Loyalty usually is not linked with arithmetic. A childhood experience in a third-grade mathematics class, however, taught me a lesson in loyalty that has since greatly increased my appreciation of it.
Loyalty is not a static position. It is action.
Fidelity lifts us to the spirit of pure Christliness that
heals. It begins in each heart with repentance
and rebirth and expands compassionately to meet
the world's great need of spiritual renewal.
I loved that class dearly, attended faithfully, and completed assignments conscientiously. But one day an arithmetic problem utterly baffled me. At first I was sure it was too difficult to solve; then I rebelled against working hard enough to solve it. Yet at last I did quietly begin working— really working—to understand and obey the instructions. The correct answer came with the brilliance of a light suddenly turned on, and I glimpsed the value of persistent obedience.
