Trusting the world.

This is really touching. Click here for the whole story.

What this article actually did was spark more thoughts on a deeper subject. 

The news about the shooting in Aurora was nothing less than devastating. Senseless violence is incomprehensible to me... I don't get it. I am shocked by the evil that occupies some hearts and minds. It is disheartening, to say the least, to look around at the horrors that accompany this mortal life. But I'd like to submit that they do little more than accompany life... they do not define life, they do not determine life, nor do they dampen or diminish life. The beauties we glean from difficulties and great trials are what define and determine us. Hardships are always a means to an end and were never meant to be viewed as an ending point in and of themselves. 

I'm going to get a little mawkish here and actually quote the new Batman movie. I'm not quoting it because I think Christian Bale is downright attractive (although I do) and I'm not quoting it because this is a Batman-themed musing (though maybe it is a little bit. I barely liked "The Dark Knight Rises," to be honest (reasons why forthcoming). I'm quoting it because what was said is true and I think it illustrates a good point. 

At one point in the movie, Bruce Wayne/ Batman is told:

If you want to save the world you have to start trusting it.

Profound. 

I have realized that I can sometimes have a hard time with this concept. I hesitate, I judge, I often cower in the corner of uncertainty afraid to move forward or backward. But I need to cut it out. I have a strong desire to help save this world from the clutches of an angry adversary. A recent re-discovery is that trust is among the most powerful defenses this world has.

We can't look around us and throw our hands in the air and give it all up as a bad job. We can't abandon our efforts to help or improve situations we see around us. We certainly can't tip-toe through life with fear in our eyes, skepticism in our minds and doubt in our hearts. If we truly trust that our Heavenly Father is who He says He is and that Jesus Christ did what He said He did, we must also believe that we are who They say we are. These truths cannot be separated, they are forever intertwined. So who do They say we are?

ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. 

-The Family: A Proclamation to the World (see here)

 We are eternally His and He is eternally ours. We have the ability and charge to try to emulate Him until we figure out how to do so perfectly. We have been promised an inheritance that would put the Queen of England's fortune to shame. And not only can we look to a life beyond this one with excitement, but we can embrace and welcome the life we are currently living with just as much gusto. Our Father wants us back and He will help us help each other back home to Him. Does that sound like the type of divine being that wants us to give up on each other or on ourselves? I have thought long and hard in the context of this recent tragedy in Colorado about what I'm doing to continually renew my hope in humanity and my strengthen my hope in myself.

This has helped:

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

-Ether 12:4

This talk, especially this part, helps:

"I testify that God is our Father. Jesus is the Christ. His Church has been restored to the earth. His truth, covenants, and ordinances enable us to overcome fear and face the future with faith!"

--Elder Russell M. Nelson

"Face the Future With Faith"- Ensign May 2011

And this whole talk has changed my life (seriously, read it) specifically this line:

"Because Christ’s eyes were unfailingly fixed on the future, He could endure all that was required of Him."

--Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 
“High Priest of Good Things To Come”- Ensign Nov 1999

And you know what? Things like this really help too:

You're right... ugly and awful things have happened and will continue to happen. But that doesn't make our world an ugly or awful place. This is the home our perfect Father gave us to learn, grow and progress. Loving it and loving the people in it is one of the greatest opportunities I have in my life. Trying to learn to trust it has been and will continue to prove difficult, but I am just beginning to realize how much richness and depth it proffers me. 

Your thoughts on trusting the world we want to save? Do share...