040 Why Mental Flexibility is So Crucial for Durable Discipleship
Dec 5, 2023
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Explore the importance of mental flexibility in Church History, challenging assumptions about God, prophets, and the Church. Learn from key moments in history, such as the story of Ezra Booth, to show why mental flexibility is crucial for enduring discipleship. Delve into how critical thinking and personal discovery can strengthen faith and navigate challenging aspects of belief.
Modifying assumptions is crucial for durable discipleship, even if it challenges existing beliefs.
Joseph Wakefield's refusal to adjust his assumptions about prophets led to his apostasy from the church.
Mental flexibility promotes open-mindedness and helps individuals navigate conflicting information without losing faith.
Deep dives
The Importance of Mental Flexibility
Mental flexibility is a crucial skill for durable discipleship. It allows individuals to modify their assumptions in light of new information, even when it challenges their existing beliefs.
Negative Example: Joseph Wakefield
Joseph Wakefield's inability to revise his assumptions about prophets led him to apostatize from the church. He believed that prophets should not engage in activities like playing with children, which he witnessed Joseph Smith doing. Instead of challenging his assumptions, he left the church and even led mobs against it.
Negative Example: Ezra Booth
Ezra Booth's assumptions about the church led to his apostasy. When things didn't go as he expected on his mission and he discovered that Joseph Smith's interpretations of the Book of Abraham differed from those of modern Egyptologists, he lost confidence. Instead of modifying his assumptions, he condemned Joseph Smith as a fraud and fought against the church.
Hypothetical Example: Ryan
Ryan encounters a critical website that challenges his assumptions about Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Abraham. Initially troubled, Ryan could benefit from challenging his assumptions and seeking a deeper understanding of different perspectives. By modifying his assumptions and staying open-minded, Ryan can navigate through this challenging information and find a faith-strengthening resolution.
Positive Example: Brigham Young
Brigham Young encountered financial errors made by Joseph Smith and briefly felt a lack of confidence. However, he quickly realized that prophets can make mistakes and that it wasn't his prerogative to question every action of Joseph Smith. He exemplified mental flexibility by adjusting his assumptions and maintaining his faith in the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith.
Conclusion
Mental flexibility is an essential skill that allows individuals to modify their assumptions in light of new information. It fosters durable discipleship by promoting open-mindedness, willingness to challenge beliefs, and the ability to navigate difficult or conflicting information without abandoning faith.
A fundamental moment in all good learning is that moment where we modify our assumptions about the world as a result of acquiring new and more accurate knowledge. This in turn hopefully primes us to make better decisions. On one level, it’s what learning is all about. Sounds pretty basic right? Well, it is. But it isn’t always easy. Church History can teach us that modifying one’s assumptions can be a challenge for some when it requires them to rethink their ideas about God, prophets, and the Church.
In this episode of Church History Matters we’re going to carefully look at this skill of humbly revising our assumptions in light of better or more accurate information—a skill we’re calling “mental flexibility”—and then take a look at key moments in the lives of a few people in our Church’s history that show us why this skill is so crucial for durable discipleship.
