This was the lesson I gave in my Young Women’s class recently. I didn’t make it to Sunday School, where most of my spiritual epiphanies originate, so I’m taking my inspiration from the messages I delivered in class.
Perspective is a funny thing. It has to be based on truth, not our interpretation of truth. Our own personal perspectives can be skewed by our experiences and the experiences others bring into our lives. These are not based on truth.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how others perceive the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church). For those who have heard nothing about it, or who have been taught by those who are against it, many of our beliefs may seem really weird, out-there, or nutty. Even in this century there are individuals who are still taught that Mormons have horns, that the men still have plural wives, and other things that simply aren’t true.
One of my favorite accounts of this comes from the latter-day apostle Boyd K. Packer. He recalls:
Years ago, I was at a symposium at a college in Oregon. Present were a Catholic bishop, a rabbi, an Episcopalian minister, an Evangelical minister, a Unitarian clergyman, and myself.
The president of the school, Dr. Bennett, hosted a breakfast. One of them asked which wife I had brought. I told them I had a choice of one. For a second, I thought that I was being singled out for embarrassment. Then someone asked the Catholic bishop if he had brought his wife.
The next question came from Dr. Bennett to me: “Is it true that Mormons have horns?”
I smiled and said, “I comb my hair so that they can’t be seen.”
Dr. Bennett, who was completely bald, put both hands on the top of his head and said, “Oh! You can never make a Mormon out of me!” (Boyd K. Packer, “A Defense and a Refuge,” Liahona, Nov 2006, 85–88)
It can be difficult not to get one’s ire up just a little when these sorts of untruthes are spoken, but one of the big things I felt impressed to share with my girls is this: we don’t know where others are coming from. We don’t know what they’ve been taught. We don’t know what experiences they’ve had to fashion out their own perceptions on life.
The same can be said for us. Others don’t know what we’ve had to endure in this mortal life. They cannot perceive what personal testimony we might hold. Most of all, they do not know why we are the way we are. Therefore, we must treat others carefully, and with respect concerning their beliefs.
The second big point I felt impressed to share was that God knows so much more than we can ever hope to know. He sees everything, from where we lived before we were born (where did we come from?), to what we need to accomplish in this life (why are we here?), right down to where we can hope to be in life after death (where am I going?).
The Father’s knowledge far surpasses ours. He knows what we are capeable of, what we need to learn in this life. Sometimes He’ll ask us to go through hard times. Ask anyone who has come out of a trial seemingly stronger for the experience, and they’ll tell you they’ve learned things they never could have learned any other way. Our trials are not always punishment for doing something wrong. Sometimes they’re there to help us progress.
We all have things set up for us here in this mortal life. I personally have been given many trials in this life, most of which can’t be seen with just a glance. These lessons I had to learn were in my brain and in my heart, and I’ve passed – not with flying colors, but enough that my Heavenly Father has placed a new path my life is to take before me.
At times life feels overwhelming. At times it’s beyond exciting. At times we’re humbled. And at times we’re scared.
Lastly, it is important to keep an eternal perspective in our daily doings. We need to remember who we are: precious children of our Heavenly Father, who gave us an opportunity to learn and grow and choose this mortal life in the pre-existence. We need to remember why we’re here: to continue learning and growing and making a daily, even hourly choice to keep along the Lord’s path. We also need to remember where we’re going, and what we can become: even like unto our Father, forever connected to our families. This knowledge has brought me through many a hard time.
It is so important to make sure our perceptions, of anything and anyone, are based in truth. How? Well, we can guess at what something is or what it means, but then comes the important part. Be ready for the answer, whatever it may be.
