The Hatchet Anecdote

At the beginning of Elder Allen F. Packer's talk, The Book, he shared this amusing anecdote:

As a young 12-year-old Scout, I received a gift of a much-desired addition to my Scouting equipment. It was a hatchet with a heavy leather cover! On the next overnight hike, we arrived in camp after dark, wet and cold from the heavy snow on the trail. All I could think about was building a big roaring fire. I immediately went to work chopping a fallen tree with my new hatchet. As I chopped, I was frustrated because it didn’t seem to be cutting very well. In my frustration, I worked harder. Disappointed, I returned to camp with only a few pieces of wood. By the light of someone else’s fire, I discovered the problem. I hadn’t taken the cover off the hatchet. I can report, however, the cover was chopped to shreds. The lesson: I became distracted with other things.

How often do we do that? How often do we become so intent on getting something we want, like a roaring fire, that we go about getting it the wrong way, or sacrifice something else we want, like the cover for our hatchet, to get it? How often do we let the fulfillment of short-term desires lead to long-term consequences?

There's an oft-repeated saying that "Patience is a Virtue." It's also a Christlike attribute. When Jesus Christ was tempted to turn stoned into bread, He refused. Though He had been fasting for over a month at that point, He chose to go hungry for a little while longer rather than to abuse His divine power. He could have gotten bread, or meat, or anything else He wanted, but He exercised patience, and later He got bread, several baskets full, with God's blessing.

Most of the time, we don't want to be as patient as Jesus was. Sometimes, we let our immediate needs and wants distract us from what lies down the road. As a boy, Elder Packer's desire to build a campfire distracted him from the fact that his hatchet's leather cover was still on. Had he realized the problem, he could have spared the hatchet's cover from destruction and have gotten wood more quickly at the same time. God's ways are better than our ways. When we follow God's plan rather than our own desires, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble later, and often get our righteous desires fulfilled in the process. God won't withhold any good thing from His righteous children (Ps 34:10). If what we want is really something that would be good for us, God will let us have it as we follow Him and trust in His ways and timing.

Another lesson we can learn from this story is that sometimes we substitute effort for grace. When things go badly, we sometimes try harder rather than seeking God's wisdom to find out why things are going wrong. Elder Packer was 12 years old and, I assume, a Member of the Church at the time. He would have been baptized and would have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. And even if he hadn't, anyone can receive answers to prayers. When he found that his hatchet wasn't being very effective, he could have sought guidance and possibly have been inspired to check to make sure the cover was off. When things go wrong in our lives, how do we handle those situations? Do we always seek the Lord's guidance and directions for how to overcome our challenges and achieve our goals, or do we sometimes rely on our own wisdom and strength, often exercising more strength than wisdom?

Another principle this anecdote touches on is the contrast between light and darkness. It was dark in the area where the boy was working, so he couldn't see the problem clearly. Not only did this make the challenge more difficult, it also made the situation more dangerous. Imagine a 12-year-old Scout trying to chop firewood with a hatchet in the dark and try to count the ways in which things could go wrong. That young man was lucky that the hatchet's cover was the only thing that got destroyed. He could have been seriously hurt trying to cut firewood in the dark, even with the hatchet's cover still on. Trying to get through life without the light of the gospel is just as dangerous to our souls, if not more so.

Later, in the light of someone else's fire, the young Elder Packer was able to see what had been wrong. This reminds me of the beam and mote scenario. Most of the time, the parable of the beam and the mote is used to explain that we shouldn't judge others when we have problems of our own to work out, but the Master Teacher also said that once we had gotten our own acts together, we could then be empowered to help others (Matt 7:5). I'm paraphrasing pretty terribly, but the fact remains that the more light we have, the better we can share that light with others.

I don't feel like I have a heck of a lot of light, but I do have some, and I'm more than happy to share what light I have with anyone who reads my blog, partly because sharing light helps our spiritual light to grow. Sharing the first few insights I gained from this story helped me to see other lessons that could be learned from it, and I think I'll remember these lessons better than I remember what I blog about casually or what I passively hear at church.

Elder Packer didn't say whether receiving light from the other Scout's fire made that fire bigger or brighter, but it could have. With the light from the other Scout's campfire, Elder Packer saw the problem with his hatchet, and might have removed the hatchet's shredded cover. With the cover removed, he could have more easily collected more firewood and added it to the other Scout's fire, making a larger fire for both of them to enjoy. That may not be what happened that night, but I know that when I share light on my blog, I get more light in return.

I'm thankful for the ability God has given me to see spiritual meanings in the stories and events of life. I'm glad for the light that He shares with me when I follow Him and for the light that comes into my life as I share that light with others. I'm grateful for the insights I gained today and for the opportunity I had to share those insights with you. I should blog like this more often.