Monday, November 2, 2009

Telestial Cultural Shock



I’m excited about all the comments you’ve left about what you are grateful for. Just reading them fills me with good, positive feelings. Thanks.

I’ve been very busy the last two weeks. I am starting another series of the Living in Truth Workshops. This time I’ve developed a four-page handout to go with the classes and I think it will help to convey the ideas better. I do appreciate all the comments and suggestions all of you have given me that have helped me refine these principles. Thank you.

One of the first people to read a rough draft of a chapter and offer suggestions was my son-in-law, Ferg. In the chapter I explained how sometimes in life we feel a strange disconnect or dissonance that is difficult to explain. For example, one of the things that causes this disconnect is time. Sometimes time goes so fast and other times it goes so slow, but if you stop and ponder on time, it seems like an unnatural thing. I think the reason is that our spirits lived a long time in a state where time did not exist and now as we travel through this mortal world based upon time, it isn’t natural to us. It is like a fish being out of water.

After Ferg read this chapter he sent me a note saying that he called these kinds of experiences Telestial Cultural Shock. I loved that phrase! It summed it all up so well, and it is now part of the book. As you go through your week, pay attention to the things you encounter that are part of a Telestial world that will not be part of a Celestial world. There are many and it is a good exercise to recognize them for what they are. As you discover them, leave a comment about what you discover.

8 comments:

Megan said...

Sherrie, how does one attend one of your workshops?? Are they for anyone?

Sherrie Mills Johnson said...

Megan, The workshops I've done so far have been done for wards that have asked me to come teach. I've also done some for people who have invited their friends and neighbors and held the classes in their homes. The one today is a combined two ward event.

Megan said...

Thank you Sherrie.

dani said...

I think that my biggest Telestial Culture Shock is something that I CAN do something about. This may not be exactly what you are talking about, but it is what popped into my head! I am just so surprized when I see people who aren't loving each other; I can't imagine that we were like that in the preexistence. So, I am making so much more effort to love and connect with all people!

Sherrie Mills Johnson said...

Megan, Thank YOU!

Sherrie Mills Johnson said...

Dani, That is the feeling! You just feel a shock--it is a dissonant feeling that something isn't computing. And yes, I agree, there was love in our premortal existence that we expect but don't find here. Thanks for your comment.

Muffin (susan mitchell) said...

Recently I read that "time" will not exist in the Celestial Kingdom. You are so right. Time is foriegn to us, guess that is why we have to carry it on our wrists and hang it on our walls for constant reminding. I too love that phrase. Thanks for the focus.

Sherrie Mills Johnson said...

Muffin, You and Elder Maxwell think alike! You are in great company!