Intelligence

 When I was in a college chemistry class I had a graduate assistant who frustrated me to no end. 

No matter what questions we asked, he would answer back with a question or send us back into our textbooks searching for the answers.  If we were really lucky he would give us a hint as to where we might start our search.

I sometimes had unkind thoughts for this guy who clearly knew the answers I needed to write down and GO HOME!!   Instead he let me labor for hours over the lab table, rerunning experiments and scouring my textbooks for understanding and explanations.   I can still see him standing there in his white lab coat saying, "I am not the student."

In the end I learned a lot from him and was well prepared for the final which consisted of this prompt:  "Explain the periodic table".  Ten blank sheets of paper followed and as I picked up my pencil and began to write, I was suddenly very appreciative of all I had been pushed to learn on my own.  

It wasn't just my understanding of the complexities of the interactions between elements that had grown, but also the process through which I studied and asked questions and sought answers.  

I was fortunate to have been born with a natural curiosity and propensity for learning and parents and teachers who nurtured it.   

I truly believe  D&C 130:18-19 which says, "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come."

That intelligence comes through our experiences in this life.  These will include spiritual, intellectual and social learning as well as talent development and will look different for each of us. 

Sometimes I want to demand answers instead of going through the experience to learn it.  

Sometimes I can almost hear Him saying, with the foresight of the tests I still have coming, "I am not the student."