So, it's obviously been a LONG time since I've blogged last. But at the request of my mother (she always knows how to get me to do things...) I decided to do this one for her.
For those of you that don't know, in high school I was in the habit of putting quotes all over my room. I mean, my room was FILLED with them. Literally, from the ceiling to the floor I had quotes from the scriptures, general authority quotes, inspirational handouts, etc posted everywhere. Well, when I graduated and left for college, my mother took a quiet moment (I guess she missed me or something like that), went into my room and sat on my bed. Taking it in, she leaned back. Lying down, she noticed directly above her I had posted a quote on the ceiling. It caught her attention because it was so curious. It read, "My soul is not meant to be sacrificed."
Out of perplexity she inquired after it. I told her just what it meant, and she asked me to write about it. So here we are.
I guess I should preface this with a little story. One summer I had the amazing opportunity to take a church history trip around the country. I'm sure most of you have heard me talk about this before. I got on a bus full of kids and make a loop around the country in three weeks. We stopped at almost all the significant church history sites. On this trip, our director created as much of a spiritual setting as he could. He required we obey certain rules. We could only listen to church appropriate music, we were not to be romantically involved with anyone, we were to pray together over meals, as we embarked on journeys, and especially at sacred sites. There was a devotional everyday, and every night we had a group study. And we stuck to a very tight schedule so we could make it to all the sites. All these rules were similar to mission rules!
In this environment, we were asked to record our feelings and impressions at each site. I really wanted to have a good, spiritual experience so I remember that at each stop I prayed earnestly that I would receive meaningful impressions. I'm convinced I did. "My soul is not meant to be sacrificed," was one of them.
It has a two-fold meaning. The first requires a basic understanding of what a soul is. In D&C 88:15 we read, "And the spirit and the body are the soul of man." To me this explains that everything we are--our mental capacities, our physical abilities, our spirit, our emotions--comprises our soul. Our soul is not complete without every little piece coming together in the end.
This is why the resurrection is so important! It is as if our soul is literally rent in twain at death: our body is separated from our spirit. For a brief time, our soul is lost. At the resurrection, our soul and perfect (This is a guarantee!) body are reunited--thus completing out soul. With me so far? Good. But this is not all. It is not all said and done here.
What if our spirit is not perfect? There is no guarantee on this one. What if it is tainted with sin? What if "our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us"(Alma 12:13)? Then we suffer what is known as a "spiritual death." In Alma 12:16, we learn that a spiritual death is a death, "as to things pertaining unto righteousness." With the loss of our spirit (not necessarily our spirit body, but our spirituality) our soul is then compromised--lost--this time forever.
This is not meant to be. My soul is not meant to be sacrificed for lust, worldly goods, pride, or shame. Our souls are not meant to be set aside to be "lovers of [our] own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, [and] lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:2-4). My soul is meant to aspire to become something much more. Eventually, it was meant to be made perfect. It was not meant to be sacrificed for these vain things.
The second meaning o f this phrase is a little more self-centered. I'm the kind of person that can't stand idly by and see loved ones fall to pieces. I just can't do it! So time and time again, I feel like I have to save the world. It's not always healthy. And...I'm a bit of a perfectionist. If something is "supposed to" be a certain way, and it isn't, it tends to drive me absolutely bonkers! Where is justice?!? So, on the flip side, I am also meant to take care of my temporal needs. My physical, emotional, and mental health are a part of my soul too. They are also not meant to be sacrificed for things that aren't really worth my efforts. So I have to decide, is it really a wise choice to be invested in this? It is the never ending quest for balance (Which is another topic for another day).
So there you have it. Despite the long explanation, it is pretty simple enough. Hope that was helpful! I know that we are meant to reach a very high potential. If we keep the end goal in mind it will be that much easier to choose good choices in the here and now. After all, we are really Never Alone in our endeavors. We will receive help from the other side, and our efforts will not be in vain. If we go the other direction and sacrifice what is really important, than those efforts will be in vain. Remember, your soul is not mean to be sacrificed.
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