I was watching a documentary presenting opposing viewpoints and originally, I thought the reason I am even tempted to believe alternate truths is because they are reasonable, but, as I listened to both side presented, it was harder to accept the things I already know are true because of the form of rhetoric. Although, I can explain this.
When you know things ways that are refferred to as by your heart, like falling in love, no matter how reasonable or unreasonable an argument is the heart has decided and is unchangeable. Any attempt to persuade one who cites "love" will never work, in fact it is said that love is blind. That bears alot of thought.
I had read a very interesting blog post (before it was called such, I think) about someone resisting a little change of representational colors for a season. It was,explained in terms of brain elasticity that can be changed at an earlier point, more easily, but as one ages simple traditions become less easy to alter. The post was misread (I mention because it was so funny) because of a title. The title was something about a Blue Christmas, which instantly brought to mind the Elvis song and subsequently the associations with such a nueral pathway. I was curious to know what was wanting someone to be sad at such a happy holliday. It was about changing from a traditional color scheme of green and red to blue ( which seemed to be a trend ). At that time, ironically, my mind was suceptible to or elastic enough to consider things, but I did not even consider the greater truth being explored here that fighting a conventional tradition or belief is a difficult thing to do, and one reason why is because of biology. I recall my parents complaining about how just when they got familiar with things they were changed, their frustration was real, but I thought it humourous at the time.
Ok, ok reigning in my original point, I did have one...an example I have is a time I was discussing things or a very personal nature with a teacher as we were drivingbto a theater convention in southern mississippi. She got upset with me and asked if I could please refrain from crying about things or getting so emotional about it. That is what I just experienced, and I have read it before. It feels entirely different than how it is percieved. The culprit is a serious desire to share or help others, but because of tone nothing said is shared because of it's offensive or self righteous nature.
There was a girl in college, who disliked me alot, and labled me as something she wanted to avoid, not because of anytjing I said or did, but because of assumptions about "people like me".
I heard in conference again, someone speak about how undeniable it iscwhen we are "touched" by the "spirit". It changes us in a way and makes our spiritual elasticity firm up and molds us into that idea so it is truth. Two things come to mind.
1) the scripture about raising a child up a way and he will not depart from it
and
2) I already forgot 2.
But, it has often been said that we should not argue our point, and really when people get so vehement about a thing nothing is known, but that they are very zealous. I recall someone once usinging the whole, "I believe in God therefore... if you don't you are a misunderstanding heathen" I did not read another word and formed a conclusion that that person must be a zealot. Likewise, when I told my lawyer that I was moving to Utah, he said, "I would not do that if I were you." I was confused and do I asked why. He explained that the whole state was fully of pushy Mormons. Really, this is the same labling as I got by association in college, because some, the extremely verbal minority are what are known it is believed that all Mormons are that way, like it is a part of their dogma or something. But, then all of the realitt and beauty, even extending to the wonderful things they do are swallowed up and pretty much ignored.
In the presentation of both theories of the origin of the Earth, I hope they end up siding with my view point, like I recently heard someone say that it is fun to watch science come to "know" things we already believed. Ok, quick sidetrack... my favorite story of this is how when the temple in Salt Lake City was built a huge shaft was built prior to elevators even being invented, and eventually they were invented and designed, but God communicated to the leaders of hos church what would be, this is what a prophet does and it can be very frustrating, I imagine, to know things that no one knows yet. I will end with a thing Joseph Smith said, "I knew and I knew that God knew it."
That is a bit like falling in love, we get very emotional and unable to see anything else.
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