Alma 17: 27-31

In the early spring of 2019 I was in the midst of my second year at Yale University pursuing a Ph.D. in Statistics & Data Science. With my wonderful wife, Bethany, and our newborn son, Aaron, things were going very well for us in many aspects. But fatherhood and graduate school can certainly require a large amount of energy and time. Consequently, I attended the local Institute of Religion class on Tuesday evenings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which I found to help me relax and focus on things that matter most. At one such class the teacher, Randy LaRose, shared a quote from one of his friends who served as secretary to the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Paraphrasing the quote, I remember it indicating that the mindset of the members of the First Presidency is much like the advice given by the professional American entrepreneur Jim Rohn: "Focus on the solution, not on the problem." The moment Brother LaRose shared this it rang so true to me, enough that I remembered it for over a year. 

Nearly a year later, the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic began in March, 2020. Unexpected challenges arose for pretty much everyone, including us. A couple months later the United States erupted in a storm of racism and riots. Amidst all of these problems I found myself studying in The Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 17 about a story that seemed particularly applicable.

"Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving forth their flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain number of the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fled many ways. 

Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already.

Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts fo these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words.

And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.

And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us."     ~Alma 17:27-31

Upon reading this story of Ammon, the highlight to me was the contrast between how he responded to the possibly life-threatening problems at hand and how the other servants responded. It went directly along with the quote I'd heard the previous year: "Focus on the solution, not on the problem."

Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic created some excruciating financial difficulties. Yes, life became harder when we weren't allowed to leave the house for any reason except grocery shopping. Yes, the consequences of racism still existing today are real. Yes, police brutality is an issue that has impacted many nearly-innocent individuals. Yes, illegal riots of defacing and destruction are happening. But will complaining about any of these problems fix the situation? Will fierce arguments about 'which issue is most severe' produce more happiness? Will a pessimistic focus on the problems eliminate them? Absolutely not!

Guided by the example of Ammon and the inspiring quote shared in institute, I concluded that an optimistic focus on potential solutions was my motto. Similar to mathematics, it is the problem-solvers who achieve success, not the problem-finders. I found that finding, and working towards, solutions filled my life with hope and assurance for the future. My life was much more productive as I put my efforts towards solving the problem instead of thinking, talking, and arguing about the problem. 

Of course, acknowledging a problem is important. But I found it to be just a first step of many that must be made to overcome challenges. Every step afterwards focuses on solutions, not problems.