The Edge

A man needed a driver to give him a ride through a dangerous mountain path.  To ensure his safety, he wanted to find the best of the best of the drivers.  The man asked the same question to four different drivers: How close can you get to the edge and still feel comfortable?  The first driver said, "I can drive one foot away from the edge and be comfortable."  The second driver said, "I can be 6 inches away from the edge and be fine."  The third driver said, "Give me 1 inch, and there's no problem."  The last driver that he asked said, "I don't know, I stay as far away from the edge as I can." 

This man knew exactly who to choose.  No matter how skilled the driver was, getting close to the edge just isn't smart.  He chose the fourth driver.  The further away from the edge, the better.  What does getting close to the edge prove anyways?  The Lord doesn't care how close we can get to the edge, in fact, he wants us to stay as far away from the edge as we can.  Christ, in his Sermon on the Mount, taught, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon."  (Matthew 6:24).

Getting close to the edge is, in a way, serving two masters.  It's saying, with our actions, that we only want to do the bare minimum to stay on the path.  But think about it, the closer we are to the edge, the less room there is for error.  One faulty step could be our downfall, literally.  When we stay away from the edge, we leave room for our mistakes, which are unavoidable.  Then we will be able to correct ourselves and continue going.  May we all strive to stay as far away from the edge and choose this day to serve the Lord.  It's only then can we reach the end of the mountainous path safely.

Get in Shape

I can remember sitting in the Orthodontists office, knowing what was about to happen to me.  Pieces of metal were about to be glued onto my teeth.  Oh how I dreaded that day.  All I had heard about braces were how much they hurt and how you couldn't eat certain foods.  Neither of those two things were making me very excited about getting my braces on.

It's true, the braces did hurt.  Especially the first couple of days that they were on.  Once I surpassed the first week, I could hardly feel that they were there.  My teeth had been pushed and pulled into where they need to be.  Then comes the next appointment and I went through it again.  Little by little, my teeth became super straight and I was left with a dynamite smile.

This is how the Lord works with us.  He puts strain on us, just like the braces do on teeth, and shapes us into what he wants us to become.  Elder Richard G. Scott said, "When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more.  He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit."  The Lord can see our full potential and knows what we can become.

Being shaped into what the Lord wants isn't a walk in the park.  We must be put into the refiners fire, so to speak, and be tested.  Elder Scott continues, "To get from where you are to where [The Lord] wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."  We must be pushed and pulled, just like our teeth, to be able get where the Lord wants us.  Yes, it will be hard at times, but once we see how dynamite our smile is, it'll be worth it.  All we have to do is put our trust in the Lord, and he'll mold us into the best person we can be.

You Just Got Served!

As I've been on my mission, I've thought a lot about how I can be the best missionary I am capable of becoming.  A ton of ideas fly through my head each day of how I can improve.  In my opinion, it all boils down to service.  While on my mission, I devote 2 whole years to serving the Lord in whatever way he asks.  It's the least I can do to repay him for everything that he's blessed me with.

The service that I'm doing is helping more than just the people I serve.  It helps me every day.  King Benjamin, a righteous king in the Book of Mormon, explains the important of service in Mosiah 5:13, which reads, " For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"  From this scripture we find that service can help us as well. 

If we live our lives only thinking of ourselves, then we won't know too much about the people around us.  We'll be too busy tending to our own needs to take them, or their feelings, into consideration.  This scripture applies to our Heavenly Father as well.  How can we know him and what he wants for us if we never serve him?  The servant must serve the master to be able to better know the master's will. 

Jesus Christ himself said, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:34).  If we lose our life in the service of God, we will find it.  I am a witness of that.  As I've been on my mission, I've discovered things about myself that I would've never known if I would have passed up this opportunity.  The things learned and the experiences gained will benefit me the rest of my life.  The same can happen to you if you put that scripture to use.  There's no end to the blessings that will come because of it.