"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."-Emerson

Friday, April 1, 2011

"Good Ideas"

This post has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Rogers family, but this blog is a way for me to get my thoughts out there so that is what this post is.
"'If ye love me, keep my commandments.' This is the essence of what it means to be a true disciple; those who receive Christ Jesus walk with Him.
"But this may present a problem for some because there are so many 'shoulds' and 'should nots' that merely keeping track of them can be a challenge. Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles - many coming from uninspired sources - complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person's good idea - something that may work for him or her - takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of 'good ideas." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009.
There have been some comments in Relief Society and on the playground recently that have just felt 'off' to me. And for some reason it's been on my mind a lot and I figured I'd get my own thoughts out there and maybe I'll feel better. After re-reading this quote by President Uchtdorf I realized why those comments were bugging me. I feel that what was off was that each of the comments were "good ideas" but not gospel truths. Now, I know that Relief Society is a time for us all to share our "good ideas" as far as they relate to the gospel. But I think that if you take good ideas that are based on the world's knowledge and try to impose them on or add them to gospel truths, you get in trouble. When you share a good idea that is NOT a gospel fact (and by gospel fact I mean can be cited to a scripture, conference talk, Prophet's words, etc.), it's better to phrase it as, "I have found that this works for me." or, "In my own personal life I think that..." not as, "Studies have shown and I've inferred and I've connected the dots to this gospel principle therefore this idea is, in fact, gospel truth and you're all sinning if you're not living this gospel principle the way that I have interpreted it." I'm just saying that maybe we should be careful and try not to mix our 'pet' issues with gospel truths and then attempt to pass them off as actual gospel principles. Because, if it's not completely based on gospel facts, you might just be wrong. But, I guess this is just my 'idea' and it might not even be a good one. :)
There, it's off my chest, I feel better. :)

7 comments:

LBlackwelder said...

AMEN.

The Mathis Family said...

I'm so with you on that!

Kelly said...

I love this post Leah!!

Justin and Carissa said...

Thanks for sharing that. I have been feeling the same way about some of the comments made lately. In addition I also feel like sometimes there are so many excuses or exceptions that people try to draw instead of just accepting a gospel truth or doctrine being taught. Sometimes the gospel is not easy and sometimes it doesn't fit with modern culture or thinking. But isn't that why we go to church-to escape the world and learn what Christ would have us know? Anyways, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. : )

Sara said...

I agree too!! That's why I take some of the comments I hear with a pinch of salt. Deep down we all know or should know what is the actual gospel doctrine and if in doubt we know the source where to get the real answers from.

Suze said...

I am so with you in this one. . . Sometimes, I feel like people are making the Gospel/life more complicated than it is actually is.

s a r a s o d a 1 said...

I completely agree Leah!!!