Life Is Not a Test to Pass — It Is a Life of Becoming
Life Is Not a Test to Pass — It Is a Life of Becoming
What the Potter, the Clay, and the Nemenhah Records Teach Us About the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Something Happened in Sunday School
Yesterday, during Sunday School, I made a comment that I've been thinking about for quite some time.
I said something like this:
“I don't believe this life is simply a test to pass. I believe it is a life of becoming.”
The teacher responded, “Yes, I love that!”
Then he mentioned that he had heard a similar thought from a Church authority, who had used the example of the potter and the clay.
That caught my attention.
Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized how beautifully that example fits something I've been learning from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Nemenhah Records.
Maybe we've been looking at the purpose of this life a little too narrowly.
Are We Here to Pass a Test?
Most of my life, I was taught that we came to earth to be tested.
And there is a scripture that seems to say exactly that.
In Abraham 3:25, we read:
“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”
I believed that for many years, and I still believe our choices matter.
But I've started asking a different question.
If our Heavenly Father already knows us, why would He need to give us a test to discover who we are?
Maybe the experience isn't simply for Him to discover something about us.
Maybe it's for us to discover something about ourselves.
And even more importantly, maybe it's an opportunity for us to become something we weren't before.
That's a different way of looking at mortal life.
Not simply passing or failing.
But learning, growing, experiencing, and becoming.
The Potter and the Clay
Isaiah 64:8 gives us a beautiful picture:
“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”
Think about that for a minute.
A potter doesn't sit down with a lump of clay and give it an examination.
He begins working with it.
He shapes it.
He patiently turns it.
And sometimes the vessel doesn't turn out the way he intended.
What does he do?
Jeremiah 18:4 tells us that when the vessel was marred, the potter made it again into another vessel.
He didn't simply throw the clay away.
He kept working with it.
What a beautiful picture of our Heavenly Father!
We make mistakes.
We stumble.
Sometimes we make a mess of things.
But that doesn't mean God has finished with us.
We are still becoming.
And unlike ordinary clay, we have agency. We can choose whether to respond to His invitation and allow His teachings to shape our lives.
Proving or Proofing?
Some time ago, I came across a teaching associated with Wellamotkin's Nemenhah Waywalking lessons.
Richard Forsyth wrote about it in an article titled The Proofing Ground, dated June 1, 2026.
He explained a difference between proving and proofing.
A proving ground is where something is tested to see whether it succeeds or fails.
But think about bread.
When a baker proofs bread, the dough is given time and warmth to rise.
It grows.
It develops.
What was already within it begins to unfold.
Now, I want to be careful here.
This is a beautiful illustration, but it isn't a different translation of Abraham 3:25. That scripture really does speak of testing obedience.
The bread comparison simply helps me see another side of the purpose of our mortal experience.
Maybe we are not here merely to demonstrate our worth to ourselves. Maybe we are here to develop the goodness, love, and divine potential our Father has placed within us.
That brings me to something I find particularly beautiful in the Nemenhah Records.
What the Nemenhah Teach About the Gospel
One of the things that has touched me most in studying the Nemenhah Records is the way they describe Jesus Christ.
They often call Him the Peacemaker.
I love that name.
Because when I think of Jesus Christ, I think of someone who came to bring peace, heal the wounded, lift the discouraged, and show us how to love one another.
The Nemenhah accounts describe communities learning to live His teachings.
They emphasize listening to the Spirit, honoring agency, caring for the poor, sharing abundance, making peace, and treating one another with dignity.
And something becomes very clear to me.
The gospel isn't simply something we believe. It is something we become through the way we live.
We can attend meetings.
We can participate in ordinances.
We can know the scriptures.
And all of those things can help us.
But if we don't become kinder, more forgiving, more generous, and more loving, what have we really learned?
That is a question I find myself asking more and more.
The New and Everlasting Covenant
In the Book of Tuhhuhl Nuhmehn, the Nemenhah teachings discuss the New and Everlasting Covenant in connection with the purpose of creation and the covenant path.
One theme I take from these teachings is that our relationship with God should lead us toward doing good continually.
Not simply making promises.
But living them.
Not simply belonging to a religious organization.
But becoming a people who actually practice the teachings of Jesus Christ.
That doesn't make churches or ordinances worthless.
They can teach us, guide us, and remind us of sacred commitments.
But the purpose of those teachings should be reflected in what we become.
If a covenant doesn't help us love our neighbor, relieve suffering, and draw closer to Christ, perhaps we need to examine how we are living it.
The covenant should change the heart.
And a changed heart should change the way we treat people.
What Did Jesus Actually Teach?
Jesus gave us a remarkably simple way to recognize His disciples.
John 13:35:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Notice what He didn't say.
He didn't say people would recognize His disciples by how many meetings they attended.
Or how impressive their buildings were.
Or how much religious knowledge they possessed.
He said they would be recognized by their love.
And in the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin taught something just as important.
Mosiah 2:17:
“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
There it is again.
Love.
Service.
Doing good.
Becoming more like the Savior.
And perhaps that is what the gospel was meant to produce all along.
Even Jesus Grew
Here is another scripture I find fascinating.
Luke 2:52 tells us:
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
Think about that.
Even Jesus experienced mortal growth.
He learned.
He developed.
He lived among people.
He experienced sorrow, temptation, rejection, suffering, and love.
Hebrews 5:8 tells us that He learned obedience through the things He suffered.
If mortal experience was meaningful in the Savior's own life, shouldn't we consider how meaningful it is in ours?
Perhaps life isn't just about getting through the examination.
Perhaps it is about what the experience makes possible.
The Gospel Is About Becoming
The more I study, the more I find myself returning to one simple thought.
God doesn't need us to convince Him that we deserve His love.
He already loves us.
But He invites us to learn how to love as He does.
And that takes experience.
It takes patience.
It takes forgiveness.
It takes making mistakes and learning from them.
It takes choosing kindness when anger would be easier.
It takes helping someone who cannot repay us.
It takes listening when we'd rather argue.
It takes recognizing that every person we meet is also becoming.
That last part is important.
Because if I'm still becoming, so is my neighbor.
So is the person who disagrees with me.
So is the person who has left my church.
So is the person who has never belonged to any church.
Maybe we ought to give one another a little more room to grow.
After all, we're all still on the potter's wheel.
What About Judgment and Accountability?
Now, someone might ask:
“Doesn't the Bible teach that we'll be judged according to our works?”
Yes, it does.
And I don't think we should ignore that.
Our choices have consequences.
We are accountable for the way we treat one another.
But perhaps accountability and becoming belong together.
A loving parent doesn't correct a child merely to record another failure.
A loving parent corrects because the child can learn.
Can grow.
Can become wiser.
And when I read the teachings of the Peacemaker in the Nemenhah Records, that is the kind of gospel I see emphasized.
A gospel of agency and responsibility.
A gospel of healing and reconciliation.
A gospel of learning to live together in peace.
Not a gospel without consequences.
But a gospel where growth, love, and goodness are central.
Maybe We've Been Asking the Wrong Question
For much of my life, the question seemed to be:
“Am I doing enough to pass the test?”
Now I find myself asking something different.
“Am I becoming more like Jesus Christ?”
Am I more patient than I used to be?
Am I more willing to forgive?
Do I notice people who are suffering?
Am I learning to listen to the Spirit?
Am I doing something good with the life I've been given?
Those questions mean more to me today than worrying about whether I've earned a passing grade.
And I think they bring us closer to the heart of the gospel Jesus taught.
A Final Thought From an Old Man
I'm getting older.
I've had some wonderful experiences in this life, and I've had some difficult ones.
I've made mistakes.
I've learned things the hard way.
And I certainly haven't figured everything out.
But one thing is becoming clearer to me.
I don't believe our Heavenly Father sent us here simply to watch us succeed or fail.
I believe He sent us here with opportunities to learn, experience, choose, love, and grow.
And I believe Jesus Christ came to show us the way.
That's why I appreciate the Nemenhah Records so much.
They continually bring my attention back to the Peacemaker and to the kind of people His teachings invite us to become.
Not simply religious people.
Not simply obedient people.
But loving people.
People who bring peace.
People who relieve suffering.
People who do good continually.
Maybe that's what Zion begins to look like.
Not a perfect organization filled with people who have passed every test.
But a people who are learning to love one another as Jesus loves them.
So I'll leave you with the thought I shared in Sunday School:
This life is not simply a test to pass.
It is a life of becoming.
And perhaps the greatest thing we can become is a little more like the One who showed us how to love.
Scriptures and References for Further Study
Bible
Abraham 3:25 — The purpose of proving in mortality (Pearl of Great Price)
Isaiah 64:8 — The Lord as our potter
Jeremiah 18:1–6 — The potter reshapes the vessel
Luke 2:52 — Jesus increased in wisdom and stature
John 13:34–35 — Love one another
Ephesians 4:13 — Growing toward the fulness of Christ
Hebrews 5:8 — Learning through experience
Book of Mormon
Mosiah 2:17 — Serving our fellow beings
Mosiah 3:19 — Becoming as a little child
Mosiah 5:2 — A mighty change of heart
2 Nephi 32:5 — The Holy Ghost shows us what to do
Moroni 7:45–48 — The pure love of Christ
Nemenhah Sacred Records
Book of Tuhhuhl Nuhmehn — Creation, agency, and the New and Everlasting Covenant
Second Book of Ohuhgohuh — Teachings and ministry of the Peacemaker
First Book of Tsi-Tuhgohhah — Living covenant principles in daily life
These Nemenhah references identify books and themes for further study, rather than verified chapter-and-verse quotations.
Related Reading
Richard Forsyth, The Proofing Ground, June 1, 2026. Based on a teaching attributed to Wellamotkin's Waywalking lessons.
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