Making Mistakes Part 1

The Atonement

I have a confession to make...I make mistakes.  A lot of mistakes.  I could not possibly name all the mistakes I have made over my lifetime, nor could I name all the people that my mistakes have impacted. I'm pretty sure that I have even made mistakes that I didn't know I was making. I'm not sure I want to know all the mistakes that I've made!

There is one thing that brings me a little comfort about making mistakes: I am not alone in making mistakes. This seems to be a universal problem from which no one escapes.  No one is exempt from mistakes, well except Christ of course. The rest of us are imperfect, mistake-making beings.  But is that really a bad thing?  Is there a purpose to all those bad choices that we make?  I sure hope so!

This interest in making mistakes comes from a talk my son gave at church on Sunday.  He was given the topic: How the Atonement helps you to achieve your goals.  His take on the topic led to an interesting point:  We learn by experience and with experience comes opportunities for mistakes, but through the atonement we are allowed to learn from our mistakes.  He posed the question, if we learn from our mistakes then why are we so afraid to make a mistake? 

He made another good point when he brought up Eve's transgression of eating the forbidden fruit.  Had she not made that mistake we would not be here.  Should we find hope in that story? Are some mistakes necessary in our lives for us to progress? 

I've been pondering these questions and his thoughts during the week. As usual a few more questions popped into my mind: If we learn best through experience then why are we so afraid to experiment? What are we supposed to experiment with? What is it about making mistakes that makes it so difficult for us to try new things?  Why are we so willing to remain idle even though we know it stunts our progression?  If we know that the atonement is for us, then why are we so reluctant to use its healing powers?

So many questions! I'm not sure if it's a gift or a curse that my mind thinks this way! Whatever the case may be, I am on a quest to find answers about making mistakes and hopefully to learn how to make fewer.
     
Experimenting
I started my quest by learning more about experimenting. I wanted to know what it is, what it's purpose is and how it fits into the gospel.  First step, define experiment.

experiment: (n) a test or investigation, especially one planned to provide evidence for or against a hypothesis.  (v) To try something new, especially in order to gain experience.

An experiment is planned or designed with the purpose to prove something correct or false. It isn't something that is made up as you go along.  It is a step-by-step process that has been thought out with a particular ending in mind.  It requires diligence to recognize and record the gathering of information as the experiment is underway.  Then at the end of the experiment, when all the data has been gathered and studied, it requires an objective look at the evidence for or against the original hypothesis. 

What happens when an experiment doesn't go the way it is planned out?  Then the process starts over and a new hypothesis is made.  You try something new to gain more experience so that you can formulate a better plan. The key is to learn from each experiment until the desired outcome is achieved.

With a better understanding of what an experiment is, I moved on to what the scriptures say about experimenting. I found a great example of the experimentation process in Alma 32.  In verse 27 the prophet Alma exhorts the Zoramites to:

But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

He is asking them to test or investigate what he is telling them so that they might know it to be true (or prove the hypotheses). Alma knows that the people learn best when they experience it for themselves.  They learn best by doing.  So he presents them with an experiment.

He continues in verse 33:

And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

The Zoramites did it, they put his words to the test.They tried something new in order to gain experience. They are in the process of observing and gathering the data to achieve a result.  

Then he tells them in verse 36:

Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.

He wants them to understand that they have to follow through with the experiment, its not over yet, they haven't gained the full experience.  The hypothesis still needs testing. It was going in the right direction, but it wasn't completed.

I love the wisdom in Alma's words!  The truth is that we can't learn all that there is to learn if we aren't willing to put in the effort. Alma understands this principal perfectly and encourages the people not to quit. That is a great lesson in experimenting.  To achieve the desired result takes effort, diligence and patience.

There was an interesting side note that I came across while studying the process of experimentation: Experience, experiment and expert derive from the Latin experiri, meaning to "try."  If we want to be an expert in something it means we have to try it through experimenting for the experience! 

Alma wasn't the only one that knew the value of experimenting, Christ knew it too.  In John 7:17 he states:

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

In other words, if you want to know if I am telling the truth, test it out and see for yourself. Becoming an expert in God's doctrine requires us to try it. It seems too easy, but if we want proof to verify His words we need to live the gospel and see where it takes us!   

Not only was Christ a great teacher through His words, but He also lived what He taught.  Christ is a great example of someone who tested God's word through experimenting. He was taught the gospel, He used His faith and tested the validity of its teachings (we see this in His ability to heal and perform miracles), and then when the experiment got tough, instead of quitting, He chose to follow through to the end.  How grateful I am that He did! He gained the full experience and gave me the opportunity to do the same.

The prophets and apostles of our day share the same message:

Elder David A Bednar has said, "Invite young people to explore, to experiment, and to learn for themselves." (The Hearts of the Children Will Turn Oct 2011)

He is not alone in his counsel. There are 82 General Conference talks listed with some form of the the word experiment in them on the Church website.  The talks range in topics of strengthening families to building testimonies.  This is a tried and true process of learning and we are counselled to put it into practice.

Now, I know that there are people in the world that would think that this gives them free reign to do what they want in the name of personal growth.  I work with the youth and at this point I think it is important to state that the counsel to experiment is not a license to go out and do whatever you want so that you can have the experience. The counsel to experiment also comes with a warning: "As you mature, there is a temptation to experiment or explore immoral activities. Do not do that!" (Elder Boyd K. Packer How to Survive in Enemy Territory Jan 2012). 

The process of experimenting for spiritual growth does have parameters. We are meant to experiment with those things that build us up, not tear us down.  I don't think this counsel is given to keep us from gaining experience or knowledge, but is instead given to guide us away from those experiences that take us farther from the Spirit or our God.  Those experiences that negatively affect our salvation should be avoided; our salvation is too high a price to pay for an experience. 

There is an upside to avoiding those experiences that are harmful, it provides us with another experience, the opportunity to learn self-discipline.  Something I think is seriously lacking in today's society. 

Everyday is a new experience for us, what we do with it is completely up to us.  For that reason, we should understand that we will not always make the right choice when it comes to experimenting.  With every learning opportunity also comes the opportunity to make a mistake.  It will happen, it happens to me all the time, but should we use this as an excuse to not try anything at all?  

The key is to have a well thought out experiment. One that is seeking a positive result in our personal growth.  The scriptures have given us examples of positive ways to experiment. I'm sure that there is an experiment in the scriptures that fits each of our needs. If we keep these examples in mind when we are planning our next experiment, we can have the confidence to move forward knowing that the experience will be beneficial.

In Doctrine and Covenants 122:7 we find a list of experiences that include being cast into a pit to being cast into the deep.  At the end of this verse we are told, "that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

Over time I think that we will find that to be a true statement.  And with each new experiment we will see that the only wasted experience is one that we don't learn from.