Well folks, I feel like garbage tonight so I posted this question over on Facebook. Then it occurred to me that I would get a better response here. So, what is your favorite scripture or other piece of spiritual literature (song or poem)? Seriously. I need a list.
I came across this new video at LDS.org and it was a nice pick me up. Hope you enjoy it too.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Putting your Heart Before the Course
Hi friends. Life feels a little pointless today so I thought I'd solve that by blogging.
Here's a thought that's been rolling around my head for awhile now: a lot of Mormons struggle because they put the cart before the horse. Or, a lot of LDS people have internal struggles with their faith because they usually implement the action before they figure out their feelings about it.
Let me say right now, this isn't necessarily bad. I'm a big fan of the fake-it-till-you-make-it school of thought. My writing is a good example of that. I'm not a great writer, but I'm going to pretend like I am one until I figure out how to actually be one. That idea works for some church principles too. Like being a good parent. You may want to smack your kid every time they dump their snack out all over the pew and you may want to cuss when they break the DVD player for the second time that week but, since you want to be a good parent, you don't. You fake the more adult response until it is your first reaction.
I think spirituality doesn't always work this way though. You can't fake what is in your heart. Very few people can bear a testimony that they don't believe in and keep bearing it without getting bitter. Another example, you just won't keep making visiting teaching appointments if you don't understand and believe in the principle behind the program. People who do keeping trying to fake their spirituality get bitter and leave the Church.
So what's a believing (or wanting to believe) Mormon to do? Well, for me the answer has come in putting my heart before the course. For example, our stake president has recently asked every member to bring a family name to our stake temple day in the fall. My knee-jerk-happy-Mormon self nodded thoughtfully when I heard about this, but my heart screamed out, "No! You cannot make me do one more thing! I have enough to do!!" My husband and I talked and I calmed down. I decided that I am not going to do any name finding until I feel the need in my heart. Now, I do sustain my stake president and believe he receives revelation for me. I do think I should be doing this assignment at some point. BUT, I am going to work on my heart and my feelings about it before I work on the actual assignment.
(Of course, it also helps that my husband is interested in genealogy right now and working on finding some names and I will probably just grab one of his.)
I've done this before. Taken a deep breath and evaluated my feelings before jumping in to some Church assignment and I have to be honest: it felt good. I'm not advocating inactivity or anything like that, but I am saying it's okay to ask some questions about yourself and your relationship with God before doing something you aren't invested in. God wants us to gain a testimony before we try to bear it.
Well, now movie time is over and my kids are sure on my case! Thanks for indulging me, folks :)
Here's a thought that's been rolling around my head for awhile now: a lot of Mormons struggle because they put the cart before the horse. Or, a lot of LDS people have internal struggles with their faith because they usually implement the action before they figure out their feelings about it.
Let me say right now, this isn't necessarily bad. I'm a big fan of the fake-it-till-you-make-it school of thought. My writing is a good example of that. I'm not a great writer, but I'm going to pretend like I am one until I figure out how to actually be one. That idea works for some church principles too. Like being a good parent. You may want to smack your kid every time they dump their snack out all over the pew and you may want to cuss when they break the DVD player for the second time that week but, since you want to be a good parent, you don't. You fake the more adult response until it is your first reaction.
I think spirituality doesn't always work this way though. You can't fake what is in your heart. Very few people can bear a testimony that they don't believe in and keep bearing it without getting bitter. Another example, you just won't keep making visiting teaching appointments if you don't understand and believe in the principle behind the program. People who do keeping trying to fake their spirituality get bitter and leave the Church.
So what's a believing (or wanting to believe) Mormon to do? Well, for me the answer has come in putting my heart before the course. For example, our stake president has recently asked every member to bring a family name to our stake temple day in the fall. My knee-jerk-happy-Mormon self nodded thoughtfully when I heard about this, but my heart screamed out, "No! You cannot make me do one more thing! I have enough to do!!" My husband and I talked and I calmed down. I decided that I am not going to do any name finding until I feel the need in my heart. Now, I do sustain my stake president and believe he receives revelation for me. I do think I should be doing this assignment at some point. BUT, I am going to work on my heart and my feelings about it before I work on the actual assignment.
(Of course, it also helps that my husband is interested in genealogy right now and working on finding some names and I will probably just grab one of his.)
I've done this before. Taken a deep breath and evaluated my feelings before jumping in to some Church assignment and I have to be honest: it felt good. I'm not advocating inactivity or anything like that, but I am saying it's okay to ask some questions about yourself and your relationship with God before doing something you aren't invested in. God wants us to gain a testimony before we try to bear it.
Well, now movie time is over and my kids are sure on my case! Thanks for indulging me, folks :)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
But Not Unhappy Science Friday: Your Jeans vs. Your Genes
Hey folks! Just came across this story at Time.com, "Study: 'Depression Gene' Doesn't Predict the Blues."
According to a metastudy of recent genetic studies, the presence of the so-called depression gene (named 5-HTTLPR. What? That's hard to remember? Nah.) does not necessarily determine whether or not a person will have depression. Several studies a few years ago showed that people in high stress situations who were depressed also had this genetic combo. This correlation (I feel obligated to remind you all,"correlation is NOT causation") spurred some enterprising companies to offer testing for the gene. Which apparently lead some people who were carriers to decide to avoid getting married or having children--even though the tests are only supposed to help match patients with antidepressants--because they assumed their children were doomed.
The metastudy Time reported on says people have (surprise!) jumped to some spurious conclusions. Depression is complicated. Genes are complicated. The way the two interact is, um, complicated. How depression manifests itself is still as much about your jeans as it is about your genes. It's a lot about how you deal with your emotions, what kind of support system you have, what kind of environment you grew up in.
Which is one reason why I have hope for my kids. Because of our family tree they each have a 75-80% chance of developing depression and/or an anxiety disorder. That number has made me wonder on more than one occasion if I actually should be reproducing. But, hopefully, I'm working out some of the kinks in my life so that that probability will mean little to them. They'll have the tools they need to create a fulfilling life, even if they are depressed.
And there's always Jesus. He makes up for all our weaknesses. He even turns them into strengths. That makes me feel better too.
For your weekend viewing pleasure, here's a clip from the movie, Gattaca. Yep, I'm a geek and I loved this movie. Especially the alternate ending (Sorry there's no sound. Blame Youtube. Try humming soulfully. That'll get you in the mood!):
According to a metastudy of recent genetic studies, the presence of the so-called depression gene (named 5-HTTLPR. What? That's hard to remember? Nah.) does not necessarily determine whether or not a person will have depression. Several studies a few years ago showed that people in high stress situations who were depressed also had this genetic combo. This correlation (I feel obligated to remind you all,"correlation is NOT causation") spurred some enterprising companies to offer testing for the gene. Which apparently lead some people who were carriers to decide to avoid getting married or having children--even though the tests are only supposed to help match patients with antidepressants--because they assumed their children were doomed.
The metastudy Time reported on says people have (surprise!) jumped to some spurious conclusions. Depression is complicated. Genes are complicated. The way the two interact is, um, complicated. How depression manifests itself is still as much about your jeans as it is about your genes. It's a lot about how you deal with your emotions, what kind of support system you have, what kind of environment you grew up in.
Which is one reason why I have hope for my kids. Because of our family tree they each have a 75-80% chance of developing depression and/or an anxiety disorder. That number has made me wonder on more than one occasion if I actually should be reproducing. But, hopefully, I'm working out some of the kinks in my life so that that probability will mean little to them. They'll have the tools they need to create a fulfilling life, even if they are depressed.
And there's always Jesus. He makes up for all our weaknesses. He even turns them into strengths. That makes me feel better too.
For your weekend viewing pleasure, here's a clip from the movie, Gattaca. Yep, I'm a geek and I loved this movie. Especially the alternate ending (Sorry there's no sound. Blame Youtube. Try humming soulfully. That'll get you in the mood!):
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)