Hold to the Rod, the Iron Rod

Dear Reader,

Imagine driving down the freeway in fog that limits your vision to about 200 feet in front of you. Despite how many times you have flown down this part of the interstate highway, it is difficult to determine exactly where you are especially because the signs glance by right as you pass them. This was a reality for me this morning as my friends and I organized a caravan to a ward in Salt Lake City to listen to a talk given by another of our friends. The 10 of us jumped into to two cars and took off from Provo into the thickest fog I have ever seen in the valley. 

Being the optimist, I found excitement in the new experience despite how potentially dangerous the journey could be. As I drove, it was kind of weird the different Gospel parallels that came to mind as we went through the hazy lack of vision. First came the comparison between the lead car and prophets. Obviously this is the Gospel according to Dale, but I imagine that the prophets often times know where they want to go and know the correct path, but they do not see the road more than a couple hundred feet in front of them. The dangers such as other cars materialize out of the mist and the prophet must change the course of the caravan in enough time to alert the car behind. 

Another interpretation I pondered about was each one of us as individuals and how we need to help one another. The lead car had the responsibility to lead the way and care for those in the car behind him. He had to assess the best route to arrive on time to the church house while letting the other car know what he was thinking.

One of the best moments of the trip was coming around the point of the mountain, when the fog cleared up almost instantly. The sun was shining and it was as if God was saying, "You made it through your trials and you are now seeing the greater portion of my love for you." 

Upon arriving at the church house, other comparisons became very apparent. Our friend talked about the vision of the Tree of Life as recorded in the Book of Nephi (1 Nephi 8 and 1 Nephi 11). I almost instantly thought about our trek across Utah and how we had braved the "mists of darkness" to arrive at the church to listen to the word of God, which is "the fruit" described the above-mentioned chapters. She described that the fruit of the Tree of Life in this vision does not receive the same attention as the "mists of darkness" or the "great and spacious building" in the vision. In spite of that, we should share the fruit with those who need it, which is everyone. 

The bottom line of these comparisons is this: if you are driving along in the fog and mist, your destination is very important and it should be the things that matter most. Those things are the love of God, the Atonement, Family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.