No Coincidences

Tag: eternity

  • Will Hitler be Forgiven?

    Will Hitler be Forgiven?

    Before I share this, I will state the obvious. Hitler the man did heinous, horrible acts. He caused as much pain and heartache as any soul ever has on this earth. In writing this silly thought experiment I in no way intend to make light of the horrible choices of others. I believe I will have a hard time forgiving some of the acts I see during life reviews at the great judgment. Forgiveness, thankfully, won’t be for me to decide. I don’t know who will be forgiven for what. I know some will need to ask for forgiveness and likely won’t. I know some will receive forgiveness that we can’t comprehend. I trust in God. Now onto my silly post. Please don’t take the main character too seriously.

    I had a thought while I was in the shower, and it stemmed from this question – will Hitler be forgiven? The mere mention of the idea is enough to get me canceled. 

    The beauty of the plan of salvation and something only the Church of Jesus Christ proposes an answer to, is that God will save all His children and how that could be accomplished.

    The thought I had in answer to this question was – maybe Hitler will be forgiven, only God knows. If someone like Hitler could be forgiven, what change would need to take place in a soul like that for that to happen?

    We see momentous changes in mortality. We can see transformations over small courses of time. Think of someone you’ve seen change over the course of 5, 10, or 50 years. A lot of changes can happen to a spirit over the course of 50 years. Now imagine 1000, 5000, and 10,000 years. How about 3 billion years? Those numbers are hard to imagine. What amount of change could happen in a millennium? A lot, I imagine.

    On the other hand, that amount of time can also show the great weaknesses of a character. A lot of change can happen in a billion years and if there are any flaws in character, cracks become gulfs. Eternity is a long time so luckily we have a long time to change. But if we aren’t working toward perfection, our flaws will grow.

    I have read comments in near-death experiences about the malleability of the soul during mortality compared to after death. I’ve read analogies that compare the soul while here on earth to wet cement while the soul post-death being like settled cement. I believe that’s what makes mortality so critical. Our lack of knowledge and need for faith one way or the other, in a way I don’t understand, allows us to change in ways not possible once this life is over.

    The beauty of the plan of salvation is that God will save all His children that want to be saved. That’s the critical part. The desire to be saved. That’s also something becoming increasingly scarce in our society, the ability to forgive.

    Christ and God will know and understand all, and they will be forgiving beyond all measure.

    Which leads to the question, if we’re going to use Hitler as our abstract understanding of evil: will Hitler want to be saved? Will Hitler want to stand before God and Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, the one who had to suffer for Hitler’s sins, who had to suffer for all the pain Hitler caused? Will Hitler want to stand before Jesus Christ? Will he have the humility to seek that forgiveness? If the evils of Satan touched his heart and soul as deeply as they seemed to – desire for power, hate, etc., will Hitler want to stand before them?

    Will Satan want to be forgiven? No. He won’t. Envy, evil, and hatred have poisoned his once angelic soul (Isaiah 14:12).

    No one can be forgiven if they willingly continue to deny Christ and ”crucify” Him anew.

    Will Hitler have the humility to bow before Christ and beg His forgiveness?

    I can’t imagine that level of change. It’s hard for me to picture that from someone who did such horrible things and strayed so far from the light. That is millenniums of change which is change my mind can’t fathom.

    What I also can’t imagine is how I can ever be made perfect. Me, with all my flaws, judgements, unkindnesses, shortcomings, deceits, greed, and selfishness. How can I be made perfect? I believe it will take a long time.

    Maybe Hitler will change and be forgiven for his sins. I believe if that’s possible it will take time.

    If we love the gospel plan and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s ability to forgive us for our mistakes, we have to accept that they will forgive others too.

    The gospel plan is beautiful. For one and all.

    None of us deserve the redeeming love and a sacrifice willingly given of a God. Jesus Christ, spit upon and bleeding, shed his mortal blood and gave up his immortal spirit so we can live again. I am grateful for what He did for me and I recognize every day that I don’t deserve it. It makes me love Him all the more.

    Forgiveness isn’t something that should be taken lightly. It is serious.

    But when I stand before Him, and I humbly kneel, I believe He will forgive me. And for that moment, I’ll give anything.

  • Impactful Moments

    Impactful Moments

    In Gravity of God, I wrote about how God is the center of our universe and how His faith and His action holds it all together. I discussed how us being here is an opportunity for us to test how we will use our faith and actions to influence and impact people.

    Will we have a God-like influence of love, help, support, giving, charity, and selflessness to those around us? Or will we use our influence to be more in Satan’s camp of selfishness, hate, judgment, pride, and animosity?

    Our actions matter. We’re here to see how we’ll use the talents and gifts we’ve been given.

    Some moments carry more weight than others.

    I believe everyone we interact with in this life is meant to teach us something. Do you consider the interactions you have to be significant? Do you believe the things that happen to you have meaning? How about the things you do to others?

    I believe when someone is unkind to me here for any reason – they’re here to teach me something.

    I believe when someone does something I disagree with – they’re here to teach me something.

    I believe when someone is kind to me or a good example to me – they’re here to teach me something.

    All these moments matter, and some moments have lasting importance.

    There are so many mundane and average moments in a day. I’m talking about the, “How are you today?” “Good.” “Good.”

    Then there are conversations that change our worldviews, make us think, or expand our horizons. There are some conversations that make us think about eternity. There are some conversations that prepare us for eternity.

    I’ve been given so much in this life.

    I know where I come from, why I’m here, and where I’m going, while so many around me don’t have these answers. Part of the reason I think I’m here and why I’ve been given so much is so that I can share it with others. If everyone around me is asking the important question – why am I here? And I know the answer, and I’m not sharing it with them, then I’m the most selfish person there is.

    Why do you think I put the time and effort into writing this? One day I want to tell God I tried my best to share what He gave me.

    Anyways.

    There is one topic that can be brought up in any conversation and will immediately change the moment from mundane and borderline meaningless to extraordinarily impactful and important. That topic is God.

    I was at a bachelor party once. We went to Palm Springs for a long weekend. Got a house. Played a lot of pool and video games. The rest of the party played golf. I found ways to fill my time while they played golf.

    There were two conversations I had that weekend that were memorable and impactful.

    While playing pool one night, somehow religion got brought up. I’m sure I helped us into that direction one way or another. Me and another guy in the group who I didn’t know very well started talking about eternity, church, and the gospel.

    That conversation was years ago. And seemingly nothing came about from it. But I still remember what that guy said at one point. He said, “When God gets brough up, the conversation changes. It becomes real. Even if it’s slightly or fully contentious, it’s still good if God is in the conversation.”

    He was so right, and it’s the reason I’m writing this.

    He probably doesn’t consciously remember that conversation. But I believe his spirit does. I really believe we keep a record of all we hear, see, and learn here on earth. And one day he’ll see that moment again and I hope it was as impactful as it felt.

    The other conversation that happened was on the drive back. I was in the car with the groom to be and a friend.

    We were talking about the upcoming wedding and what that meant, the topic of marriage, fidelity, vows, our bodies, drinking, habits, and growth were discussed. I know those topics sound wide-ranging. It was a long drive.

    I came out of that conversation feeling like we’d talked about something so important.

    Every mundane conversation is exactly that, mundane, until God is brought up.

    Have more meaningful conversations.

  • Becoming a Father

    Becoming a Father

    I wrote and posted a first 48 hour update when Ivy was born. At the time I wrote some ramblings from the hospital. I never posted but wanted to share, even though it’s been a couple years since this was written. It’s funny to read back on the simplicity of a newborn. Oh how life has changed with two little ones. Here are those ramblings followed by a thought about my grandparents at the end:

    36 hours in the hospital.

    Swaddling and diapers.

    Resting and food.

    That seems to be the cycle of the last 36 hours. Beth feeds Ivy, change diaper, swaddle, Beth feeds Ivy, breakfast. Repeat before lunch. Repeat before dinner. In between that is rest.

    I’ve never spent this much time in a hospital. I know many have. It’s an interesting existence. I can’t say I dislike it too much. I have writing, reading, tv. What else could I need? Oh, my wife and baby.

    Ivy has been so great. She only sleeps and eats. Those are her two modes so far.

    I’m told this won’t last long. My fingers are still crossed.

    We’ve joked that thus far she has my demeanor (calm?) I’m hopeful it continues.

    I can’t say enough about how kind the nurses have been here. They have been so helpful, attentive, patient. All the good things.

    In the morning soon before the 24-hour mark we mentioned we would like to go home if that was a possibility. Within an hour it felt like 5 nurses came in to do this check or that, this test, that test. I guess they’re fine with us leaving if we’d like to. We live near the hospital so it’s not a worry to us to leave.

    My grandfather, Frank Leach, called me while in the hospital. We had a great discussion about life, parenthood, and faith. With this new life, Ivy James, in my life, and this call from one of my progenitors, it got me thinking about the Circle of Life.

    Disney’s song gives a touchingly accurate portrayal of the Father’s Plan for us here. What would I be without my grandparents? Love has afforded me much.

    What would I be without the foundation they laid? Three of my grandparents are converts to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My prayers are often filled with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for faith-filled grandparents who did really difficult things, made difficult life choices, made difficult changes, so that I could enjoy the fruits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ today. 

    My grandparents on both sides are spiritual giants and I have been extraordinarily blessed by them and the lives they lived.

    Thank you, Virginia Quackenbush, Stan Quackenbush, Sandra Leach, and Frank Leach. How blessed I am to forever have you and thank you for all you’ve afforded me.

    Re-reading this and now thinking about my Ivy and my Sage. How different Sage is from Ivy. More on that another day. How lucky I am to have this little family.

  • Eternal Souls

    Eternal Souls

    In the past couple days, I’ve heard multiple people use the phrase “eternal soul.” One time was in an episode of one of Ivy and I’s favorite shows, Impractical Jokers. One of the Jokers, Sal, sold his soul to Murr for a pair of shoes. They flippantly threw out the phrase. Now, they were clearly joking. Still, it intrigued me that they would use that phrase, “eternal soul.” Did they consider what they were saying?

    I can’t remember the other place I heard it said. Some TV show or video or something. What I remember is that it was again said without seriousness. Just a flippant, cultural phrase people throw out.

    Another phrase like “eternal soul” that gets said is “immortal soul.”

    Do people realize what they’re saying when they say these words? It gets thrown around so casually. Yet, if you asked any of these people, “Is your soul immortal?” They’d probably reply with “I don’t know” or “I hope so” or “I have a soul?”

    People often think of only one end of eternity. The part that gets attention is the forward looking, far out, never ending part of eternity. What people forget is that eternity goes the other direction. Eternity means no beginning, as well as no end. As Joseph Smith taught, if something has a beginning, it can also have an end. Our souls have no end. The implication of the word eternal is clear.

    I think people throw these words out jokingly without thinking about the full power and implication of this phrase that, deep in our souls, we all know is true.

    We are eternal. We had no beginning, and we have no end.

    We do have immortal and eternal souls.

    It’s not a joke. It’s a serious fact.

    Anyone throwing this phrase around should stop and ask themselves: Do I believe I have an eternal soul and what does that mean for me?

  • “Education is not about obscure facts and little test scores” – Mr. Feeny

    “Education is not about obscure facts and little test scores” – Mr. Feeny

    “Education is not about obscure facts and little test scores. Education is about the overall effect of years of slow absorption of concepts, philosophies, approaches to problem-solving. The whole process is so grand and all-encompassing that it really can’t be threatened by the occasional late-night no-hitter. It is important that a boy spend time with his father.”

    Oh, the wisdom of Mr. Feeny.

    I’ve had some good teachers in my life. I consider Mr. Feeny to be one of them, even though he’s a fictional character.

    Quick recap of this classic Boy Meets World episode. Alan (Cory’s father) pulls Cory out of bed late at night to watch a no-hitter in progress in a Phillies baseball game. The next day Cory sleeps through a test. Alan goes to speak to Mr. Feeny to ask if Cory could have a makeup test. Mr. Feeny denies his request.

    It is later in the episode, during a late-night stargazing, apple juice session that Cory sits down with Mr. Feeny and Mr. Feeny gives the above quote.

    Education is not about one moment. It’s about a billion small moments.

    I often reflect back on that quote. I have read more in 2020 (the year I wrote this post) than any previous year. I don’t feel any smarter today than I did a year ago, I don’t think. But that’s not how knowledge-gaining works. It doesn’t happen over the course of a day or a week or even a year. Learning is an ongoing process. I hope to look back on the year 2020 and appreciate that it helped me learn things that would help me learn more and grow for the rest of my life.

    I look forward to learning into eternity.

    It is important that a boy (or girl) spend time with his (or her) father (or mother). What is the value of time with a father, a mother, someone who loves you? I believe it’s invaluable.

    The episode continues and both Mr. Feeny and Alan come to Cory separately and tell Cory that the other was right in their decision. Alan tells Cory Mr. Feeny was right to not let him retake the test and that Alan shouldn’t have pulled Cory out of bed. Obviously, the quote above indicates that Mr. Feeny approved of Alan’s pulling Cory out of bed to spend time with his son, despite not letting Cory re-take the test.

    Later, Cory is talking to his mom and he asks her how two people could both think the other was right, while seemingly disagreeing with one another. The lesson here is that the world is not black and white. There are many judgment calls where there is no perfect decision. There are many decisions that depend on your intent.

    Cory’s dad was not wrong for wanting to spend time with his son. His desire was good and admirable. Mr. Feeny agreed with that.

    Mr. Feeny had a standard he had long set that he would take no excuses from students as to why they failed a test. He couldn’t back down from that standard. His standard was set so he would always hold his students accountable and not let them down. Mr. Feeny had a good reason for denying Alan’s request.

    Both were right. Both agreed with the other’s reasoning.

    The conversation between Mr. Feeny and Cory’s dad was contentious. It ended with Mr. Feeny saying, “this conversation is over.” Both men ended up telling Cory the other was right. Why is that? Respect, introspection, understanding of the reasoning behind another’s viewpoint.

    We could do with much more of this in the world today.