why I chose the hard way

Recently, I was explaining to someone that I had the option of taking a statistics class or Calculus 3 for one of the requirements of my major. This person was surprised and asked me why I didn't just do statistics because it would have been so much easier. At the time I didn't know how to answer, other than to say that my advisor said that they highly recommend doing the calculus option.

But I thought about it a little more and I think I have a better answer now. My advisor's recommendation had an influence on my decision, but the real reason I decided to do it was because it would be hard. I knew that the challenge would be good for me because I would learn how to persevere and because I would gain an increased ability to understand things. If I master these concepts, I will have math skills that are necessary in order to understand the science topics that interest me. (I still wonder most days why I do these things to myself, though.)

I believe we used similar reasoning when we made the choice to come to earth and have physical bodies. We knew it would be challenging. We knew that we would have to leave our Father in Heaven for a while. We knew we would have obstacles like sickness and poverty and temptation and depression that would make it a difficult experience. But we also knew that there was no other way that we could learn the things that we would come to understand while we were here, and that we would have to have physical bodies so that we could receive the ordinances of the gospel. We knew that this was the choice we needed to make so we could continue to progress and ultimately return to God and receive eternal life. That's why we made the choice to have mortal lives.