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Critics, how do you explain real-world spiritual warnings?
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:16 pm
by _Scottie
One of the most oft talked about subjects on these boards is promptings of the spirit. Most times when we talk about them on this board, it is in reference to obtaining a confirming witness to the Book of Mormon/Mormonism.
However, I'd like to explore another aspect of spiritual promptings. Those of warnings.
Being born and raised in Utah, I've heard hundreds of accounts of the spirit warning someone, and when the warning was heeded, some kind of bad thing was avoided. Most of these I can't really attest to, since Faith-Promoting Rumor's have a way of taking on a life of their own. I generally don't know the person that well, so I don't know if they are embellishing, or if the event really even happened to them in the first place.
However, I do have a few close friends who I have no reason to doubt would be 100% sincere in their stories. They generally don't embellish their stories, and I trust that they are telling the truth. Each one of these has had intense spiritual promptings that led them to, somehow, get out of harms way or keep someone else from getting into harms way.
I know I have had at least 1 that I believe saved my life. I have personally witnessed 2 other situations where a spiritual prompting helped someone, and perhaps saved their lives.
Do you critics have experiences where you just can't wave it away as coincidence? That SOMETHING spoke to your mind and helped you?
If so, what do you make of these?
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:54 pm
by _Runtu
Why do we have to explain these things? Yes, they happen, but what reason is there to believe that it is a God, much less the LDS version of God, behind these feelings?
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:00 pm
by _Scottie
Runtu wrote:Why do we have to explain these things? Yes, they happen, but what reason is there to believe that it is a God, much less the LDS version of God, behind these feelings?
Because we're humans and we like to have nice, neat explanations for things.
Do you believe that there is some kind of greater power that is, for lack of a better term, our guardian angel?
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:02 pm
by _Runtu
Scottie wrote:Runtu wrote:Why do we have to explain these things? Yes, they happen, but what reason is there to believe that it is a God, much less the LDS version of God, behind these feelings?
Because we're humans and we like to have nice, neat explanations for things.
Do you believe that there is some kind of greater power that is, for lack of a better term, our guardian angel?
I would like to believe so, but I don't know. I used to think I had all the answers. Not so much anymore.
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:03 pm
by _Infymus
Today I was coming home from work as usual and let the most ginormous ripper. Suddenly I was fanning the air thinking god damn, what did I eat, which caused me to slow down while I opened all four windows at the same time. The car behind me, upset that I was going too slowly, decided to cut around me jet past me. Just then, a driver waiting to get across traffic decided they wanted to go, which ended up hitting the car in front of me. If I hadn’t slowed down, I would have been the one hit.
I was amazed that God had in his infinite wisdom had decided to prompt me to eat that smothered burrito with cheese earlier that day for lunch, and thus had saved my life by causing flatulence.
And I say these things in the name of cheese and rice and rattling snakes with feelings of burning beneath my nipples.
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:04 pm
by _Abinadi's Fire
I would like to believe so, but I don't know.
I'd like to believe so too, but then I wonder where the guardian angel is when things go horribly wrong.
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:05 pm
by _Coggins7
Why do we have to explain these things?
Because everything has, ultimately, an explanation, and some of us believe we are here to discover them, not just eat, copulate, and die.
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:18 pm
by _The Nehor
Infymus wrote:Today I was coming home from work as usual and let the most ginormous ripper. Suddenly I was fanning the air thinking god damn, what did I eat, which caused me to slow down while I opened all four windows at the same time. The car behind me, upset that I was going too slowly, decided to cut around me jet past me. Just then, a driver waiting to get across traffic decided they wanted to go, which ended up hitting the car in front of me. If I hadn’t slowed down, I would have been the one hit.
I was amazed that God had in his infinite wisdom had decided to prompt me to eat that smothered burrito with cheese earlier that day for lunch, and thus had saved my life by causing flatulence.
And I say these things in the name of cheese and rice and rattling snakes with feelings of burning beneath my nipples.
You might want to make sure that burning is not a heart attack.
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:20 pm
by _Scottie
Infymus wrote:Today I was coming home from work as usual and let the most ginormous ripper. Suddenly I was fanning the air thinking god damn, what did I eat, which caused me to slow down while I opened all four windows at the same time. The car behind me, upset that I was going too slowly, decided to cut around me jet past me. Just then, a driver waiting to get across traffic decided they wanted to go, which ended up hitting the car in front of me. If I hadn’t slowed down, I would have been the one hit.
I was amazed that God had in his infinite wisdom had decided to prompt me to eat that smothered burrito with cheese earlier that day for lunch, and thus had saved my life by causing flatulence.
And I say these things in the name of cheese and rice and rattling snakes with feelings of burning beneath my nipples.
May I ask, seriously, have you had any experiences where you were prompted and something good happened, and you just can't explain it?
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:31 pm
by _moksha
Runtu wrote:Scottie wrote:Runtu wrote:Why do we have to explain these things? Yes, they happen, but what reason is there to believe that it is a God, much less the LDS version of God, behind these feelings?
Because we're humans and we like to have nice, neat explanations for things.
Do you believe that there is some kind of greater power that is, for lack of a better term, our guardian angel?
I would like to believe so, but I don't know. I used to think I had all the answers. Not so much anymore.
I have had these feelings of not proceeding on a course of action, but never having a clear understanding of what the outcome would have been if I had not heeded the feeling.
by the way, hopefully Infymus will have more of those salvic rippers. Perhaps even in bed tonight.