Somewhere in Provo, Utah is a apartment complex from nightmares with an unacceptably femme name: Cinnamon Tree. For the veterans among us it's known simply as "The Tree" - and that name is a toll of doom to all who remain here... will you escape?
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Then, in the culminating moment, when she discovers that her true love - Edward - is not married, all of her trials and sufferings become worth it, for the object of them all finally falls within her grasp. Her gratitude, excitement, and joy are so overwhelming that she simply breaks down - really breaks down - and a lifetime of pent-up frustrations and struggles burst forth in tears of relief and joy. Such esquisitely sweet release from sorrow!
I've seen similar, though certainly not quite as dramatic, things in my own pursuit of "love requited". But the greatest implications are of a much more general scope. Each of us, except maybe the most hardened psycopaths whose consciences have been somehow silenced, has regrets for past mistakes. Through life we accumulate a baggage of frustrations, disappointments, hurts, and feelings of remorse and sorrow. Some bury these things in their hearts by turning cold toward the world, or claiming that they are above the shackles of human emotion and act on cool rationality alone. Those who refuse to so directly give up their humanity do it indirectly - through the bottle, or lives of waste or extravagance. Anything to distract oneself from the bitternesses of mortal life.
But for each of us it is possibile for a moment of release to come, just like the enduring Ms. Dashwood. When we humble ourselves to the point where we are able to accept the notion that Jesus Christ has suffered for our sins, our sorrows, and our pains, we will be able to transfer the bitter baggage we carry onto the shoulders of He who is merciful.
"And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow." (The Book of Mormon, Alma 40:12)
And from Isaiah: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:3-5)
I am no religious zealot. I do not accept the notion of Christ as the Savior of mankind just because it's a nice idea, or because my family does, or because I know nothing else. I accept Him because his Atonement for us all completes a picture that is otherwise hard to reconcile - the balance of justice and mercy, the relief from weakness and pain that is so needed in this world. I accept Him because his Holy Spirit tells me in my heart that He lives! Why does the world reject Him, when what He has to offer is exactly what they need?
Pax in terra. It will come no other way than one heart at a time.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Ok, so a little bit more about this blog, or rather, about myself. My name is Josh and I'm a student at Brigham Young University. I study ... well, lots of things! Computer Science is one, but I'm also aiming for a second major in English Language with an emphasis in Historical English Linguistics. I'm a highly opinionated guy if you catch me on the right (or would it be wrong?) issues. For example, software patents!
As far as politics, my family is historically quite Republican. Same goes for me, but I'm definitely not a party hard-liner. I think the GOP needs to back off on supporting big business so much. Also, we've got to actually keep the federal budget under control! Gosh, Clinton could do it, and he was a Democrat!
I'm a solid member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka the Mormons. I served as a missionary for the Church in the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission, and right now I live in Provo, Utah, but natively I'm from Kennewick, Washington State.
I encourage all of my friends to use Mozilla Firebird as their web browser, and Mozilla Thunderbird as their mail client. If you use Firebird, I can tell you how to completely block those ads at the top of this page ;-) For an operating system, I recommend Linux over Windows if you're willing to get your hands dirty a little in order to free yourself from The Evil Empire. And for entertainment, nothing can quite top Homestar Runner.
A crazy, yowling cat just walked by outside the apartment window.
Oh, where was I? Let's see, life mottos: probably first and foremost, from the New Testament, "The Truth Will Make You Free". I really believe that. It may be a bit trite, but it really is true that we all must be constantly engaged in the pursuit of truth, no matter where it comes from. I'm a Mormon, but if a Methodist or a Catholic or a Muslim or a Jew or an Atheist has an idea that smacks of truth, I ought to consider it. If it turns out to not be substantiated, that doesn't say anything about their religion or non-religion; truth stands on its own. The truth or falsehood of a particular notion has no influence on the validity of the channel through which it was received (although general trends should be observed; a person who has told you nothing but lies is fairly likely to continue doing so, etc.)
My next thought relating very closely to Christ's admonition on truth is this: "Truth Stands Independent of Perception." Truth is not relative. Only our perception of truth is.
Enough for now. Good night!
And this one is to test posting from my laptop using gnome-blog-post...
