My appointments today cancelled at the last minute and so Janelle and I decided to go on a hike. It turned into quite the adventure! Rick and I had been asked to speak (sign) in the ASL Branch this Sunday and I so shared the experiences from our hike for my talk. Here it a portion of my talk!
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A few days ago,
my daughter and I decided to go hiking. It was a beautiful morning, and the
planned hike was a simple two mile walk on a gravel path. We walked along the trail and enjoyed the beautiful
view as we visited while walking. When we were near the end of the trail my
daughter explained that this was a good place to hike to the top so that we
could see the full view of the valley. This meant going off the trail and scaling the
mountain. I looked up at the boulders and steep sides of the mountain and
expressed my nervousness about attempting to climb it. But my daughter was
confident and said that she had climbed it before with her friends and that the
view would be worth it. I was hesitant but decided to go ahead and try it.
As we started to climb, I looked down and started to imagine what would happen if we were to accidentally slip or fall. I was very nervous and said that I didn’t know if this was such a good idea. My daughter encouraged me to keep going and we finally arrived at the top. It was indeed a beautiful view!! We walked around and took some pictures and then decided that we had better get back. The sun was out in full force now and I no longer had any water left. I was tired and starting to get hungry and I hadn’t brought any food along.
I saw a dirt
road and wondered where it led. Surely that would be better than having to
climb down the steep sides of the mountain! We started walking on the dirt
road. After walking quite a ways we could see that the road was leading us farther and father away from where we needed to be. So, we turned
around and started the long walk back to the place where we were before. Only now we couldn’t find the place we
had gone up and wondered how we would get back down. I was getting nervous and
started to pray.
I realized
that it had been a mistake to leave the trail to climb up the mountain with no
one to guide us. But it was too late now and so our only choice was to hike
back down. We needed help finding the location to hike down. I prayed and asked
my daughter to pray also. We continued to search for a place we could hike
down. Finally I looked over and saw a stack of rocks. My daughter had explained
that a stack of rocks was called a cairn (KA-REN) and cairns were used to help
hikers know where to go. I knew that Heavenly Father had answered our prayers
by helping us to find the cairn. I felt happy and relieved. We were able to
climb down and make it back to the trail safely, which was such a relief!
I would like
to compare our hiking experience with the Plan of Salvation. Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ placed us here on earth to get a body, be tested, learn and
grown and become more like them. They want us have joy and so they provided us
with a beautiful plan called the plan of salvation.
We can
become disciples of Jesus Christ by following Heavenly Father’s plan. This plan
brings us blessings, peace, and joy. His plan also includes commandments. This
is similar to the hiking trail. When we walked on the trail, we were safe. We
knew where to go. We were on the right path. If we went off the trail, we were
in danger of becoming lost.
Hiking up the rocks was stressful and dangerous. Likewise, if we decide to ignore God’s plan and follow our own plan, we can become lost. Some people think that God’s plan is boring, while going off His path may seem enticing and dangerous. Some may think that God’s plan is too limited with no freedom. However, following God’s plan actually gives us more freedom. When people don’t follow God’s plan, they often lose their freedom to choose.
The good
news is that God gives us many opportunities to repent and change even if we
have already gone off the path. My daughter and I went off the path and then
didn’t know how to get down. We needed to look to God for help to get back to
the trail. God knew that His children would sometimes make mistakes and go off
the path. So, He allowed His son, Jesus Christ, to atone for us so that we
could repent. We can repent and ask for forgiveness and get back on the path. We
all can become disciples of Jesus Christ. We might be on the path. We might be
off the path. Wherever we are we can start now to move forward in the right
direction.
I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know Jesus Christ has a plan for us. He loves us. He was willing to come to earth in humble circumstances. He was willing to give His whole life teaching and serving others. He was willing to suffer for all our sins and He was willing to die for us. I pray that we can all become disciples of Jesus Christ by following His path and His will.
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