Avoiding the Monsoons

Arizona is one of those places that has a crazy weather anomaly that occasionally rolls into town this time of year: The monsoon dust storm. (I know that in recent years people have taken to using the Arabic word “haboob” to describe it, but I’ll stick with “dust storm” because I am still immature enough that “haboob” makes me titter.)

It can be a normal, hot summer day, then suddenly the sky darkens and a giant wall of dust rolls in – usually from the East. Sometimes the dust is so thick that it stops traffic and reduced the visibility to zero. (Think Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.”)

The best part of a monsoon is that the dust storm is normally followed by a rainstorm, which is a godsend in the dry desert. The dust is washed away, and the fresh summer rain cools the air, as the steam rises off the streets.

Normally.

Sometimes the storms are bad enough that trees are toppled, roofs are torn off, and microbursts act much like tornados in their destructive force. A strong monsoon can leave a trail of destruction in its wake. Just this week a dust storm toppled trees in our neighborhood.

The other downside doesn’t happen as often, but is something I dislike intensely. Just last month a huge dust storm rolled into the Valley, coating everything with a layer of fine, brown dirt. The problem is that there was no rain behind it. It brought the dust, but didn’t wash it away!

For days everything was coated with dust. Streets, driveways, sidewalks, cars – everything. It was gross and gritty, and stayed that way for a few days until we got some rain to rinse it all away.

 

As most of you know, I took part of the summer off from blogging and social media. It was a big deal for me, and I was curious to find what I might learn from the experience. I did notice quite a few different areas where my life was different without my habitual participation on Facebook and other platforms. One thing really stood out in particular:

I didn’t miss the dust storms.

You can call them monsoons, dust storms, or dust-ups. What I am referring to is the never-ending stream of storms and contention that blow up on the internet, make a mess, and then fade away. I did not miss the drumbeat of hype surrounding whatever event or crisis riles people up. Being removed from social media, I found that I could learn about what was going on in the world by reading the news, rather than watching people argue and pontificate for days on social media.

The social media dust storms are much like the real things – they come quickly, exhibit way more power than one would think, and often leave behind them a trail of destruction, or at least a layer of grime and contention that can’t be easily wiped away.

I didn’t miss that at all.

Since I have been back, I have seen people arguing about the stupidest things. I am quick to acknowledge that what might appear to be “stupid” to me could be near and dear to the heart of someone else, and vice-versa, but I know that I didn’t miss the quibbling about insane things like cilantro and pencils.

The biggest storms seem to be about politics and religion, and they can blow up into messy events that can tear down and damage. I’m not sure that I know why we do it.

One reason is that we all have pet peeves that we like to address whenever the opportunity presents itself:

“Man it is hot today!”

“It’s because we use fossil fuels and we need to get rid of plastic straws to save the planet.”

“Um, no, it is because I live in Gilbert, and it is summertime.”

Etc.

It seems that we have favorite themes that we like to serve as advocates for, and this can fall into discussions on religion as well. Elder Boyd K. Packer said, a long time ago:

“The gospel might be likened to the keyboard of a piano—a full keyboard with a selection of keys on which one who is trained can play a variety without limits…

How shortsighted it is, then, to choose a single key and endlessly tap out the monotony of a single note, or even two or three notes, when the full keyboard of limitless harmony can be played.” (Link)

In my humble opinion, I think the biggest problem with such storms is that people have taken the word “truth” and wrecked it. It is very common to hear people talking about “My Truth, “or “His Truth,” as if our opinions have an any bearing on what truth is, or isn’t.

President Spencer W. Kimball gave a talk entitled “Absolute Truth” back in 1978 that is even more applicable in today’s world. (This is kind of long, but please read it – and the whole article.)

“This true way of life is not a matter of opinion. There are absolute truths and relative truths. The rules of dietetics have changed many times in my lifetime. Many scientific findings have changed from year to year. The scientists taught for decades that the world was once a nebulous, molten mass cast off from the sun, and later many scientists said it once was a whirl of dust which solidified. There are many ideas advanced to the world that have been changed to meet the needs of the truth as it has been discovered. There are relative truths, and there are also absolute truths which are the same yesterday, today, and forever—never changing. These absolute truths are not altered by the opinions of men. As science has expanded our understanding of the physical world, certain accepted ideas of science have had to be abandoned in the interest of truth. Some of these seeming truths were stoutly maintained for centuries. The sincere searching of science often rests only on the threshold of truth, whereas revealed facts give us certain absolute truths as a beginning point so we may come to understand the nature of man and the purpose of his life.

The earth is spherical. If all the four billion people in the world think it flat, they are in error. That is an absolute truth, and all the arguing in the world will not change it. Weights will not suspend themselves in the air, but when released will fall earthward. The law of gravity is an absolute truth. It never varies. Greater laws can overcome lesser ones, but that does not change their undeniable truth.

If men are really humble, they will realize that they discover, but do not create, truth.

The Lord has defined truth as being a “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” (D&C 93:24.) God’s existence is a reality. Immortality is a reality. These realities will not go away simply because we have different opinions about them. These realities will not be dissolved just because some have doubts about them.

Opinion? Of course, there is a difference of opinion; but again, opinion cannot change laws or absolute truths. Opinions will never make the earth to be flat, the sun to dim its light, God to die, or the Savior to cease being the Son of God.” (link)

This is where troubles come in, and start kicking up dust: When I define my opinion or experience as “my truth,” when it is merely my opinion, I am showing a disregard- or disbelief – for THE truth. Truth is truth. No one owns it – it just is. My experience does not alter it. My opinion does not alter it.

So, when I see dust-ups on social media, or on the news that are based on people attempting to put their personal spin on “truth,” I figure that if I wait until the storm blows over, which usually takes about a day, I can keep the grit out of my eyes. After the storm has passed, I can assess the damage and see what I can do to put things back together.

For now, I have found peace in staying out of the fray, and putting much less weight in the opinions of those who are quick to espouse “their truth,” and to ignore those who shout the loudest. I have also found that the louder the shouts, the less legitimate the issue.

A lyric from the musical Matilda describes it perfectly:

The less you have to sell, the harder you sell it!
The less you have to say, the louder you yell it!
The dumber the act, the bigger the confession!
The less you have to show, the louder you dress it!

Although he never appeared in a Broadway musical, President Joseph F. Smith did say this:

“We can accept nothing as authoritative but that which comes directly through the appointed channel, the constituted organizations of the Priesthood, which is the channel that God has appointed through which to make known His mind and will to the world. … And the moment that individuals look to any other source, that moment they throw themselves open to the seductive influences of Satan, and render themselves liable to become servants of the devil; they lose sight of the true order through which the blessings of the Priesthood are to be enjoyed; they step outside of the pale of the kingdom of God, and are on dangerous ground. Whenever you see a man rise up claiming to have received direct revelation from the Lord to the Church, independent of the order and channel of the Priesthood, you may set him down as an imposter.” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 41–42).

I know where to find THE truth: The Prophet, and the Holy Ghost.

“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:5)

ALL things.  ALL.

There is no reason to get caught up in dust-ups over personalized versions of truth. The real truth is there, waiting for us to find it.

 

Brad

P.S.: No decisions yet on blog name and such. Thank you so much for you help, AND especially you support in my simple attempts to follow the Prophet.