The Principle of the Slope

Elder Clark Gilbert spoke about the principle of the slope in the most recent general conference. He taught this: “It starts with the formula for a line. The intercept, for our purposes, is the beginning of our line. The intercept can have either a high or a low starting point. The slope of the line can then be positively or negatively inclined. We all have different intercepts in life—we start in different places with different life endowments. Some are born with high intercepts, full of opportunity. Others face beginning circumstances that are challenging and seem unfair. We then progress along a slope of personal progress. Our future will be determined far less by our starting point and much more by our slope. Jesus Christ sees divine potential no matter where we start. He saw it in the beggar, the sinner, and the infirm. He saw it in the fisherman, the tax collector, and even the zealot. No matter where we start, Christ considers what we do with what we are given. While the world focuses on our intercept, God focuses on our slope. In the Lord’s calculus, He will do everything He can to help us turn our slopes toward heaven.” What matters most in our spiritual progression is the direction we are headed, not on our actual position or where we started. Our goal of course is to be cleansed from our sins, purified through the Savior, and brought back worthy to stand in the presence of God. If we are consistently moving closer to the Savior in that goal, however small that progress, we will eventually get there even if it takes us well in the eternities. But if we are stalled in our progress, no matter how far we have already come—i.e. if our slope is negative—than we risk never arriving at all. The question is not how far away we are from that divine goal; rather, we should ask whether we are any closer today than we were yesterday.

                This principle of course applies to not just our eternal destination but to all worthy goals we seek after in this life. No matter how hard the challenge we seek to overcome, we can make it if our slopes are positive. In other words, as long as we are making consistent progress in the direction we seek, no matter how small that progress, we can achieve our goals with the help of our Savior. There is a world of difference between doing nothing and doing a little, if doing a little is indeed inching us closer to the goal. Surely Nephi’s experience of building a ship is a powerful example. The task must have seemed overwhelmingly difficult; he didn’t even have tools when the Lord asked him to build a boat to take their family across the ocean. Surely there never was a single day in which he made significant progress; but day after day, week after week, and month after month of consistent effort trying to fulfill this command eventually led to the completion of such a marvelous vessel that his brothers “did humble themselves again before the Lord.” And what was the reason for Nephi’s success? Surely the key was his consistent effort combined with this repeated activity: “And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things” (1 Nephi 18:3-4). Through the help and grace of God, combined with own perseverance, Nephi’s ship was so good that it even sustained a four-day horrendous storm on the ocean and took them safely to the promised land. He would later teach, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). That grace, though, is not saved until we have expended all our energies; rather, Nephi received grace continually as he built the ship and went day after day to the Lord for His guidance and help. His slope was positive because he worked each day to get closer to the goal despite how daunting it must have first seemed, and the Lord gave him the strength and intelligence to succeed. Elder Gilbert summarized it this way: “We must do our best, which includes repentance, but it is only through the Lord’s grace that we can realize our divine potential.”

             This week a friend and I had the chance to discuss with a couple the very challenging financial situation they are in. As we talked about what they could do to make ends meet, get out of debt, and achieve their goals for their family, I thought of this talk by Elder Gilbert and the need for them to simply do one thing: make progress every day. If they could make improvements each day in how they managed their money, improved their education and opportunities, and acted as stewards over their possessions, I felt confident that they could arrive at the place they wanted to be. It might take years, but what matters is the slope of their progress—as long as it points upwards they will be able to achieve their goals no matter how far away that seems. For each of us what is most important is that today we make some progress. As we put our trust in the Lord, through His grace and through our repeated efforts to do our best we shall obtain all the blessings He has in store for us.