Day 133

  • Principle: Be Curious  
  • Book of Mormon Reading: Mosiah 29:16 - 29:32
    •  The people are invited to remember.  How does learning and remembering work together?  
  • Marion D. Hanks shares the following story:

    • Heavenly Father placed us on the earth to learn and gain experience. Many of the things we should learn can be learned only by doing; it is not enough just to study about them. For example, we cannot learn to love someone simply by reading about love; we must serve that person if we are to develop love for him or her.

      The Lord has provided many opportunities for us to serve and lead in His Church and thereby learn. As we perform the tasks assigned to us in an office or calling, we are often presented with challenges. As we overcome these challenges by doing our tasks, we increase our abilities, and tasks that were once difficult become easier to do. We are then able to help others overcome similar challenges.

      Learning by doing is something we all can do, no matter how much formal education we have. One woman, for example, once complained to Dr. Louis Agassiz, a distinguished scientist, that she had never really had a chance to learn. She told him that she and her sister ran a boardinghouse and that she did not have time for anything else. He asked what type of work she did, and she replied:

      “‘I skin potatoes and chop onions.’

      “He asked, ‘Madam, where do you sit during these interesting but homely duties?’

      “‘On the bottom step of the kitchen stairs.’

      “‘Where do your feet rest?’

      “‘On the glazed brick.’

      “‘What is glazed brick?’

      “‘I don’t know, sir.’

      “He said, ‘How long have you been sitting there?’

      “‘Fifteen years.’

      “‘Madam, here is my personal card,’ said Dr. Agassiz. ‘Would you kindly write me a letter concerning the nature of a glazed brick?’”

      She took him seriously. She looked up “brick” in the dictionary but felt that the definition was too simple to send to a famous scientist. So she looked in the encyclopedia. As she read about bricks, she came to words that she did not understand. So she looked them up. And then, because she really became interested in what she was learning, she visited a brickyard. When she finished her studies, she sat down and wrote Dr. Agassiz a 36-page letter on the subject of glazed brick.

      Back came a letter from Dr. Agassiz informing her that with just a few minor changes he had published her letter and was sending her $250. At the bottom of the letter he asked, “What was under those bricks?”

      She found ants under the bricks, so she began to study ants. She found there were between 800 and 2,500 different kinds. She became fascinated by the many varieties of ants and how and where they lived. After wide reading and careful study, she wrote 360 pages on the subject to Dr. Agassiz. He published it as a book and sent her more money.

      With the money she had received she went to visit all the lands of her dreams. (Adapted from Marion D. Hanks, The Gift of Self [1974], 151–53.)

  • Revisit what you wrote at the beginning of the week in answer to the question, what is knowledge?  From what you have studied this week how does your definition change?  Why did you make those changes?  How do the changes impact the way you see knowledge in your life?
    • Read your answer a few more times looking for any more places where you can add depth and clarity.
  • What further questions do you have regarding knowledge?  Where can you go to find answers to those questions? 
    • If you have questions take some time and go look for answers.
  • Additional Study