Obedience

Ok, I'm on a bit of a roll here, so I guess I'll just stick with it.  A few weeks ago a major production film came to our little big town.  In an effort to show support I bought tickets and took the family for FHE.  It was a 1 night only showing.  It was so fun to see tons of your friends all gathered in 1 place.  This movie was called Ephraim's Rescue.  Ephraim lead the rescue of the willie handcart company stuck and dying in winter weather.

I love historical portrayal movies and this didn't disappoint.  I even brought tissues because I knew I would cry.  There were several key points to the movie that I took away and resolved to do better.  The one thing that I think about the most though is the lesson in obedience.  

All the men in this time period had beards.  The prophet Brigham Young had a beard.  E was at a gathering and the prophet summoned him over and told him that he needed to shave his beard.  He shrugged his shoulders, went home, shaved everything but the mustache and returned to the gathering.  He was summoned over again and asked if he was supposed to shave.  He replied that yes and he did. He was then told to go home and do it right.  E pointed at his mustache, shrugged and went home and finished the job.  At this point the prophet turns to (I'm thinking a counselor) and says something like, now that is someone I can trust.  Only someone who is that obedient can I trust with the most sacred work of the Lord.  

E never countered the situation with questions of why.  He never got mad.  He didn't understand but that didn't stop him from doing what he had been told to do.  Pure obedience.   

I have had many lessons myself in obedience.  The one event that stands out most in my mind occurred while I was at girls camp several years ago.  This was the last camping trip we did before our stake split so it was massive.  We live in NM and we are prone to wind storms.  We were lucky and the drought hadn't kept us away, but the wind was relentless that year.  

We were fortunate enough to have brought an inclosed trailer up with our ward, so we cooked all our meals in the back of it to try and create a bit of a wind break.  We were loosing tents by the hour and limbs from trees were falling.  It was becoming pretty dangerous.  The leaders in our ward were exhausted from fighting the wind and doing all the cooking for our girls.  We went from one meal to the next with little time in between.  

There were rumblings around camp that it was too dangerous to be there and that we should pack up and go home.  A meeting was called and all the leaders met in one of the buildings that was at the camp.  My assistant had made it clear to me that she wanted to go home.  I really liked this girl and was having fun with her so I let her thoughts become my thoughts.  

While we were waiting for a decision some of the other leaders decided to start singing hymns.  I thought there was no way hymns were going to save us from common sense.  I had heard that the stake leaders wanted to move us all to the meadow and try to create a wind break with the cars.  This seemed ridiculous to me.  The thing was---  I began to have an internal struggle.  A vivid thought came to my mind "the mormon battalion"  this thought freaked me out and so I got up and needed to go outside to get some air.  

When I walked outside I saw the stake yw president collapse into her counselors arms saying that she didn't know how she could go and tell everyone that the wind was going to go away when she wasn't sure if it was her or the Lord telling her that it would.  Seeing the weight that was heavy upon her shoulders and the struggle with inspiration, I knew what I had to do.  Be obedient.  

Ultimately the decision whether to stay or go was left up to the individual wards but a promise was made that if we stayed the wind would leave.  While walking back to the camp to talk to the girls I was about to tell my assistant that I was resolved to stay but one of the other leaders came running up to say that she didn't know what the decision was but that we should know that the girls want to stay.  That changed my assistants heart and I didn't have to tell her anything.   I told the girls the facts and the promise and told them the decision was all theirs and we were there to support them and if they wanted to stay there would be lots of hard work ahead moving the camp.  (they had been little help thus far) 

Those girls impressed me.  They wanted to stay and they wanted to work to do it and they wanted to be obedient.  We came together and fought the wind with assembled tents being walked across a field and they didn't take flight or break.  That nights ward testimony meeting was amazing.  I looked around and could actually see future leaders being born in that moment.  It was one of the cooler experiences of my life.  There was only 1 ward that decided to pack it up and leave and that's ok.  It was actually a gift to my girls because it made a contrast in their minds.  That night while we slept the winds did stop and we awoke to a beautiful and bright day with the small set back of frozen pipes.  

I don't feel like I did the story justice, but it has been one of the major defining moments in my life.  I would also say that it is divine providence that lead me to eventually be in the ward that left. (which I didn't realize until I had been in it for a few months) Heavenly Father has an intricate symphony that he is conducting and I marvel at how he weaves people into each others lives to fulfill His purposes.