Monday, December 10, 2012

127: HEALTHY GRASS VS. CRABGRASS


I woke up this morning with a word on my mind. The word was crabgrass. Yes, an odd word since all of our grass is now covered with snow... but I think I was being taught something.  

Crabgrass is a great metaphor. Crabgrass is an obnoxious weed. It is hard to get rid of once it starts growing in your lawn. It spreads and grows quickly. Crabgrass loves thin turf. It grows well in lawns that are watered lightly, underfertilized, and/or poorly drained. It is very difficult for crabgrass to grown in healthy lawns. In order to get rid of crabgrass, you must kill it, and then replant new sod.

What most people do if they have crabgrass in their lawn, they usually ignore it. Instead of treating it, they just continue to mow it and keep the lawn short.  From a distance, the lawn looks healthy and green.  However, it is only when you get close enough, one can see it really isn't grass, but weeds.

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Sidenote:   I like this quote from an article I read this morning. I think it speaks to the metaphor of crabgrass growing all around us... especially in "thin spiritual turf".

"Religious organizations instinctively develop teachings, practices, and cultures that tend to keep its members at early stages of spiritual development dependent on the organization. These stages are characterized by obedience, conformity, loyalty, a narrow view of morality, and external religious conduct. Though helpful at first, a focus on these qualities can become limiting and restrictive once an individual’s full spiritual potential begins to unfold. In theory, the purpose of a church organization is to guide one into an actual knowledge of God, which leads to spiritual rebirth and entrance into the Kingdom; however, in practice, churches ultimately hinder this transformative awakening and knowledge so that the organization can maintain its primacy. The human consequence of this organizational tendency is boredom and frustration since children of God with infinite, divine potential—who are ready to mature into the wonderfully mysterious and exciting stages of divine relationship and knowledge—are continually retained at the first grade of gospel teaching, while their souls ache for graduate instruction in the mind and heart of Christ."
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from article "Hindering the Saints: Taking away the key of Knowledge" by Philip McLemore
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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen

Anonymous said...

Well put.

Anonymous said...

Only false religions teach their people to have unquestioning blind faith in their leaders and thus, as you say, stifle their spiritual progress. This is actually one of the Adversary's philosophies he incorporates into most major religions. The belief that their leaders can't be wrong or fall or lead them astray & that they must follow their leaders without question.

Whereas, true prophets and disciples of Christ & a true religion will preach just the opposite, that we are to question and prove all things and get our own understanding and confirmation from God and the Holy Spirit & the Holy Scriptures.

True prophets warn us to not just believe anyone's preaching or claim to be a prophet or disciple of Christ, for they warn there will be many false prophets come among us in these last days. And a true prophet will always admit that it's possible for even him to maybe fall and lead people astray, so don't lean on him, only on God.

Moroni, Paul, Joseph Smith, etc, all were true prophets who taught us to question everything they teach and do, to make sure they are even teaching correct & Christlike doctrines.


Today, in the LDS Church, most members and leaders have fallen for the Adversary's philosophy (cause it's easier than personal responsibility for one's own salvation & revelation & relationship with God). Most easily fall for the deception to not question their leaders or to think that their leaders, or the President of the Church cannot fall or be wrong or lead them astray, when sadly, they already have led them astray, long long ago.

But only those who question them have any hope to realize it.

Anonymous said...

I like that article; where did you find it?

Thank you; good things to think about--

Steve said...

Thanks for the quote from Philip. Googled it and purchased the mp3 file. See this page: https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/blog/?page=ss_audio-foryear-2010

Steve said...

Again, thanks for this post and the nod to Phil's talk. I just finished listening to it and he makes a good point in urging us to pursue God inwardly as well as outwardly.