2 Nephi 15:21 -- On Wisdom and Prudence

"Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!"
2 Nephi 15:21


The Dunning–Kruger effect describes the tendency for people with low skills in a certain area to think that they are more competent and highly skilled than they are. I feel like we are all there with spiritual things, and probably with a lot more. In verse 13 of this chapter God says "my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge," and I think that is telling as well. In our society we have all kinds of knowledge, especially now in the age of AI, but we seem to have very little wisdom with regard to how to tell the good from the bad and to use the knowledge that we have in a good way. And overconfidence (being wise in our own eyes, etc.) likely contributes to that a lot.

Throughout the scriptures, God pleads with us to come to him, to counsel with him, to shelter with him... and yet, we're like toddlers looking back and waving at our dad, thinking we know exactly what we are doing, and then wandering into traffic. We're here to learn, and learning is awesome, but maybe we shouldn't think that we're *done* learning so quickly... or at all. Instead, let's acknowledge our progress. We know more than we did yesterday, and way more than we knew last year. This is good... but let's stay determined to keep learning and improving. We shouldn't give up and think that things are great, just like we shouldn't give up and think that things are hopeless. Honestly, we don't know enough about God and his ways to make either determination.

God is a God of miracles. He can mend broken hearts, even ours, and solve seemingly insoluable problems, even ours. Let's turn to him, plead with him, and listen to his advice. Prayer and scripture study work, even if they don't seem to be working in a certain moment. Remember that we don't know as much as we think we do. Let's take God's advice. We need to stick it out, keep doing it, and keep our hearts and minds open. Today, let's turn to God to find true wisdom, and trust in him rather than only in our own sight. He will help us overcome our weaknesses and keep improving. He can help when we don't know what to do, and even when we are overconfident and about to make a wrong choice, if we include him in all of our deliberations and recognize that he knows us better than we know ourselves.