Book Group: The God Who Weeps Chapter 4

Welcome to the Book Group discussion of Chapter 4 of The God Who Weeps.  This was a tough chapter for me, not because of the way the authors covered the topic, but because I really struggle with understanding it.  I am an intelligent person, but for whatever reason, I simply cannot wrap my brain around the ideas of repentance and the atonement.  I can draw diagrams and teach a lesson on it saying all the right words, but I don't feel it.  I don't understand it.  That being said, this chapter reviewed a few ideas that have helped me in the past and it allowed me to look at a some things in new ways. This post may have even more quotes than usual as I point out the things that stood out to me.

The heading for this chapter includes this quote

God has the desire and the power to unite and exalt the entire human family in a kingdom of heaven, and except for the most stubbornly unwilling, that will be our destiny.
(page 77)

I love this idea.  God wants me to succeed and I will succeed.  (I'm stubborn, but I wouldn't say stubbornly unwilling).

The authors spend a few pages discussing the fact that God does not punish us for our sins.

The pain associated with sin is the natural consequence of our choices; it is not God's retribution upon the wicked.
(page 80)

I'm totally onboard with this.  Every action has a consequence.  Each choice we make creates ripples of effect in other areas of our lives.  When discussing the unhappiness of sin, the authors say,

We have fallen out of alignment with ourselves, and with our God whose love we crave and whose nature we share.
(page 82) 

As a voice teacher, I talk a lot about alignment.  Proper alignment allows us to breath better, gaining the necessary energy and power needed for singing.  Proper alignment allows the body to function correctly.  Proper alignment releases the voice without any interference.  I've also been thinking a lot lately about aligning my spirit with my mind and my body.  When all three work together, things are good.  When I forget to listen to and really connect with one of them, there is pain or unhappiness.  I'm totally stealing the line, "We have fallen out of alignment with ourselves," and posting it where it can remind me not to lose that alignment.

They also talk a little bit about guilt.  Guilt is a tricky subject.  Too many people in the world now suffer from pathological guilt, guilt that is unnecessary, unwarranted, or not theirs to claim.  And I think it is extremely difficult sometimes to decide if the guilt we feel is godly guilt, intended to set us back on the right path, or guilt that just beats us down and damages us.  I'm not exactly sure how I feel about their discussion of guilt (page 80).  It is marked with a note to come back and think about this more.

As in other chapters, the authors reaffirm here that this life is an educational experience.

How much more meaningful is a life designed for spiritual formation, rather than spiritual evaluation.  All tests evaluate, and life is no exception.  But the most meaningful and productive tests are those that assess with an eye to improvement, that measure in order to remedy, and that improve and prepare us for the next stage in an upward process of advancement.  For these reasons, all talk of heaven that operates in terms of earning rather than becoming is misguided.  Such ideas misconstrue the nature of God, His Grace, and the salvation he offers.
(page 87)

The rest of the chapter digs into the topics of repentance, atonement, and salvation, topics that as I said earlier, I don't really understand.

This statement, however, is beautiful and the perfect way to wrap up this chapter post:

If God's dominion does not end with our death, why should the progress of the human soul?
(page 98).  

Questions for discussion or personal reflection:

1.  What are your beliefs about Heaven and how we get there?

2.  Do you use guilt in healthy ways to get you back on track, or does guilt seem to trap you in the negative situation?

3.  What does salvation mean to you?  

4.  What does exaltation mean to you?  

5.  How does the atonement help you?  

6.  What things spoke to you in this chapter?

7.  What things bothered you or left you with questions?  

Book Group: The God Who Weeps Chapter 3

Chapter 3 may be my favorite chapter in this book.  This is the part of Mormonism that I love.

1.  Mortal life is not a fall, but an ascent, a chance to grow and progress.  

Mormon's have a different view of The Fall.  Some people believe that because Eve was tricked by the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit, that they were expelled from The Garden as punishment for the sin.  Had Eve not chosen wrongly, we would all be living happily (without sin, pain, or sickness) in The Garden.  Mormon's don't see it that way.  Adam and Eve were given options and warnings. They chose this world.  By leaving paradise, they had a chance to grow in ways that they couldn't if they had stayed there.  Receiving a mortal body, and all that is associated with that, is a necessary step in our learning and progression.

At Eve's courageous instigation, they opt to lose paradise, hoping to eventually regain heaven--but transformed and ennobled by the schoolhouse of experience that comprises mortality.  Mortality, therefore, immersion in bodily, earthly experience, is vital to becoming like God.
(page 59)
Kabbalists such as Moses de León agreed that birth is ascent, not fall, and life's purpose is educative, not punitive.
(page 60)

The authors do wonderful work here, and every page is filled with beauty and clarity.  I could read the first half of this chapter over and over again and never tire of it.

2.  "The natural man is an enemy to God" DOES NOT mean that our bodies are wicked or a curse.

Unfortunately, for too many years I took the words of Paul and  King Benjamin to mean that our bodies were naturally bad, our enemies, and something that had to be conquered if we wanted to be spiritual.  Only in the last few years have I realized how important it is to listen to what my body is trying to tell me.  My body is my friend.  It will tell me what I need to know and do if I listen to it, really listen, and not just notice the most obvious surface details.  The authors speak of "a body that enhances rather than hinders our spiritual progression." (page 69)


3.  It is through our bodies that we can experience the most joy and happiness.

We therefore should not see the body and spirit in opposition.  The fact that Christ chose children as a model for moral goodness means socialization, not incarnation, is the source of our ills.  When Paul condemned the "natural man," he specifically associated it with an acquired, not an innate worldliness. "Human wisdom" and "the spirit of the world" are its hallmarks, he said, not the senses and passions.  Our task is to school our appetites, not suppress them, to make the work in concert with a will that disciplines the spirit as much as the flesh.  For desire has both spiritual and bodily expressions, and our life is a journey to purify both.  Along the way, we discipline and honor the body, even as we aspire to perfect the soul, finding in the end that the body and spirit, fitly framed together, do indeed provide the deepest joy.
(page 72)

Much of this paragraph is highlighted in my book.  In the margin in florescent orange is the word, "Yes!"  Then in blue (from the second reading) is "Chocolate cake principle."  My Chocolate Cake Principle is really about synergy, when two things working together accomplish more than the sum of their individual efforts.  You can read here about how I use it in voice lessons to explain that technique plus interpretation create a better performance than either could alone.  In much the same way, the spirit and the body together can do more, experience more, learn more than either could ever do alone.  The body is not a punishment or a hindrance, but a key component in the development of our souls.

Questions for discussion or personal reflection:

1.  Do you view this life as a punishment, a learning experience, or something else entirely?  

2.  Do you read the story of Adam and Eve as literal history or allegory?

3.  Is your body a hindrance or an educational tool?  

4.  What does the "natural man" mean to you?  Click on the links above for scripture references.  

5.  How has your body helped you experience joy lately?  

6.  What spoke to you in this chapter?  

7.  Were there things in this chapter that bothered you or that you don't agree with?