Backtracking to Delicate Arch

I think part of the reason I forgot Elder Claudio D. Zivic's story about the piano player was because right after he shared that anecdote, he shared another one:

Several years ago I went to Arches National Park with my wife; our daughter, Evelin; and a family friend. One of the most famous arches there is called Delicate Arch. We decided to walk about 1.5 miles (2 km), climbing the mountain in order to reach the arch. 

We started off on our pathway with great enthusiasm, but after walking a short stretch, the others needed to rest. Because of my desire to get there, I decided to continue on alone. Without paying attention to the path I ought to take, I followed a man in front of me who seemed to be moving forward with great surety. The pathway became more and more difficult, and I had to jump from one rock to another. Because of the difficulty, I was sure the women in my group would never make it. Suddenly I saw Delicate Arch, but to my great surprise, I saw that it was in an area inaccessible to me. 

With great frustration, I decided to go back. I waited impatiently until we met up again. My immediate question was “Did you reach Delicate Arch?” They happily told me that they had. They explained that they had followed the signs showing the way, and with care and effort, they had reached their destination.

Later in the talk, he relates this to one's spiritual journey. Sometimes, we try to follow our own path, only to fined that it's not taking us where we want to go. In those situations, it's best to backtrack (to repent) as soon as possible, so we can get back onto the right path. Elder Zivic didn't reach Delicate Arch on the day this story took place, but I wonder if he might have had time to reach it if he had turned back when he reached the point where one would have to jump from one rock to another. That, in hindsight, was clearly not part of the trail that lead to Delicate Arch. Had he realized that then, and turned back immediately, might he have been able to find the correct path again and make it to Delicate Arch that day?

Heaven is our ultimate destination, and keeping God's commandments is the path we have to take to get there. Unfortunately, all of us fall off of that path from time to time. When that happens, we need to realize our mistakes as soon as possible, and repent and correct them. Sin slows down our spiritual progress, but it doesn't have to stop us from reaching our goal. If we repent and correct our course quickly enough, our mistakes won't even slow us down very much, and the lessons we learn from our mistakes can help us avoid making costly mistakes later down the road.

Satan is often very subtle, so when he succeeds in leading us astray, we might not even notice we've gone astray until we notice that God is no longer with us, and the going is a lot rougher without Him. As soon as we realize we're on the wrong path, we should begin making efforts to return to the right path to continue our spiritual progress. It may take us a while to learn that we need to repent, but the sooner we start that process, the better off we'll be. Elder Zivic might have reached the arch if he had turned back sooner, and it's not too late for us to reach our goals either.