Skip to main content

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. 

Labels

Labels:
Location: West Jordan, UT, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Am I Proud to Be an American?

This weekend is the 4th of July, or Independence Day in the United States of America. One of my favorite songs during this time of celebrating the country is "God Bless the USA." The words paint a detailed picture of the beauty of the United States, both in a physical and emotional aspect. Our country is often depicted in a majestic manner such as this, making it seem like the greatest in the world and we often hear those bold words, "I'm proud to be an American."  With all of the issues that have been cropping up over the past couple of years such as impeachment, systemic racism, foreign intervention, and most significantly the COVID-19 pandemic, I have reflected deeply about what we celebrate with the 4th of July. These issues are just a few of the many that have made me wonder about the country we praise so proudly.  Am I really proud to be an American?  Thomas Jefferson wrote the candid words of the Declaration of Independence, which were th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Book of Mormon Stories

Dear Reader, Today I simply want to share a story that has strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon over the years. Professor Felix Mynhardt was fluent in many languages, including English, Afrikaans, Hebrew and Egyptian, as well as many others. He was employed as a language professor when he had been praying that the Lord would give him some divinely important task that would justify his having this gift of language from God. In 1970 he visited with a group of Mormon leaders, who sought to commission him to translate the Book of Mormon from English into Afrikaans. He said that he knew of the Book of Mormon from his religions studies, and his initial reaction was that he did not want to be involved in translating it. However, that evening, as he prayed upon his knees, as was his habit, he said the Spirit of the Lord convinced him. The message was something on the order of, "You asked me for a great, divinely inspired task of translation, I sent it to you in the form o...
Post a Comment
Read more

As Now We Take the Sacrament

Dear Reader, Normally I would apologize for a long absence, but the experience we had today just can't wait. I had an entirely new view on taking the sacrament because of a simple oversight by one of the boys passing the sacrament to us. Then the Bishop spoke and gave a little more perspective on spirituality. First, the sacrament. Today we attended our new ward in Kaysville and we were sitting on the front row of the overflow area in the chapel. As is customary with the sacrament meeting in the Church of Jesus Christ, the members of the Aaronic priesthood will bless the bread and water that represents Christ's flesh and blood before allowing the members of the congregation to partake of it. While they were passing around the bread on their trays, our row was somehow skipped. My wife, my in-laws and myself did not receive the bread while taking the sacrament. My father-in-law and I both did our best to attract the attention of those priesthood holders helping with the ...
Post a Comment
Read more