Who are You?

Who am I? A pretty standard question. Sometimes asked in confusion, such as in situations of amnesia, questioning one's true identity, or having Alzheimer's, shouting it while flying through the air and tackling someone ("Scrubs", anyone?). It can also be a deep question, requiring some thoughts. Look back at your life, and you'll often wonder who you are compared to who you were. Or, when a major dilemma comes up, it may cause you to question yourself. Or even when a major life change occurs, you may be pondering just what kind of person you've become as a result of it (I had one of those a couple years ago... check out this blog about it!) But, it's important that we have that sense of identity to allow us to truly understand ourselves, as well as our relationship with out Heavenly Father.

So, quick side tangent: I love punk. I've been into punk since junior high, and it's just fun. It's loud and aggressive and very expressive (well, some times, at least). I also love ska, because when it comes to having fun with music, it's hard to beat ska. I will now reference a couple bands to illustrate my point. DRI is a hardcore punk band from the '80s. In a song entitled "Who Am I?" (fitting, right?), they raise that very question (over and over again). "Who am I?... A human being... This strange thing... Not what I seem." And there you have pretty much the whole song. It's a short one. Kurt Brecht poses the question, then answers it. He is a human being, a strange thing, and not what he seems. He reasserts this several times, until culminating in affirming (repeatedly) the his DRI... DRI... DRI. That's his identity. Jumping over a bit to a band that I absolutely adore, We Are the Union. They do an awesome job of meshing punk with ska. They have a song entitled "Ourcore", which is a song all about their individuality and refusal to fall into a cookie cutter mold. A line they use towards the end (that often gets in my head) goes "We're just being who we are! We take the road less traveled by!". A powerful line, referencing famous poetry, put to angry punk/ska riffs. What more can you ask for?

Both these bands, in their songs, raise very profound points on their identity, that we as members of the church should be able to relate to. Kurt Brecht answers the question saying he's not what he seems. How accurate is that of church members? We seem like the everyday person, but really we're covenant people. We have a higher standard because we have more awareness of the desires of our Heavenly Father for us. We Are the Union assert that what they do is who they are, and that involves taking the less traveled road and not just following the crowd. I think about this in terms of my mission: I often wonder what people think of us when we're out in public in regular clothes. They obviously have no reason to assume that we're Mormon missionaries, they're just going to assume we're regular twenty-some year old guys. Well, the average twenty-something year old guy has quite the reputation, and it's not entirely unfounded. So, when a group of us missionaries, disguised in regular clothes, are out in public, I wonder if people notice that we're not swearing, or talking about girls or how drunk we got. It's an interesting thought.

And more than just members of the church, everybody has an identity (obviously). How many of our brothers and sisters don't even know who they truly are? Romans 8:16 tells us: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God". We ARE children of a Heavenly Father who loves us. Each of us is loved, and each of us has that lineage. That's who we are: Children of God. And this should influence us in many ways. As we are Children of God, we should be willing to do what He asks, just like we would our earthly parents. Also, we should take it upon ourselves to teach those around us their true identity. EVERYONE is a Child of God, and He loves us all.

Harry Potter and the Unified Purpose

Oh man! I just keep going! Now we're on to book number 4! Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a pretty pivotal book in the series. Why? Well, let me tell ya:
Harry gets to spend an actual magic summer, spending time with Weasleys and going to the Quidditch World Cup. While there, some Death Eaters (Voldemort's supporters) make a stand, marching around and tormenting some muggles. This is quickly put to rest by someone sending the Dark Mark (Voldemort's sign) into the air. They find the wand that did it, and it seems like a house elf named Winky did it. But, evidence says there's more to it than that. Things get even more exciting upon Harry, Ron, and Hermione's return to Hogwarts. The announcement of the Tri Wizard Tournament puts all of Hogwarts in an uproar. The Triwizard Tournament is an even that tests young witch and wizard's skill and magical prowess, and takes place between Europe's 3 major Wizarding schools: Hogwarts of England, Beauxbatons of France, and Durmstrang of Scandinavia. The catch is, however, you can only enter if you're 17 or older. Well, somehow, when the champions are being chosen, Harry is one of them. This is strange because, not only is he only 14, but Hogwarts already had a champion selected, Cedric Diggory. Now Harry has to participate. He's getting some help from friends, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor "Mad Eye" Moody (named for his strange, magical glass eye). Some crazy stuff goes down, and suddenly, when in a labyrinth for the final event of the tournament, Harry and Cedric come upon the trophy, which turns out to be a portkey (an object able to magically transport you anywhere). They wind up in a graveyard, where Cedric is killed and Harry is bound, and his blood is taken and used to bring Voldemort back to full strength. Thanks to another magical occurrence (Priori Incantatem), Harry is able to get back to the portkey and bring Cedric's body with him. Now, Voldemort's back, and the wizarding world is in an uproar. Well, sort of...
I've left out the part about Mad Eye actually being a prominent Death Eater posing as him, but that's not pertinent to the current blog post. What I'm choosing to focus on is the unity that is displayed, and will continue to be displayed in the series, between the three opposing schools. This was the main point of why they started the Triwizard Tournament ca 1294. Dumbledore knew something was up, and that something bad was soon to come to fruition. He urges all three schools, upon their arrival, to remember the importance of unity, and that all the wizarding world needed to be united to fight against evil. This must exist amongst us, as well. I've written about this subject a couple times (here and here). But if something is repeated, you know it must be important.

We as members of the Church have a common goal and dream. We know where we want to go, and we know what we want our world to be like. And, there's only one way we can accomplish that, and that is through Unity. We can unite ourselves with others by forming friendships, and this can be done through service. But what's important is to remember that we are all children of God, and thus we are all brothers and sisters. This idea must unite us, and our desire to make this world better must unite us as well. Why quarrel and squabble over such minute details as to where we're from, what we like, where we stand on certain issues, or what our race is? These things are only temporal, and don't matter at all in the grand scheme of things. We must put behind our differences and be one in purpose and unity to help the Gospel reach all the inhabitants of the world. When our hearts are knit together in love, we can do anything, and bring all of our Heavenly Father's children to a knowledge of Him.

Who is God?

Almost everyone has the idea of a supreme being, some higher power that governs our world. Some people think of it as an energy, some kind of cosmic force that keeps everything in line and that acts on Karma. Some view a collaboration of beings, each responsible for their specific role or purpose. Some think of it as a Spirit, unspecific of form or being, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. This has been a long discussed idea, debated by qualified scholars, learned clergymen, philosophers, and people with no more qualifications than curiosity and scriptures. Thankfully, we now have a way of knowing for sure what and who God truly is. We have modern-day revelation, and we have prophets, just like they did in biblical times. Thanks to these two things, we know that God is a man, with a body of flesh and bone just as we have. He is our literal Father, and as such loves us like a father. He knows us all, better than anyone else, and knows what is best for us and what we need most. We can always rely on Him, and always go to Him with any troubles or concerns we may have. We can always pray to Him. He wants us to, and if we do, He'll listen, and He'll answer. He'll send his comforter, the Holy Ghost, to help us when times are hard. Everything he does has a purpose, and we can always have confidence that, through obedience to his commandments and faith on Him and His Son, we can make it through and hard times, and come out much better off than we were before. God is not some intangible being, floating out in the cosmos, seeking our praise and adoration, dishing out vengeance on the wicked, and keeping us all in check. God is our Loving Heavenly Father, fully invested in the actions of His children, wanting the best for them, wanting them to succeed, and helping them become the best they can.
However, not all people accept modern-day revelation and prophets, and as such are still in the dark about God's identity. They believe different things, and have no firm foundation for their thoughts on who He is. As such, we often find people just filling the part with what they would most like to see, and in essence, create their own God and assign themselves to that role. From this, they are able to justify their actions with thoughts like "I don't think God minds if I do this." Who are we to assume we know what God approves of or disapproves of? It's hard to confess to believe in God and Jesus Christ and not accept the Bible. Through the Bible, we can see, at least in some amount, what God approves of and disapproves of. Through the scriptures, we can form a very good foundation of God's desire for us. Often, those of the mindset "I don't think God minds" are off the mark. Their ideas are not scripturally grounded, and as thus they have no basis for their ideas. This is a trick of the Devil. Satan has done everything he can to try to keep us from our Heavenly Father, and one of his greatest tools is robbing God of his identity. He does this by obscuring what we know, and making God seem mysterious, unknown, and unknowable. Through this, we are unable to form the strong, familial relationship with our Heavenly Father, and to truly relate with him how we should. Also, if we don't truly know God and what He wants of us, then we can justify our sins and iniquities, and are more likely to follow the enticing of Satan because "I don't think God minds if I do this." Odds are, if you have to justify it, it's wrong.
I am so grateful for modern-day revelation and prophets, who have, once again, revealed the true nature and identity of our Heavenly Father, that I may know his role in my life, and in the lives of all His children. I am grateful that I can always turn to Him in prayer, and through the scriptures, and be comforted when I need it, and have my questions answered. I know that God lives, as much more than some cosmic entity, and I know that He loves us all, as we are His children.