The last 2 days we have been studying section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It's a great section. In fact there were 2 conference talks that went perfectly with it. You know that annoying friend that has a song lyric for everything you say.....well, not only am I that person, but I've also got a conference talk for you :0) The first 20 or so verses fits perfectly with "Eternal Life- to Know Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ" by Elder Hales. The second half of the chapter fits nicely with "Choose Wisely" by Elder Cook.
We've spent a good deal of time talking about the origin of Elohim and Jehovah and then where the rest of us come into the picture and how. This conversation was started by my son Jared and it continues after the students leave. We were talking about us being first intelligences then formed into spirits and then given a body. Are we literal sons and daughters of God or creations? Is there a difference? Why was Jesus more favored than the rest? We talked about who makes up the first presidency in Heaven. We talked about being the same person here on earth that you were in the pre-exsitance and then being that same person again when you die. Jared doesn't think people can change. We talked about pre-destiny and pre-determination. For example how we needed opposition- were some created for that purpose or did they fully choose that path if it was always needed for the plan?
Those are just some brief examples of the things Jared and I have been talking about for 2 days. We actually weren't arguing, just talking and exploring which was a very nice change. Let's be real - it did get heated a couple of times, but I'm getting better at this. I'm going to do a horrible job of explaining what I'm trying to get at, sorry about that. Basically, Jared and I were saying the same thing, just the road we took to get there was different. Does that make sense? How everything came together wasn't important, it's that it did. There is no shaking of faith on either side if when we get to Heaven we find out that we created out of a matrix instead of being created with an egg and a sperm or vice versa. I don't know how we were created and it doesn't matter.
What I did need to make sure that was understood was pre-determination. We talked it out and I did my best but then we decided to just leave it alone. Lucifer, Jesus, Eve - were they all pre-determined to do what they did and therefore are we? I have been reading "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad R Callister which addresses this issue. But, I still can't wrap my head around it enough to explain it to anyone else unless I've got the book out in front of me and every time I think I've got it I realize that I don't.
After our nice healthy discussion after seminary I went on my walk and listened to 3 conference addresses. I think it was Elder Godoy's talk that mentioned filling your potential or something like that. My mind suddenly went to the creation and a phrase "that they may fill the measure of their creation." Suddenly I knew how to reach my son. My mind was enlightened. I was only half way home at this point and thought about running the rest of the way and then decided that patience was a virtue :0)
I found a white board and went into Jared's room. Now, don't mock my horrible drawings. In my defense I was sitting on the floor cross-legged with the white board on my lap and drawing on it from behind. Actually.....the drawings wouldn't have looked any better had I been facing the board....let's be honest! A little translation for you. The cup represents purpose. Those are cups below each living thing. There is the earth, a flower, a fish (not sure why he didn't fill the measure of his creation) and us with 3 different sized cups. Above my little guy is the word agency. I know. Serious artistic talent!
This phrase about filling the measure of our creation stood out to me a few months ago and I've been doing some pondering on it. Mostly wondering why it stood out to me after all these years and what it was that I needed to understand.
Here's the deal. Everything that was created was given a purpose. The earth. The vegetation. The animals. Us. Every living thing has been given a measuring cup - so to speak. It's our responsibility to fill it or fulfill our purpose. Now let's just say that we weren't all treated the same. Some of us got bigger cups than others. Did Jehovah get a bigger cup than me? What about the prophet or a member of the quorum of the 12? I'm inclined to believe that we all started with the same size cup.... but if we didn't.... Do you know what size cup you got? Maybe our pre-earth life determine the size cup we got in this life? I don't know, but I do know that we all got a cup. Heavenly Father is all knowing and therefore He knows how much of the cup I'm going to fill. He knows my destiny already -what choices I'm going to make. Does that take away from my experience of making those decisions? No. It's just like Abraham and Isaac. God didn't send Abraham off to sacrifice his son to see if he could do it. He wasn't like "hmmm I wonder how this is going to turn out." God already knew the answer. He sent Abraham so that Abraham could know for himself.
That's the beautiful plan. We absolutely do have agency. It's our decision how much we are going to fill the measure of our creation. Like section 93, it's our decision on how much light we can receive. How much knowledge. How favored of our father we want to be. For me? I'm assuming that I was given the biggest cup He had to give out. I'm going for it. Just like our elder brother Jesus who learned and grew in light and truth grace for grace, so must we. Filling the measure of our creation one decision at a time by the power of His grace.
Our Heavenly Father loves us enough to let us make our own decisions because he knows that the only knowledge that carries any weight is the knowledge we come to know for ourselves. It's the same with my son Jared. Everything I say to him means nothing. It's just me babbling on and on, but when he learns something for himself, it's means everything - then he knows. Then he has power.
Btw, like my new hat? More details to come :0)
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