Joy with a capital J
After a recent post I had a few questions about my statement that Joy has no opposite. Several people felt that I was teaching wrong doctrine and pointed out to me scriptures that say that misery is the opposite of joy. This is true, misery is the opposite of joy. I guess I need to clarify that I am talking about Joy with a capital J, which is similar to Love with a capital L--which is God.
"God is Love" is one of my favorite scriptures. I also believe God is Joy with a capital J. God has no opposite and that kind of Love and Joy have no opposite. There is nothing one can equate them with in this earthly realm. Very few people have an experience of this Love or Joy in their life times. Those who do, usually only experience it for a few seconds, but even that blink in time causes them to feel reborn. I tell you from experience. As I continue on the path He has set me on, I hope with all my heart to eventually live in this light at all times.
I believe from my limited experience that it is true what I keep stumbling upon in Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Though the scriptures mention many times that there must be an "opposition in all things," opposition is not an eternal concept. All these scriptures, read in context, are talking about our testing period during this mortal earthly life. And we know that some people during their lifetimes, reach a point where they no longer are subject to this test. For example, translated beings do not suffer hunger or thirst or temptation or death. And in the next life, from what the scriptures say, opposition will be a thing of the past: God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
Though God has no opposite, that does not mean Satan does not exist. He does. And he's nasty. He may appear to be God's opposite here on earth, but only because God allows it. God does not need an opposite to be God. And if He did have an equal and opposite, He would cease to be God and it wouldn't matter which power we chose. Nothing would matter, and Earth probably wouldn't be here because God wouldn't be God and he would be too busy fighting his own battles with opposition.
Sometimes I have wondered if God can weep for his children, then maybe he does suffer.... But I have come to the conclusion that I only understand a small fraction of things and though we know God feels emotions (that is the only earthly way to describe them) this does not mean he feels them as we do, or that he is living in a world of opposites. As I already said, but I'll say it a different way, if he was, he would not be Omnipotent. Joseph Smith says in Lectures on Faith, that in order to have faith in God, it must be based on a God that is omnipotent. Therefore, if God has an opposite, He is not omnipotent, and we have no basis of faith.
At this point in our journey, if you are reading this, you likely still need opposition. (Unless you are John the Beloved and reading this. In this case, please come visit me. I love you.) As I mentioned in my post about the Chakras and the Two Trees in the Garden of Eden, it is the clash of opposing forces that makes the vortex spin. The vortex is one of the most powerful forces in nature (tornadoes, hurricanes, chakras, etc.) The swirling vortex motif repeats itself so often in creation: from the shape of galaxies, the chakras, the rising serpentine energy of the kundalini, and even down to the microscopic DNA double helix. And that powerful swirling force, created by opposites, is what can give us the energy to reach new heights (or can plunge us to new lows). Both happiness and sorrow are sacred and essential to our progression. But not forever.
I believe in what LDS doctrine calls Eternal Progression. But is it eternal in that is never ending? Or is it "Eternal" in that it is God's progression? I don't know. But I do know God's progression is no longer based on opposition. His increase in glory comes from increase in worlds and posterity. (There was a quote on this in last Sunday's Priesthood/RS lesson. I challenge you to go find it.)
Don't get me wrong, there may still be polarity creating this power, and if there is, I believe it may be the perfectly balanced polar energies of the masculine and feminine: Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father. When I think of it this way, I realize the importance of marriage and creation and why Satan works so hard in this life to thwart these two things while he has the opportunity to do so.
"God is Love" is one of my favorite scriptures. I also believe God is Joy with a capital J. God has no opposite and that kind of Love and Joy have no opposite. There is nothing one can equate them with in this earthly realm. Very few people have an experience of this Love or Joy in their life times. Those who do, usually only experience it for a few seconds, but even that blink in time causes them to feel reborn. I tell you from experience. As I continue on the path He has set me on, I hope with all my heart to eventually live in this light at all times.
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| Cloven tongues of fire. |
Though the scriptures mention many times that there must be an "opposition in all things," opposition is not an eternal concept. All these scriptures, read in context, are talking about our testing period during this mortal earthly life. And we know that some people during their lifetimes, reach a point where they no longer are subject to this test. For example, translated beings do not suffer hunger or thirst or temptation or death. And in the next life, from what the scriptures say, opposition will be a thing of the past: God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
Though God has no opposite, that does not mean Satan does not exist. He does. And he's nasty. He may appear to be God's opposite here on earth, but only because God allows it. God does not need an opposite to be God. And if He did have an equal and opposite, He would cease to be God and it wouldn't matter which power we chose. Nothing would matter, and Earth probably wouldn't be here because God wouldn't be God and he would be too busy fighting his own battles with opposition.
Sometimes I have wondered if God can weep for his children, then maybe he does suffer.... But I have come to the conclusion that I only understand a small fraction of things and though we know God feels emotions (that is the only earthly way to describe them) this does not mean he feels them as we do, or that he is living in a world of opposites. As I already said, but I'll say it a different way, if he was, he would not be Omnipotent. Joseph Smith says in Lectures on Faith, that in order to have faith in God, it must be based on a God that is omnipotent. Therefore, if God has an opposite, He is not omnipotent, and we have no basis of faith.
At this point in our journey, if you are reading this, you likely still need opposition. (Unless you are John the Beloved and reading this. In this case, please come visit me. I love you.) As I mentioned in my post about the Chakras and the Two Trees in the Garden of Eden, it is the clash of opposing forces that makes the vortex spin. The vortex is one of the most powerful forces in nature (tornadoes, hurricanes, chakras, etc.) The swirling vortex motif repeats itself so often in creation: from the shape of galaxies, the chakras, the rising serpentine energy of the kundalini, and even down to the microscopic DNA double helix. And that powerful swirling force, created by opposites, is what can give us the energy to reach new heights (or can plunge us to new lows). Both happiness and sorrow are sacred and essential to our progression. But not forever.
I believe in what LDS doctrine calls Eternal Progression. But is it eternal in that is never ending? Or is it "Eternal" in that it is God's progression? I don't know. But I do know God's progression is no longer based on opposition. His increase in glory comes from increase in worlds and posterity. (There was a quote on this in last Sunday's Priesthood/RS lesson. I challenge you to go find it.)
Don't get me wrong, there may still be polarity creating this power, and if there is, I believe it may be the perfectly balanced polar energies of the masculine and feminine: Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father. When I think of it this way, I realize the importance of marriage and creation and why Satan works so hard in this life to thwart these two things while he has the opportunity to do so.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned the polarity of Male and Female, it reminded me of an image I saw from the writings of Hugh Nibley:
ReplyDelete"In the underground tomb of Fan Yen-Shih, d. A.D. 689, two painted silk veils show the First Ancestors of the Chinese, their entwined serpent bodies rotating around the invisible vertical axis mundi. Fu His holds the set-square and plumb bob as he rules the four-cornered earth, while his sister-wife Nü-wa holds the compass pointing up, as she rules the circling heavens. The phrase kuei chü is used by modern Chinese to signify “the way things should be, the moral standard”; it literally means the compass and the square. (Temple and Cosmos, p. 115)"
Have you seen the image? I can email it to you. Looks a lot like two serpents intertwined. :-)
Loved this. A lot. I totally got what you were saying immediately. Though I do believe God weeps. It says so in Enoch. Like you said, it may be a weeping we don't understand. But I do believe He does. I also love what you said about marriage and polarity. Interesting thoughts.
ReplyDelete--kristin
This is perfect. Thank you. I cannot count how many times you have put into words the grumbled thoughts, feelings, and impressions that have been echoing in my head for days, weeks, or years. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete