When my sister was little, she begged my parents to let her take karate lessons. They finally agreed.
Her first week of karate, before learning any moves, her teacher cautioned that they could never use the things they learned unless it was for self defense.
About a year later, my sister was at a ward party at someone’s house. Some of the kids were playing a game on the trampoline and a boy accidentally pushed her back onto the trampoline a little roughly.
Angry, my sister hook-kicked him in the mouth. His mouth started bleeding immediately.
A couple days later, the karate studio called for my sister to come in and explain what she had done and why. Then they met to decide if she would be able to continue learning.
Their message to her was clear: because of what she knew and the experience she had, she was required to be more careful. She had a greater capacity to protect herself, but she also had a greater capacity to cause harm.
They banned her from the studio for two weeks, which to her ten-year-old brain was an eternity, but it reinforced an important point, one that is also discussed in D&C 82:3: “to whom much is given, much is required.”
God has given us knowledge and light. And He requires more of us in return as we act in that light and on that knowledge.
And yes, what the Lord requires is hard.
But we will not be alone.
Because the greatest thing God has given us is His son. And as we act in His name, we will be able to accomplish anything the Lord requires of us.
Remember, “where much is required, much more is given.” (Bonnie Oscarson)
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