Guidance For Your Journey

In his talk, The Law of the Fast: a Personal Responsibility to Care for the Poor and Needy, Bishop Davies quoted from Isaiah 58: 8-11, speaking of the blessings we can get from fasting. I'd like to share the whole verses, plus verse 12 because it talks about the promised blessings of Fasting also. Some of the promised blessings require some interpretation, but there are many that are more straight-forward, and they all sound really good.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. 

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 

And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 

Isaiah 58: 8-12

My favorites of these promises are "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. ...And the Lord shall guide thee continually." Yesterday, I watched a Let's Play of a game called Journey, in which you uncover the history of a fallen civilization. Your journey through their ruins is long and sometimes dangerous. It takes you through some desolate places, and the way forward isn't always clear. But one of the most interesting thing about this game is that you don't play it alone. The game often automatically links you up with another player, so you can help each other. If you're lost, they can guide you. If you know the way, you can guide them. You can help each other find secret areas and uncover more clues. Through the game, you experience how comforting it can be to have a companion and how lonely it can be without one.

There are a number of commandments that we can keep to receive the promise that we don't have to be alone. Many of us have heard that if we "always remember [Christ], the [we] may have His Spirit to be with [us]." Apparently, fasting is another way to ensure that we will always have divine companionship. Though the world sometimes feels like a cold and lonely place, you can have the warmth and companionship of the Holy Spirit. Though it's sometimes dark and hard to find your way, you can have the continual light and guidance of Christ. Mortality is, in many ways, an amazing journey, and thankfully, it's one that we never have to travel alone.