Play Well With Others and Pursue Peace

In The Republic (The Great Dialogues of Plato), Plato uses Socratic dialogue to identify “opinion” as the middle ground between ignorance and knowledge.  In a debate with Glaucon, Socrates classifies "lovers of opinion" and "lovers of knowledge" and continues to describe many individuals content with the pursuit of opinion. In Books V-VI, Plato connects this discussion to politics, and even points to the necessity of having trusted sources of opinion when there is limited access to wisdom, truth and knowledge.

Jumping forward about 2400 years, I wonder if social media is our modern substitute for "opinion?"  My wondering is not meant to suggest that social media does not serve a magnificent purpose. Indeed, I now make my peace and compartmentalize my “opinion” as I launch it compactly into a blogspot burial ground of the world wide web. But, the questions Plato asks through Socrates are even more relevant today. We live in a time when access to knowledge is ever increasing. I invite you to ask yourself... Am I a lover of opinion or a lover of knowledge? Who are my trusted SOURCES? Are they sources of opinion or knowledge? And how do I know? What is the TONE and feeling of my sources? How much TIME do I spend seeking out opinion vs knowledge? Do I JUDGE OTHERS for their choice of source? Do I judge others for their love of knowledge vs opinion?

Even earlier than Plato and Socrates, Marcus Aurelius offers a warning about the wasted occupation of “overcurious” or “malignant” thoughts about other people. If we are consumed by such thoughts and they not used for some purpose or “utility,” especially the over-curious ones, then we loose the chance of doing something else, or even waste the remainder of our lives. (I acknowledge, that oftentimes, social media is used to uplift, connect and inspire.)

As I slowly make my own study of different scriptures, philosophical ideas, literature, and history, I find that listening with real intent to the STORIES AND EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS can also yield a marvelous source of truth and wisdom. In this exercise, the continual pursuit of greater truth, light and knowledge are connected to the PURSUIT of happiness and PEACE. But, sharing goodness and knowledge can only be done with charity, something that social media often lacks. To the Corinthians Paul says,

1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-2)

Without doubt, there is a remarkable need for social media and connectivity. A hunger and longing for emotional validation and security that finds online satisfaction. I'm constantly trying to understand the expansion of a “woman's sphere of influence” (particularly among LDS women) and how I can fulfill the measure of my creation. Why would I want to be one more voice?  What makes me special? How does technology and the capacity to share and extend my reach into the virtual world impact the nature of the outcome? Will I drown in a world wide web of "sounding brass" or "tinkling cymbal?"

After his discourse on Charity, Paul continues at the end of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13:

 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Paul is explaining after this life we will all look back with spiritual wisdom and hopefully a greater capacity to love. We won't need Hope or Faith in God in the temporal sense that we do now. The only thing we will have left, and need more than ever is Charity, and the will to apply it,  as we are at one with the Father and Jesus Christ. We will understand that we only understood as a child. That we only knew in part. That we saw through a glass darkly.

I hope The Playdough Dialogues provides a gathering place (I would always rather host "face to face" interaction) where charity and knowledge guides the peaceful pursuit of great books, music, philosophy, mental health and spiritual understanding. A belonging place that acknowledges the power of individual experience. That insight lends credence and testimony to all that surrounds us. A community where hearts are turned by the power of stories, and love. Joseph Smith Jr taught, “If I esteem mankind to be in error, shall I bear them down? No. I will lift them up, and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better; and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way.” Smith, History of the Church, 5:499.

To answer my own questions: I am special and my voice matters. Not necessarily to everyone. Or even a great number of people. But, to me that is irrelevant. Truth is something I gather and share with love. Regardless of being “liked” or “shared.” If I “pause to help and lift another,” then I am satisfied. I am a seeker, both a lover of knowledge and at times, lover of opinion. We learn from every part of life, and everyone we meet. Tennyson's words ring true, “I am part of all that I have met.” That is my greatness, and what I hope to share.

It is all to easy to succumb to self deprecation, sarcasm, and cynicism. To prevent negative entanglement in webs of opinion and speculation, Paul and Moroni suggest counter measures. Charity, as explained, being the ultimate virtue that “is not easily provoked” and “rejoiceth in truth.” But, Moroni adds meekness as part of the foundational essence of charity.

And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart. . . .

. . . For none is acceptable before God, save the meek . . . ; and if a man be meek . . . , he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing. (Moroni 7:43–44)

I make no distinction between teacher and learner. If we all stand willing to learn new things, and correct our understanding, that is when we achieve the most growth. My twelve year old son illustrated the need for meekness, and his desperation for me to listen during an argument a couple weeks ago. Before he could stop himself, he became so frustrated that he blurted out, “I don't care anymore! I just want to be right!” In contrast John Ruskin, a 19th-century philanthropist said,

“I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean, by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking of his opinions; but a right understanding of the relation between what he can do and say, and the rest of the world’s sayings and doings.” [“Of Modern Landscape,” Modern Painters, vol. III (1856), part IV, chapter 16; emphasis in original]

Russel T Osguthorpe, former General President of the Sunday School for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wraps this all up in a devotional “What if Love Were Our Only Motive?” He provides Jesus Christ as a pattern for our teaching, and explains that our words have power, even to give or take away life from the receiver. 

We are all on our way to somewhere. We are all making our way forward in life. We may be looking forward to marriage, or, if we’re married, we may be looking forward to having our first child. We might be looking forward to graduate school or to entering the workforce. We are always on our way to somewhere. My first mission was in Tahiti. I love the way Tahitians greet each other. The literal meaning of their greeting word—ia ora na—means “life to you” or “that you might live.” We are either giving life or taking life from each other as we move forward on our way.

Harsh words take life away from the one who receives them and even from the one who utters them. But words spoken in love give life. The student who approached me in the library gave me life. This happened again yesterday. Someone asked me if I was speaking at the devotional; that action gave me life, gave me a little boost, just by saying hello. The resident assistant gave life to the freshman and actually to me as well. The home teacher and Relief Society president gave life to my brother-in-law, Steve. President Monson gave life to every young person he greeted in the Conference Center that evening. And Elder Nelson gave life to those Church leaders he called by name. What if all the words we spoke were motivated by love?

The Savior’s life on earth was short, but He was always reaching out in love every step of the way. He helped so many while He was on His way to help someone else. He noticed what others needed, reached out to them, and helped them—sometimes in simple ways and other times in miraculous ways. Every miracle He performed, every word He spoke, He did out of love.

He loved those He taught. He cared for their spiritual well-being, but He also cared for their temporal needs. When they were hungry, He fed them with five loaves. When their souls hungered, He inspired them with the truths of His gospel.

He cared for those who lost their way. He cared enough to find them and bring them home. He never forgot one of His own.

He loved the young. He loved the rich. He loved the poor. He loved the sick. He loved the sinner. He loved all of God’s children. When He saw them suffering, He healed them. When He saw them sorrowing, He lifted them up. When He saw them in pain, He comforted them.

His life on the earth was an example of what it means to do good. But it was also a singular example of what it means to do good for the right reason. Every act of the Savior on earth was done out of love. Even in the great premortal council His offer to the Father was motivated by love for others, while the adversary’s was motivated by selfishness. The Savior’s mission was to give us life by allowing us to choose to love the Lord and follow Him. (See Moses 4:1–3.) The adversary’s goal was to take away our agency and thereby make it impossible for us to love, because it is impossible to love unless we choose to love. Love must come from within. It cannot be forced upon us. So for purposes of his own selfish aims, the adversary would have made it impossible for us to keep the first two commandments. He would have made us into nothing.

Christ had a clear mission in mortality. He came to earth to save each of us. He knew how His life on earth would end and how His act of love for us would change everything. Each of us has a clear mission as well, but, like the Savior, we need to remain open to the needs of others we pass along the way. Our calendars can never be so packed that we don’t have room to show love to those around us.

We are studying the New Testament this year in Sunday School. This book of scripture is a story of love—the love of the Father for the Son and the love They have for each of us. We cannot fully comprehend this love. But we can feel it. We cannot fully emulate it. But we can “pray . . . with all the energy of heart” that we might be filled with it (Moroni 7:48). It is a love that transcends all of our mortal experience. It is a love that lifts and builds and strengthens, that calms and comforts us. The only way for us to increase our capacity to love in this way is to feel the love our Father in Heaven and His Son have for us. The more we feel Their love for us, the more we will increase our capacity to share that love with others.

The Savior never stopped teaching us this lesson of love. Even among His final words were words of love. Even when He was on the cross and ready to complete His mission, He reached out in love to those who were literally taking His life: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Even when He was suffering more pain than any of us can imagine, He still had love for those around Him, including the very people who were nailing His body to the cross.

The Savior is our example in everything—not only in what we should do but why we should do it. His life on earth was a life of invitation to us—to raise our sights a little higher, to forget our own problems and reach out to others. I know that we are all loved by God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Their love is infinite and eternal. I know that They live. I bear witness of that. I know that They are mindful of our needs. They have called prophets in this dispensation to help us learn what we need to learn to return to Their presence. They have given us the scriptures to guide us. They have given all this because They love us. My prayer is that we will feel that love every minute of every day and that we will share that love with everyone in our path.

Welcome to The Playdough Dialogues. More later on the pursuit of peace...