"Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness."
Alma 38:12
The whole bridle your passions things seems hard to understand, and I think that it is because our human culture is dramatic. Feeling things strongly and deeply... giving yourself over to the emotion, is seen as a romantic gesture, or an uncontrollable thing. "Crimes of Passion" we hear in the news all the time. I think that we come to believe that is what love is made up of... drama and uncontrolled surges of emotion... if we don't feel that, then we don't really know what love is. But here in this scripture God tells us that in order to be filled with love, that we have to bridle our passions. Not get rid of them, but control them, keep them in check. So, we have to revise our vision of love and emotion. Obviously, God is the one who has it right... but how does that work? Sometimes in our quest for drama and depth of emotion things can get kind of scary. We do things that are completely irrational and even hurtful, in the name of love. The very fact that there ARE crimes of passion attests to the fact that passions need to be controlled. If we are truly filled with love, there are no crimes of love. :) ... precisely because we can't gain that love until we have learned to control the drama-seeking part of ourselves. Something to think about on this fine day. :)
Alma 38:12
The whole bridle your passions things seems hard to understand, and I think that it is because our human culture is dramatic. Feeling things strongly and deeply... giving yourself over to the emotion, is seen as a romantic gesture, or an uncontrollable thing. "Crimes of Passion" we hear in the news all the time. I think that we come to believe that is what love is made up of... drama and uncontrolled surges of emotion... if we don't feel that, then we don't really know what love is. But here in this scripture God tells us that in order to be filled with love, that we have to bridle our passions. Not get rid of them, but control them, keep them in check. So, we have to revise our vision of love and emotion. Obviously, God is the one who has it right... but how does that work? Sometimes in our quest for drama and depth of emotion things can get kind of scary. We do things that are completely irrational and even hurtful, in the name of love. The very fact that there ARE crimes of passion attests to the fact that passions need to be controlled. If we are truly filled with love, there are no crimes of love. :) ... precisely because we can't gain that love until we have learned to control the drama-seeking part of ourselves. Something to think about on this fine day. :)
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