Why We're Here

"Because writing is, much like death, a very lonely business."
- Neil Gaiman

March 31, 2013

Personal Journal 6

AN: First paragraph is in response to Pres. Kennedy's speech about the new frontier. The second is discussing the statement "it is better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven."

I strongly believe that Pres. Kennedy was correct when he stated that our ignorance would grow as our knowledge did. Speaking from a purely intellectual stand point, the world is incredibly complex, regardless of your field. In math, there are ever increasingly complex formulas and equations to be learned, to continue progressing. The more you learn in math, the more complicated things become open to your understanding. This is a universal truth. In biology, the complexity of life is still being unraveled. The more we learn about the world around us, the more we realize how little we know. Even when we’ve determined we’ve completely exhausted all information regarding a thing, we discover something new that opens up completely new avenues to learn from. From a religious, ethical, and moral standpoint, we are always learning how to be better, provided we start down that road. In the gospel, we can always learn more about faith, or the Holy Ghost, or the nature of the atonement. Indeed, we can spend the rest of our lives solely devoted to one aspect of the gospel, and still only have scratched the surface. To believe we’ve learned all we can about something is both ignorant and vain.

I strongly disagree with the statement that it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. Personally, I’d do anything in my power to get to Heaven, and avoid Hell. However, I think that quote reveals an interesting mindset and personality. A person who believes in this values power over happiness. They’d rather be in charge than be happy, which can be extremely debilitating. A person like that has a core value of power. They care not about happiness, or the potential to move up from a lowly position. They understand only ruling over others.

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