When I was about seventeen, I attended a Young Men's Camp. I had attended the camp before and had participated in all of the activities before--including the Faith Walk. This is one of those ordinary team building activities where one person is blindfolded and lead around by another participant, who has complete use of his vision. Holding on to the shoulders of the seeing guide, the blind folded participant is lead through the trees and cabins of the camp. Then at some point they switch roles. This particular year, as we began the activity, our leader informed us that we could have a spiritual experience with this activity if we looked for it. This, of course, caught me off guard. The activity seemed simple enough and I had done it before without any significant spiritual experiences. But I was open to the possibility and just such an experience came.
David was blindfolded and I was leading him around. As I did so, I managed to lead him right through a large hole. Of course having complete use of my visual faculties, I missed the hole entirely. David, however was not so lucky. He stumbled and tripped through it, loosing his balance and grip on my shoulders and when he regained his footing, he tapped me on the shoulder to let me know he was ready to go again. That tap on the shoulder has forever changed my life. What reason had I given him to continue trusting me? After all, my poor guidance just lead him directly through a hole. But even so, he was ready to continue putting his complete faith in me to lead him in his darkness.
David was blindfolded and I was leading him around. As I did so, I managed to lead him right through a large hole. Of course having complete use of my visual faculties, I missed the hole entirely. David, however was not so lucky. He stumbled and tripped through it, loosing his balance and grip on my shoulders and when he regained his footing, he tapped me on the shoulder to let me know he was ready to go again. That tap on the shoulder has forever changed my life. What reason had I given him to continue trusting me? After all, my poor guidance just lead him directly through a hole. But even so, he was ready to continue putting his complete faith in me to lead him in his darkness.
I asked myself then, and ask myself now, do I have the faith sufficient to follow, or continue to follow, the Savior even if following Him means passing through trials and afflictions, temptations and sorrow?
I think of Lehi and his vision of the tree of life. In First Nephi eight, versus five and six Lehi says:
And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.
At this point it sounds a lot like the Savior. A man dressed in white inviting Lehi to follow him, which is, after all, the Lord's trademark invitation. Lehi does precisely that and in the next verse things get interesting:
And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
Wait a minute. Wasn't Lehi following the Savior? If that is the person he is following, how did he end up in a "dark and dreary waste"? It's also interesting to note the same phenomenon later in the chapter. It is while the people are clinging to the rod of iron, the word of God, and following the straight and narrow path, representative of the covenant path that leads us back to God, it is while doing these to very righteous things that we get this in verse 23:
. . . there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.
It is while these people are choosing the right and following the Savior that they find themselves in a dark and dreary waste surrounded by a great mist of darkness which, we will learn, represents the temptations of the devil. Another great example of this can be found in the book of Ether, chapter six. I would like to look at these verses a little out of order, so lets start with verse six:
And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
This sounds about normal for any sea voyage, but now lets go back and look at verse five:
And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
Did I just read that correctly? The wind that is described in verse six as burying them in the "depths of the sea" and creating "great and terrible tempests" was actually sent forth by the Lord? In some ways, this why it takes faith to follow the Lord. Sometimes it means passing through trials and tribulations. It helps when we can see what is at the end of the journey. Lehi eventually found the tree of life as did those who had the faith to continue on the path and resist the temptations that arose on their journey. Ether six goes on to say in verse eight:
And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
The Lord knows that it is through this journey of trials and afflictions, temptations and sorrows, that we arrive at the promised land, the tree of life. That is the end of our journey to which we must always look.
Nephi comes to mind as someone who always followed the Lord no matter where it lead him, no matter what was asked of him. It was Nephi, after all, who said in First Nephi chapter three, verse seven:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
But of course Nephi would say something like that, he's super-human! Isn't this the man who, in the wilderness, broke free of his brother's cords when "they sought to take away [his] life", and the same man who "stretched forth his hand" and shocked his brothers. This the man who single-handedly defeated Laban, "a mighty man" who "can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty." (See 1 Nephi 7:16, 17: 53-54, 3:31 and 4:18.) We could definitely go on for a long time with all the great feats of this monumental man. Of course Nephi wasn't afraid of falling into some pit he cannot see.
It's often hard to connect to some of these Book of Mormon heroes. They seem to be cut from a different cloth than I am, I mean the only time I ever stretched forth my hand and shocked my brothers was a little static electricity from rubbing my feet on the carpet.
But then I read what Nephi had to say in Second Nephi chapter four:
Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins . . . (verses 17-19)
Now this is more like it. This definitely sounds like someone with whom I can connect. It is much closer to home than the heroic deeds of Nephi. So much so that I wonder how this could even be the same man. How do you reconcile the fact that the man who just called himself "wretched" is the same person whose out-of-this-world faith and works we've been reading about for the entire first book of The Book of Mormon. I think the answer to reconciling these two seemingly different characters comes in the rest of verse nineteen and on:
. . . nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me. Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the nighttime. . . . O Lord, I have trusted in thee and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. . . . (verses 19-23, 34, emphasis added, see all of Second Nephi chapter four for even greater insight)
This is how Nephi could have such great faith--he knew the person "in whom [he had] trusted." He knows God. He knows his personally; he knows his character and attributes. Nephi has developed this relationship and understanding through prayer, scripture study and personal revelation. Time and time again in the first two books of Nephi we see Nephi refer to the scriptures or teachings of the prophets, we see him "inquire of the Lord," and we seem him seek his own, personal revelation. I can only assume that this has been a pattern in his life from which he has come to know God.
When my blindfolded friend stumbled in the hole through which I lead him, there could have been a very real alternative to what happened. That could have been the end of the activity for him. The blindfold could have come off and the game been over. And I think if I were blindfolded and didn't know who was leading me around, I would have done just that. But it didn't happen that way. Now I cannot speak for my friend as to why he continued to trust me to lead him along the way, but I do know what would make it easier for me to trust someone in the same circumstance. I would definitely be more inclined to continue following someone that I know cares about me, someone that has my best interest at heart, someone who I know can lift me up when I do stumble through the rocky paths, someone who is leading me to the greatest happiness and good that there is.
Who is this God, in whom we are to have faith, even when doing so leads us through a "dark and dreary waste"? This is a topic which could be an entire post of its own. For now, suffice it to say that we come to know God just as Nephi did, starting with scripture study, prayer and personal revelation. When we know Him, we can trust Him wherever He leads us ans in whatever He asks us to do.
May I refer you to President Eyring's talk, "Trust in God, Then Go and Do," in the October 2010 General Conference. I quote two paragraphs from that talk:
When my blindfolded friend stumbled in the hole through which I lead him, there could have been a very real alternative to what happened. That could have been the end of the activity for him. The blindfold could have come off and the game been over. And I think if I were blindfolded and didn't know who was leading me around, I would have done just that. But it didn't happen that way. Now I cannot speak for my friend as to why he continued to trust me to lead him along the way, but I do know what would make it easier for me to trust someone in the same circumstance. I would definitely be more inclined to continue following someone that I know cares about me, someone that has my best interest at heart, someone who I know can lift me up when I do stumble through the rocky paths, someone who is leading me to the greatest happiness and good that there is.
Who is this God, in whom we are to have faith, even when doing so leads us through a "dark and dreary waste"? This is a topic which could be an entire post of its own. For now, suffice it to say that we come to know God just as Nephi did, starting with scripture study, prayer and personal revelation. When we know Him, we can trust Him wherever He leads us ans in whatever He asks us to do.
May I refer you to President Eyring's talk, "Trust in God, Then Go and Do," in the October 2010 General Conference. I quote two paragraphs from that talk:
. . . trust in God and His servants enough that we will go out and obey His counsel. he wants that because He loves us and wants our happiness. And He knows how a lack of trust in Him brings sadness. . . . You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks. If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer . . . you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.
In the Faith Walk, and in life, it's not about what you can't see, it's about what you can see, maybe not physically, but spiritually. It's about knowing who it is that leads us through those "mists of darkness." It is our Heavenly Father and our Savior, who truly love us and want us to be happy. They know and can see the path that will get us there. They send forth the wind that ever guides to the promise land.
