Go to the Source - a weird teaching experience turned into a Christmas message

I have a lot of interesting experiences as a teacher. Some reward some try some are just plain weird. One trying and often confusing thing is student evaluations. (I wish we got to evaluate the students. I wonder how they'd like it if their teachers got a chance to anonymously write all the things we've been thinking about them.) Today I was browsing through the standard "this teacher is a joke" and "this class stinks" comments when I came across this fabulous little gem:

"I noticed that our teacher had some very small writing on her inner forearm that could be hidden under her sleeve. It was discouraging as a student to see my teacher cheating. I don't know for sure that that is what it was, perhaps it is a tattoo, but I'm pretty sure that the writing changed form time to time and it looks like cheating to me. Made me not want to work hard in class because I know that we would be in big trouble with her if she caught any of us cheating. Didnt appreciate that."

Wow. Just wow. I laughed like a hyeena when I read this. It's so absurd. Let me detail why:

1. They assumed that writing on my arm was cheating. Cheating for what? I take a notebook into class every day, so not "cheating" for teaching. Cheating for my other classes? Yeah, because I can fit enough in a line or two on my arm that it's going to help me in an Analysis test.. Ha! I'm not in 1010 where I need to have the quadratic formula memorized...
2. When I read this I had "wrap gifts" written on my arm. I wish I could show that to them. They'd feel really dumb and I'd love to see their face. (No I'm not vindictive much, why do you ask?)
3. Fact- I almost never teach in long sleeves. I wear layers in the winter and usually teach in a t-shirt because it's just too warm in these buildings to be teaching in long sleeves. I have 1 long sleeve shirt that I wear regularly. So I don't know what sleeve they think I'm hiding it under
4.  Most important point of all: why did they not just ask me what it was? Obviously it concerned them enough that they wrote about it anonymously in my reviews so why didn't they do something or ask about it? "Hey, what that on your arm?" "Oh, I need to remember to take out the trash tonight..." Scandal! Or if they were really so concerned about their teacher cheating on.. something... why didn't they report it to someone who could look into it? Instead they just fabricated some crazy theory about what it was (which might be revealing of where their own mind was.) and used it as an excuse of why it was the teachers fault they did poorly in class.

I find this is a symptom people in general suffer when it comes to God. We see something that happens and we fish around in our brains and decide on something that sort of fits with what happened and what we think/feel/want and we cook up an explanation. I'm sure Heavenly Father is sitting up there going "What in the world are they thinking? Where do they come up with these things? Why don't they just ask!?" The solution is right there in front of us. "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you" (Bible, Book of Mormon, about 80 places...) The scriptures promise that if we pray the Lord will answer (in his own way and time, but He'll answer). Well, so what if you don't believe the scriptures?

If someone told you that you could make a fake volcano by mixing vinegar and baking soda, but you had never seen it before you have 3 options: 1. Take their word for it. 2. Don't take their word for it and disbelieve. 3. Try it. If you choose option 2 you will go through your life never knowing the awesomeness of the vinegar/baking soda volcano- even though it's a true thing. Why didn't you know about it? Because you chose not to believe. If you decide to find out for yourself, but you go to the store and buy flour and vinegar or baking soda and gatorade, you're not going to get good results and you'll go through your life not believing in vinegar/baking soda awesomeness because you convinced yourself that you tried it and it didn't work. This applies in so many things in "real life". If you want a loan but don't fill out the paperwork, you won't get one. If you have a problem with your phone but you never call the customer service it won't get fixed. If you want to know how to make a good garden but you talk to a bunch of engineers you probably won't get very much info. That's not because the engineers aren't smart- they just probably aren't experts in horticulture. If you want to know things you have to go to the appropriate source. If you want something to turn out right, you need to follow the appropriate steps to make it happen.

Well, it's the same thing for spiritual matters. If I want to know if the scriptures are true I won't find out by discussing them with people. I have to go to the source. I have to read the scriptures. I have to ponder the things I read. I have to try out the teachings. And then I have to pray to Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to know if the words I read are true. That is the way that God has said we can come to find out the truth for ourselves.
" Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

  And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:3-4)

Then once we've done this, and continue to do this, the truth will be revealed through the Holy Ghost. Peace and joy and assurance will come and you will know of truth.

We can try to find truth in other ways, but we aren't guaranteed results. And we may walk around all our lives never reaping the benefits of living by the truth because we act like we tried it and it didn't work, when really we didn't try it any more than using flour and water is trying to make a vinegar and baking soda volcano.

This Christmas time I would like to add my testimony to the vast pool of witnesses of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Savior. I know he lives. I know he died and was resurrected to save man from their sins. (From, not in) I know these things because I have taken the steps and found out for myself that there is a God in heaven, He loves us, and He gave us the gift of his son. Give yourself a gift this Christmas. Give yourself hope. Gift yourself faith. Gift yourself peace. Read the scriptures, come to know of their truthfulness and then do something about it.

Learning

Our gospel doctrine class today was on "Learning by the Holy Ghost". We didn't actually talk much about that specifically, but talked a lot about the what, why, and how of learning. I thought it was a very appropriate topic with the start of school ominously looming just off the horizon for so many in that class. We could all do, I think, with a little reminder of what a blessing higher educational opportunities are- not a curse. The thing that I was impressed the most with in our discussion is actually a comment that I said. Now, I'm not being all proud of myself here, it was just one of those moments when the Spirit teaches you in the moment and you learn as you're making the comment. We were discussing the importance of learning and Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19 was naturally brought up.

 "18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come."  

All the usual comments were made about the importance of gaining knowledge, then I made a comment I thought was pretty neat. I realized that all the points that had been made were true, but if you read these verses a different way it leads to another meaning. Think of our pre-mortal life. We know, through modern revelation, that we lived as spirits before we came to earth. We lived with Heavenly Father and wanted to be like him. So, one of the reasons the earth was created and we came down to it was that we had maxed out on what we could learn as spirits and needed our mortal experience, body and all, to go any further. Thus is our mortal life. We will eventually reach a point when we have maxed out on what we can learn in this state and will move on to the next, first possibly as spirits then resurrected beings. Before we came to earth we were taught, and taught, the gospel and other things.

 A quote I quite like from Elder Bruce R. McConkie: "All the spirits of men, while yet in the Eternal Presence, developed aptitudes, talents, capacities, and abilities of every sort, kind, and degree. During the long expanse of life which then was, an infinite variety of talents and abilities came into being. As the ages rolled, no two spirits remained alike. Mozart became a musician; Einstein centered his interest in mathematics; Michelangelo turned his attention to painting. . . . Abraham and Moses and all of the prophets sought and obtained the talent for spirituality..." In the premortal world we studied and learned various things according to our interests. Then when we were born we had the opportunity to use that knowledge and skill as we again sought it out, the indication being that it came much more easily and fully the second time. Then as we pass on to the 3rd stage of our immortal lives we get to retain our knowledge and skills and continue to build upon them. But there's something more as well. If we are to become like Heavenly Father we'll need to learn gobs more than we ever could in this life. It won't all come just because we're resurrected, but will come as we study and learn, same as on earth (hopefully more quickly and more fully too). So those who exerted themselves in the premortal realm came to earth with a natural ability to learn the thing they had studied. It seems also that the thing that will give us "so much the advantage in the world to come" is the ability to study and learn. I don't really know how much use my ability to play sports will be after this life, but I'm sure that the ability I have to learn quickly new skills and rules of the games will help me as I learn to become like my father. I see this as I teach math. I had students who come into class with poor skills but who do well in the class because they know how to study and to persevere when a subject is hard. Then there are very bright students, or even ones who have taken the class before, who do not pass the class even though they probably have all the requisite background knowledge and brain cells needed to pass it. They mostly do not pass because they do not know how to study. It makes sense that as we progress it won't necessarily matter if we had a diploma of one level or another, but how well we have cultivated our desire and ability to learn while we were in this stage of our life.

So, as I face returning to school I am grateful for the chance I have to further my knowledge (and for all those that make it possible for me to do so), and I also have more appreciation for the difficult times that lie ahead that will teach me how to stick it out and learn how to learn.