Yin and Yang

     Taoism is a logical way for approaching God's will. Once my seminary teacher said, "though we may have the faith to move a mountain, I'm pretty sure God likes his mountains where they are." So how do we know the time for a miracle? When should our prayers not be to move a mountain, but rather to accept nature's course? That is where Yin and Yang comes in.

    "Like the Force in Star Wars, the Tao has two sides. Unlike other religions where the higher power is all good and perhaps has an all-evil rival, Taoism teaches that we need to learn from both yin and yang. And unlike religions with Gods that are personal, the higher power in Taoism is not. Taoists believe that being in Harmony with the way, the person will not have to fight against the universe's natural flow." (*1)

     The Tao is the natural order of things. Its like the energy that runs the universe. Living against it is like swimming upstream: frustrating, and moving backwards. In the mission I observed families struggling to have a picture perfect Mormon family. The pressure from the parents could often eat away at relationships. Instead of forcing upon ourselves an ideal, rather we learn to be "longsuffering" (*2) as the "ideal" naturally comes by righteous living. The Tao teaches that tugging on a plant does not cause it to grow faster.

     "The highest good is like water.
          which benefits all things
          and contends with none.

     "This is the way of heaven,
          do your work, then quietly step back."

-The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu #'s 8 and 9.

    Consider the way God works in your life, and if he wants that mountain to move. Your family or life may not be an ideal. Yet as we do our part, surely, "all things work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8: 28. Romans chapter 8 applies this principle of suffering long while seeking the will of God.

End note:
     By better understanding the devil, recognize how to react. 2 Nephi 28: 21-22 workings of the devil and 1 Nephi 11: 2 is a great way of understanding how to live by the spirit.



*Sources:

1.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezmR9Attpyc
2.      Charity is longsuffering... the first attribute of Christ's love. Moroni 7: 45 of the Book of Mormon.