Sunday, August 31, 2008

Learning to Learn



As I was reading in The Book of Mormon this morning, I just had this overwhelming feeling of love for this book. I know that it is true. I am so grateful for its contents. I was reading a few of my favorite chapters this morning at the end of 2 Nephi (specifically chapter 29 to the end of 31). A few of the verses scattered throughout these chapters have really helped me to answer a question that’s been on my mind this last week.

As I’m preparing for school, I’ve become overwhelmed with the thought of how much improvement I need to make in my life. Not only professionally, but religiously and exercise-ishly as well. Sometimes I want to take on too much at one time and want to know everything and be perfect at EVERYTHING as well. That is just not how life works. And thinking that way severely overwhelms me to the point of not knowing where to start and THUS not starting anything! It’s really frustrating.

Like I said, I’ve been thinking about how to study better and how exactly to go about improving myself. The following are a few verses I read this morning that I felt helped me to see that learning comes little by little.

2 Nephi 28:30 “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”




This scriptures reminds me that if I am desiring to learn and striving to learn, I will learn. I most likely will not gain knowledge all at once, but I will gain knowledge little by little. We can’t possibly learn everything all at once. Our brains would explode and we wouldn’t know how to comprehend it. As a teacher, I KNOW that learning happens when you build upon previous knowledge slowly but surely. I need to apply this to my life. Additionally, I need to remember to prioritize my life so that Heavenly Father is first!

Another scripture I feel relates to this same idea is in 2 Nephi 31:3 – “For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.”

I truly take comfort in the fact that Heavenly Father knows how I learn. He knows me and he provides learning opportunities for me in SIMPLE ways according to my understanding and knowledge. WOW! That is such a powerful concept. Heavenly Father truly is a master teacher, because he uses the ultimate guidelines to teach us in SIMPLE ways. He delights in plainness. He is NOT out to confuse us or taunt us with vast knowledge we cannot understand. However, he will provide ways for us to improve so that we can attain that vast knowledge over time and according to the style in which we learn best. Thank you Heavenly Father!

While all of this didn’t answer my question directly, I do feel like I need to make my learning more focused and more consistent. If I don’t act like learning is a priority in my life, it won’t be! I need to delineate time for learning, both secularly and spiritually, in order to improve my life.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Attitudes of Gratitude




I was thinking today how grateful I am to be a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. No matter what happens during my week, every Sunday I look forward to attending church. I love Sundays! I love how I get time to be at peace with myself and my life. I get time to forget about the pressing demands of the world and to focus on my Savior. I have time on Sunday to reevaluate my life in order to improve for the coming week. Sunday is such a great day to fill my spiritual reservoir, to remind me of what life’s all about, and to just help me to chill out. Today, thankfully, was no different.

Lately, life has been a little stressful with preparing for an entirely new teaching position as well as getting ready for my little sister’s wedding this week. Needless to say, tensions have been high around my house! It was such a relief to be able to go to church with my family and just enjoy feeling of Heavenly Father’s spirit. I actually went to church twice: once with my family and then once with my boyfriend to our normal church congregation. I feel like I gained MUCH needed spiritual insight today. I had been praying in my heart all week about ways to overcome some current issues. I felt like I received answers to those prayers today at church. I am incredibly blessed to be able to attend our church and feel of God’s love and peace for me. Additionally, I know that attending church also helps Evan to search for ways to improve himself as well. All in all, I want to say that I know that our church is true. There are many Christian denominations that have SO much truth, wisdom, and love… they’re just missing a few key pieces. I’m thankful for the knowledge I have that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I’m thankful for a God that blesses me in ways I cannot foretell nor imagine. I know that it is through His Spirit that I am able to gain a testimony of these truths.