Apostolic Counsel to the Young: Understand the "Experience Gap”©

Most of you know that I like the thinking of Neal A. Maxwell. Sometimes each paragraph provokes thought to the point that it is difficult to move through much distance very rapidly. The statement below is important for several reasons. First, he identifies an additional modern dimension to the traditional “generation gap.” Most adults recognize it through experience, even if they have not verbalized it as a “experience gap.” My hope is that the younger generation–young marrieds down through high school–will give some thought to this problem, because though they know they have things different from their parents, the tendency is to think that anything modern is superior to what went before. Elder Maxwell suggests here that, that is not necessarily so. So, he kindly, almost imperceptibly, says, “The succeeding generations are counseled not to be too quick to condemn....” 

That is good advice, which my experience suggests is not often heard and is followed even less. But, he adds a reason for doing so which should give the young some pause. Though I fear that one blind spot in most youth is the lack of appreciation for the value of experience. I had it myself. As a young seminary teacher working with high school kids, I really wanted to be teaching on the college level. Our system had a tradition that institute teachers at the college level must pay their dues first and gain some important experience. I chafed at the tradition and ad hoc policy. Much later, after a lot more experience, I began to realize its importance. So, I won’t be surprised if my young readers may pass over this counsel fairly glibly–but I plead with them not to do so. Finally, Elder Maxwell urges us–old and young alike–to learn from the the experience and wisdom of the past, like the lessons we frequently encounter in the scripture, especially the Book of Mormon. Wise men such as Church leaders have great experience and much wisdom to share.  Their teachings, like the one below from Elder Maxwell, are worth some serious thought. I commend his counsel to all, especially my young friends.

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Time and time again, the harsh consequences of such a heedless eat, drink, and be merry lifestyle are underscored by the Book of Mormon. It gives us a longitudinal look at real people under the real pressures of life. We must not lose our capacity for love, order, civilization, morality, or to earn the confidence of our children or our capacity to feel

For instance, all ages have probably had a generation gap, but in our time another dimension has been added: the experience gap. At one time, man’s way of life was so stable that the ordinary life experiences of young and old were very similar. Now events that once stretched over decades are compressed into months or even weeks; technology and the knowledge explosion have resulted in a condition in which parents and their children have grown up in very different worlds. 

The older generation, having learned some vital things at great pain and sacrifice, is understandably anxious to transmit these lessons without having, its imperfections obscure the very things it most wants the next generation to hear. The succeeding generations are counseled not to be too quick to condemn, for they have yet to wear the moccasins of responsibility. 

In the solemn stillness that he experienced, Moroni had reasons to rage at the failures of his ancestors, but instead he urged us to be glad and give thanks unto God for what we could learn from the past. 

So it should be in our homes, our politics, and our classrooms.The generations need not be adversaries. Instead, they can relate as friends who seek to read the past in order to fashion a better future; their evaluations are made as they touch each other intellectually and spiritually, even though they are on different levels of experience. Complete compatibility of experience is unlikely, but a flow of trust between the generations can compensate for it in large measure.(1)

Let's think together again, soon.

Notes:


1.  Neal A. Maxwell, A Time to Choose, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975, 61-62.