Monday, September 22, 2008

Doctrine?

I'm really confused. On Sunday, we were talking about 3 Nephi 11, where Christ comes to the Americas. He says very clearly what his doctrine is: believe in Him, repent, and be baptized, then you'll receive the Holy Ghost. This sounds like the 4th article of faith, right? Well, then later in the chapter, Christ says that anyone who adds to this doctrine or takes away from it is not of me.

So here's my confusion: as we were discussing this in Sunday School, people kept talking about other doctrines that didn't seem to be related to what Christ says is his doctrine. For example, someone brought up food storage as a doctrine that teaches us self-reliance, which is something that this person claimed Christ taught about. I don't exactly see how self-reliance relates to faith, repentance, and baptism.

Helen and I discussed it afterward and she said that perhaps Christ doesn't want us to call anything else "His doctrine" except these three things. I thought that was interesting and we explored it for a little bit, but I'm still not quite sure I know what Christ is saying there. Any suggestions?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Long absence and three degrees of glory

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I have been so busy with school and everything that I just haven't had the time I need. Plus, I've been busy with other things, which is the reason I'm writing again.

Helen (Jill's real name) and I have had a series of arguments lately. At first, things went really great, but then right after school started, she and I were have a very deep discussion about Mormon doctrine. Helen had a brother who was gay - I say "was" because he died a year ago. When she told me this, I didn't know what to think, but since I really liked her, I tried to be as sympathetic as possible. Well, we were talking about death and stuff (my dad has cancer, so it came up) and we started talking about how great even the telestial kingdom is. Well, in the middle of this conversation, she asked this questions: "Do you believe that we can progress from one kingdom to the next?"

I was astonished that she could even think that! I mean, I have always been taught that once you get to your kingdom, that is the final desitination. After a brief pause where I collected my thoughts, I was quick to tell her that, of course you can't! But she insisted on "exploring" if it could be the case or not. Well, I don't know about her, but I for one cannot go against what the brethren have said.

We are still dating, although not as frequently. She is the most beautiful woman I've ever met, but it's sometimes hard to think of marrying someone who is so different from me (don't worry, we've already talked about this).

Oh, and good news: my friend Bridger will soon be posting on this site, too. He really likes the idea of this blog and wants to contribute. Who knows, maybe even Helen will one day be a contributor.