A Child of God

The  brethren of the church have been known , almost since the church
was restored to the earth, to give rousing speeches and moving talks. I
have just read yet another onerous of the most simply masterful talks
ever spoken. President Henry b. Eyring of the quorum of the twelve
  apostles strikes again. For my writing class i was asked to review it
and talk about my impressions as I read it. I think by my brief
introduction that you can guess just a little of the way that I feel
about this talk. It is call "A child of god" and it has left me with
allot of things to look over and think about in my life and the way I
learn. Since this is going to be posted on the blog I'm starting I
wanted you all to know what a great talk think this is. Many of the
points he makes in this talk are very important for many of us because
we are all ether learning through out jobs or going to school
ourselves.

 President Eyring opens with a story from world war 2, he spoke of a
general's feeling about his men. He said, (when told his men looked
good,) that they  should, because they are the survivors. He then says
that his audience and all of us are survivors.  The brethren use many
tools to help us all relate to what they are talking about. This is yet
another classic example of this of everyone in the world wants to feel
that they are important and essential to some person or great cause.
This is the case with us as well. We are the survivors of the
spiritual battle that goes on every day around us. We take more care
in our daily choices when we remember that.  President Eyring then
goes on to say it is our duty to strive for educational excellence.
But we have heard all of this before, we as latter day saints know
what's expected of us. We know but where we get lost is in the do!
But that is what makes this talk so absolutely brilliant, he then
grasps onto a principle that is basic, simple that a grade school
child could use it to become a master learner. It is the principle of
remembering that you are a child of god.  Really. Think through that.
Think through what it means to you to know that a flawless and all
powerful being is you actual father! He knows you, loves you, wants
the best for you and cries with you when you feel pain. ..... Wow.!
This sounds basic enough but when you combine it with the other tools
he outlines in devotional address that concept takes on a whole new
meaning.  One of the biggest things that we as a people battle is
pride. Prophets through the ages have set out in a no holds barred
wrestling match with this principle. Pride can make or break you.
Pride can keep you from becoming a good learner and a good student in
life. President Eyring warns us against pride by using the way the
world looks at pride vs. The way that the later day saints look at it.
 What a stark contrast.  Pride is stripped from us in many different
ways. Through loss or failure, just to name a few. But  throughout
remembering that we are children of god we will shrug off the pride
that binds us.  We combine our humility in remembering that we are the
sons and daughters of god and use these tools that President Eyring
has laid out to become the best learners we can become.because
humility is an energizing principle, it makes us want to do better.
The tool of a good student that we receive in this talk is the
principle of welcoming correction. When we welcome correction we look
at the changes others would make in out work as a chance for
improvement. And welcome the opportunity to grow and improve. The
second tool of a good student is to make and keep commitments. This is
a struggle for many people our age. But keeping commitments show the
world and ourselves the amount of discipline we have. And we all know
discipline is essential for anyone who is learning. The third
characteristic is that of hard work.  My great grandfather used to say
that many people have missed great opportunities because it came
dressed in overalls and looked like hard work. This is a concept that
I believe is being lost on many young people of the church and of the
world today.  we must stay every vigilant to try to battle laziness.
The fourth principle is helping others.  When we are selfless we see
that god has blessed us with talents and that it is our duty to help
those around us through the use if the things we have been blessed
with.  The fifth and final principle is that we should expect hard
things and learn from them.  This is a tough one to master. This is
tough one to even deal with. It is never fun to go through challenges.
We do have something we can learn from each one though.  The greatest
learner is one who can find a way t o accept the discouragement and
find a way to push through it.

 So in closing tools that President Eyring outlined struck me as a
great model to become a great student and someone who is seeking the
most out of this brief time that we have here on the earth. If we use the tools of welcoming correction, keeping commitments, working hard, helping others, and enjoying the hardships we will be transformed and these tools will become easy if we remember we are children of god.  Life is
full of twists and turns, but those of us who can work through them
will be the ones who gain the most out of the journey.