his ambition rather than being completely subject to giving in to his ambitions. That said, George Washington was one awesome guy, though we know that it was in God's plan to have a free nation.
An Unexpected Epiphany
Sunday, March 6, 2011
We are Poor Little Lambs and We Have Lost Our Way
Sometimes I attend church expecting to not learn anything. Of course this is not the ideal attitude, but then again, sometimes, in my human weakness, I do not live up to the ideal. However, last week, a man in my ward addressed a very typical and common topic but in a very simple yet profound way. It is my hope that this posting will touch you as it did me.
Sheep are stupid. They are one of three species that will literally eat themselves. And I am not talking cannibalism; I am saying that a single sheep will eat itself. Being stupid animals, they will often follow the stupidest sheep there is.
There once was a sheep named Dolly who had giant buck teeth that went upwards, instead of the expected downwards. Dolly also was ridiculously cross eyed. She had nothing intelligent to offer, and so of course most of the sheep just followed her and they followed her blindly. On this same farm on which the sheep lived, was a baby sheep that was able to learn directly from the shepherd instead of Dolly. This baby sheep learned how to follow the way that the shepherd expected and the two formed an actual relationship. For example, if the shepherd was guiding the baby sheep and the sheep felt like it wasn’t receiving enough attention, it would softly push its head into the shepherd’s leg to indicate that it needed more attention.
Here is the bad news: we are each like the stupid sheep. As much as we wish we weren’t, thinking that we have been raised to be a smart sheep, we really belong in the stupid category. I do not mean to dismiss that our experiences in our lives have been for naught, but I am suggesting that even though we may believe and experience great things, we are still prone to fall into human weakness and stop following the actual shepherd. However, just because we are stupid does not mean that we are hopeless. When we choose to follow our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, we become more like that sheep that relied on its shepherd, and less like the sheep that followed Dolly. We learn that when we follow his path, we will not simply fall out of our weakness, but we come to rely on him to guide us through our weakness. The sheep that followed the shepherd was still a sheep and was prone to the stupid behavior, but it learned through experiences to rely on its shepherd. I also know that I am just human; I mess up, and hurt myself and others. Yet I can learn to avoid that and come closer to God when I rely on His Savior to guide my life and when I choose to humble myself and follow what my Shepherd has in store.