I have that old tendency to look at other people's mistakes and weaknesses and magnify them beyond my own.
I went to institute yesterday and really enjoyed myself. So far, of the three times I've gone, I've had a different teacher every time, and one of the enjoyable things about such an experience is that I'm always being treated to a unique learning experience. What struck me deeply yesterday, surely inspired by the instructor's careful and methodical study beforehand, was how often the Lord repeats himself in the scriptures. I have noticed those patterns before, to be sure, but even though the lesson barely even grazed that concept, that simple message struck me extra deeply, today of all days.
I've seen it. The words of Isaiah. The revelations of John and Ezekiel. Simple phrases like, 'knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' Why? Why do l need to hear it over and over again? Why do my instructors teach me the same things over and over again? Why am I always told to pray, study, and take the sacrament?
Well, I think it's because I, as a frail mortal, need the extra help. I look at all the mistakes I make and recognize that, in some ways, I am like a character from a poorly-plotted sitcom who repeatedly place themselves in increasingly dramatic situations because they didn't learn the moral lesson from last episode. If God expected me to learn my lesson and never make the same mistake again after the first time, I would never progress. And that's the beauty behind the atonement; it is designed for fallible people! That's something I can really get behind, which, judging from the fact that I have a body, I already have.
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