I know that the Bishop shared several insights, but right now, I can only remember a few of them. I share the ones I remember, and maybe more will come to me as we go.
Trust the Ropes, Trust Your Quorum
A lot of us would have been in serious danger if the ropes and cables we were using hadn't been completely trustworthy. By the same token, a few of us would be in great danger if the belayers (the people on the ground, holding the ropes) hadn't been trustworthy as well. But because the ropes were strong and the belayers were focussed, everyone on the ropes course was pretty safe. The application is that we can trust God, His commandments, and His prophets to guide us safely through life and lead us to heaven. Naturally, life is still going to be difficult, and we're almost sure to get spiritually wounded, no matter who we follow, but at least by following those we know we can trust, we won't lose our spiritual lives.
We Couldn't Do it Without Each Other
Just as no one could safely complete the course without a belayer, we can hardly make it through life without getting help from time to time. The church is designed to help us help each other, which is why we take turns teaching each other and we volunteer to serve each other. Even with inspired guidance, life is often too difficult to get through it without help.
Words of Encouragement
Sometimes, we need more help than we want. On the ropes course, their was a "confidence pole." This pole was much like a telephone pole, except that the lower rungs of the ladder were removable, to make sure no one could climb it when it wasn't safe. One of the young men who were interested in climbing the confidence pole became less and less confident the higher he got. About halfway up, he wanted to quit, but when he was told that the climbing would be easier to climb when he reached the permanent rungs, he got the courage to climb a little higher. Still, he was intimidated, but when he was reminded of how close to the top he was, he managed to reach the top of the pole and sit on it. Without the encouragement from his friends, he would probably have never made it to the top.
What Will You Wish You Had Done?
When the young man got done from the confidence pole, the Bishop encouraged him to think forward to how he would feel about that moment later in his life. Yes, it was difficult and intimidating, but later on, he would be glad that he had had the courage to conquer the confidence pole. We often don't think about the future when we're caught up in the present. What we want now is often deemed more important than what we'll want later. With wisdom, perspective, and patience, we can set our minds on the future and do what we'll later be glad that we did.
The Greater the Challenge, the Greater the Victory
I'm not sure if the Bishop shared this one or if I only thought it, but despite what I said last night, the ropes course was very challenging. Though the physical tasks might not have been terribly demanding, it was a struggle to overcome the fear of heights. The test wasn't a physical one so much as a mental one, and those who passed should be proud of themselves. I have a saying, "The Greater the Challenge, the Greater the Victory." It means that when things get really hard, that just makes it even more impressive when you overcome anyway. The harder a temptation is to resist, or the harder a commandment is to keep, or the harder any challenge is to complete, the greater our victory will be when we resist that temptation, keep that commandment, or complete that challenge. That ropes course was pretty difficult, and those young men won proper bragging rights for completing it.
What I learned most yesterday, however, is that not only is there a spiritual lesson in almost everything, there's almost certainly more than one. I easily pulled one or two spiritual lessons from that experience, but there turned out to be at least three or four more. Different people with different perspectives may learn different things from the same lesson. That's why parables are such effective ways to teach a large group of people - everyone who really thinks about the parable will see the message that they really need, whatever that message may be. The young man who climbed the confidence pole might have learned about the value and power of encouragement, or he might have learned about how persuasive peer pressure can be and how it can coax us into places where out hearts warn us not to be. That's a valuable lesson, too. There are many lessons in every experience, and that itself is yet another lesson I learned at the ropes course.
No comments:
Post a Comment