by Seattle Jon (bio)
Underlined is a series where contributors share what they underlined while reading books. Today's book is Eugene England's
The Best of Lowell L. Bennion: Selected Writings 1928-1988
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The Place of a Liberal in Religion (1969)
"A liberal is not dogmatic but open-minded, eager to recheck his thinking, to change and enlarge his view of religion as he increases in experience ... He feels free to question interpretations of religion that run counter to his knowledge, experience, and inspiration. (I think it was John Taylor who said that he would not be a slave to God Almighty.) ... a liberal's religion has strong human interest ... A liberal does not reject theology or scripture; he simply believes that they must be interpreted and used in ways that will serve the divine purpose in human life."
For By Grace Are Ye Saved (1966)
"No longer do I believe that a person must earn forgiveness. If he had to, then only justice and reciprocity would prevail in relationships between man and man and man and God. But "give" is the main root of the word forgiveness. And there is grace operating whenever anyone is forgiven.
Man is asked to repent to receive forgiveness, I believe, not because the Lord is not forgiving whether we repent or not, but because he knows that man cannot accept forgiveness and renew his life without himself taking some steps to change it."
Good Teaching and Leadership (1962)
"As a lad of fourteen I went to work on a ranch. One day the boss sent me up into the mountains with a man twice my age to change the course of a mountain creek. We were losing the water as it came down the old channel in the valley, so we decided to bring it to the ranch in a newly constructed canal.
With the enthusiasm and folly of youth, I jumped into the creek and proceeded to dig a channel that would lead to the newly made canal. I began to shovel out gravel and dirt from the bottom of the creek with vigor. My older and wiser co-worker tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Son, just pick up the larger rocks and let the water do the rest of the work. It will wash the dirt and fine gravel with it.
This was my first lesson in working with nature. I learned that life is much easier this way. One's strength can be used to accomplish much more if one works with, rather than against, the laws of nature and life."
Faith: Values and Limitations (1959)
"Faith should not be considered a substitute for knowledge. Whenever knowledge is available, it should be used. For it is generally better to live by knowledge in particular things than by faith, if knowledge is available. A man would rather know that he has money in the bank when he writes a check than to write it in the faith the money is there. It is better for a man to know that his bride-to-be has a good character than to marry her without knowledge of this fact. It would be better to know the cause of cancer than merely to have faith that by refraining from eating certain foods one would not become a victim. An appreciation for the great role of faith in life should never deter us in our search for knowledge.
It is knowing the truth that makes men free."
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