How do you know?

Ok, so this post will correlate with my previous post. If at any point you have no idea what I'm talking about, I've either done a terrible job of connecting some dots or you  need to read that post for context.

In this post I would like to discuss the fluidity of human knowledge, and how that fluidity leads us to limit both ourselves and our opportunities unnecessarily. As humans we seem to have a need to explain things. We try to assign causality to everything, most commonly after the fact.  This is seen frequently in sports, and since I love sports, I'll use this comparison. If a basketball game is tied and one team makes a half-court shot at the buzzer to win the game, what will happen? "If they had not left the guy open...", "If they had made their previous shot...", "If the coach had left player X in...", and on and on and on. We MUST find a reason to explain why our team lost that game. The other team, and the fans and coaches and pundits, though, seem to realize that they just got lucky with that half-court shot. They rarely go in, and this time they happened to be the beneficiary of some good luck.

We've all seen this happen, right? It happens. There's a problem with this thinking, though. We have NO IDEA what actually caused that shot to go in or what should have been done differently to produce a different outcome. Where are our recommendations coming from? Things that worked in previous games, things that "experts" tell us, probability equations, etc. Guess what, though, in a game with as many moving parts as basketball, all of our "reasons" for losing, are complete guesses and do no more to explain the loss than a fan sneezing during the second quarter.

Ok, so what's my point?

We humans have a need to explain. We love to "know" things. The problem comes when something happens that is contrary to our "knowledge."

The Titanic was unsinkable, before it sank. The laws of gravity would never let a chunk of steel fly, until it did. A human could never run a mile in under 4 minutes, until Roger Bannister did. The earth was flat, until it wasn't. It was impossible to find the instantaneous rate of change of an object moving along a curved trajectory, until Sir Isaac (or Leibniz depending on your school of thought) did it.

You get the point.

Let's take Mr. Bannister's four minute mile a little further. Why couldn't a human run a mile in less than four minutes? Because no one had ever done it. There was no evidence to the contrary. Herein lies a human fallacy. I will type two sentences that are too often used interchangeably, but are not, and have very different meanings and ramifications.



1) There is no evidence that a human can run a mile in under 4 minutes.
2) There is evidence that no human can run a mile in under 4 minutes.

Do you see the difference? It's slight, but it makes a huge difference. Far too often, we say sentence 2 when we mean sentence 1.  Please see the principle behind this. Just because we can't explain something, doesn't mean it can't be so.

I will liken this to dating. I was single for several years (and three times as many in Mormon terms). I fell into this trap over and over and over again, without realizing it, until one day I did. I would go on dates. I would put myself out there. I would buy girls flowers. I would walk them to their doors. I would open car doors. I would do everything that I believed would get a girl.  Everyone else told me it worked. It worked for them. Date after date, door after door, flower after flower, I did these things, yet I remained single.

1) There is no evidence that what I'm doing is working.
2) There is evidence that nothing I'm doing is working.

Which one was true? Sentence 1 was true. But I kept telling myself it was sentence 2. Do you see how different those are? Had I stopped doing the things that I was doing, I may never have found the love of my life. As soon as I found her, both sentences were false. There WAS evidence that what I was doing was working, and there was NO evidence that nothing I was doing was working. It only took one instance to change what I "knew". Again, just because you can't explain something, doesn't make it untrue.

So, as this is getting really long, and you're probably bored to tears, here's my point. Human knowledge is based on things that can change. Things that may seem true today may seem false tomorrow. Ultimately, though, we must choose what we believe. During that choosing, would it not be wise to seek advice from someone beyond this mortal realm? Someone who is not persuaded by human evidence or earthly phenomena?

I believe in a God because I choose to. I believe that He can see further than I can see, that He can see causality much more clearly than I can. I believe that He has given us principles and invites us to live by them because they will lead to happiness, both now and eternally. There are things I can't explain, and there are situations I wish were different, but that doesn't make those principles any less perfect. Just because I can't make every free throw doesn't mean He doesn't know the perfect form.

Principles and Planes of Personal Perfection

This is going to be a hard one to articulate for me.  I've been thinking about this for years.  I'll do my best.

It started something like this.  What is the gospel, really?  Not the church, not the members, not even the leaders.  The gospel is a set of principles.  These principles are true for anyone, anywhere, anytime.  They are universal.  The gospel is for ALL the earth and every inhabitant thereon, not just the members of the LDS church.  These universal principles apply always and to everyone.

So if these are universally true, why is there such discord among people?  As I have talked with people in my life (both LDS and not LDS), it always stands out to me how much we judge these perfect principles in reference to imperfect people.  Zero people that I have talked to argue that any person (besides Christ) is perfect.  We all agree on that.  So if we all recognize that no one on earth is perfect, why are we using their actions to judge the validity of perfect principles?

Warning: here comes a sport analogy.  If I go to a basketball court and show you the absolute perfect form to use while shooting free throws, and I promise you that if you will do that exact form every time it will go in.  Let's say I make 10 in a row using this form to convince you, then I leave.  Will you be able to make every free throw for the rest of your life?  Does that mean you're not trying to use the perfect form I just showed you? No.  You're trying, it's just really, really hard to replicate that perfect form.  Other factors also play in.  Maybe its the fourth quarter of a game and you're really tired.  Or you just shot 200 in a row and you lose focus for a second.  Does that fact that you can't replicate that perfect form every time make the form any less perfect?  No.  By the same logic, the fact that we can't live the gospel principles perfectly, doesn't make the perfection and universality of those principles any less valid.

It doesn't matter what Sally did or what Alex said.  Quit watching the free throw shooter!

Christ showed us the perfect way.  He shot the 10 free throws to show us that it works.  Now we're all trying to replicate that perfect form.

Now, when I speak of principles, I am not speaking of commandments.  Commandments are an application of a perfect principle to an earthly circumstance, usually a base application.  Selfless service, for example, is a principle.  Paying 10% tithing, or doing your home teaching diligently is an earthly application (commandment) associated with that principle.  The principle can be applied to thousands of different situations, though.  Any situation that comes up, actually.  That's the beauty of universality.

For a more thorough understanding of what I believe are eternal principles, study the "Christlike attributes" chapter of Preach My Gospel.

Ok, so there are universal principles.  If we live according to these principles we will be happy.  We will be happy because we will become more like Christ.  Learning to live these principles perfectly, however, is not an over-night process.  Like learning to shoot free throws, there are going to be misses along the way.  No worries, Heavenly Father saw this coming.  His plan is perfect, remember.  Christ came, lived perfectly, and died so that when we miss those proverbial free throws, he can make up for it.  We're also taught in the scriptures the refinement process.  2 Nephi 28:30 teaches us that "[God] will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little."

So, this logically tells us that along the path to salvation, individuals are at different spiritual planes.  So wait, what is not wrong for one person can be wrong for someone else?  Precisely! As I said before, the explicit commandments are a base level, a starting point.  If we start and stop there, we are missing the point.  The goal is not be able to check off a bunch of commandments.  The goal is to become like Christ.

Let's look, for example, at what Christ taught.  When he came, the Jews had very strict "commandments" and guidelines for just about everything.  Let's say that there was a handful of people that were observing every single one of these commandments.  Were they perfect?  No, even if they were living all 600 guidelines perfectly, they still were not like Christ.  They were living the base commandments, but failing to further their progression through personal revelation and refinement.  What do you think the higher law is?  The higher law refocused their view.  Christ says, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment; But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

Wait a second, so it's not enough to not kill people?  But wasn't that the commandment?  Yes, but that wasn't the whole principle.  It was the application of the principle that they were ready for at that time.  Likewise, as we progress through life and learn some self-mastery, we are qualifying ourselves for further light and knowledge.  This further light and knowledge is always accompanied by a change in behavior. 

Two thoughts before I stop for now:

1)  This is why it is so essential that we not unjustly judge others.  As I said before, we are all on different spiritual planes.  If we are judging someone else according to our spiritual understanding, we are probably missing the bigger picture.  This is why Christ is the perfect judge.  He knows each of us perfectly, and is, therefore, qualified to be the perfect judge of imperfect people.  For most of us, our job is to love.  If we are focused on the free throw shooter, we are stalling ourselves on our own personal path to perfection.

2)  Where do we get the next lines and precepts?  Luckily for us we have myriad sources.  We have the scriptures, we have living prophets, and we have personal revelation.  I would also submit that the spiritually in-tune can find further light and knowledge even in seemingly "un-spiritual" settings.  This is, of course, personal revelation, but I think too many of us limit personal revelation to certain locales or settings.

I have so many more thoughts on the subject!  They'll have to wait for another time.  This is already really long.  I'll do more soon.

My Dad is Gonna Perform this Dance.

Missionary Work and the Atonement

Why is missionary work so hard? President Eyring and Elder Holland answer that question masterfully. This video explains why tens of thousands of 19-year-old kids are willing to leave everything they know, put school on hold, leave loved ones behind, wake up at 6:30 every morning, knock doors until their knuckles bleed, stand in the freezing temperatures and street contact for hours, wear a white shirt and tie everyday, and miss Christmas with their families. Christ is the reason. He is who they testify of on those freezing streets and those unwelcoming doors.

There were hundreds of times on my mission when I relied on my knowledge of, my relationship with, and my love for, Him to push me a little bit further. There were many nights I would get home that I didn't think I could do it again the next day. It was too cold. My hands hurt too much. I knew I couldn't quit, though. I knew I wouldn't. He didn't. He never would quit on me or the people I was trying to find. It wasn't about me. He is the reason I served, as imperfectly as that may have been. He is still the reason I serve. He is reason I try to live the way I do. He lives, and I know it.

Powerless, Powerful Pain

Pain is a paradox, for simplicity's sake

In physical terms, it can cause you to quake

It can hinder your progress, or allow you to grow

In emotional terms, though, its true colors show

On the physical side we all can agree

It warns us of danger and to all it is free

Pain is a nuisance, but serves us the same

It holds nothing back from the sickly or lame

Physical pain we may well understand

but emotional pain is like drawing in sand

Swept clean with time by the reliable tide

We give anew our heart when in others we confide

Loving another, we're always hoping to find

the oft-spoken of joy and longed-for return in kind

The kind that will last will last when everything fails

But how many times must we start anew down these trails?

I believe in a God with unlimited power to heal

but during that process, please just don't let me feel

I have given my heart holding none of it back

but the one that I love is on a different track

I love her too much to ever force a decision

but in the meantime, my heart seems in a prison

Unable to leave and abandon the memories

It seems I am living repeating histories

This road is familiar no matter my disdain

For I know it is riddled with potholes and pain

But in the depths of my heart, I wait to hear her say

"I'm ready, best friend, to marry you today."

I have no control over any but me

but please, Father, just help me see

If start again I must, then that I will do

for my ultimate goal is to be like You.

I trust in the end it will be for my good

but my fire, right now, is starving for wood

I'll trust in Thy wisdom, that it will be for my gain

but right now all I feel is this powerless, powerful pain.

The Foggy Lens of Personal Experience

Ok, I've been thinking again. Consider yourself warned.

I went to institute last night and we were talking about the first few chapters of Genesis. We got to the part about Noah. The instructor showed this picture:

He asked what this was a picture of and several people in the class blurted out that this was Noah preaching to the people of the upcoming flood. He then joked that when he was a missionary he showed this picture during a discussion and asked the same question and a child answered that this was a guy telling a story of how big the fish he had caught was. Everyone laughed. This is where I started thinking. Was the child wrong? From his experience, that's what the picture meant to him. As adults, we look at the partially constructed ark in the background, factor in that we're in a religious class, see the people laughing, and make the judgement that this must be Noah. Is someone out there wishing that we would see more? Just like we thought it was funny that all the little child could see was a "fish tale", is our perception of this picture limited by the perspective of our personal experience?

This got me thinking about more things than I can count. Is there a principle here? Does this apply to pretty much everything we do? I believe it does. Here's an example of my logic:

I'm currently reading a book about the Willie and Martin Handcart companies. It's called "The Price We Paid" and it's fantastic. I recommend it. Anyway, most of us know the general story of these ill-fated companies. As I was reading last night, this principle jumped out to me again. Having run out of food and freezing, the companies were dependent on the rescue teams that had been sent from Salt Lake to aid them. Many miracles occurred in conjunction with these events. I want to focus on one that made me cry.

The rescue teams left Salt Lake with 14 wagons full of food and supplies. The Handcart companies were roughly in the middle of Wyoming. Winter was coming on, and winter on the high plains of Wyoming is even more bitter. The handcart companies had run out of food and many had died and others were on death's doorstep. The rescue team travelled as quickly as they could to reach these companies, still not fully realizing the trouble they were in. At one critical point, Captain Grant (the leader of the rescue team) instructed several wagons to set up a checkpoint of sorts and wait there for the handcart companies to get there. The rest of the rescue team would travel ahead and meet them. This checkpoint company would provide much needed assistance for the last leg of the journey.

A few days after being left to establish the checkpoint, a winter storm hit the rescuers. They hunkered down and tried to stay warm. The other rescuers did eventually meet up with the handcart companies and finally realized the gravity of their situation. Captain Grant realized the divine origin of President Brigham Young's counsel to set up a checkpoint. Having done what they could for the Willie company, the rescuers continued on to find the Martin company, roughly 100 miles behind. During the time, the checkpoint rescuers wondered what was taking so long.

Winter storms had left a lot of snow and temperatures were sub-zero nearly all the time. After about three weeks of waiting in the bitter cold, most of the checkpoint rescuers came to the conclusion that the handcart companies had either stopped someplace for the winter, or had died along the trail. They determined to go back to Salt Lake. They tried to persuade all of the remaining checkpoint rescuers to go with them. One man, though, Reddick Allred, would not hear it. He had been asked by his Priesthood leaders to stay and he intended to do it.

Reddick Newton Allred

The story of Reddick Allred is especially interesting. The day after the rescue party left Salt Lake, Reddick felt an unusual pain in his chest and side. He had pleurisy. This is an inflammation around the lungs that makes every inhalation extremely painful. Being only a day from Salt Lake, he could have turned around and gotten the rest required to get better. He didn't, though.

The rest of the checkpoint rescuers left the checkpoint and headed back to Salt Lake with their wagons and supplies. Not only did they leave, but they met 77 other rescue wagons on the trail that they persuaded to turn around and abandon the rescue mission on their way back. Reddick Allred stayed. When the handcart companies arrived at his checkpoint, hundreds of lives were saved by the provisions and supplies he was able to give them. He couldn't relieve all their suffering, but he did enough to save hundreds of them.

I'm sure that during those freezing, lonely weeks on high plains of Wyoming, Reddick Allred wondered if the handcart companies had indeed stopped for the winter. What amazes me about this story, though, is that despite all logical reasoning, Reddick Allred refused to limit his view to his personal perspective. He trusted that someone could see more than him. He believed that the instruction he had been given came from people who were called by God. This belief guided his actions when every bit of logic seemed to say the opposite. Surely he knew that staying in the frozen wilderness for weeks with pleurisy was dangerous. Of course he could reason that going back provided him the best chance of survival. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, though, he trusted.

His diligence in following the counsel of his leaders saved the lives of hundreds of people. How do you think those who left felt when they heard of this story? How do you think they felt when they met the handcart pioneers who had lost loved ones and frozen body parts during those fateful weeks?

There is power in obedience, even when you don't completely understand the request. Trust that someone does. Believe that maybe you can't see everything. Maybe your personal experiences are limiting your view. Maybe you are looking through the foggy lens of personal experience.

The Butterfly Circus

I know this is a bit long, but you won't regret it. All of us, to an extent, are like the people in this movie. We focus too much on the things we can't do.

I definitely felt like that as a missionary, especially at first. I couldn't speak Bulgarian, I didn't really like the food, I wasn't good at getting up early, etc. There was a reason I was called to Bulgaria, though, and it's because Heavenly Father knew me well enough to know that I could do something. I remember very well my "sink or swim" moments.

This has been a pattern throughout my life. The moments when I feel like I've been left laying on the rocks usually become critical moments in my life. Heavenly Father knows me and is willing to let me lay there until I'm ready to do something about it because He knows that's what I need to progress. His goal is my eternal progression and exaltation, not my momentary comfort. I love Him for that!