I think it's pretty much common knowledge that comparing ourselves with others is rarely a good idea. When we compare ourselves with our siblings, friends or even rivals, we inevitably compare our weaknesses with their strengths, or vice versa. It's not honest, and it's certainly not instructive.

Yet there's something about looking at the past that invites a comparison — a fact I was reminded of several times last weekend when a friend and I decided to head to Nauvoo for a couple days.

There are a lot of things about our trip through Mormon history that leave me thinking, "I never could have done that." It starts with a five-hour drive across seemingly unending Illinois prairie, during which I get rather bored — then immediately think about what it would have been like to walk the same route. Perhaps pulling a handcart.

Read the full column on MormonTimes.com.