Learn the Hard Way or Easy Way

Learn the hard way by making mistakes others have made. Or, learn the easy way by avoiding the mistakes others have made.

In almost all the sciences each successive generation learns from those who have gone before. Math, physics, and computer science (my favorite!) have all benefited this way.

However when it comes to human behavior many rebellious generations think they know more than their predecessors so they throw out the old and bring in what they think is new. Funny though, it’s not new. It’s been tried so many times before and failed each time.

If you want to learn the easy way just take Sherem’s experience of challenging God’s word and avoid the mistake he made.

- Jacob 7:1-23

You’re Trying Too Hard, Lighten Up

It’s actually possible to try too hard at something.

When a new pilot in training is learning to fly they have a tendency to hold the flight yoke (the plane’s steering wheel, kind-of) tightly as if they need to control the plane.

It turns out that gripping too tightly causes the pilot to have less control by overcorrecting the plane’s movement. A light and soft touch on the controls allows the plane to fly naturally and safely while the pilot makes small corrections to stay on course.

When it comes to the Gospel trying too hard is equivalent to making the simple complex and thereby, as Jacob described it, “looking beyond the mark.” The Gospel is plain and simple and someone who despises the Gospel because of it’s simplicity will overlook the blessings it brings.

- Jacob 4:13-14

News Alert – You Aren’t the Only Person With Feelings

Others will listen to you if you listen to them first. Others will understand you better if you first try to understand them.

Human nature is to naturally think of self first. We think our feelings are the most valid, the most real, and the most important.

We live on an earth with about 6 billion people, all of whom are equally important as our self. Their feelings are just as real, just as valid, just as important. With so many people we are bound to cross paths with others who offend us, irritate us, or otherwise rub us the wrong way.

Jacob had a difficult message to share with his people. Before he delivered the message he spent a lot of time expressing to them his understanding of how they felt and that he was sensitive to it. When he delivered the message it was consequently received well.

This principle of understanding others and being sensitive to their feelings can be applied to every aspect of our lives and in every relationship. The next time someone offends you or ‘makes you mad’ try it out – reach out to understand them and their feelings first, before you try to get them to understand yours, and you will find a softening of heart as artificial barriers are removed.

- Jacob 2:6-9

Treasured Artifact of Julia’s Youth

Julia drew this today to help the class memorize 2 Nephi 28:7-9. When she is well-known and famous this will be a treasured artifact of her youth.

- 2 Nephi 28:7-9

Search Knowledge or be Ignorant

Try to encourage someone to understand or learn something that would be helpful to them when they just don’t care or won’t listen. Pretty frustrating, right?

One of my students shared a story of her cousin who was very unhappy with his life because he was making decisions that led to negative consequences. She encouraged him to read the scriptures and pray so he could find answers  on how to resolve his unhappiness. He refused to do it, wouldn’t make any effort, and consequently his unhappiness continued and deepened.

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” The original quote from 1546 by John Heywood is “A man maie well bring a horse to the water, But he can not make him drinke without he will.” Human nature hasn’t changed even after all these years.

Nephi taught his people “in plainness, even as plain as word can be” and some still refused to understand, or even try.

If you want knowledge then search for it. Seek to understand. Make the effort. Or be ignorant.

- 2 Nephi 32:7

Do Not Go Silent When Intimidated

We studied the second half of Dallin H. Oaks talk about religious freedom (link here) today.

In his words…

“Such forces — atheists and others — would intimidate persons with religious-based points of view from influencing or making the laws of their state or nation.”

“Aside from the obvious fact that this objection would deny free speech as well as religious freedom to members of our Church and its coalition partners, there are other reasons why the public square must be open to religious ideas and religious persons. As Richard John Neuhaus said many years ago, ‘In a democracy that is free and robust, an opinion is no more disqualified for being ‘religious’ than for being atheistic, or psychoanalytic, or Marxist, or just plain dumb.’”

“…we must not be deterred or coerced into silence by the kinds of intimidation I have described. We must insist on our constitutional right and duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences on public issues and to participate in elections and debates in the public square and the halls of justice.”

God Source of Power, Not Government

Our seminary class is studying a talk that Dallin H. Oaks gave a week ago at BYU-Idaho entitled “Religious Freedom” (link here).

In his words…

“Along with many other religious people, we affirm that God is the ultimate source of power and that, under Him, it is the people’s inherent right to decide their form of government. Sovereign power is not inherent in a state or nation just because its leaders have the power that comes from force of arms. And sovereign power does not come from the divine right of a king, who grants his subjects such power as he pleases or is forced to concede, as in Magna Carta. As the preamble to our constitution states: ‘We the People of the United States . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution.’”

“Religious freedom has always been at risk.”

“One of the great fundamentals of our inspired constitution, relied on by Oyun of Mongolia and countless others struggling for freedom in many countries in the world, is the principle that the people are the source of government power.”

“The greatest infringements of religious freedom occur when the exercise of religion collides with other powerful forces in society. Among the most threatening collisions in the United States today are (1) the rising strength of those who seek to silence religious voices in public debates, and (2) perceived conflicts between religious freedom and the popular appeal of newly alleged civil rights.”

Eating the Same Exact Salad Every Day – Boring!

If you had to eat the exact same salad every day it would get boring pretty quickly.

Your body needs the nutrients and minerals in the salad. Happily we can get those needed nutrients and minerals even when the ingredients change. Combining ingredients in different varieties and quantities produces salads that are interesting and tasty.

The Gospel is plain and simple. But it can be taught and combined in different ways to make it interesting. Consider how Isaiah in the Old Testament taught the Gospel compared to how Paul in the New Testament taught it. Same ‘nutrients and minerals’ but different flavors. Each resonates with us in different ways strengthening our understanding and belief.

It’s not surprising that God has provided multiple scriptures and prophets to give us his word. The core message is the same but the variety strengthens our understanding and belief.

Next time you read a scripture, listen to a talk, or participate in a lesson about something you’ve heard before don’t mentally check out, instead mentally engage and enjoy the flavor!

- 2 Nephi 29:11-13

You Aren’t Accountable So Live It Up!

You are not accountable or responsible for what you do. Just enjoy life and live it to the fullest. If you need to lie a little or take advantage of someone else to get ahead do it. You’re going to die anyway so you might as well get the most out of life while you have it.

I hope that statement above seemed out of place for the bite-sized beliefs in this blog. If you are just fine with it you may want to consider that a red flag – be concerned. It is in fact a falsehood.

Any teaching even loosely based on the idea or belief that we are not accountable is false and should be rejected.

This philosophy is entrenched in academia, entertainment, government, art, and all forms of media. It’s everywhere we turn. We face enormous pressure to believe and live our life in accordance with this false idea.

Nephi cautions us to avoid this belief by explaining that many people will say, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.”

The problem in believing that we are not accountable for what we do is that it leads to behavior that hurts others and hurts ourselves. That’s why it’s a falsehood because of course there are consequences. Ignore them at our own peril.

“Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Recognize the philosophies of men and avoid believing in them. Rather turn to God and the truth.

- 2 Nephi 28:5-8,31

Finding Comfort in Times of Grief and Anguish

In times of grief and anguish we can find comfort by turning to a higher power, to something greater than ourselves.

Several members in seminary today related stories of people close to them who died. In each case they turned to God and found solace and comfort.

This comfort from God is available to us at all times even if we have neglected or even rejected him in the past. He  will still accept us whenever we turn to him.

In our human pettiness do we easily forgive someone who offends us? It’s difficult. Yet even if we offend God he is still there willing to readily forgive and bring us close again.

Does God ever tell us to avoid benefiting from his blessings? No. Does he tell us that we can’t enjoy salvation? No again. He always invites us to him and just asks that we repent.

Therefore we each control our proximity to God and in times of grief and anguish it is a great comfort to put ourselves in his care.

- 2 Nephi 26:23-28

Be Understood

You make things very clear and plain when you want someone to understand what you are saying.

Dressing up communications with complexity, ambiguity, and ‘noise’ causes people to not understand.

You can tell if someone is trying ‘hoodwink’ or ‘pull one over on you’ if they make their communications unnecessarily wordy, complex, or complicated.

Many times highly educated people use overly complex communication to ensure that only people in their elite circles understand it, thereby excluding people they don’t want.

The document that defines the greatest form of government in the history of the world, the U.S. Constitution, is only 4,400 words (about 17 standard pages). Young people can read it and understand what it means. However many of the bills being written today are extremely wordy, complex, sometimes ambiguous, and elaborate.

Nephi had an important message to share with everyone and he went to great lengths to make it very plain, very simple, and therefore powerful and meaningful.

He wanted them to learn, avoid err, and understand.

When you have something important to say use clarity and plainness and others will understand you.

- 2 Nephi 25:4, 7, 20, 28

Seminary Teacher Look Alike?

I just laughed when I saw this blog post by Julia:

http://notwithoutlaughter.blogspot.com/2009/10/look-alike.html

To Be Satisfied, Or Not

Satisfaction is what you feel when you deep clean a room in your house and make it perfect. It’s what you feel when you let someone behind you at the grocery store go in front because they only have a few things and you have a lot.

Labor on things that satisfy and you will be satisfied. Spend your time and labor on instant gratification and pleasure and the result will be emptiness.

- 2 Nephi 9:51

Students Teach the ‘Teacher’

My seminary students had some great insights into what resonated with them in General Conference over the weekend. It’s great to hear their perspective of these teachings and shows how serious they are about learning and understanding truth.

Here is a highlight of what they said:

Sarah – when we are serving others it’s serving God and we do it because of our good desires.

Brittney – liked how the Rabbis after visiting Welfare Square said they believe our church does good works for the right reasons.

Logan – Elder Holland’s testimony of the Book of Mormon was so powerful.

Gavin – anger leads to destructiveness and bad feeling, we should be cheerful and not angry.

Andrew – the story Elder Choi told of the young men that were trouble makers (and bad singers) but they turned their lives around and became faithful (and good singers).

Anne – parallel of the workers that didn’t use their safety equipment to how we can apply that in our lives.

Julia – appreciated Elder Holland’s powerful testimony because he had such conviction and expressed it so strongly.

Bite-size Beliefs from General Conference (Sunday)

General Conference was so interesting to me this weekend since I was looking for ‘bite-size’ beliefs to share with my seminary class and on my blog.

The conference archive can be watched here: www.lds.org

Here are some of the beliefs I captured in the Sunday session:

• Successful travelers resist all distractions.
• In days of despair hope is found in the Savior.
• Rationalization is foolish.
• We are responsible for our time and what we do with it.
• After we experience a change in heart we must take good care of it.
• Stay true and faithful to what is right and blessings will flow.
• We all have the God given gift of moral agency.
• Truth is not relative.
• Self-discipline has eroded so society now tries to keep order by control and regulation.
• In the end it is only the internal moral compass that controls civility.
• The lack of internal control by  individuals leads to external control by governments.
• Intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth.
• We cannot assume that the future will be like the past.
• Mere wanting is not a proper guide for conduct.

Bite-size Beliefs from General Conference (Saturday)

During General Conference on Saturday I listened for ‘bite-size’ beliefs. It’s amazing how many there were. Each of these could be a separate blog post, lesson, and discussion. They are profound yet simple.

You can watch the conference here: www.lds.org

Here is a sampling:

• People need to feel welcome and part of a group for the group to be more effective in their purpose.
• What’s the point of a group if it has no purpose? That’s why all groups have a purpose.
• Being in a world that is constantly changing gives us the opportunity to make new decisions that keep us on the right path.
• Desire leads to behavior.
• Learning cannot be forced.
• Helping others helps ourselves.
• Teachers facilitate learning.
• When we do wrong we place a burden on our self.
• Burdens help prepare us for something better.
• Burdens give us experience to have empathy toward others.
• Think, feel, and do are what teachers should help their students with.
• You can do what seems impossible through belief in God.
• Express love and show it frequently to live peacefully in our families.
• Consistency in doing small things leads to accomplishing great things.
• Love at the center of our family, church, and livelihood yields more meaning in those things.
• What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are and who we will become.
• The greatest of all good things is God.
• The first thing to do for something difficult is to try.
• Wise parents condition some of the ‘gifts’ the give their children on their obedience.
• How to know the truth? The Spirit of God.
• We owe everything to the Savior.
• Our needs today are the same needs people had anciently.
• Temperance is a divine attribute.
• Temperance (self control) is required to teach and lead others.
• A temperate person is a strong person.
• Repentance brings peace into our life.
• If we don’t use our agency wisely we’ll end up on the side of evil.
• Engage is something good and it will change you for the good.
• When things get bad they will get better. Winter always gives way to Spring.
• Work hard and things will get better.
• Work keeps us from dwelling on the difficulties of our circumstances.
• Work is an antidote to anxiety.
• Gain a reputation for excellence in all we do.
• It’s in the doing, not just the thinking, where we accomplish our goals.
• Retirement is not part of the Lord’s plan of happiness.
• A person is a fool that takes an insult where one wasn’t intended.
• No one can make us angry, it’s a choice.

Your Plans for the Next 5,000 Years

When you got going this morning did you have a plan for the day? Of course. We plan our day so we are prepared, productive, and can meet our objectives.

We make plans over different time frames: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, even a lifetime.

What will you be doing in 5,000 years, do you have a plan that extends beyond this life? If you believe that the spirit continues to exist even after the body dies then it only makes sense that we have plans that extend beyond death.

The same reasons we have plans for this day apply for having a plan beyond death: being prepared, productive, and meeting our objectives.

If our objective is lasting happiness then consider the plan our Creator established so we can achieve it.

There are two elements that keep us from happiness beyond the death: physical death and sin. We just need to overcome them.

It’s really quite simple. In the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the power to overcome physical death through the resurrection and sin through repentance.

All you have to do to overcome physical death is to die.  No problem there, we all will. Later, through the power of the Atonement, we’ll all be resurrected.

To overcome sin all we have to do is repent.

So that’s the plan if you want it. Uncomplicated, powerful, and attainable.

- 2 Nephi 9:7