Sunday, December 11, 2005

Good Morning, Starshine, The Earth Says Hello

First, the secular side of the moon...I played racquetball with a friend, E. Hansen, whose game has improved greatly since I played him four months ago. We played seven with Eric winning the tie-breaker, 15-12. It was fun and exhausting. I think I like Racquetball for the goofiness of talking smack to the other player. So much fun...
Now, for the cherry pie...I've been thinking of sin lately. What is sin? Why is it important? I think sometimes I try to be a Saviour to myself and bear the burdens of my idiosyncracies (a light term) in order to feel right about it. But lately I've been getting the feeling it is unnecessary to do so. I mean, the Saviour (J.C.) has already done that. Why do I do that? Hmmm...I feel, and I'm pretty sure I'm right, the Lord wants His children to be happy, not only after death, but now, in the present. How can we be happy when we have tendencies towards evil? 2 Nephi 4 O wretched man that I am... My whole life I have been following a strange philosophy of Christianity which takes sin and good deeds and measures which of more a person has done, and according to that measure damnation or salvation is meted out. I think most of the world sees Christianity like this, and I think that is why Christianity is getting a bad rap lately (see any day's news). In my thinking, I have concluded that sin and commandments are not as important as I have been placing them. My Gospel focus until now has been "I'm doing wrong, I'm doing right." The Lord is preparing His children for eternal life. We are in a state of 'becoming'. What reinforces this line of thought is a talk given a few years ago during a General Conference (Mormon Weekend Retreat, kind of) by Elder Dallin Oakes. Great Talk. I don't know the session number or I'd reference it for you. It changed me...
Enough of treading deep waters...My friends in Spain may come home to Houston again. Yay! This particular friend had an opportunity to study his MBA in Houston through ExxonMobil but, since we had a multi-year racquetball rivalry in which he was sorely losing, he felt it necessary to drag his family with his tail between his legs to another CONTINENT to hide his shame...(there's a portion of that aforementioned smack-talking). It's just a game!

2 Comments:

Blogger Em Butler said...

You lost 4-3 to Eric? My, my. How the mighty have fallen. I thought Eric should have been able to take all 7...

Joseph

12:25 PM  
Blogger White Man Retarded said...

Eric could take all 7 when he was playing J.B. I was taking it easy on him. Ask him! As I was a guest at his gym, I had to accept defeat in order for him to save face. Friendship over something I know better? Nah.

3:55 PM  

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