We received today’s Miracle Monday in response to our June prompt, where we requested that you send in school-related testimonies.

I was baptized when I was a senior in high school so I was still a relatively new member of the Church when I began college. This had obvious benefits as I was able to approach the whole experience in a prayerful manner. However, it also created some challenges as I resolved to read the entire Book of Mormon that year so I carried it with me to school, reading it in between classes. I also was so enjoying attending church that I not only attended my own branch meetings and MBA meetings but I also regularly visited the MBA meetings of another nearby branch. Studying? I’d be fitting that in when the tests came around.

That first semester, I took a course called Political Science. No offense to those who may find this subject interesting, but I routinely struggled to pay attention in this class. When the mid-term exam came around, I dutifully pulled out my Political Science book the night before the exam to study. To my horror, when I looked at the syllabus, I saw that I was supposed to have been reading 25 to 30 pages after each class (which obviously I had not been doing). The mid-term exam would cover over 400 pages of this boring textbook!

Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, I looked to the Lord as to what to do at this point. Now, I want to emphasize to any students who may be reading this — This is not how to study! Be that as it may, the textbook fell open to a certain page and I was looking at a one-page essay describing the theory of a man named John Locke. Somewhere in my memory, I recalled the name John Locke being mentioned by the teacher at some point so I went ahead and read the one page. Satisfied that I understood this one thing, I closed the book and went to bed.

The next day, I opened the mid-term exam which presented several options for essays to write for the exam. Option number one was to explain John Locke’s theory. Against all odds (and totally undeservedly), God allowed me to get a good grade on this exam and I did pass the course. I did learn from this experience — no more Political Science, and forget about being a lawyer. I also did a better job of balancing my time to complete my school work.

Over the years, I have had several opportunities as a minister to offer prayer for young people who expressed a desire for God to help them with upcoming exams. I have always prayed the same way (perhaps to their chagrin) — “Lord, help this young person with their exams. Allow them to recall everything that they study in preparation for the exams.” This is how to study!

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.