My Mormon Third Eye: I See... When is Heaven?

Sunday, July 31, 2016

I See... When is Heaven?

The Mormon Third Eye has talked about Heaven before, often in the context of what makes us happy. You can read more about it here, here, here, here, and here. We often entertain thoughts of a perfect world in the future filled with our favorite things and people, or we describe “heaven on earth” as a particularly wonderful event or existence frozen in current time and space. The Mormon Third Eye, however, goes beyond the present and the future into the past to find Heaven. It happened two nights ago... in the dream.

Two nights ago the necessary strains of my 56-year old body would not let me sleep so I wandered upstairs into my college daughter's empty bedroom to avoid punishing my wife with my insomnia. We had our temple shift to work Saturday morning so it was important that at least one of us got a good night's sleep. After endless tosses and turns and Seminary New Testament manual musings, I finally fell asleep.

I was awakened in my unusually realistic dream by the appearance of my college-age daughter as a cute, bouncy toddler wearing a white temple blessing dress. She flitted from toy to toy around the room and we had a grand time playing together and reading bedtime stories like we used to; however, the only phrase tumbling out of her two-year old mouth was a perky “I'm all grown up now daddy!” It seemed like heaven.

Then my married and soon-to-be father adult son entered the room dressed in the white clothes he wore when he was baptized at age 8- more heaven. We played and talked and laughed together as a young family for awhile. I texted my wife to come upstairs and join the fun. She quickly arrived and was pleasantly shocked with our ability to magically transport back in time to the youth of our grown children. While we both wanted the joy of this impossible experience to last forever, reality started slowly encroaching into my subconscious and we feared that if we left the room to get ready for our temple shift, we would lose them. However, we made the right choice and I woke up. And suddenly, my daughter was still in college in Utah, and my son and his wife were still expecting the birth of their first child again. Just like that it was over.

The dream left a lasting impression on me. While I found heaven in the memories of joyful times spent with my young family, I'm glad that's all they are- memories. I wouldn't want to miss enjoying their bright future trapped in the past!

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The Mormon Third Eye Quote of the Week

"As men of the priesthood, we have an essential role to play in society, at home, and in the Church. But we must be men that women can trust, that children can trust, and that God can trust. In the Church and kingdom of God in these latter days, we cannot afford to have boys and men who are drifting. We cannot afford young men who lack self-discipline and live only to be entertained. We cannot afford young adult men who are going nowhere in life, who are not serious about forming families and making a real contribution in this world. We cannot afford husbands and fathers who fail to provide spiritual leadership in the home."

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Priesthood Session Conference, October 2012

Why My Mormon Third Eye?

When I politely excused myself in the middle of dinner to make a bathroom stop, how did Mom know that I had uneaten peas in my pocket to flush down the toilet? When I came home late from a youth dance and slid quietly into bed to avoid waking parental units, how did Dad know, without looking at the car, that I smashed in the front bumper? When I watch my daughter play a video game, how do I know that she's not ready for her Geometry final?

Its the Third Eye. The notorious eye in the back of the head, the extra view of life that God blesses parents striving to do the right thing so they can see more of life than the children they chase after.

Our third eye also permits us to see things and feel emotions that are too refined, too far on the edge of our standard two-eyed peripheral vision to enjoy in its fullness. I've learned that I have a Mormon Third Eye; that is, as a life-long, fully-dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have unique perspective on how the doctrines of the gospel and the demands of my faith in them intersect every other part of my mortal existence to create the entertaining, self-deprecating kaleidoscope of my life.

So... for those of you bold and bored enough to read this far, every so often I'll be sharing here what my Mormon third eye sees. Third eyes are relatively huge; they see the humorous, the entertaining, the embarrassing, the beautiful, the inspirational, and even the moral and political; however, they tend to ignore the evil, depressing and destructive: there is enough of that in world already!

The Four Secrets to Successful Living

Always Go Where There is Free Food - This includes ward and work parties, wedding receptions and missionary open houses; the money you spend to buy the ingredients for the world-famous triple chocolate cake you bring doesn’t count.
Never Pay Full Price for Anything – See my posts on Black Friday escapades for more information on this.
Never, Ever Press the Red Button - Usually, if you are faced with a red button somewhere, don’t press it – it usually means trouble. For example, the red button launches the missiles. Do yourself a favor and don’t press it.
Any Problem You Face Can Be Solved With Bungee Cords and Duct Tape - Bungee cord and duct tape technology has saved many marriages and ward parties. I’m not just talking about problems with plumbing or keeping groceries from bouncing around the trunk; I know of relationship and family issues that have been solved with creative applications of these two substances.