The picture above, you will find, is somewhat misleading. I'm afraid this post may not be terribly sweet and flowery, though part of it will address flowers in a roundabout way. In fact, I feel the slightest bit guilty about posting this post because it is about something that annoys me, and I think annoyance is not a very nice emotion. But I wanted to get other people's thoughts on this one.
Jordan and I have a friend on a mission in Britain. Not only do I really like her, but I think she is smart, funny, and good. However, she sends emails home that sometimes get forwarded to me, and the other day she said something that inspired a negative emotion on my part. This is what she said:
"We went to Lyme Park for our P-day. Lyme Park is also known to the Jane Austen lover's world as Pemberley. Yes, this is where Colin Firth was filmed as Mr. Darcy in the 6 hour P&P. Very exciting, but oddly enough (or maybe this should be a given) it was not as fulfilling as teaching the gospel. I don't really know what has happened to me, this is Mr. Darcy we are talking about here...but I will say, that the gospel is much cooler."
Now, I have to say that I think I know what she's doing here. She's trying to stay focused on the gospel so she can be a better missionary and I think that is commendable. But part of me thinks, "Come on. Lyme Park is completely different than teaching the gospel. You're not supposed to compare it." I think by comparing something like that you take away from an experience that could be thrilling and even spiritually enlightening all by itself. Lyme Park is GORGEOUS. I think God would want us to appreciate a place like that for what it is. If we believe God created the world, can't we learn something about him in studying his creations as well as teaching the gospel? And, in fact, aren't God's creations part of that gospel?
I felt similarly to the way I feel when LDS people, on being asked what their favorite book is, say it's The Book of Mormon. I want to say, "Right. That's a given. There are so many other books out there. What else do you read?" I suspect that I'm not being fair. Maybe people that say The Book of Mormon is their favorite book love it more than I do or maybe it really is such a vital part of their lives that they are compelled to say it. And I think that is admirable.
I guess my real problem is that when people say things like this my instinctual reaction is to think, "You're not someone I find very interesting," and I feel guilty about it because it's not very nice. So maybe my frustration over comments like the ones mentioned above is just the sign of a guilty conscience.
