between heaven and hell. I mentioned that we can’t be held accountable for
breaking spiritual laws that we had no idea existed, because that wouldn’t be
fair. The student then offered that the fairest thing I could do as a teacher of
spiritual law would be to stop teaching the truth so people could live freely, die
happy, and ge t a free pass into heaven!
I told her that she was clever, and that it might work, but who would pay
my salary?
The thing is, we are designed to take in new information all the time.
Information about our bodies is conveyed through our nervous system.
Information about our environments. Information about our compatriots
and companions. Information about satisfying our urges. It’s staggering how
much information we are capable of processing. But we don’t process new
information without the assistance of old information. We don’t take in new
ideas without building on or bumping up against old ideas.
For this reason there is always tension.
This is why I tend to see my classroom as a battleground, a place where
ideas collide, where some win, some lose, and others are completely obliterated.
Every time I offer a new idea, the question is being asked in a student’s mind:
“How does this fit with what I already know?”
Every time you hear a new idea, or even an old idea presented in a new
way, the question is being asked in your mind: “How does this fit in with what
I already know?”
This is because we are creatures of contrast. This is true by our very natures.
The human condition is, from birth, conflicted. Consider these basic teachings
from the Heavenly Doctrines:
• All people are born for heaven, and no one is predestined to hell.
• All people are inclined to evils of every kind by birth, and even would
(without the Lord’s intervention) cast themselves headlong into the
lowest hell.
Both of these statements are true. And the difference between them causes
tension from our very first breath. At birth, we are born natural. Yes we have
spirits who are present in the spiritual world, but we are naturally minded. For
a time, this is fine and doesn’t cause stress. But the first time we hear the word
“no,” the first time we have our plans thwarted, the first time we are told to take
responsibility for our actions . . . we experience tension.
It’s because there is always a higher standard for us than we can see for
ourselves. There is a plan for our lives. We experience that plan as children
through the leading of our parents and guardians. We later experience that
plan through the leading of our teachers. And ultimately, we were born to
experience that plan through the instruction of our God.
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