Prompt A

I can’t remember. While eating bugs in the backyard with my friend as young kids we made a promise to each other. I can’t remember it. While hiding in our tree house my friends and I spied on the neighbors and drew pictures of their faces. I can’t remember the sketches. While going on a date to a movie he leaned over and kissed me. I can’t remember the movie. While swimming in the lake with my siblings one of us lost our necklace. I can’t remember whom. These forgotten details are menial. I don’t need to remember. Some moments on the other hand I wish I could remember but I can’t retrieve. While getting into the baptismal font I said a prayer to the Lord. I wish I could remember what. While my dad was in the hospital I drove to a secluded place to think. I wish I could remember where. While in high school I met my best friend. I wish I could remember how. While going through the mail I received a letter expressing their thanks for my good example. I wish I could remember whom. While spending time with my friends my boyfriend text me and broke up with me. I wish I could remember why. While at the mall my brother told me he looked up to me. I wish I could remember when. What I find truly perplexing is what our mind chooses to retrieve and what it chooses to suppress. There are many things I wish I didn’t remember. Guilt, sadness, hurt feelings, grudges, and past mistakes. Neil Anderson at General Conference explained that the scriptures do not say that we will forget our forsaken sins. To prevent us from making that mistake again the Lord allows the residue of it to rest in our memories. However, we are given the blessing of the lord healing us on his own time. I still question why we forget. Why we forget even the most spiritual experiences. Perhaps this is why we have been counseled so often to keep a journal. In Psychology one is taught that all memories are stored. It is the lack of ability to retrieve them that we call “forgetting.” If we keep a journal we are able to assist our minds in retrieving those stored memories. Looking back in the many journals I have kept I found the answers to what I had forgotten. While eating bugs in the backyard with my friend as young kids we made a promise to each other that we would only catch grasshoppers if the both of us were together. While going on a date to a movie he leaned over and kissed me during "Dark Knight." While in high school I met my best friend during history class because we were both mocking the substitute teacher. While swimming in the lake I lost the necklace that I had gotten for Christmas. Our memories are always there but sometimes we have a hard time retrieving them.

40 minutes