Personal Parables

I taught the lesson in Elders Quorum today.  I received a message from Gary Scholes yesterday that he needed me to teach the lesson today as he was away for a funeral.  I agreed to do it and so last night and this morning I studied the lesson material.  It was actually a very good lesson on the ordinance of Baptism and was the instruction found in the Teachings of President Joseph Fielding Smith manual.  Great lesson, great insight.  I enjoy learning from the prophets and this lesson certainly spoke clearly on the topic of Baptism and the important role it plays in our lives. 

Personal parables, I believe our lives are filled with experiences that teach us lessons on who we are and how we should act.  I shared one such personal parable that I had a couple years ago when I hiked Orderville Canyon into Zion National Park.  The day looked like it was going to be threatened by a storm and at first I wasn't sure we were going but then it was reported that it was fine and we were in the clear.  So we went.  This particular canyon starts outside of Zion National Park and so we made our way to a parking area at the trail head or a couple miles back from the trail head and we began our journey.  At the trail head we signed in our group and then we dropped in to the canyon.  The hike was dry and it was hot.  We didn't get started quite as early in the morning as we had planned and so the heat of the day was upon us.  I was expecting water and thought we would be hiking through a creek that flowed through the canyon.  Such was not the case and for quite a few miles we hiked in the hot, dry sand.  When we finally came on some water it was stagnate and pretty nasty actually.  Not too long after that we came upon running water.  It came from the base of the cliffs and though it was little at first it built up quickly.  Soon we were at a point where we had to get in.  There as no other way to go. Either we immersed ourselves in the water or our journey ended and we would not reach our destination.  Entering that water was energizing.  I was hot and tired before and when that water came it awakened me to a level of energy I had not had before.  For the rest of the hike I was excited and I made it a point to be in the water as much as possible.  For me it was a source of strength and it made the rest of the journey pure joy for me. 

As I thought about the topic of the lesson today, that of baptism, this experience came to my mind.  Baptism is required for us to return to our Heavenly Father.  I had to enter the water in order to reach my desired destination.  Keeping our baptismal covenants and renewing those covenants each week by partaking of the sacrament helps us to be clean, worthy of the spirit and energized on our journey back to our Heavenly Father.  We are strengthened by the spirit and find courage to choose the right as we participate in this sacred ordinance.  After I entered the water on this hike I stayed in the water as much as possible and I found strength there sufficient to overcome the other obstacles that were before me on the hike until I reached my destination. 

I am not trying to overkill this comparison.  For me this hike was a real and tangible experience.  As simple a thing as getting into the water was I find in it a lesson, a personal parable to be sure.  I am grateful for these experiences of life that stand to teach us if and when we look to be taught.