To See and Be Seen, To Know and Be Known

"To see and be seen": the phrase used to express those situations where people gather with their best foot forward to watch and be impressed by others and with hopes of being respected and seen as worthy in turn.

"To know as we are known": the phrase Paul uses in 1st Corinthians 13, his powerful piece on love/charity, to speak about the clarity of vision that is ours when "that which is perfect has come".

That which is perfect: Christ.  When we are more like Christ, when we are in and with Christ, we are better able to know as He knows us.

And how does he know us?  What's that like?  And what does it mean to know the way he knows us?

I believe "know as we are known" means that we know, understand and respond to others (and to ourselves) the way Jesus does.

Last night I gave myself an assignment to read various pieces of scripture that describe how Jesus knows, understands and responds to us.

Loves beyond our comprehension
Creates opportunities for growth
Responds with mercy and full willingness to assist
Makes sacrifices to help us reunite with God
Is willing to work long, long, long term with us
Sees our brotherhood/sisterhood clearly and positively
Loves and is willing to help all, regardless of their goodness or lack thereof
Welcomes repentance and is patient with that process
Welcomes collaboration with him regardless of degree of aptitude
Is completely honest about himself and what he understands and what  he (compassionately and honestly) understands aboutus
Is wise in all he does

At the Priesthood session of General Conference Dieter Uchtdorf discussed the difference between going to church "to see and be seen" and going through life "to know as we are known".

He said:

The greatest, most capable, most accomplished man who ever walked this earth was also the most humble. He performed some of His most impressive service in private moments, with only a few observers, whom He asked to “tell no man” what He had done. When someone called Him “good,” He quickly deflected the compliment, insisting that only God is truly good. Clearly the praise of the world meant nothing to Him; His single purpose was to serve His Father and “do always those things that please him.” We would do well to follow the example of our Master.

... this is our high and holy calling—to be agents of Jesus Christ, to love as He loved, to serve as He served, to “lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees,” to “look [after] the poor and the needy,” and to care for the widows and orphans.

I pray... that as we serve in our families, quorums, wards, stakes, communities, and nations, we will resist the temptation to draw attention to ourselves and, instead, strive for a far greater honor: to become humble, genuine disciples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As we do so, we will find ourselves walking the path that leads to our best, most genuine, and noblest selves. 

He also said:

I am here because I desire with all my heart to follow my Master, Jesus Christ. I yearn to do all that He asks of me in this great cause. I hunger to be edified by the Holy Spirit and hear the voice of God as He speaks through His ordained servants. I am here to become a better man, to be lifted by the inspiring examples of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and to learn how to more effectively minister to those in need.

In short, I am here because I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

When I am wherever I am, I am called to the state of knowing others as Christ knows me; with pure, wise love, with clarity, with honesty about myself and others, with willingness to help, with sisterhood, to welcome change, to work hard and long and without concern about who sees or who thinks what, or how I am seen.

We are called to love God as he loves us and to let that work in our souls so that what He or others think of us is not what we are concerned about.  But rather what we yearn for is to walk all our lives "abiding in him" and with his Spirit (John 15) seeing and knowing as He does, ourselves, our friends, our enemies, our relatives, our strangers, those who make life hard for us and those who are sweet savor to our souls.

We are not called to be individually righteous and seen, we are called to abide in Him and know others the way he knows us.  And then act with that knowing.

Political derision or fear among us.

“There is nothing in the world more deleterious or harmful to the human family than hatred, prejudice, suspicion, and the attitude that some people have toward their fellows, of unkindness." 

“Whenever your politics cause you to speak unkindly of your brethren, know this, that you are upon dangerous ground.” 

~George Albert Smith

"Political differences never justify hatred or ill will. I hope that the Lord’s people may be at peace one with another during times of trouble, regardless of what loyalties they may have to different governments or parties.”

~Gordon B. Hinckley

 

The "only true church" thing

B. brought up that slide-off your-tongue phrase that's so often glibly borrowed from the Doctrine and Covenants and tossed at the end of declarations of belief.

I must say that I am bothered by the way it's used and really bothered by the way it's often translated by whoever hears it.  Generally, in my opinion, by rank and file members it is often (though not always) used as an expression of

a. I'm not sure how to end my remarks, so I'll end with this. It's familiar..
b. I'm subconsciously feeling insecure on some level, so affiliating myself with something that is exclusive in it's goodness makes me feel more confident or safe.
c. I think this church is a good place for me to be and it's a good place for you to be too.
d. I've felt a spiritual confirmation as I've followed or prayed over this church, so it must be right.

And of course the other problem is that it's almost always generally interpreted by others as "other churches are wrong".  And that is ALWAYS counterproductive.

So I decided to do some research on what other people have written about what that phrase means.  I realize that I cannot get everyone else to stop and think about what they say or how they are perceived when they slide that phrase into a talk, testimony or discussion.  But I can learn better what it means so that I can articulate in more accurately in order to increase my own precision in communication and for increased comprehension by those who hear me.

So one article HERE, states that the phrase simply refers to three things about the church:

1. The church contains the "fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ", 

which:, in essence and by definition  includes three things: a) our unique understanding of "the plan of salvation" which includes a) assurance that we lived as spirits before we came to this earth, b) the affirmation that this mortal life has a purpose and c) the teaching that our highest aspiration is to become like our heavenly parents.

And I believe those three things.

2.  The church includes the power of the priesthood. We often think that's just talking about who has received God's authority to do what, but it's far more than that.  I wrote more about that HERE.  In a nutshell, priesthood power, the power of God to do his work, given to his children,  is real.

And I believe that it is real and working in the lives of women and men of God in this church.  I have seen it, felt it, watched it, and been humbled to be a vehicle for its healing (both physical and spiritual) and enlightening effect in the lives of my brothers and sisters in ways that I feel are too profound to articulate.  And I have been aided, healed, enlightened and comforted by that same power of God conducted via the words, actions and ordinances of brothers and sisters who served as conduits of priesthood power as well.

That does not mean I have not seen the power of God work through people of other faiths.  I have.  It just means I have seen it play out powerfully in this one. 

(I've also seen people horribly fail at this in the church, but that's fodder for another conversation.)

3. It contains revealed truth about the nature of God and our relationship to Him.
And, frankly our belief in the nature of God does distinguish us from the formal creeds of most Christian denominations. Our understanding of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, though incomplete (as are all understandings of Deity) are different in our understanding of their relationship and distinctiveness when compared with other faiths.

That difference in our understanding strengthens our beliefs about God ( many of which coincide with those of various of our Christian friends); that Jesus Christ is the begotten son of God, the Eternal Father, that he is the creator of this world, that his life and words are to be our pattern for living, and that because of His Resurrection, all who have ever lived will be raised from the dead. And, with that, we believe that it is Jesus whose atoning sacrifice paid for the sin of Adam.  And that sacrifice also opened the door for us to be forgiven of our personal sins, cleansed by God and changed by God's grace and work in our lives, and able to abide in God's presence.

And those are things I believe as well.

So...The church's teachings and practices contain divinely inspired insights into premortal existence, purpose of life and eternal life, include the power of God as it works through his disciples who seek to walk according to His will,  and contain truthful teachings about the reality and nature of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and the way they have worked and still work so divinely in our lives to bring us into harmony and unity with them.   ---  That is the meaning of the phrase.

You are free to use that instead of the phrase any time.  Maybe that will help.