A New Generation of Hate

In Charleston, A City Gathers To Mourn, Try To Understand Mass Shooting

The shooting event of Charleston is not something any person of any race or culture should be able to ignore. Although I am not a frequent blogger, I have to speak out against this crime and any and all who helped foment the hate that lies behind it.

While white supremacist groups top that list, there are those in every racial, and cultural community that foster the us/them thinking that propagates this kind of Hate. "We the people" does not allow us to thus view one another. Neither does "Love thy brother".

We might all be well advised to consider the question posed to Christ which gave us the parable of The Good Samaritan. "Who is my neighbor?"

Black, White, and every beautiful shade in between, they all are my neighbor. The cultural diversity of America is part of its strength, and its beauty.

I mourn with all Americans, and with good people around the world, the heinous crime that occurred in Charleston. May this event bring about a new resolve among all cultures wherever, in America, and across the globe, to see each other as brothers and sisters, as children of God, if you believe in God. As fellow inhabitants of this earth, if you don't, or can't. As equal citizens of our respective countries. As all contributing to the pattern and fabric and beauty of our human society.

Put away hate, put away divisiveness and bigotry. And please, please, stop teaching your children to carry on the burden of Hate.

What does it matter.

It is easy, in the toils of everyday life, to wonder whether the things you do make any difference. If you strive to do good, bless the lives of others, and your offerings seem to be rejected, do you really ever accomplish anything?

In my youth I served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Louisiana, Shreveport Mission. (During my time there it became the Louisiana, Baton Rouge Mission.) Baptisms in the mission typically were slow to come. Most missionaries went home with around 6 baptisms for their efforts. Much time was spent tracting. Much teaching time was spent simply correcting false beliefs about the Church. My mission success was pretty typical. I baptized two families, one in the first half of my mission that went inactive within months of us being transferred out of the area. The second, a family of 4, late in my second year. I tried to follow up on this family at intervals after my mission, but lost track of them. I contacted their old Bishop, who was unsure of their status, and thought that they may have gone inactive.

This was very saddening to me as this lovely family had so much promise, and I felt in my heart that the work I had done on my mission was of little use. I didn't learn differently until yesterday, more than 30 years later.

I was contacted a few weeks ago by a cousin from my Dad's side, who asked me if I knew or remembered this family. When I responded positively, he gave me their phone number and told me they lived in Houston, just a few hours south of where I live now. While this was great news, I put off contacting them, I had a family reunion in the works, and my occupational load was high, and to be honest I had some trepidation as to what I would learn when I contacted them. Finally, yesterday, I called.

The reception I received was amazing. The man I knew, and his delightful wife were overjoyed to hear from me. They had not gone inactive and had raised their 2 children, and two children they had subsequently received in the Gospel. They had gone to the temple and been sealed as a family for Eternity. Three of their children had served missions for the Church. They and their family had been richly blessed by the Lord. What they had to tell me made me very happy indeed.

The point of this post is very simple indeed. You cannot know all the good that you do, or the lives you will touch, by your selfless service. In this case it took 30 years. In some cases you may not learn in this life at all. But be assured that God does know, and for every act of service you provide, lives can and will be blessed.

- Edwin Slack

Who we are...

From time to time I am confronted with questions about the unique views of the LDS (Mormons) regarding who we are and our relationship to God. Many people read famous exerpts from Joseph Smith or Brgham Young and without any other real knowledge of LDS belief try to understand our beliefs, or worse interpret them for us.

The problem is that many of these concepts are not necessarily resolved doctrines. Meaning that there are various views or speculative answers and none of them are considered requisite doctrine.

We believe that we will become "like God". What does it mean, what will our lives be like? We don't really know. What we do know is that we will continue to do God's work. What is God's work? In our Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses, chapter 1 we read:

39 For behold, this is my ^awork and my ^bglory—to bring to pass the ^cimmortality and ^deternal ^elife of man.

We assume that we will continue to do this work in some capacity. In times past, many leaders have speculated on what this means, but those speculations, while interesting, are not established as required Church beliefs.

I will here talk about my beliefs on these doctrines, but not all LDS would agree with me and it won't bring you any closer to establishing what the Church believes. But I hope that some will find it interesting.

Have you thought about what you believe you will do when you arrive in Heaven? I know I asked a young lady from the Baptist faith that question once and she told me she was going to sit and contemplate the Savior for an Eternity. I wondered if she thought He was going to sit still that long. I personally doubt that He will.

One question that almost always is brought up is what we will be doing if we achieve our goal, the Celestial Kingdom. What will be our nature, our work, our relationship to God. Will we be greater than God, or almost as bad, equal to God? Will we compete with God for glory? Here is my answer to this question.

There is no competing glory. Whatever work I engage in, it will be the Father's work, just as all that Christ did was for His Father. Whatever glory I may attain in accomplishing that work I will freely give to the Father, even as Christ does. Christ is my examplar in all things. If in accomplishing my work I should become revered even as a god to someone, and I do not know for sure what God's plan may have in store for me, would that not make God even greater? For He would be a God of gods and I would give my glory to Him! I can never forsee a time when I will not Honor and Glorify my Father as greater than I, and Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer.

I am in this life a grandfather, does the fatherhood of my children not grant me greater honor and glory? I think it does. I am happy to be a grandfather, and my children becoming parents does not diminish me in any way. How would my dedicating my Eternal Life to the work of my Father diminish Him? It doesn't.

Another related question is that of what God did prior to this life. Was he a man like us? mortal? Sinful? Did he have a Father whom He worships? Did He have a Savior, or was He possibly a Savior in a previous creation?

I do not know, it has not been revealed to us. It is possible, but God has only revealed to us what pertains to THIS creation, He has withheld knowledge of things which do not pertain to us and this creation. If there is a Grandfather God, does that somehow diminish my love for my Father? I do have a real grandfather whom I loved in this life and my love for him has never diiminished my love for my father. I can't imagine loving my Heavenly Father less because He may have a Father whom He loves.

So, who are we and what is our relationship to God?

Using the simile of my own life perhaps I can illustrate my personal feelings on this. In this life have I always been myself? Surely I have, and yet I have progressed from stage to stage in my life. I was a child, then a young man, then a husband, a father, now a grandfather. And yet I never ceased being myself. LDS also believe that we existed in a premortal life. So I was before I was born a spirit in this pre-mortal life. To me that is simply a state change, not a transition from non-existence to existence. What was I prior to that? I don't know, that knowledge is not mine, but I believe I existed in some form and was made a child of God by my Heavenly Father. What that process was, I have no idea.

Our great examplar is Christ. He, most LDS believe, was, prior to His mortal life, Jehovah, God of the Old Testament. He was not a created being, but He was with the Father and the Lamb of God, chosen from before the beginning of the world. When He came to earth was this a transition from non-existance to existance? No, simply the creation of a mortal tabernacle to house His immortal self. When He died, did He cease to exist? No, He simple left His mortal tabernacle. And when He was resurrected, was it a real physical resurrection? We believe it was, but again it was simply the taking up of His physical body, made perfect in the resurrection. And when He ascended into Heaven, did He die again? No, He kept His body and took it to Heaven with Him where He sat down at the right hand of His Father who also has a perfected immortal frame. These were all simple state changes. If Christ is Eternal and showed us the path, then we too must be passing through state changes that will bring us back to God our Father. And if we are joint-heirs with Christ, then we will sit with Him and do his Father's work, even as He has shown us we must do.

So the answer is simple, I am not a created being, I am a child of God, and of the family of God, passing through state changes to become like God. Christ has shown me the way. Christ was from all Eternity to all Eternity and yet passed through state changes. I can too. His Father probably did too, but we have no knowledge of that. The closest hint we have is the statement of Christ wherein He says (John 5:19-21)

19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he ^aseeth the ^bFather do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21 For as the Father ^araiseth up the dead, and ^bquickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

These verses suggest that Christ has been shown and seen the work of His Father and doth the same. And it suggests to me that we also must do the same. I notice that the Jews accused Christ of making Himself equal to God and were offended. (see verse 18)

Sowhat do you think about yourself and your relationship to God. Feel free to comment on your beliefs. Comments ragging on me about my beliefs will just be deleted, but feel free to share your own thoughts and feelings.

For official LDS statements on pre-existence I would suggest you go here:

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-happiness/you-lived-with-god

For official LDS statements on life after this life I would suggest you go here:

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-happiness/heaven-and-eternal-reward

Edwin Slack