Improvement and Perfection

I teach what I think is the greatest group of 12-13 year old boys and girls in Sunday School every other week (i.e., I team teach with a friend of mine). They're so full of energy and excitement about life that sometimes it's hard to get them to settle down long enough to have an atmosphere that resembles reverence. That said, I think it's a lot easier to invite the Spirit to be present when I prepare in advance to set up the right atmosphere.

Today, I set up the classroom in advance so that reverent music was playing and wrote a scripture on the chalkboard for them to think about, along with a note that said, "Please sit silently and listen to the music." The scripture was 1 Corinthians 2:9, which reads:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

I then related a personal story about repentence when I was a teenager. How I had worried and had to build the courage to talk to my bishop and then been relieved and surprised to find that he was loving and supportive and encouraging of my efforts. He ensured me that Heavenly Father loved me and was pleased with my desire to be closer to Him. And once I took that step, a flood of blessings poored out that He (God) had been anxious to give me. One simple (or maybe not to so simple) decision was all it took. And, as I reveled in the moment, I noticed a printed out quote on my bishop's wall that has stuck with me ever since. It said:

Gradual improvement is better than postponed perfection.

That saying has been an inspiration to me many times over throughout my life since that day. As many mistakes as I make from day to day, I've never felt like I was forsaken, as I know that if I'm trying every day to be better than the last -- even if I sometimes slip backward a step or two -- repentence and forgiveness is one decision away, and I can be on my way to moving forward again toward my goal of eternal life and eternal joy.

I'm grateful for the blessing I have of a testimony of the living and true gospel of Jesus Christ.