Warning: Many, Many Questions from a lifelong member.... please help

[Dove]

jmjlaw;

I apologise if I sounded "condescending" or that I was insincere in my response to you....

That certainly wasn't my intent to do so~

I don't feel I have much to offer you in the way of answers you may be seeking.

I think maybe you are the only one who would have those answers

Dove

Edited February 22, 2012 by Dove

[Seminarysnoozer]

However, I think that this leaves out a large part and scope of mortality. For example, we were given a brain in order to think are reason. The gospel should make sense in light of evidence.

For that individual, mortality is not a test of loyalty or integrity at all, but an opportunity to exercise our intellect...to learn, ponder, and make decisions.

Some of those decisions may be contrary to the world view of the typical member. From my standpoint, I think mortality is actually a bit of both. I believe that we are expected to reason our way through, to use our intellect and rationality, but then to be faithful to what we believe to be ethical and moral.

-RM

The "intellect" you have now is a gift that may be totally different than your spiritual "intellect". Keep that in mind.

How do you know that Einstein's brain was similar to his spiritual wiring or thought process any more than we know that any talent we are given in this life is a temporary gift for the purposes of this life. I think then you are assuming that this life's talents directly reflect our thought process as spirits. I disagree with that premise. I think our thought process in this life is a fallen one and for that matter very fallen. Stephen Hawking's scientific mind is as much "his" as is "his" Lou Gerhig's disease, as far as we know. Even then, I think all of us are, as spirits, much more intelligent than anyone has ever been or ever will be in this world. This is the way dumbed down version of ourselves, like when the teacher of a class erases all the chalkboards and closes all the books to take a test. We are expected to use what we have, I don't disagree with that, just that the test itself is not the accumulation of intellectual prowess or ability for secular things as they could never come close to the amount we learned before this life.

In comparing the number of facts that one has learned in the premortal existence over the bazillion of years in the presence of God to the amount of knowledge obtained in less than 100 years of mortal existence, I don't think that one can make much of a comparison. I think if one takes an accounting at the end of life of anything that they "learned" in this life compared to what they already knew in the previous life, they would find that the lessons learned were in action oriented things, not facts, for example, being faithful, living true to ones covenants, etc.

The whole purpose of reason is to give us skill and appreciation to the value of certain beliefs and practices, likes and dislikes (like the love and value of family life) that will be of use in whatever Kingdom we end up in that we couldn't obtain by "book learning" alone. They have to be learned, so to speak, on the job. "Reason" is necessary when there is misinformation or a lack of information. Does a computer "reason", not really, unless there is a program written that tells it there is a possibility of not having the right information or it is given a set of ranked variables that would make one choice logically more right than another and it is told to choose one over the other.

In this life we are given opposition and misinformation to practice and to use that skill of reason but really for the purposes of testing.

Let me ask you, if a person finds themselves in the Celestial Kingdom in the next life, how much misinformation is that person going to have to "reason" through on a daily basis?

---

I also believe that for some they are to believe in the testimony of others, some are given gifts to understand things on an intellectual level etc. But all of us are supposed to rely on our spiritual self to develop testimony. I disagree that there are some who sustain their "testimony" on secular facts alone. I don't see God giving that test to people in Mortality, that wouldn't make sense. That would be like saying, let me see how well you can drive well drunk. What would be the purpose of that? The real test, that I think that person would be missing is the test between relying on the mind of man versus the spiritual influence. This is the danger of learning as a man learns, that it becomes more important than the spiritual "facts". And for that person that thinks that way, that they should be able to learn spiritual things secularly, that probably is the test for them, do they put more faith in facts (of course, limited and partial information) or spiritual influence?

Edited February 22, 2012 by Seminarysnoozer