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Eagle Mountain, Utah, United States
My name is Lauren, and I live in the bubble. I am wife to Marshall, the biggest BYU fan in the world; and mother to Carly, our big girl, and Wes, our wild man, and Calvin, our new addition. I graduated BYU with a degree in Social Work, and I went forth to serve at LDS Family Services. I like scrapbooking and going out to eat at nice restaurants. I am fascinated by new cleaning products at the grocery store, so I have to shop in wide circles around the perimeter to avoid the temptation to buy. I love chocolate.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

"religion" professors

i have to vent....they think they know everything. you are not allowed to disagree. i think this is the reason i haven't taken a religion class at byu in 2 years.

today my religion professor told us that we are not allowed to be sad. never. happiness is a commandment and to be sad is a sin. he related a story where he had a trial and took it to the Lord and felt the distinct impression that God said "you think you have it rough? look at what i have to deal with." the story goes on that he felt impressed that God complained to him about all the trials He has to deal with as God of many worlds. he said that if God can deal with everything, the condescension of His son, everything, and still be happy and jovial, that to be sad in our own trials is a sin.

now, i felt the spirit leave when he said this. i mean, we read in the scriptures that Christ weeps and even God mourns for/with us at times. in the book of mormon we are taught to mourn with those that mourn. as i understand it, Christ felt all of our infirmities and heartache to better succor us. i think that we should be happy because we have the gospel, and yada yada, but sorrow is not a sin. maybe it is the social worker in me, the side that tells my clients that they have every right to feel how they feel, but i do not believe that grief, sorrow, or sadness are sins. especially not in our trials.

the worst part of all, this was a mission prep class. the kids in this class are all freshmen who don't yet know that religion teachers at byu are mostly full of it. the worst thing that teacher could have done was tell these 18 year old boys that taking their struggles and trials to the Lord is a sin, or that they should feel guilty for "bothering" the Lord with their heartache. not only was this professor wrong, he was irresponsible.

3 comments:

the narrator said...

i had a friend return from class a few years ago saying that his religion teacher taught the class that the lord does not approve of interracial marriages.

professors at other institutions joke about how silly it is that byu has professors of ancient scripture who do not even know an ancient language.

fortunately, in the next decade or so, there will be a plethora of students trained with real digress possessing real insights that will replace many of the old-timers (such as joseph fielding mckonkie) whose retirements are long over due.

until then, intelligent students such as yourself need to stand up and put these people in their places.

*star said...

In both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon, Christ is referred to as a "man of sorrow, acquainted with grief." [Isaiah 53:3; Mosiah 14:3] Our Savior was perfect and He felt sorrow, therefore, I cannot understand how grief could be considered a sin.

I've come to believe that through sorrow and heartache we can actually grow closer to the Lord. It gives Him a unique opportunity to heal our hearts, and remind us of His place in our lives.

But that's just my two bits.

Really, Lauren, I think it's wise to question things, and find out for yourself. So kudos for learning with your eyes open.

Steve M. said...

I'm sure there was at least someone sitting in that class who deals with depression. As if that isn't hard enough in itself, now they're being told that in feeling depressed they are sinning.

There are so many scriptures that describe mourning and sorrow as attributes of Deity that this professor's comments are almost laughable.

I have a hard time thinking that Christ would take upon himself the pains and sins of the world, just so he could hold it over our heads and be like, "You think you have it hard? Look what I went through."

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