Hello again! If you, dear reader, wonder as to the cause of my absence of several months, I can only say that I have taken a "sabbatical" to develop myself in ways that have heretofore been lacking. In this process, I have had the privilege of experiencing feelings and emotions which I had never felt before, and have found myself becoming better at things in which I had always assumed I had an inherent lack. In short, I have had what one can only term a mystical experience. I do not mean this to boast of myself, but only to testify of God's greatness and glory when extending His merciful arm toward his children. But in recent days a thought has run through my mind: "how do I share this experience with others?" Clearly a mere description will not suffice, for direct words fail at everything they try to do. Instead, I wish to use words indirectly, and to show you what I have gone through. How will I do this? I will follow in the footsteps of Nietzsche and Heraclitus, and use a series of aphorisms/maxims (short phrases) intended to convey my experience in a way that lies beyond words. Let me know how I do!
On Truth
1. To speak the truth is to be an idolater. To show it is to be a mouthpiece for God.
2. To put it differently, words must die before they can be resurrected; truth can only come through lies.
3. Is The Book of Mormon true? It depends on how you mean it. If by "true" you signify something that concretely exists independent of the believer's faith, then no - nothing does. But if you mean something that is real, then the Book of Mormon is true without question.
On Heaven
4. Where may one find the Kingdom of God? On a distant planet, you say? In a temple? But you forget - you can only see any of these places because of light. From where does it shine? Discover it, and you will find what you have sought.
On God
5. Three separate and distinct personages? How absurd! And yet, it is only through this absurdity that we can even speak intelligently about God.
6. The Holy Ghost is certainly mysterious, for all the doctrine on his person would not fill up a single paragraph. Is it because, like any ghost, he is translucent?
7. Why do we not speak of the Heavenly Mother? Is it, as many suppose, because she needs to be protected? Or is it perhaps because she finds our language distasteful?
On Men and Women
8. The Proclamation on the Family says that gender is eternal - men will always be men, and women will always be women. It speaks the truth - for who ever heard of a bank-less river?
9. Gender is good business for bridge-builders...and commuters.
On Marriage
10. Every married man is a polygamist, and every married woman a polyandrist. What is a living soul, after all, but an eternal marriage?
11. Marriage is a mirror, or better yet, a double mirror.
12. For we see outwardly in the other what we inwardly are.
13. Our existence began in love, and our lives make up a continuing love story.
On Love
14. Love accompanies all the senses, as it is preparing to replace them.
15. Wherever you love, there God is revealed.
16. The universe did not start in a dense singularity or a divine flash - our world began with the blood and broken flesh of Gethsemene.
17. For love can only grow from the seed of pain, and pain can only find its meaning in love.
Interesting and thought-provoking. A couple of these will take a little while to understand, but the aphorisms posted are good for the soul to ponder. It looks like this list is not dynamic, rather dormant. I hope more gets posted.
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