Learning the Lessons of the Past

My thoughts on Elder Ballard's talk "Learning Lessons of the Past"

Elder Ballard's humor is so sweet. The generation gap is sometimes so huge and yet so sweet.

This talk is one I hope my boys and girl read. There is so much wisdom for them in it. I remember when it was given we were struggling with a son and he was rebelling and not willing to listen to the conference talks that Sunday. My heart ached that he wasn't there listening to this wonderful talk. But as Elder Ballard said one must be "willing to listen and learn,". Do you think he will ever? I pray he will. I know I was more like him than I want to admit and it scares me. I just hope he is learning and listening and doing it willingly.

"When you are willing to listen and learn, some of life’s most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you. They have walked where you are walking and have experienced many of the things you are experiencing. If you listen and respond to their counsel, they can help guide you toward choices that will be for your benefit and blessing and steer you away from decisions that can destroy you. As you look to your parents and others who have gone before you, you will find examples of faith, commitment, hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that you should strive to duplicate."

"It is my message and testimony to you today, my young friends, that for the most important questions of your eternal lives, there are answers in the scriptures and in the words and testimonies of apostles and prophets. The fact that these words come largely from older men, past and present, doesn’t make them any less relevant. In fact, it makes their words even more valuable to you because they come from those who have learned much through years of devout living."

"There are great lessons to be learned from the past, and you ought to learn them so that you don’t exhaust your spiritual strength repeating past mistakes and bad choices."

I rejoice when my children have something happen to them and they handle it correctly and then say something like, "Well, I remember when we read about (prophets name) in the scriptures and how he handled a similar situation," or something like that. My heart rejoices.

I know trying to tell my kids about my experiences is like talking to a brick wall. They don't care. They don't want to know. Everything that is happening to them is new and never been done before. I have to remind them that it isn't new. Yes, the medium of delivery might be new, but hurt feelings, broken promises, failed classes, broken fenders, broken hearts all happened long before and will continue to happen. Not much is new on the human emotional learning scene.

" Time and again we see the cycle of righteousness followed by wickedness,"
"...spiritual darkness results when His children turn their collective backs on Him."

Do we have this happening in our own little lives? Are we learning from those repeating patterns in the scriptures? Are we turning our backs on the Lord because we think we can do it ourselves? We don't need his help? He is out to punish us? The windows of heaven are closed?

"Does any of this sound familiar, my young brothers and sisters? Do you see the historical pattern emerging again—the pattern of righteousness followed by prosperity, followed by material comforts, followed by greed, followed by pride, followed by wickedness and a collapse of morality—the same pattern we’ve seen again and again within the pages of the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon? More importantly, what impact will the lessons of the past have on the personal choices you make right now and for the rest of your lives?"

Eye opening statement! and his question is profound. What choices am I making? Am I following his council to learn?

"The voice of the Lord is clear and unmistakable. He knows you. He loves you. He wants you to be eternally happy. But according to your God-given agency, the choice is yours. Each one of you has to decide for yourself if you are going to ignore the past and suffer the painful mistakes and tragic pitfalls that have befallen previous generations, experiencing for yourself the devastating consequences of bad choices. How much better your life will be if you will follow the noble example of the faithful followers of Christ such as the sons of Helaman, Moroni, Joseph Smith, and the stalwart pioneers—and choose, as they did, to remain faithful to your Heavenly Father’s commandments."

"Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit."

Let's all sing, "The wise man built his house upon a rock." Where is my house being built?

Now this next statement is a wow for those of us who homeschool. I need to expound on this one some more.
"Of course, it’s not enough to learn these lessons as a matter of history and culture. Learning the names and dates and sequence of events from the printed page won’t help you very much unless the meaning and the message are written in your hearts. Nourished by testimony and watered with faith, the lessons of the past can take root in your hearts and become a vibrant part of who you are."

"And so it returns, as it always does, to your own personal faith and testimony. That is the difference-maker, my young brothers and sisters. That is how you know. That is how you avoid the mistakes of the past and take your spirituality to the next level. If you are open and receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in your lives, you will understand the lessons of the past, and they will be burned into your souls by the power of your testimonies."

And I add my amen to this statement:
"That you may find joy and happiness and peace in the future by learning the great and eternal lessons of the past is my prayer for each of you—for my grandchildren and all of the youth of the Church, wherever you may be".

Gut check time! What am I learning from history, both church, gospel and family? What am I learning from my own personal history? Am I making the same mistakes? What am I teaching my children? Date? Places? Times? or am I teaching them consequences to actions. Am I teaching them moral lessons? Gospel lessons? Courage in the face of trial? And am I living like I learned them?