Making assumptions is probably one of the most common things we do on a daily basis, as well as one of the most dangerous. How many times a day do we act or do something based on the assumptions that we have made? Those assumptions are based on our previous experiences and knowledge or information that we have gathered through our many senses, but they are not necessarily based on the most recent or the most correct information available. Most all of our actions are initiated based on assumptions, and the information that may or may not be available to us just before we have to make a final decision. For example, while driving one day, I turned my left turn signal on as I was planning to make a left turn. Another car was also coming toward me with their left turn signal on. It was near an intersection on a two lane road, and because we had both slowed down and because we both had turn signals on, it was assumed that we were both going to turn onto side roads in opposite directions. I realized just in time that he was not turning left, even though that is what his turn signal was telling me. The assumption I had made about his turning left was a correct assumption, but my action would have been wrong, based on the fact that he did not turn left. We nearly collided. The driver of the other car had also made an assumption. He assumed that when he last turned left that his turn signal had clicked back to a neutral position after his steering wheel straightened out. His assumption was also wrong, and it nearly caused me to turn directly in front of him, thus causing an accident that I would have been blamed for.
Years ago, my next older sister asked me to teach her how to drive. I had an old 1938 Chevy 3⁄4 ton pickup with gear shift and an emergency brake on the floor between the passenger side and the driver’s side. We decided she could practice out on an old gravel road north of Pullman, Washington, where we lived. She seemed to be doing just fine, and she asked if she could drive back into town. Because of the way she was performing, I assumed that it would be safe to allow her to do so. When we arrived at the crossroads to exit the gravel road and get back on the highway, she panicked and forgot where the brake was. My assumption about her readiness was obviously wrong. I was unable to get to the foot brake in time, because the gear shift and the emergency brake were in the way. My emergency brakes did not work, they seldom worked in those old vehicles because they were dependant on a wire cable, and the cables always stretched, rendering the brake useless. The result was that we ran head-on into another car. The other driver assumed that because we had a stop sign that we would stop. His assumption, based on his knowledge of the law and his previous experiences with other cars stopping at stop signs, was incorrect. We did not stop as assumed. The wreck totaled both vehicles, but fortunately we all survived.
In some congregations ‘Responsibility Assumption’ is a doctrine regarding the spirituality and personal growth fields holding that each individual has substantial or total responsibility for the events and circumstances that befall them in their life. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faith, that doctrine is referred to as agency. Adam and all his descendants were given agency, making them responsible for their choices and actions, while being accountable to God for those that they make. We are given guidelines and are encouraged to use our agency wisely. Heavenly Father made no assumption that we would all be able to tow the line, and that is why he made arrangements for a procedure wherein we might repent and be forgiven. A Savior, His son, was willing to satisfy justice in our behalf by expressing his love for us in the most convincing way possible. He gave his life, in the most cruel way, without having ever violated any law.
The assumptions we make in life are the prelude to our choices as we exercise our agency. May God bless us to hone our assumptions, so that those decisions we make will be based on sound and good information.