Embracing My Ignorance

Last night my youngest asked me questions about genome sequencing in insects. Fail. Then another son asked me if it was important to balance RAM modules when upgrading.  Fail. Again.

It didn’t bother me though, because it happens all the time. I am plenty ignorant about a lot of things. Thankfully, most information is readily available online. Need to know how to install RAM? There is a YouTube video for that.

In fact, the last couple of days were chock full of being aware of my ignorance. It was awesome! Every time I turned around, someone was shining a light on my ignorance.

What? Are you sensing a disconnect? I have no problem admitting that I am ignorant. I would like to think I’m not IGNORANT, but I am quick to admit that there are a LOT of things that I just don’t know. My ignorance in many areas knows no bounds.

This weekend was a good reminder that I need to embrace my ignorance. And when I say “embrace,” I do mean “hug.” Like a big, awkward hug that lasts a little too long. You know the kind.

Why do I want to hug my ignorance? Because that is what you do before you say goodbye.

I spent two days in a conference about writing. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you about writing.) There were so many great people there who know so much more than I do about so many things. There were seasoned authors with decades of successful experience sharing their knowledge. You kind of expect that in a seminar or conference setting.

What surprised me was how many smart young people were who knew so much about writing/publishing/editing, etc. Some of the best conversations I had were with writers young enough to be my own kids. Kinda. (Shout out to Garaghty, Torsha, RC and Brandon) I do have an advantage there, because I have very smart kids, and am used to having serious conversations with them.

At one break during the conference, I was talking to an old friend who happens to be the husband of one of the event organizers, Guy Rallison. He was telling me about how his work is going. He is a Rocket Scientist.  No, really – he designs rockets that launch into space. So when you hear someone say, “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist…,” that’s him.

Seeing Guy reminded me that I am hugely ignorant in the areas of rocket propulsion. I think I’ll embrace that particular ignorance and maybe just hang on to it.

One of the presenters at the conference was the very well-known YA fantasy writer, Brandon Mull. During his fabulous and wildly entertaining keynote speech, he made a brief reference to a quote that struck me enough to come home to find the source. Here it is:

“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ain’t it the truth? There is so much to learn from so many people, if we are willing.

But if I intend to continue learning, I have to do a few things:

• Embrace my ignorance. Nobody, especially me, knows everything about everything. And those who think they do, demonstrate a special kind of ignorance.

• Keep availing myself to learning opportunities. As I was sitting in the conference, I dug through my memory and realized that the most recent non-church conference I attended was all the way back in 2009. It was an LDS International Society conference, and the reason I attended was because I was a speaker. That will not do.

• Invest the time and energy. This conference was exhausting. Learning can be tiring, which is why many people avoid it as much as they can. Being almost thirty years out of college, you forget how draining full days of instruction can be.

• Surround myself with people who know more than me. This has been easy for me. Most of my life I have surrounded myself with friends who are smarter than me. I figure it is like playing basketball – if you play with people better than you, you will improve your game. The reverse is also true.

For example, there is a brother in my ward, Ron Hendrie, who was especially instrumental in helping me learn how to do family history.  No class required – I would pick up the phone, call him and say, “Brother Ron – how do I find this, or that, and then what do I do next.” He would know the answer. I would hang up the phone, enlightened, and move forward. (Emerson, check.)

• Don’t stop. You know what was awesome? How much gray hair I saw at the writing conference. Older people – even older than me – seriously engaged in trying to learn how to be better writers.

• Spend the most time learning the most important stuff. Yes, I am talking doctrine. President Ezra Taft Benson put this in perspective a long time ago:

“God commanded, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). Every priesthood holder should make learning a lifetime pursuit. While any study of truth is of value, the truths of salvation are the most important truths any person can learn. The Lord’s question “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26) can be applied to educational pursuits as well as the pursuit of worldly goods. The Lord might also have asked, “For what is a man profited, if he shall learn everything in the world and not learn how to be saved?” (Link)

Elder Richard G. Scott reinforced this idea more recently in an excellent General Conference address entitled, “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge.” (Not gonna quote it – you should probably just read the whole thing, here.)

I know that it is not necessary to go to a specialized conference to learn things. I think that as I have gotten older, most of my new secular learning has come from books, and the internet. (Need to know how to fix your washing machine? It’s on YouTube.) But having two full days to focus on something? That is a rare pleasure.

Most of my spiritual learning has come from studying the scriptures, the brethren’s writings and talks, and attending church. Also, writing this blog has been a huge contributor to my spiritual knowledge, because I study things before I share them – just to fact-check myself.

I think that in the Church we can have a tendency to get a little lazy in our study – especially as we get older and feel like we have been sitting through the same lesson on repentance for the 3000th time. Sometimes we feel like we pretty much “have it down,” and we coast.

What might surprise you is that even in the strongest of High Priest group meetings, you will have seasoned priesthood holders teaching incorrect doctrine, and finding disagreement about even the most basic priesthood ordinances and gospel principals. It is obvious that not everyone is doing their homework.

One of the beauties of attending church meetings is precisely what Emerson was talking about: Every person there is my superior in some way – it is up to me to try and find what I can learn from him/her.

“The Glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” (D&C 93:36)

“And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life though his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (D&C 130:19)

This weekend was fun – not just from a social standpoint, but because I think it is fun to learn. Elder Bednar said, “True education is learning how to learn. Once I discovered that lesson, learning became fun.” (link)

Embracing my ignorance can be fun. Kissing it goodbye, even better.

What are you going to learn this week?