Finding truth in life through experimentation was BYU Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jennifer Nielson's topic at the March 3 BYU Devotional.
"Experiments help us gain truth," Nielson said. "And I believe that life experiences, which we might also call experiments, are meant to enable us to grow and become more like Christ."
Typically the word trial has a negative connotation to most people because it describes a time of hardship or pain. However in scientific world, the world trial has positive connotations because a trial period is a test period to find the truth, Nielson said.
Nielson prompted all people to see trials through a scientific eye, and welcome the opportunity for experience even if the results are unwanted or unplanned. There is always an opportunity to learn something from even the "wrong" results, she said.
"Power comes when we see all our experiences - which are often trials of both senses of the world - simply as more opportunities to practice: to practice faith, patience, resilience, love, service and forgiveness," Nielson said.
Our purpose for being on this earth with a physical body is for exploration, experience and discovery, and through these three elements humans are given the power to identify what is truth.
She talked about how Christ himself showed the importance of experiencing life when we came to earth to experience the hard times, the blessed times, the tender times and the weeping times. He experienced all of Earth's emotions to seek truth from darkness.
"Christ suffered and died for us that we might experiment and live," Nielson said.
Through the help of God and others, anyone can do hard things; anyone can get the wrong results from an experiments; anyone can learn from those experiences.
"Our life experiments can be tools to learn truth and make changes if we are not afraid," Nielson said. "Let us use our life experiments with Christ's help to turn theory into reality."
If you missed Nielson's address, it can be streamed on demand at BYUtv.org and will be available on speeches.byu.edu.
Next Week's Devotional
The next BYU Devotional address will be held on Tuesday, March 10, at 11:05 a.m., in the Marriott Center. Elder Kent F. Richards, of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, will deliver the address.
Richard's remarks will be broadcast live on BYUtv, BYUtv.org (and archived for on-demand streaming), KBYU-TV 11, Classical 89 FM, BYU Radio, and will be archived on speeches.byu.edu.
Writer: Jenna Randle
