One of the many things we do at the referral center is review the submitted Mormon.org profiles to make sure there are no errors like the one I wrote above. The sole intent of allowing members of the church to make Mormon.org profiles is so that they can share their spiritual experiences as well as thoughts, with other members or nonmembers who are wanting to know more about the church.
I have read many of these Mormon.org profiles. Although it is possible to feel the Spirit through writing, it is nothing like a good conference talk given by Elder Holland, or even by the very same person who wrote the profile. Hearing someone bear their testimony is very different than reading their testimony. This was something Kevin wrote about too, how it can be difficult to express spirituality through writing. I don't know if you have ever tried it, I would invite you to do so.
There are times when people will explain themselves, and the things they write are very confusing. Whereas in speech they could explain what they mean by their description. Others will say I had a time when I struggled with the church, and I still have questions today, and you can't help but wonder if they are struggling right now in their testimony. In writing you can't clarify those things.
Although it is possible to experience spiritual things through writing, like the Bible or Book of Mormon, there is no replacement for the power of a word of speech.
I feel even communicating spirituality through speech is difficult. Sharing our testimony is only effective because of the Spirit's added influence. I feel no one can really portray a spiritual experience, regardless of the medium, without the Spirit.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, reading a conference can be super effective and spiritual, but I've never found it to be as satisfying as listening to it. There's something about the expressions in the human voice that can convey idea's more clearly.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me think of the Book of Mormon Prophets like Moroni who said they struggled in writing because of the "Awkwardness of their hands." I think what you are saying relates. They felt their hands were awkward because they couldn't actually describe in words the spiritual experiences they had.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it really matters what we say, as long as we have the Spirit. In my physical science class, we say a prayer before beginning. At first I found it kind of weird that people would ask for the spirit in explaining the theory of relativity, but after a while it started to make sense to me because in everything we do, we need the spirit. Communication, at least how Mormons view it, is 5% us talking and 95% the Spirit.
ReplyDeleteThe spoken word has such power and persuasion, I believe, because of our ability to use inflections and change our tone of voice. There is something about verbal expressions and vocal changes that create an atmosphere conducive to the Spirit.
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