"For The Default Man Is An Enemy To God..."

"[I]n the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship--be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles--is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive...

Gratitude and Anti-Gratitude

I've been doing some more thinking today, and I think I've figured out a little more about the effect doubt/disbelief has on gratitude.

A few years back, I got my Amateur Radio Operator license.  One of the things that I learned about and have experienced in communicating over the air waves is the effect of interference and noise on the radio signal.  Noise is just something you have to learn how to deal with - there are many different types of sources from many different locations, and some days no matter how you may try to avoid it you just have to live with it.
Sometimes you can locate the source of the noise, sometimes you can find a location that isn't as effected by the noise, and when all else fails, crank the transmit power knob up to 11 and just wipe it out with excessive wattage.

I think doubt and disbelief are like noise and interference. They can block out and scramble the messages of the "still small voice", and are the opposite of the peace and stillness that we are seeking.  Like radio noise, there are some things that we can do to minimize the effect of the extraneous signals.  I think the most popular and most overused method is to overpower the noise with a stronger signal.

Mechanics of Gratitude

I've been thinking about gratitude a lot lately, specifically the "mechanics" of gratitude.

Elder Kevin Pearson gave a Gen Conf talk in April 2009 that went into the "mechanics" of faith that I think can be applied to gratitude:

"Faith and fear cannot coexist. One gives way to the other. The simple fact is we all need to constantly build faith and overcome sources of destructive disbelief. The Savior’s teaching comparing faith to a grain of mustard seed recognizes this reality (see Matthew 13:31–32). Consider it this way: our net usable faith is what we have left to exercise after we subtract our sources of doubt and disbelief. You might ask yourself this question: 'Is my own net faith positive or negative?' If your faith exceeds your doubt and disbelief, the answer is likely positive. If you allow doubt and disbelief to control you, the answer might be negative."

I think we can do something with gratitude to understand the factors that affect and limit our gratitude. I think it can be expressed in terms of an equation, like Elder Pearson laid out.

And then, the Conspiring Man behind the counter asked me, "Do you want fries with that?"...



"Do you want fries with that?..."

Doctrine & Covenants 89:4 - "Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forwarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation-" ...

Want to know just how deep and widespread the "evils and designs" are in the hearts of "conspiring men" out there in the American Fast Food and supporting industries today? Read this book. Now.

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser

What if the Temple had sticky floors and crayon marks all over the walls?

A friend of mine told me of a sign that she saw and wants to have in her home.  It reads:


I've heard of similar sentiments like this before, and I get it.  If it comes down to cleaning house or spending time with children and family building loving eternal relationships, then the pick-up game of kickball or the taking a moment to teach or comfort a child in need always wins. Sticky floors need to take a back seat to the nurturing of one's family.  There are moments where we just have to jump in and use the opportunities to spend time with our children and our families as they come.

But what happens after the kickball game is done, the mud pies have been baked, or the teaching moment has been educated?  What happens next?

What happens when the sticky floor comes up against Church callings?

vs. when a friend or sibling calls up and wants to stop by to visit?

vs. when you see a person in great need, or get an emergency call from a Sister on your Visiting Teaching list?

vs. when someone invites you to sing in the Stake Choir and needs you to go to choir practice several times a week?

vs. when you notice someone is having a really bad day and needs some cheering up?

vs. when your friends want to go out for a "Girl's Night Out", or when someone has a baby shower coming up and you saw this super-cute DIY craft on Pinterest or a craft blog that you think if you hurry up you'll have just enough time to finish?

vs. when your friend wants you to see their art exhibit or wants your support in some other endeavor they are attempting?

vs. the latest teenage fiction novel series that everyone is talking about, or when your favorite TV show is on or when you haven't checked Cake Wrecks or seen captioned pictures of cute kittens in a while?

Where does the sticky floor fall within all the other aspects of a modern Mormon life?

There are many different demands of our time, and it is easy to get lost within so many competing priorities, but I believe the Lord has given us sufficient direction on this matter.

(Warning - this is a work in progress with frequent updates and an extremely long and quote heavy post with a few lateral jumps and some gender flip-flops, so you may want to pace yourself on this one and realize it is subject to change without prior notice...)