Wlecome to A Thought for Thursday. This week my inspiration comes from one of my favorite LDS leaders of all times, Sheri L Dew. She gave this talk in general conference while I was on my mission nearly 10 years ago. Wow, it really has been that long ago.
I feel so old.
Anyway, I refer to this talk still today, it had such an impact on my life. It still has deep personal meaning to me, I feel this talk has a lot to do with the person I am today. In fact I shared this story in my Relief Society lesson this last Sunday.
So here is just a piece of that talk given so long ago, April 1999.
"As a young BYU student I learned a little something about staying on course when heading home. One Christmas Eve my brother and I left to drive home to Kansas. But early in our journey we learned that a huge snowstorm was heading our way, so we pulled out a map, identified a detour that would skirt the edge of the storm, and headed into parts unknown. Our creative navigating proved dangerous. Our new route was unfamiliar, and we still ran right into the blizzard. To make matters worse, late that night as we were creeping along in blinding snow on an obscure highway, our old Ford quit. We were stranded. And we had absolutely no idea where we were.
Eventually we caught a ride to the nearest town, where we found that we were still hours from home and marooned in Last Chance, Colorado. At that point there was only one thing to do. We called home for help. In the middle of the night our father left to come and rescue us. By the next afternoon we were all safely home.
I’ll never forget Christmas Eve in Last Chance, where we were immobilized by a problem largely of our own making and one we were unequipped to solve. That day our father did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Now, each one of us is on the path towards our eternal home. And for various reasons we all need rescue—rescue from loneliness and heartache, from despair and disillusionment, from the consequences of innocent mistakes and blatant sin.
Where do we turn for help? “In the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way” (Ether 12:11). The Savior isn’t our last chance;
Eventually we caught a ride to the nearest town, where we found that we were still hours from home and marooned in Last Chance, Colorado. At that point there was only one thing to do. We called home for help. In the middle of the night our father left to come and rescue us. By the next afternoon we were all safely home.
I’ll never forget Christmas Eve in Last Chance, where we were immobilized by a problem largely of our own making and one we were unequipped to solve. That day our father did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Now, each one of us is on the path towards our eternal home. And for various reasons we all need rescue—rescue from loneliness and heartache, from despair and disillusionment, from the consequences of innocent mistakes and blatant sin.
Where do we turn for help? “In the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way” (Ether 12:11). The Savior isn’t our last chance;
He is our only chance.
Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become. Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean. Our only chance to purify our hearts, subdue our weaknesses, and avoid the adversary. Our only chance to obtain redemption and exaltation. Our only chance to find peace and happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come."
1 comment:
Thank you for that thought! Just what I needed. Gotta love Sherri Dew, huh? I saw her picture and just had to click on over. She uses such down-to-earth examples that are so easy to apply to gospel principles. Thanks again!
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