Definition from “Guide to the Scriptures is “To hear and obey the voice or teachings of the Lord.”

In my Teachings of the Book of Mormon class, I learned about a new study skill called “Cause and Effect”. I learned to identify if/then statements to help make the context more clear. I applied this while studying Doctrine and Covenants 103:44 ,”And that those who call themselves after my name might be ^achastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not ^bhearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them.”

The marker or indicator there will a cause in this particular group is:

Marker:  “Because they did”

Cause: Because they didn’t hearken unto the precepts and commandments

Effect: They will be chastened for a little season

This was an interesting scripture.  It is a warning that members of the church, “those that call themselves after my name” are not perfect, and will not listen at times.  If they don’t listen, the Lord will chasten, which could mean a call to repentance, or a natural consequence. This is meant to remind the members to PAY ATTENTION to the prophet and leaders counsel.

I believe I do have pride and think because I go to church and generally do good, I don’t need to listen to every little thing. It is not a big deal, and I have so many other things to worry about. This scripture hit hard, that I will be chastened if I don’t listen. The word chastened doesn’t have to be bad. I think about my own children, and I loving them enough to want to correct and remind them to save them from natural consequences. I feel the Lord loves me enough to want to do the same!

Ether 8:26

26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have ^ano power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be ^bpersuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all ^crighteousness and be saved.

The list is what will come when and its purpose is to give us hope!

1.Evil will be done away with

2. Satan have no power over men.

3. Men will want to do good all of the time

4. Be righteous and be able to return to live with HF

I love this hopeful scripture that is telling us in the latter-days what WILL be, there is no conditions, this is part of the plan, and we need to not be evil because evil will end.  I love this scripture.

Lehi’s dream about the plan of happiness is described in this scripture reference;

1 Nephi 15: 23-24

23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the ^arod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

24 And I said unto them that it was the ^aword of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would ^bhold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the ^ctemptations and the fiery ^ddarts of the ^eadversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

The Tree of Life represents eternal life with God. The rod of iron represents the gospel we can follow to keep us on the straight and narrow path to return to Him.  The cluster study skill helped define the word “rod” in a new way.  In the Bible Dictionary Moses’ and Aaron’s rods represented authority. This instantly gives more weight to the word of “rod” ; is a physical representation of the Lord’s priesthood power and authority! 

I felt this scripture is very relevant to what is happening today, right now, in the world.  I needed to be reminded there is order in this chaos and the Lord is in charge.  Even though there are thousands of bits of information bombarding me every day to distract me, the Lord offers a constant. If I follow the gospel and rely on the priesthood power, I can stay on the correct path throughout.

The survey results confirmed the many comments myself and my manager received after the trainings about how helpful the book was and the trainings to discuss.  I asked a total of five questions. Two were regarding their comprehension of the definitions of what “in the box” meant.  Two were about the application of the concepts by asking if they recognized how often they were in and out of the box.  The final question asked if they felt learning these concepts helped increase their trust among the team.

Out of the seven respondents, all understood the concepts of “in or out of the box”, with 71% strongly agreeing and 29% agreeing. This made me feel confident they absorbed the content.  The next question of how often they were aware they were in the box was also positive with 43% saying every day and 57% saying a few times each week. 

The application question of how often they have applied the concept of getting out of the box wasn’t as strong as I had hoped.  However, it was still encouraging with 85% reporting applying the concept a few times each week and 14% saying every day. 

The final question asking if learning these concepts increased their trust among the team was still positive with 57% agreeing, and 28% strongly agreeing and 14% neither agree or disagree.

The conclusion of this project is I believe people answered honestly and sincerely in the survey. This is a measurable result I did help increase the trust among our team which accomplished my project goal!  I have seen team members willing to share information, collaborate with each other on sales accounts and help others in the last 4 months. This proves our attitudes and feelings we have towards each other directly affect our behavior not only at home but also in the work environment.

What an awesome experience! I met with my team on Friday, December 4th for the final training of Leadership and Self-Deception; Getting Out of the Box. The last training on Part 3 – Getting Out of the Box was exciting. I was very happy the majority of my team attended and had read the material. We had great discussions with many personal insights shared.

When I was first read this final part, I thought it was an easy concept. To recognize when I was seeing others as objects instead of people meant I was instantly “out of the box” and my attitude towards them would change.

However, staying in that mind-set is more difficult because I can outwardly change my behavior without changing my attitude towards them. For example, forcing myself to say kind words, when I truly don’t feel like it. In the book, it describes things that don’t work while in the box.

All of these things seem like they would work, but if I still don’t see others as people, and resist their humanity, I am still in the box. I need to actively seek to always see others as people.

So now the question was how does this apply to my work environment? The first question asked in the book is, what is our purpose working together? The answer is to achieve results!

We discussed the examples given in the book about we may recognize our co-workers being in the box, but we can’t control other’s actions. We must concentrate on our own behavior. No one can put me “in the box” by their behavior.

It is truly our choice and that choice matters because it affects all of our team members. This quote sums up the entire book for me:

In conclusion we spoke about learning these concepts didn’t mean we had to be perfect. The summary from the book helped clarify the expectations:

Overall, I had several comments after the training from my team about how beneficial the training was. My goal with this training was to increase trust and healthy conflict among our team. Based on the comments and discussions following each training, I believe both trust and healthy conflict has been improved. However, I am sending a survey to gather more quantifiable data. Stay tuned for the results! Here is a link to the survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/56Z5H7Y

I am looking forward to presenting to my team on Friday, December 4th the final part – How to Get Out of the Box.

This was originally scheduled for the previous week, but the schedule had to be changed due to a software release. The next training is scheduled for this week, so I will have more to report after Friday. It was really interesting to have other people who aren’t in my department ask about the principles we are learning, and how they can also read the book. The principles found are so universal and the power to recognize how we can change is extremely inviting.

Even though my team training was delayed, I did have the opportunity to share the book with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday! I was preparing my PowerPoint, and my brother asked me what it was about. I got to explain to both him and my sister and my brother-in-law how we “self deceive” and get in the box and treat others like objects. We had great conversation of examples of when we have seen others be in the box, as well as times when we realize we are in the box.

I also found a great summary of Part 3 on YouTube by Lindy McKay I want to share with my team. She did a great job with the illustrations and clarified the principle of how we stay in box and how to get out!

I will have more to report after Friday and share my conclusion, including the results of the survey. Stay tuned!

This week’s team training was held on Friday, November 13th, which was an ominous date. However, I could feel a sense of anticipation and excitement from the team. The majority of the team had completed the reading assignment of Part Two and remarked how it changed their outlook. The second part of the book is titled, “How we get in the box” and it can be a bit confusing.

I captured this quote:

I had one team member share an experience at work when he found himself in the ‘box’. He explained he had received a request for help in the middle of a hectic morning, and he said he pushed back to the person saying process needs to be followed. He felt justified he refused and went on with his day feeling very satisfied and a bit smug in teaching that person a lesson. The following week, that person still needed help and the client was upset about the delay and it caused a lot of frustration. He shared he looks back and realized he had self-betrayal when he didn’t respond to the first request, and much more frustration happened later. I appreciated him being so candid and sharing this with the team.

We all agreed with this statement from the book, our success of our daily work, as well as success in our organization is dependent of individuals recognizing when they are in the box.

Collusion was a bit more difficult to understand for the team. I used the graphics from the Arbinger Institute to help explain:

When we are in the box, our behavior can affect others, forcing them into the box as well. This creates a perpetuating cycle of bad behavior towards each other. We then discussed Kate’s story with her teenage son again with help from a graph created by the Arbinger Institute:

I felt it was very impactful how Kate described she was disappointed her son kept curfew. This clarified for some on my team what collusion was and how we keep each other in the box!

For the next training, I asked my team to read Part Three – How to get out of the Box. Our next training will be held on December 4th. In addition, I also challenged the team to think about how they are reacting to others at work and in their personal lives:

The three weeks between this training and the next will include Thanksgiving and we discussed how this will be more difficult to practice on family than co-workers. I can’t wait to hear the results!