SOME THOUGHTS ON PERCEPTIONS, ATTITUDES AND GOD

I can fill a glass of water and then drink half of it. You could not argue with me if I said it was half empty. I could not argue with you if you said it was half full. Because one perception is correct does not mean that another is invalid. No coin or argument can be so thin that it has only one side.

We can and usually do choose to take the view or perception of view of an issue that we prefer. A man persuaded against his will remains of the same opinion. Usually our perception either reflects our attitude or, it may be possible that our attitude has shaped our perception. If we are totally honest with ourselves, we have to admit that at times, our personal perceptions and attitudes may not be correct. It is possible for our attitudes and perceptions to become stuck in grooves and become difficult to change even when, like the ostrich with its head in the sand, it is blindingly obvious to everyone else that they are not really helping us very much at all.

Almost everyone at one time or another has had contact with someone that seems unduly negative. “Why bother to do this or to make an effort? – It wont work out and no-one will turn up anyway. I am only one person – what difference can I possibly make?” Corrosive messages this are not always so obvious and are often much more subtle. We sometimes go along with such negative attitudes unwittingly and / or unquestioningly. This is because we either have not detected our own prevailing attitude or we havnt realized that we have a choice in these matters. Being aware of our attitudes and making right choices is important for everyone.

But if we want to, we can go further than just trying to make the right choices. We can actually go out of our way to discover and adopt into our lives new things that will bring us greater happiness and fulfilment. As the New Testament says “Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good”

Lasting happiness and fulfilment usually come to us through being centered in family, in work and in worthwhile causes. Consider these 2 statements.

· “By what we get we make a living. By what we give we make a life.” (Winston Churchill)

· “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God” (The Prophet Joseph Smith)

Not everyone will agree that the above statements are necessarily correct or acceptable. But regardless of whatever a person’s perceptions may be, it is an undeniable fact that the teachings of Jesus Christ do actually work and they work extremely well. If applied on a personal level, the teachings of Christ generate the great fulfilment and happiness based on integrity, family life, tolerance, respect for others and (especially and particularly) selfless service to others. Whether you agree with it’s doctrinal teachings or not, these are the core values emphasised by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition to these principles, the Book of Mormon teaches that “Men are that they might have joy.”

Belief in a living and loving God in whose image we are created, and whose commandments are given for our benefit and happiness, is not a very popular candidate as a universal remedy for the ills of the world. But in the ultimate analysis what other choice is there? To change people and society for the better, governments try to work from the outside in. But throwing money and programs at a social problems often does not work well, if at all. It often seems that in the long run many government initiatives result in more harm than good.

On the other hand, “Christ works from the inside out. The world would take men out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of men, and they then take themselves out of the slums. The world tries to mould men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world tries to shape human behaviour, but Christ can actually change human nature.” [David O McKay ]

While it is important to keep an open mind about things, we should also remember that the purpose of having an open mind is similar to the purpose of having an open mouth. We don’t go through life with our mouth constantly open. We need to close our mouths from time to time on something that tastes good and actually provides real nourishment. And for our own sanity and wellbeing, we need to do it repeatedly. If we have any sense, we not only return again and again to the wholesome sources of nourishment that sustain us, but we also admit the possibility that there may be some room for improvement in our diet. [Nibley]

Having tolerance and respect for the views of others is also important. LDS church members claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and we allow all other men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. We believe that the spirit of contention is very unhelpful and is not of God. We should remember that there are certainly more good people of other faiths out there than there are Latter-day Saints. We need to always give others the maximum credit, respect and encouragement in what is right and good..

Hugh Nibley said “Will you or I dare to ask God which people we are to love and which we are to hate? Which to deal fairly with and which to cheat? Which to speak the truth to and which to lie to? Which to be kind to and which to be cruel to? We cannot make a bad person good by pulling a trigger - If men are to overcome evil in this world, they must be alive to do it - shooting them solves nothing.”

We recognize that as humans, we can tend to be suspicious of others that we do not know or who are apparently different from us. However, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints actively strive to overcome this tendency, We do this by making a point of going out of our way to give selfless service to those who are not of our faith, taking particular care not to proselytize or use service activities to gain converts.

Only very recently has the church reluctantly allowed its very extensive humanitarian work to be publicised at all. Previously it was a well kept but open secret. The church felt bound by the Lord’s instruction in Matthew 6 to keep it’s charitable works secret and anonymous. However the sheer scale of the humanitarian operations of the church now makes this impossible in this media intrusive day and age. It is a little known fact that the humanitarian aid efforts of the church worldwide are so massive that they are second only to the Red Cross itself.

See http://www.providentliving.org/project/0,13501,4607-1-2005,00.html

Very curiously, the work of the missionaries alone (who’s job it is gain converts) can often have a much more dramatic effects in a community than the humanitarian work of the church, as illustrated in the following account.

“On Christmas Eve 37 years ago, in the light of a full moon, I climbed a small hill in the isolated village of Quiriza, Bolivia. Four young elders and I had spent the day crossing over a mountain pass on a treacherous road. Then we struggled up a riverbed to see if the teachings of the Savior would help a destitute people. What we saw that day was discouraging—undernourished children, adults subsisting on merger crops, some with eyes glazed from seeking refuge with alcohol and drugs. I looked at the tiny, barren village below: a cluster of adobe thatched-roof houses beaten by the harsh environment. The only evidence of life was barking dogs searching for food. There was no electricity, telephone, running water, roads, proper sanitation, nor doctors there. It seemed so utterly hopeless. Yet a solemn prayer confirmed that we should be there. We found a humble people who embraced the restored gospel with determination to live it. They did that under harsh conditions where severe poverty, alcohol, drugs, witchcraft, and immorality were in plentiful supply.

Under the guidance of exceptional missionaries, the people learned to work hard to cultivate the fields. They produced a harvest of nutritious vegetables and raised rabbits for better protein. But the best lessons came from beloved missionaries who taught them of a God who loved them, of a Saviour who gave His life that they might succeed. Their physical appearance began to change. The light of truth radiated from their happy faces. As devoted, loving emissaries of the Lord, missionaries patiently taught truth to a willing people. Wives and husbands learned how to live in harmony, to teach truth to their children, to pray, and to sense the guidance of the Spirit.

I have now seen how in one generation, youth baptized in that village have overcome a seemingly hopeless future. Some have served as missionaries in other countries, some have graduated from universities with the help of the perpetual education fund, and have been sealed in the temple. Through their diligence and obedience, they have found purpose and success in life, despite having originated from a harsh physical and evil-saturated environment. If it can be done in Quiriza, Bolivia, it can be done anywhere.” [Richard G Scottt – How to Live Well amid Increasing Evil – May 2004]

We are all seeking greater happiness and we can choose whether to view the glass as half full or half empty. In the same way we can also choose what to do, and not just what our view of things should be. We can choose whether or not to seek out and try out things that can offer us greater happiness and then hold fast to those things that work for us.

The message of the members of the LDS church is that living the teachings of Christ brings greater happiness and fulfilment From just 6 members in 1830 the LDS church now has nearly 15 million members spread among nearly all the nations of the world.

There are many cases where the Lord has been manifesting Himself to men and women in the nation of Russia, so recently released from the long grip of godless communism. While reading critical or mocking articles about Mormons, two different Russian men felt a strong impression to search out our meeting places. Both met missionaries and joined the Church.²

A medical doctor in a village in Nigeria had a dream in which he saw his good friend speaking to a congregation. Intrigued, he travelled to his friend’s village on a Sunday and was astonished to find exactly what he had seen in his dream—a congregation called a ward being taught by his friend, who was their bishop. Impressed with what he heard in repeated visits, he and his wife were taught and baptized. Two months later over 30 others in their village had also joined the Church, and their clinic had become the meeting place.

A man I met from northern India had never even heard the name of Jesus Christ until he saw it on a calendar in the shop of a shoemaker. The Spirit led him to conversion in a Protestant church. Later, during a visit to a distant college town, he saw an advertisement for an American group called "The BYU Young Ambassadors." During their performance, an inner voice told him to go into the lobby after the program and a man in a blue blazer would tell him what to do. In this way he obtained a Book of Mormon, read it, and was converted to the restored gospel. He has since served as a missionary and as a bishop.

A little girl in Thailand felt a memory of a loving Father in Heaven. As she grew older, she would often pray and counsel with Him in her heart. In her early 20s she met our missionaries. Their teachings confirmed the loving personal feelings for God she remembered from her childhood. She was baptized and served a full-time mission in Thailand.

Only 5 percent of the people in Cambodia are Christians. A family in that country was searching for the truth. While their 11-year-old son was riding his bicycle he saw some men in white shirts and ties showing someone a picture and asking who it was. He felt he should stop. As he watched, he was prompted to say, "That is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and He came to save man." Then he rode away. It took the missionaries a month to find him and his family. Today, the father is a counsellor in the mission presidency.

Last June, a family of five visited the open house for a new chapel in Mongolia. As the father walked through the door a powerful force went through his body, a feeling of peace he had never experienced before. Tears flowed. He asked the missionaries what that amazing feeling was and how he could feel it again. Soon, the entire family was baptized.

These are only a few examples. There are thousands more.