Someday I'll Get It Straight

I made the fatal mistake of procrastination yet again; someday I'll work on that. For now though, I am left with an idea for yet another gospel related comparison.

Let me set the scene for you, if you please...

The time has come where with my turning 21 years of age, a couple of things are in transition and need my attention. First and foremost on my list that I ignored: renewing my drivers license. I saw it coming from miles away, I received a reminder call from the office fleet director, I even wrote it down on sticky notes and hid them around the apartment to pop up and remind me at random times.

Yeah, There Was Even One In There Too...

Alas, I let it go until I was in panic/scramble mode. Tactical error? Of course, but admitting it at this point doesn't help me too much! From that point I started to get angry with myself, then the Idaho DMV, then the whole renewing concept entirely. Why should I have to renew my license? C'mon, nothing changes and im still a good driver, whats the idea of just putting me through hoops?

Well after that I calmed down, we took care of business, and happily ever after happened. But the concept of renewal stuck with me. Then I made the gospel related leap.

With a drivers license for someone who has never driven before, there are steps you take to get one. You figure out the rules of the road, you gain experience in a parkinglot somewhere, take a written exam, then get checked off on the road test. You sign on the dotted line saying that you will obey the rules of the road, and submit that you are capable and responsible for what goes on when the wheels are rolling. Then you're all set! Freedom!

When you renew, its basically a declaration saying that you are still on board with all you previously did in a way that enables you to keep the privileges of driving you obtained through the licensing process.



The concept of renewal with baptism is something that is thankfully a very big part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every Sunday we take the sacrament. The sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice and renew the covenants they made at baptism. These covenants or promises are that you are willing to comfort those that stand in need of comfort, be witnesses of God at all times and in all places, and keep His commandments. Through keeping these promises and renewing them every week, all the blessings God promises at baptism remain available to you, "that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you" (Mosiah 18:8-10).

It also gives me time to ponder upon the Savior and what he freely offers. I sometimes think about where I was a week ago, a month ago, a year ago and so on. I cannot always see the change and growth I experience on a day to day basis, but I sense it and come to appreciate the love and patience of someone who didn't have to sacrifice for me but did. I am grateful for a gospel that allows change and a renewal of that commitment to following the Savior. Robert D. Hales said,

More than just thinking about the facts of the Savior’s suffering and death, our pondering helps us to recognize that through the Savior’s sacrifice, we have the hope, opportunity, and strength to make real, heartfelt changes in our lives.

The Cure

My family moved during the beginning of my third grade year, a process that is sometimes a little bit difficult for a younger kid. I remember it being scary, moving away from all my friends and being thrust into a brand new environment that was far from my comfort zone. My class was full of nice and friendly kids, many that I would eventually go all the way through highschool with, and all in all it was a pretty smooth transition.

Being the new kid, I didn't have as strong of a friendship with many of those in my class as the others had, and I wanted to be included as if I was one of the longtime regulars. Whatever the group activity of the day was during recess was where I went. I tried to keep myself there, having fun, just being included.

I had an easier time than some...

I distinctly remember one infamous day of my life in particular when a classmate who had been there from first grade had one of the roughest days ever. She was bright and one of the better students in the class, but it was apparent she didn't come from the wealthiest home in community. Her clothes were not "in" and her hair was always a little tangled. She came from a home where her family smoked pretty heavily, and it led to asthma and a constant lingering air about her.

We all know kids can be cruel, but she was tormented at every possible opportunity in the worst way a third grade class could possibly know how. Unceasingly it seemed, whether it was in class or during lunch or on the bus, they hounded her. That day that is most vivid in my mind comes at a time when she won an academic award in class and was informally accused of cheating by a chanting chorus of her classmates. She left school in tears.

...

I wish I could say I stood up for her. I wish I had told everybody else to knock it off. I wish I had been her friend. I never saw her after that year, but her face still crosses my memory every once in awhile. That situation and my conscience has taught me a lot. I never joined in, but to this day I remain just as guilty.

Looking back, I was still the new kid... but was it more important to be popular or to have done what was right? Was it more important to keep my head down or to speak out against the wrong? How could self preservation win out against kindness?

I have learned a little from my life and particularly from my mission since then: Don't wait for people to be kind, show them how. Always be kinder than necessary. Compassion is not a weakness, but it is the essence the most admirable men and women I have personally ever known. And most importantly, that the Savior is the greatest example of all that is gentle, gracious, and charitable.

Charity is the pure love of Christ. We know through the scriptures in Moroni 10:21 that, "except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God, neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope". And as we find in Corinthians 13:13, "of faith, hope, charity; the greatest of these is charity."

Lets all work a little harder to be a littler kinder.