I was delighted to read in the last issue of the Ensign magazine, the article about Sister Camilla Kimball, “Lady of Constant Learning.” This same idea of living with a few loose ends is expressed in this article, and if you will permit me, I’ll just quote very briefly from it. The article says that, “even more important than Sister Kimball’s freedom to read was the freedom granted her to explore ideas within the context of the gospel.” She talks about going to her father with some new ideas about evolution that she had been learning in school. She explains, “My father very patiently heard me out then said, ‘Well, daughter, there are theories, and then there’s the truth, and you’ll come to know the theories from the truth if you’ll bide your time!’ ”Because of her family’s hospitality toward searching and studying, Sister Kimball says, “I’ve always had an inquiring mind. I’m not satisfied just to accept some things. I like to follow through and study things out. I learned early to put aside those gospel questions that I couldn’t answer. I had a shelf of things I didn’t understand, but as I’ve grown older and studied and prayed, and thought about each problem, one by one I’ve been able to better understand them.” And, she continues, “I still have some questions on that shelf, but I’ve come to understand so many other things in my life that I’m willing to bide my time for the rest of the answers.”

byu studies vol 16 no 4

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