The "Why" Behind Assignments

Earlier this week, I was informed that I don't have to do any more work for one of my classes. In this class, grades are awarded on a points system. Each assignment is worth up to a certain number of points, and students are awarded an amount of those points based on how well they do on those assignments. For example, an Exam might be worth 100 points, and if the student gets all the questions right, they get 100 points, whereas if they only get half the questions right, then they only get 50 points. If, by the end of the semester, a student has earned 90% or more of the available points, that student earns an A. If they earn 89%-80% of the available points, they get a B, and so on. At this point in the semester, even with a month of instruction remaining, I have done well enough on our assignments so far that I have already earned all the points I need to get an A (and there is no "A+" to shoot for). I have already done all the work I need to do to ensure I get the highest possible grade in this class, so I don't need to do any of the remaining assignments.

Yet, I think I'm still going to. You see, I'm not taking this class just to earn a relatively easy A. I'm not taking this class just to fulfill a requirement or to satisfy a prerequisite. I'm taking this class because I actually want to learn. I'm curious about the subject matter we're covering in this last month of instruction, and I believe that completing the assignments will help me ensure that I understand the material and help me remember what I've learned. As a side note, that's one of the benefits of blogging; recording my thoughts and publishing them help me remember these thoughts, or at least allow me to look them up later. I plan on answering the remaining study questions for this class because I want to learn, understand, record, and remember the answers to those questions as well. I'm not doing these last few assignments because I need the points. I'm doing them because I want to learn.

Life is like a great big class. We are all here to learn and to be tested, and at the end of it all, we will be given a final grade. Yet, the goal isn't just to earn enough points to qualify for the highest grade. The point, or at least a large part of it, is to actually learn (and learn to apply) the moral principles taught and exemplified by Jesus Christ. I'm not just trying to get to heaven and doing the bare minimum amount of work required to do so. I'm trying to learn to become a better person. God's commandments are requirements to get to heaven, but they're also guidelines for self-improvement. The former is essential, but the latter is arguably more important. I want to keep the commandments, not just because I have to to get the blessings I want, but also because they're good standards for moral living, and I'd like to be a moral person. I'm not only interested in the final grade; I also want to learn (and to learn to apply) the material. Yes, I want to get into heaven, but I also want to become the kind of person that's worthy to live in heaven, and keeping the commandments is the best way to do both.