Intellectual Growth

Ever since I've been married, I've planted a garden of some kind. Unfortunately, many of my garden attempts, especially my earlier ones, have ended in disappointment. My first year of gardening in a garden plot was in Illinois, and that year we called our garden the 'random sampler' because we got only about one or two of each produce item--and all were small. Following my misadventures, I started getting tips from my garden plot neighbor who really seemed to have a green thumb. He had a few tips and also recommended the book "Square Foot Gardening." The book had a listing of the timing for planting of seeds and information about what seeds germinate under what conditions. For example, tomatoes need warm weather to sprout and grow, whereas spinach will not even sprout if temperatures climb about 70-80 F. Important facts if you’re trying to grow both in the same garden!

As I've continued to learn and grown, my garden attempts have yielded better though not perfect results. One important lesson I have learned from my garden experiences is summed up in Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21, which I will paraphrase slightly:

"There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven, before the foundation of the world upon which all garden blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any harvest from our gardens, it is by obedience to the laws upon which it is predicated"

I learned that to overcome the challenges of the natural world, I had to understand the laws of nature that govern plant growth and development. While it was easy to criticize the soil, the sun, the insects, the rain, the truth was that the real shortcomings came from my lack of understanding and applying  correct principles.

As it turns out, this lesson applies to all aspects of our lives. How many of us have specific challenges we need to overcome in life? Do we struggle with finances or with school? Do we want a better a job? Do we want to be more spiritual? Do we need to improve relations with our spouse? Do we need to know how to better help our children, our parents, or our siblings? Do we or a loved one struggle with mental illness or addiction?

If so, we need to understand the laws associated with our condition so that we can master our situation.

As Russell M. Nelson testified in his first general conference talk, "The surgeon soon learns the incontrovertibility of divine law. He knows that hopes and wishes are sometimes simply powerless sham. Desired blessings come only by obedience to divine law, and in no other way. My lifetime thus far has been focused on learning those laws. Only as the laws are known, and then obeyed, can the blessings we desire be earned."

This is why intellectual goals are one of the core areas of development in the new children and youth program, and are also necessary for every adult to continue progressing in a manner pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

But how do we know in what areas to grow and develop?

We live in a world saturated with information. Our society invests significantly in schooling and education. We have libraries with thousands of books. We could watch a lifetime of YouTube videos, memorize thousands of sports statistics, and even know the names of all the villains and side characters in the Star Wars films.

We can do all this and find that we have been "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" as Paul says (see 2 Tim 3:7), or worse, that as Jacob warned, all our learning has made us think we are wise, and we hearken not to the counsel of God (see 2 Nephi 9:28).

What learning is most essential?

The Lord has commanded in Doctrine and Covenants 88:79 that we are to learn:

"Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations..."

And in one of my personal favorite quotes, Brigham Young (see Journal of Discourses p. 170) taught the Saints the importance of education saying,

"Go to work and start some schools, and instead of going to parties to dance and indulge in this nonsense, go to school and study; have the girls go, and teach them chemistry, so that they can take any of these rocks and analyze them—tell the properties and what they are. I don't suppose there is a man here who can tell these properties. The sciences can be learned without much difficulty. Instead of going 'right and left, balance all, promenade,' go to work and teach yourselves something. Instead of having this folly, I want to have schools and entertain the minds of the people and draw them out to learn the arts and sciences. Send the old children to school and the young ones also; there is nothing I would like better than to learn chemistry, botany, geology, and mineralogy, so that I could tell what I walk on, the properties of the air I breathe, what I drink, &c."

There you have it, an endorsement for chemistry from Brigham Young. And an encouragement for girls to study STEM fields over a hundred years before it was cool to do so.

In addition to formal education, we will find we have other things we need to learn. As with my garden trials, it is often our challenges that give us our curriculum. As we face problems, we have the choice to blame other people or uncontrolled circumstances, or we can recognize that we can partner with God and learn line upon line, precept upon precept until we can know the laws that will enable us to progress and have the same kind of power and mastery that God has.

In Doctrine andCovenants 93 we learned that the mortal Jesus "received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace" and that we are also commanded to grow from "grace to grace."

How does that grace occur? For me, it has often come by learning. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:118 we are instructed to "teach one another words of wisdom." For me, significant learning and growth had occurred from formal teachers and informal mentors. As I have attended classes and had discussions with friends, I have learned things that have changed my life.

In addition, I have found mentors and teachers among the rich and famous, the distant sage, and the dead. How do I get mentors and teachers like this? It is through the miracle of the written word. Thus the Lord also instructs us to "seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom." (see D&C 88:118)

For me, there are many "best books" that have helped me grow and develop in significant ways. Books that have changed my paradigm of myself and the world. There are many books that could help you as you seek to overcome your personal trials and challenges.

Do you or a loved one struggle with depression and the effects it has on limiting the ability to feel the Spirit of the Lord? Try reading or listening to Silent Souls Weeping by Jane Clayson Johnson, who wrote the book to look into the effects of clinical depression on members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Do you struggle with weight? Perhaps The Obesity Code by Jason Fung might help you gain a better understanding of the fundamental causes of weight gain.

Do you wish to better understand how to solve problems with people, be a leader, and be a better friend? Try How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, or The Third Alternative and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

Do you wish to understand how to learn and remember things better and use your mental resources more effectively? Try Brain Rules by John Medina or Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg.

Do you feel pulled in many directions, and want to learn how to focus your life on the most important things? Try reading Essentialism, the Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown or Willpower Doesn't Work by Benjamin Hardy.

Do you wish to build greater physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy with your spouse? Read And They Were not Ashamed by Laura M. Brotherson.

Do you want to know not just why you should share the gospel, but how you can go about doing it better without guilt or fear, try Clayton Christensen's book The Power of Everyday Missionaries.

Do you wish to gain a greater testimony of our Savior Jesus, to have the Spirit of the Lord in your life, and to better understand our role at this critical time in gathering scattered Israel. Read The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

These are only some of the "best books" that are out there. While these books may not be the exact books that you need at this time, and while not all your needed knowledge may be available in books or classes, you can trust that your problems and challenges can be overcome by mastering the pertinent laws and principles. God's grace will lead you to a knowledge of the things you need to know so you can learn and grow in unimaginable ways. 

The choice is yours--what will you learn next?