Let me start off with a few fundamental beliefs that I have that influence my actions:
1. I believe that we are all ultimately responsible for our thoughts, actions, words, and feelings. I do not believe that someone can "make" me feel any thing.
(2 Nephi 2:13-16, JST Matthew 5:22)
2. I literally view every friend, family, and extended family as the same. I believe that we all share the same divine nature and therefore are to be treated as such. I do not believe that you can "divorce" yourself from anyone based off of their behavior.
(Romans 8:16-17, John 15:12-13)
3. I believe that it is contrary to God's will to EVER be offended. I believe that any offended feeling I have is contrary to the teachings of Christ and should never be acted upon. (3 Nephi 11:29-30, Matthew 11:6, JST Matthew 5:22)
4. I believe that free agency is used properly only when it is parallel with God's teachings. I believe that a disciple of Christ submits himself to act as Christ at the time of baptism. Therefore I do not believe that you can believe that you can do "anything" you want and still be a disciple of Christ.
(Matthew 26:39, 2 Nephi 2:27-29)
5. I believe that our weaknesses, trials, and tribulations are for our benefit and that our talents and riches are for the benefit of others. That also leads me to believe that if we use our talents and riches for ourselves, that is all we will serve. I believe that we can one day be like Job and not only be grateful for our trials, but want more of them.
(2 Nephi 2:11-15, D&C 127:2, Job 23:10, Ether 12:6,27)
Those who know me, know that I do not execute these personal beliefs perfectly. Nonetheless, they are what I use in trying to determine what feelings are valid and in sync with God and which ones are not.
I need to go to bed now. The next time I'm at this, I want to identify what I see as problems in how I have gone about trying to live by these beliefs. That will take quite a while.
2 comments:
Amen. Most of these are stuff I've heard before, but 2 and 3 are things I've always felt very strongly about that I haven't seen as much in writing. Guess we are brothers, after all, eh? It reminds me of some of the things Jen said when asked to describe what a Ruggles is like.
Most take offense when I tell them they shouldn't! I've seen that most people believe that it is their right to be offended and that the offender is at their mercy. The offended fail to realize that they are only keeping themselves from the effects of the Atonement and The Spirit. The world would have us believe that we are at the mercy of the emotions that enter our mind and that it is only healthy to react to them unless it would bring "harm" to someone else. I don't feel that we should deny our feelings, but that we should evaluate them before we act.
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