Well, I can't say I agree with that interpretation, but honestly, it's irrelevant to me. I see that you and I both agree on the main thing: that we can and should go to God for guidance on obtaining this blessing, and that He will answer us. The rest isn't important enough to debate.AI2.0 wrote:I think from what I've quoted we can agree that he has made it about simply asking for this. While they never suggest that you 'sit on your behind and arrogantly demand it' there is no suggestion that maybe you have not qualified for this in your life yet. I'm just quoting them, I haven't paraphrased this at all, this IS their method.
I know He will answer us, because He answered me. The simple answer He gave me did not make any sense at the time, but it has given me much to ponder over, and I'm still discovering new layers of meaning even fifteen months later. It has become a guide for my life, and an anchor to me.
My only regret in all this is that this wasn't something I realized earlier that I could seek. I know I can't blame anyone but myself, but I'm a very goal-oriented person, and I can't help but think how different my life would have been if someone had tried to open my eyes to this decades ago. That's why I feel like we do ourselves a disservice by keeping these things hidden. I don't know, maybe I'm just a knucklehead, but up until recently, I've believed that having my calling and election made sure was something only given in mortality to a handful of people throughout history, the temple endowment just represented us dying and meeting God a thousand years from now, and enduring to the end meant sweating out this life in misery until we die, and if I was still active in the church when I kicked over, maybe my report card would give me a passing grade and I could squeak into heaven. Though I've always been "active," this all made for a lackluster life of church activity, without a lot to hope for or seek.
If I had known 20 years ago what I know now--if we talked about it more, and taught it more in church--maybe, just maybe, I would have gotten my act together when my kids were young, and I wouldn't be watching my wife and three kids abandoning God and the church right now.
I'm serving in a bishopric, and I want to talk about these greater blessings to our ward in the hopes that they won't live under the same misconceptions that I had, but my bishop (whom I love and admire dearly) restrains me for fear of overwhelming the members. When my son went through the temple for his endowments, I winced when the temple president explained to him that the temple veil represented our meeting God after we died. And so it continues...
Anyways, I've said enough on this thread. All the best to you, AI2.0