Learning Fearlessly

|Anne Wolfe, 18|

I have been doing what most of the world has been doing. NOTHING! Out of sheer boredom, I was reading through one of my notebooks. This particular notebook was dedicated to writing down interesting facts, quotes, and just my thoughts on various books that I have read. I found a quote that I had written down that I really liked.

“It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery, and as much happiness as possible.”

Samuel Johnson

Even though I like learning, I still sometimes find myself being a bit afraid to try something out. Things that maybe my peers are uninterested in and little things that I feel the world tells me are unimportant or a waste of time. I know this might sound a bit silly, but I am sure we have all felt this at one point.

But as important as it is to learn important things like, spelling or algebra, we should not discount the little things that we can learn. They are just as important. In Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19 we read the following:

“Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 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.”

This doesn’t just mean knowledge about the gospel or being really smart in school. It means all things. Gospel principles, world history, anatomy, art, and everything in between. Think of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They created us and this entire earth. How could they create a person without having a knowledge of the body and how it works? We are destined to be like our Heavenly Father, and our Father is all-knowing.

Of course we should be careful. Satan has power and is always trying to tempt us. While there are many great books and sources, there are also many bad books and bad sources. Pray for guidance. Listen to the Holy Spirit and listen to your spirit.

Your interests and passions reflect who you are. It shows who your spirit (or soul) is. In our church, we believe that we had a pre-mortal life. We had opinions and fought to come to earth. Maybe your spirit has been longing to try and learn something now that you have a physical body. This earth life is a time to learn and grow. Sometimes the world tells us that some things are not important or that some things are a waste of time. But what is important to you, is important. Especially if you feel prompted to do that.

So learn how to make pie. Memorize a song on the piano. Learn how to juggle. Perfect your dance moves. Draw your favorite video game character. Go out and catch frogs. Read poetry. Learn how to tie knots. Do and learn new things fearlessly. Remember that learning little things can bring us joy. When we study, we are not perfect. We don’t know everything. But that is the point of study. This is the point of learning. You begin without that knowledge and progress towards it.

I have never done ballet, but I have always admired it’s beauty and grace. For a while I thought “I am too old to start. I should have started that when I was younger.” But now I am not making those excuses. I just started learning ballet, and I am happy. Even though it is hard and I am not good, I am happy and that is so awesome. And as I have begun to embrace other ambitions and learn about things I find interesting, I am finding that I am happier and I have a greater appreciation and reverence to our all-knowing Heavenly Father.