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.