Life Is Like Mario

Life doesn’t come with a map, but sometimes it feels a lot like an old Mario game. In this episode, we talk about learning through trial and error, trying again after we fail, and what it means to level up in life and in faith. From childhood memories to parenting moments and spiritual growth, we share how progress often comes little by little. With help from Heavenly Father, the scriptures, and people around us, we can keep moving forward, one level at a time. 

Elder Dale G. Renlund quote

The Lord loves effort

Sisters with Latter-Day Voices website

Transcript

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Transcript

Candice:
Okay, all right. Welcome to Sisters Latter-day Voices. I’m Candice.

Clare:
And I’m Clare. The other day I was thinking about something funny. Do you remember playing Super Mario Land on Spencer’s Game Boy?

Candice:
Of course. It’s the only video game we had access to, so yes.

Clare:
Exactly. We didn’t really have video games growing up. I don’t know if Mom and Dad were against them or just didn’t want to spend the money, but we didn’t have cable, no gaming consoles, pretty simple.

But when Spencer, our older brother, got hurt and had to be in the hospital for a bit, someone gave him a Game Boy. And I think because it was tied to him recovering, Mom and Dad were like, okay… we’re not taking this away.

Candice:
Yeah, he’s hurt. We can’t take it away.

Clare:
Exactly. So he had two games, Tetris and Mario. I never got into Tetris, but I loved Mario. And once he recovered, I was always like, “Spence, can I borrow your Game Boy?”

And I don’t know if you remember, but it had about twelve levels, and it took a long time to get through them. You kept dying. You had to start over, figure things out, learn by trial and error.

You’d lose lives, gain lives, collect coins, find secret passages, figure out how to jump over the turtle without getting hit. If you got hit, big Mario turned into little Mario.

I’m probably not explaining it perfectly, but if you’ve played Mario, you get it.

But I do remember finally figuring out each level, and eventually I could pass the whole game.

And randomly, Darren bought one of those old-school Mario games you hook up to the TV, and I played it… and I could still beat the whole game. I was like, this is amazing.

Candice:
Your kids were so impressed.

Clare:
They were… until they asked me to play Halo and I just stared at a wall. So, not impressive anymore. But that one thing, I could do.

Candice:
I can’t play any video games. I remember that one, but you were way better than I was. Any video game now, I’m like, I can’t do this.

Clare:
Same. Even Minecraft, I think I can do it, and then I can’t build anything.

Candice:
Minecraft makes me sick. My girls try to show me what they built and I get motion sick watching them move around.

Clare:
That’s actually so funny.

Anyway, I was thinking… life is kind of like that. It takes a lot of trial and error. A lot of failing, trying again, figuring things out.

And every once in a while, you level up.

Not all at once, but little by little.

And I see this with my kids all the time.

One example is Callie’s prayers. They are one of my favorite things in the world. They are so innocent. You never know what she’s going to pray about. Sometimes she just looks around the room and names things like “sink” and “chair,” and you’re like, okay…

Sometimes she skips right over the things you’re trying to prompt her to say, and sometimes she prays about Disney rides.

But one thing she always does is name every person in our family. She never skips anyone. Sometimes it takes her a while because certain names are harder, but she keeps trying until she gets it right.

And she always says “no dreams” because she doesn’t want nightmares.

Candice:
Oh, that’s so sweet.

Clare:
It really is. And what I love most is how genuine her prayers are. It just makes me think, when I pray, sometimes I’m repeating the same things, just checking a box.

And listening to her reminds me to just be more present, more thankful, more real.

To me, that’s her leveling up.

I’ve seen it with scriptures too. Last year, when we were studying Doctrine and Covenants, Jocelyn’s Sunday School class had a challenge. If they read the entire Doctrine and Covenants, they’d get a steak dinner.

Which is a pretty great reward.

And there were some serious readers in that class, but Jocelyn finished first. She finished before the end of January.

Candice:
Wow.

Clare:
I mean… maybe comprehension dropped a little, but still, super impressive. And honestly, ever since then, she’s been really consistent with her scriptures. Sometimes she’s ahead of me.

That’s leveling up.

Candice:
It’s so rewarding as a parent when you see that. When it actually sinks in and they start making good choices on their own.

Clare:
Yeah. And I see it with the youth too. I’ve taught Sunday School for almost twenty years, mostly teenagers, and they teach me something every week.

Their testimonies are so strong. Even getting up on Fast Sunday and sharing their testimony, that’s terrifying to me.

And right now is one of my favorite times of year, when seniors are turning in their mission papers.

My nephew just got his call, and someone in our class just got theirs. It’s amazing to see them step away from everything familiar and choose to serve.

That feels like a really high level in the game.

And like President Russell M. Nelson said, the Lord loves effort.

Candice:
And anytime we face something hard, we’re growing. We’re leveling up.

Clare:
Yeah. And it’s not just youth. It’s all of us.

Even things like General Conference. Growing up, I didn’t love it. I felt like I had to watch it.

Now I genuinely love it. I look forward to it. I learn from it.

I still don’t sit through all of it at once… but I love it.

That’s leveling up.

Same with scriptures. Sometimes I used to just read to say I did it. And yes, I’ve skipped Isaiah plenty of times.

Now I’m at least trying to understand it. Still don’t fully get it… but I’m trying.

That’s leveling up too.

And on the flip side, life isn’t always smooth. Sometimes it feels like we’re stuck on the same level. Like we keep missing the same jump over and over again.

We all have moments where things don’t go as planned, or we feel like we’re going backwards.

But the important thing is not to quit. To pause, take a breath, try again a different way.

There’s a quote from Dale G. Renlund where he says that God cares a lot more about who we are becoming than who we once were.

And that doesn’t mean our choices don’t matter, but it does mean we can keep trying.

We get to come back. We get to try again. Every week with the sacrament, we’re starting fresh.

And that’s not failure. That’s growth.

We all start at the beginning. We all make mistakes. Sometimes we choose wisely, sometimes not so much.

Sometimes it feels like we’re stuck on the same level, working through the same challenge again and again.

But we’re not doing it alone. The Lord gives us people to help us, family, friends, teachers. Sometimes it’s like finding a little secret passage that helps us move forward.

We have the scriptures. We have prophets and apostles. And we have our Heavenly Father, who is always cheering us on.

Little by little. Level by level. We keep growing.

And honestly, it’s pretty fun watching ourselves, and the people we love, level up along the way.

Candice:
I like that analogy.

So with that, we hope you know God loves you.