Learning Quotes

Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t. 

O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.

We do not expect to cease learning while we live on earth; and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn...[W]e are not capacitated to receive all knowledge at once. We must therefore receive a little here and a little there.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is the noblest; Second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.

But periodic tests absolutely are essential to learning. An effective test helps us to compare what we need to know with what we actually know about a specific subject; it also provides a standard against which we can evaluate our learning and development.

Likewise, tests in the school of mortality are a vital element of our eternal progression. Interestingly, however, the word test is not found even one time in the scriptural text of the standard works in English. Rather, words such as prove, examine, and try are used to describe various patterns of demonstrating appropriately our spiritual knowledge about, understanding of, and devotion to our Heavenly Father’s eternal plan of happiness and our capacity to seek for the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement.

He who authored the plan of salvation described the very purpose of our mortal probation using the words prove, examine, and try in ancient and modern scripture. “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”

Our efforts to prepare for the proving experiences of mortality should follow the example of the Savior, who incrementally “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man”7—a blended balance of intellectual, physical, spiritual, and social readiness.

I have a friend who was a conscientious student in law school. During the course of a semester, Sam invested time every day to review, summarize, and learn from his notes for each course in which he was enrolled. He followed the same pattern for all of his classes at the end of every week and every month. His approach enabled him to learn the law and not merely memorize details. And as final examinations approached, Sam was prepared. In fact, he found the final exam period to be one of the least stressful parts of his legal training. Effective and timely preparation precedes successful proving. Sam’s approach to his legal education highlights one of the Lord’s primary patterns for growth and development. “Thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more.”

Though the loss of a dear loved one was heart-wrenching and difficult, the members of this valiant family spiritually were prepared to prove that they could learn lessons of eternal importance through the things that they suffered.

The greatest torment the Prophet Joseph endured "and the greatest mental suffering was because this people would not live up to their privileges.... He said sometimes that he felt...as though he were pent up in an acorn shell, and all because the people...would not prepare themselves to receive the rich treasures of wisdom and knowledge that he had to impart. he could have revealed a great many things to us if we had been ready; but he said there were many things that we could not receive because we lacked that diligence...necessary to entitle us to those choice things of the kingdom."

It is well established that people do not learn well when they brim with anxieties, including those that have to do with getting a piece of work finished on time and well.

In the locker room before the game, coaches tend to focus on matters of motivation, establishing that the contest about to begin will be quite challenging but that the team has a real chance to win if members play hard and well. Halftime, back in the locker room, is a time for consultation, revising the game strategy for the second half of play based on how things have gone thus far. The next day, when the team has gathered to review the game films, is the time when coaches focus on education, helping to build individual and team proficiency in preparation for the team’s next contest.

No matter how well-designed, well-timed, and well-executed coaching interventions are, they are unlikely to be of much help if a team’s overall performance situation is poor. If members are unclear about what they are supposed to accomplish, if the team or its task are badly designed, or if the surrounding organization places obstacle after obstacle in the team’s path, then a leader would be well advised to focus first on solving these more fundamental problems.

There's two ways to learn: passively and aggressively. Passively is when you study your mistakes, read the history of what you are learning, network, find your "tribe", find a mentor, etc. Aggressively is right when you are in the middle of it. You're neck deep and the ball is coming at you: what do you do? Passively is in your head. Aggressively is noticing RIGHT NOW and taking action. In your head is important. But ACTION is what creates heroes.

Don't force yourself to learn something if you don't want to or it's not a natural talent. What's the role of talent? Very small. But you have to start with it. Talent is the seed of skill. How do you know if you are talented? If you loved it when you were ten years old. If you dream about it. If you like to read about it.

The learning curve that we all travel is not built by accomplishments. It's only built by quantity.

Don't forget the important rule: the secret of happiness is not "being great" - the secret is "growth". If you only "try" you'll get to your level that is natural for you. But growth will stop and you won't be happy.

If you aren't obsessed with your mistakes then you don't love the field enough to get better.

What you do every day matters much more than what you do once in awhile.

Natural languages, such as English are inherently ambiguous. "This is why the United States tax code is 3.4 million words long, but lawyers can still spend years arguing over what it really means."

I look today with half envy upon the youth to whom the doors of new knowledge are being opened. It has been a joy to me that the zest for new and more knowledge has continued with me throughout the years.

The endowment is so richly symbolic that only a fool would attempt to describe it; it is so packed full of revelations to those who exercise their strength to seek and see, that no human words can explain or make clear the possibilities that reside in the temple service. The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation.

He that uses his words loosely and unsteadily will either not be minded or not understood.

This is the man who declared that if you "gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject." It is the man who on another occasion said of one vision in particular, "I could explain a hundred fold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdoms manifested to me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive them."

It is an honor to save yourselves---all are responsible to save themselves.

...that they were depending on the prophet hence were darkened in their minds from neglect of themselves...

...The devil flatters us that we are very righteous, while we are feeding on the faults of others---We can only live by worshipping our God--all must do it for themselves--none can do it for another

Don’t confuse uninspired teaching with a subject being boring.

Don’t confuse uninspired teaching with a subject being boring.

Once you open your eyes and start looking around you, you start picking up things that are very obvious.

...I hope and pray that you will be wise enough to learn the lessons of the past. You don't have to spend time as a Laman or Lemuel in order to know that it's much better to be a Nephi or Jacob. You don't have to follow the path of Cain or Gadianton in order to realize that 'wickedness never was happiness'. And you don't have to allow your community to become like Sodom or Gomorrah in order to understand that it isn't a good place to raise a family. Learning the lessons of the past allows you walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it's supposed to work.

Don't ever allow yourself to be offended by someone who is learning his job.

[Cus D'Amato] told me, 'You're the type of guy who has to be hurt to learn.' I'm pissed off today because he was right about everything.

When one decides whether or not to deal with hard doctrines, the tendency is to put them off or to be put off by them. Not only are they in some respects puzzling, but they may even offend our mortal pride. The hardness is usually not in their complexity, but in the deep demands these doctrines make of us. They are actually harder to accept than to understand, for there is a breathtaking simplicity about them.

Perhaps the tilt to the telestial occurs because many feel less compromised when they are led carefully down the paved, gently descending, wide way, on which there is no exhilaration, whereas in climbing up the straight and narrow way, one seems to notice every chuckhole and all the loose gravel. In any event, to ignore the hard doctrines deprives us of much-needed doctrinal rations for the rigorous journey. The lyrics "Come, let us anew our journey pursue" (Hymns, no. 17) suggest getting on with our impending mortal experiences, some of the most glorious of which will be adventures of the mind and heart as we ponder and explore new truths—truths that both penetrate us and envelop us.

There is an attitudinal and behavioral bridge that we need to build in order for us to draw closer to Him, and thus be ready to return Home—cum laude or summa cum laude—to receive of His loving fullness. We must want to do this more than we want to do anything else. Otherwise, even if we void wickedness, our journey will end in the suburbs, somewhere short of the City of God.

The central doctrines can quicken in us this desire for a full reunion. The hard sayings can help us in hard times, so that we do not lose the way. These sublime truths will enliven our consciences and stir our dimmed memories of promises made and vows taken—and at those very moments when we would otherwise be pulled from the path. These key truths, when kept before us, will lift our hopes and our eyes when we are downcast or in despair, and will lift our minds and thoughts from lower inclinations that are unworthy of who we are.

Extraordinary truths can move us to extraordinary accomplishments

Few doctrines, save those pertaining to the reality of the existence of God, are more basic than the truth that God is omniscient. "O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it." (2 Nephi. 9:20.) Unfortunately, this truth is sometimes only passively assented to by individuals who avoid exploring it and coming to understand its implications. Later on, such believers sometimes have difficulty with the implications of this core doctrine—which connects with other powerful doctrines such as the foreknowledge of God,foreordination, and foreassignment. The all-loving God who shapes our individual growing and sanctifying experiences—and then sees us through them—could not do so if He were not omniscient.

Since we cannot fully comprehend any one of God's perfected attributes, we surely cannot comprehend them in the aggregate. But we can have faith in Him and in His attributes as He has described these to us. This is what He asks of us. We may say that this is a lot to ask, but anything less will not do.

Those who try to qualify God's omniscience fail to understand that He has no need to avoid ennui by learning new things. Because God's love is also perfect,there is, in fact, divine delight in that "one eternal round" which, to us, seems to be all routine and repetition. God derives His great and continuing joy and glory by increasing and advancing His creations, and not from new intellectual experiences.

Some find the doctrines of the omniscience and foreknowledge of God troubling because these seem, in some way, to constrict their individual agency. This concern springs out of a failure to distinguish between how it is that God knows with perfection what is to come butthat we do not know, thus letting a very clear and simple doctrine get obscured by our own finite view of things. Personality patterns, habits, strengths, and weaknesses observed by God over a long period in the premortal world would give God a perfect understanding of what we would do under a given set of circumstances—especially when He knows the circumstances to come. Just because we cannot compute all the variables, just because we cannot extrapolate does not mean that He cannot do so. Omniscience is, of course, one of the essences of Godhood; it sets Him apart in such an awesome way from all of us even though, on a smaller scale, we manage to do a little foreseeing ourselves at times with our own children even with our rather finite and imperfect minds.

Some find the doctrines of the omniscience and foreknowledge of God troubling because these seem, in some way, to constrict their individual agency. This concern springs out of a failure to distinguish between how it is that God knows with perfection what is to come butthat we do not know, thus letting a very clear and simple doctrine get obscured by our own finite view of things. Personality patterns, habits, strengths, and weaknesses observed by God over a long period in the premortal world would give God a perfect understanding of what we would do under a given set of circumstances—especially when He knows the circumstances to come. Just because we cannot compute all the variables, just because we cannot extrapolate does not mean that He cannot do so. Omniscience is, of course, one of the essences of Godhood; it sets Him apart in such an awesome way from all of us even though, on a smaller scale, we manage to do a little foreseeing ourselves at times with our own children even with our rather finite and imperfect minds.

Ever to be emphasized, however, is the reality that God's "seeing" is not the samething as His "causing" something to happen.

God's omniscience is not stressed herein merely to put man down. We are His sons and daughters, and it is good that we seek to be like Him, including becoming perfect in knowledge. But it is the mark of an apt pupil to recognize what he does not know and from whom he can learn more.

Therefore, in order for us to develop trust in God to see us through all these things, we must have a measure of understanding about His nature, including His omniscience. The Prophet Joseph Smith said it was the first principle of real religion to know the true nature of God. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345.)

C. S. Lewis put it well when he gave us the analogy of remodeling the human soul and a living house: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace." (Mere Christianity [New York: Macmillan, 1960], p. 174.)

Some things happen to us because of our own mistakes and our own sins, as contrasted with suffering brought on because we are Christian. Peter makes this distinction very well: "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:15-16.) Even indecision—about whether or not to be a believer—can produce its own unnecessary trial and sorrows, as President Brigham Young observed: "As to trials, why bless your hearts, the man or woman who enjoys the spirit of our religion has no trials; but the man or woman who tries to live according to the Gospel of the Son of God, and at the same time clings to the spirit of the world, has trials and sorrows acute and keen, and that, too, continually." (Journal of Discourses 16:123.)

But all is managed in the wisdom of God and in ways that we mortals must simply trust, because of our faith in the omniscient Lord. It is significant, in this as well as in many other respects, that the vision of those in the celestial kingdom (seen by the Prophet Joseph Smith) was of those "who overcome by faith"—not because while in mortality they had it all figured out, being perpetually able to give a logical, precise explanation for everything. (D&C 76:53.)

Afflictions can soften us and sweeten us, and can be a chastening influence. (Alma 62:41.) We often think of chastening as something being done to punish us, such as by a mortal tutor who is angry and peevish with us. Divine chastening, however, is a form of learning as it is administered at the hands of a loving Father. (Helaman 12:3.)

Elder James E. Faust of the Council of the Twelve has said, "In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through the refiner's fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong." (Ensign, May 1979, p. 53.) Elder Faust continued, "This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master." (Ibid.)

President Kimball said, "Could the Lord have prevented these tragedies? The answer is, Yes. The Lord is omnipotent, with all power to control our lives, save us pain, prevent all accidents, drive all planes and cars, feed us, protect us, save us from labor, effort, sickness, even from death, if he will. But he will not. "We should be able to understand this, because we can realize how unwise it would be for us to shield our children from all effort, from disappointments, temptations, sorrows, and suffering. . . . If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the pre-earth past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective."

Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote, "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted." Such cosmic conservation! He continues, "It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God." (Ibid., p. 4.)

Let us think of service not only as giving, but also as receiving righteously. Parenthetically, one of the many reasons some of today's children have not learned to give is that some parents do not know how to receive.

He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding." (Proverbs 15:32. Italics added.)

Corrective counsel is facilitated when there is shared expectation that it will be given.

We ought to listen as carefully to those we supervise as to those who supervise us. You and I are usually pretty good at paying attention upward, but we are not nearly as good at heeding that which comes from other directions. Likewise, while parents are to teach their children, my, how we can learn from them at times!

We should learn from our errors, but we ought to forget them as soon as we can. There may be some value in "instant replay" in order to learn what we can and then move on. But some of us engage in "constant replay," which can be enervative and destructive of our self-confidence.

In the absence of counsel and correction we are left to learn in isolation—and isolation can be such a poor friend. Learning, in solo, is often retarded greatly by our pride. Even when we see that what we have done is wrong, it is difficult for us to adjust when left alone. Others can be very helpful to us in this process of making our regret productive.

One can pray and yet not really pray. Prayers can be routinized and made very superficial. When this happens, there is very little communication and very little growth. Yet, given the times in which we live, improving our prayers should be one of our deepest desires if we are genuinely serious about growing spiritually. Prayer may not be a hard doctrine, but it can be a very deep and soul-satisfying experience. It is the means by which we can draw close to our Heavenly Father and understand better His deep doctrines.

Jesus' tutoring but disapproving response was: "Ye know not what ye ask." (Matthew 20:22.) Clearly, when our prayers are uninspired, we petition for things we should not ask for, even though we do so innocently. This is, in effect, what we do when we pray and "ask amiss." (James 4:3.) When we ask amiss, God, being perfect, must reject our petitions: "And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you." (3 Nephi 18:20. Italics added.) The task is to draw close enough to the Lord that we progress to the point where we petition Him according to His will, not ours. "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." (1 John 5:14.) In modern revelations the Lord has declared His willingness to grant us the requests contained in our petitions if what we ask for is expedient for us. (D&C 88:64-65.) When we become sufficiently purified and cleansed from sin, we can ask what we will in the name of Jesus "and it shall be done." (D&C 50:29.) The Lord even promises us that when one reaches a certain spiritual condition, "it shall be given you what you shall ask." (D&C 50:30.)

When we pray, we are not conveying any information to God that He does not already have. Nor, when we confess our sins before Him, is it news to Him that we have misbehaved. It is vital, therefore, that we open our souls to Him and tell Him what our concerns are now, as well as acknowledge what we now are, for this is a part of the process of aligning ourselves with His will. We cannot, for the purposes of real prayer, hurriedly dress our words and attitudes in tuxedos when our shabby life is in rags. More than we realize, being honest with God in our prayers helps us to be more honest with ourselves. Furthermore, some of us actually feel we are too good for a petitionary prayer, especially when life is going reasonably well. It is part of our childish resentment of our dependency on God. We are also sometimes too proud to pray over small things, and thus we get out of practice. Then the moment of agony comes.

It is through true prayer that we can refine and adjust our desires to those of the Lord's so that we do not "ask amiss." In prayer we can actually learn more than we imagine about His will for us. In prayer we can learn more how to seek the Spirit, so that even our very prayers will be inspired.

It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

It may be true that you have to be able to read in order to fill out forms at the DMV, but that’s not why we teach children to read. We teach them to read for the higher purpose of allowing them access to beautiful and meaningful ideas.

Each of us found pleasure, whenever possible, in focusing on one small task. One task, we often said, clears the mind.

I believe that our own experience instructs us that the secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do. It is chosen and foreordained and he only holds the key to his own secret.

Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems.

...students always make easy things hard.

If you want to know how to do a thing you must first have a complete desire to do the thing. Then go to kindred spirits - others who have wanted to do that thing - and study their ways and means, learn from their successes and failures and add your quota.

If it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple..., our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. To start out...in the winter as it were and in our state of poverty, it would seem like walking into the jaws of death. but we had faith in our Heavenly Father, and we put our trust in Him feeling that we were His chosen people..., and instead of sorrow, we felt to rejoice that the day of our deliverance had come.

In short, men and women who are endowed receive privileges in the temple that open up the heavens for those who learn how to do so.

Sincere questions lead the earnest seeker to knowledge and revelation.

Though there are things about the priesthood as it relates to both men and women that I don't understand, this does not concern me, because wrestling with spiritual questions is a fundamental aspect of mortality. It is an exercise that strengthens our faith and spurs our growth, if we'll allow it to. Learning, after all, is integral to progression.

In doing so, he maid it possible for those who become sons and daughter of Christ to receive the fulness of the blessings the Father has for His children, explaining that "there was nothing made known to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive [them]."

It is the ultimate institution of higher learning. The best education in the world pales compared to what the Grand Schoolmaster will teach us if we are willing to submit to His curriculum taught in His House.

[He] counseled us about how to conduct the tours. "Less is more," he said. "When it comes to guiding people through the temple, the Lord likes to do His own teaching in His own house." And so He does.

Knowing more enable us to do more and to do better.

I myself know nothing, except just a little, enough to extract an argument from another man who is wise and to receive it fairly.

Much of the success in life comes from simply showing up, working hard and paying attention. Invariably, what we learn in school or on the job can assist us later, sometimes in circumstances we do not expect...But the 'school of hard knocks' will not teach us all we need to know to return back to the presence of the Father. The Lord does not desire we simply be acted upon in order to learn.

You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love and lose your moneys to a monster, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then – to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. It is the only thing which the poor mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.

If we are poor learners, our teaching will be ineffective.

William Tyndale would perhaps suffice. Tyndale felt that the people had a right to know what was promised to them in the scriptures. To those who opposed his work of translation, he declared: "If God spare my life, I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the scripture than thou doest."........testimony of the plowboy who became a prophet(Joseph Smith)

In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, in May of 1833, the Lord declared: "Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. . . . The Spirit of truth is of God. . . . He [Jesus] received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth; And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things." (D&C 93:24, 26-28.) There is no need for you or me in this enlightened age, when the fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or travel unmarked roads in search of a "fountain of truth." For a living Heavenly Father has plotted our course and provided an unfailing map—obedience

Such was the burden of our Savior's message, when He declared: "For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world." (D&C 132:5.)

Jesus changed men. He changed their habits, their opinions, their ambitions. He changed their tempers, their dispositions, their natures. He changed men's hearts. The passage of time has not altered the capacity of the Redeemer to change men's lives. As He said to the dead Lazarus, so He says to you and me: "Come forth." (John 11:43.) Come forth from the despair of doubt. Come forth from the sorrow of sin. Come forth from the death of disbelief. Come forth to a newness of life. Come forth.

My counsel to returning missionaries and to every youth is that they should study and prepare for their life's work in a field that they enjoy, because they are going to spend a good share of their lives in that field. I believe it should be a field that will challenge their intellect and a field that will make maximum utilization of their talents and their capabilities, and, finally, a field that will provide them sufficient remuneration to provide adequately for a companion and children. Such is a big order, but I bear testimony that these criteria are very important in choosing one's life's work.

The secret to massively accelerating the quality of your life is to learn from the people that you find to be the teachers and more importantly, the doers in the world. Many people talk, my advice is model the few who don’t just talk, but actually do.

I do not think much of a man who does not know more today than he did yesterday.

A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.

I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent.

There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation, and the rest who have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.