I have known that Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, was a fully trained medical doctor for a while now. What I didn't realize was that he was trained in ophthalmology. Assad is a vision specialist.
My mind immediately wandered back to one of the former presidents of the church I grew up in, the Community of Christ. His name is Wallace B. Smith. He was called by his father W. Wallace Smith to take over the presidency of the church, and accepting the call was a difficult decision for him. At the time of his calling, the younger Smith was a practicing ophthalmologist. He was an extremely respected vision doctor with a thriving practice who had no desire to lead a church. He did, however, eventually agree to lead the Community of Christ.
There were two big things Wallace B. Smith accomplished as church president. The first was seeing to the building of a temple in Independence, Missouri--long prophesied by the first president and founder of the church, Joseph Smith, Jr. The second thing Wallace did was to allow women to be a part of the priesthood. The irony here is, the building of the temple brought the church together in a fundamental way. Bringing women into the priesthood tore it apart.
The vision Wallace B. Smith had for the Community of Christ Church allowed for monumental change. While not everyone agreed these changes were for the best, I personally appreciate the fact his vision allowed him to see that women have a lot to offer to the world, especially in terms of spiritual wisdom and understanding. He understood back in the 80's the need for women to play a more active role in church leadership.
Assad was also happy with his life as a vision doctor. He was not even supposed to play the role of president originally. He had an older brother that was supposed to take over from their father, but the brother was killed in a car accident. Because of family responsibility, Bashar assumed the reigns and became the president designate. As the eyes of the world are upon him, he continues to stand in his truth with strength and integrity, even as his enemies continue to brainwash the masses against him.
It occurs to me the two men, Bashar al-Assad and Wallace B. Smith, have a great deal in common. They are both men of vision that agreed to assume leadership roles against their personal desires. In their own ways, they are here to shift the planet consciousness. Their actions require great personal strength and courage.
Great strength and courage are always required when one is charged with healing vision. May our vision continue to be healed so we can make the changes necessary to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity to our beautiful planet.
~CSE
My mind immediately wandered back to one of the former presidents of the church I grew up in, the Community of Christ. His name is Wallace B. Smith. He was called by his father W. Wallace Smith to take over the presidency of the church, and accepting the call was a difficult decision for him. At the time of his calling, the younger Smith was a practicing ophthalmologist. He was an extremely respected vision doctor with a thriving practice who had no desire to lead a church. He did, however, eventually agree to lead the Community of Christ.
There were two big things Wallace B. Smith accomplished as church president. The first was seeing to the building of a temple in Independence, Missouri--long prophesied by the first president and founder of the church, Joseph Smith, Jr. The second thing Wallace did was to allow women to be a part of the priesthood. The irony here is, the building of the temple brought the church together in a fundamental way. Bringing women into the priesthood tore it apart.
The vision Wallace B. Smith had for the Community of Christ Church allowed for monumental change. While not everyone agreed these changes were for the best, I personally appreciate the fact his vision allowed him to see that women have a lot to offer to the world, especially in terms of spiritual wisdom and understanding. He understood back in the 80's the need for women to play a more active role in church leadership.
Assad was also happy with his life as a vision doctor. He was not even supposed to play the role of president originally. He had an older brother that was supposed to take over from their father, but the brother was killed in a car accident. Because of family responsibility, Bashar assumed the reigns and became the president designate. As the eyes of the world are upon him, he continues to stand in his truth with strength and integrity, even as his enemies continue to brainwash the masses against him.
It occurs to me the two men, Bashar al-Assad and Wallace B. Smith, have a great deal in common. They are both men of vision that agreed to assume leadership roles against their personal desires. In their own ways, they are here to shift the planet consciousness. Their actions require great personal strength and courage.
Great strength and courage are always required when one is charged with healing vision. May our vision continue to be healed so we can make the changes necessary to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity to our beautiful planet.
~CSE
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