This is for encouragement, ideas, and support for people going through a faith transition no matter where you hope to end up. This is also the place to laugh, cry, and love together.
We had a sister missionary farewell today. When I got there the chapel had way too many people in it. I opened the program and it had the sister missionary-to-be speaking first, with the priesthood speaker batting cleanup. That triggered me. But, someone made it right and switched it around and I was proud of my ward.
Until the first speaker got up and talked about how to gain a testimony and to really know that the church is true. This guy is an electrical engineer and a smart guy and my neighbor, but the talk just hurt. Knowing the temperature outside is a different kind of knowledge than knowing you love your wife or knowing the church is true. Scientific proof just doesn't apply to spiritual knowledge, it can't be proven one way or another. The scriptures tell us how to find it, it grows like a seed, and more testimonies are found standing bearing them than on your knees praying for them.
Redefine "know" - Check!
Ignore that proving a scientific fact is a bad parallel, because spiritual things are typically impossible to disprove, and don't provide a better parallel - Check!
Provide examples that lead people to confirmation bias and fake it til you make it - Check!
The worst part is I would have given this exact talk 6 years ago.
The farewell talk was nicer. I hope she has a good time.
"I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order" - Kurt Vonnegut
I am tired of testimony talks. To overcome my loathing of them, i watch their eyes, do they really feel it? Did my eyes look like that? This is a very unscientific approach, but I like assessing what each word means to them based on their manner. words like know, faith, testimony.
I have been really studying and thinking about why Islamic fundamentalism/extremism happens and how it leads to destruction of self and others. I think it starts with testimony reconfirmed to one's self enough times, it is their reality. Reward awaits if I do X,Y,Z.
The confirmation bias is reconfirming the notion that I can control my reality.
"Ah, you know, I think you use the Bible to do whatever the hell you like" - Raylan Givens
It seems to me that testimony talks and lessons are really on the uptick. Maybe I am just sensitive.
The other day we had a lesson in EQ all about testimony. I suppose everybody did not long ago. I told everybody that those events in palmyra did not happen the way it is portrayed and I walked out. I'm not going back either. The sofa in the foyer is so much more comfortable.
At testimony meeting last week the participation was not great. Long pauses. Afterwards an old boy came up to me and said that he didn't understand why people weren't bearing their testimonies. I didn't want to tell him that it would appear that half the ward doesn't have one, or at least it doesn't invigorate them.
At the halfway home. I'm a full-grown man. But I'm not afraid to cry.
