Using the Power of Memory

Way back in the days of manual typewriters—before word processing and before electric typewriters—I learned to test out the touch of a typewriter by typing this sentence: “Now is the time for all good boys to come to the aid of their country.” Supposedly this sentence covers most of the keys on the typewriter so you can get the feel of it. To this day, every time I put my hands on a key pad those words go through my head.

Touching my fingers to alphabet keys also brings back another memory every time I touch them. In my freshman year of college I was taking a linguistics class where we had to memorize the phonetic symbols. I transcribed the "good boys" sentence into phonetic symbols figuring if it had most of the keys it would be an easy way to learn most of the symbols. To my surprise the final exam asked us to write out that “good boys” sentence in phonetic symbols. I aced the exam!

The fact that forty-plus years later the simple act of putting my fingers on a key pad brings back those memories is intriguing to me. Our minds are powerful and if instead of just letting things happen we recognize the power of the mind and memory we can make them work for us. Last week I wrote about Alma's sermon in which he encouraged the people to use the power to imagine. In that same sermon (Alma 5) he urges the people to also use the power to remember. But we don't have to wait for something to happen to us and then remember it. We can make associates with things we see each day so that every time we see that thing we remember what we have associated it with.

For example, I have a fan over my bed that has five blades. In symbology the number five represents the Atonement. Each morning as I wake up the first thing I see is that fan and I remember and give thanks for the Atonement. It is a magnificent way to start the day!