UpLifts In Thought

Do you sometimes suffer from “Taking Life too Seriously?”
Save the whales.
Collect the whole set.
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
I feel like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, and then used against you.
I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.
Honk if you love peace and quiet.
Remember half the people you know are below average.
Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?

UpLifts In Spirit

Should our lives be extended to a thousand years, still we may live and learn. Every vicissitude we pass through is necessary for experience and example, and for preparation to enjoy that reward which is for the faithful. – Brigham Young

UpLifts In Story

We only have a limited amount of time; it’s very valuable; and so we need to make the most of it. So, in the spirit of making the most of our time, may I share a story?

When I was just a boy, my dad and I went deer hunting one Saturday. In order to get to where we were going to hunt, we had to travel over a small mountain pass in central Idaho. As we approached the pass, the road became slick with fresh fallen snow. I didn’t pay much attention to the snow; that is until we came to a steep banked curve on the pass. The curve turned left, and banked away from the mountain to a steep drop-off. Well, as we went into the curve, the car slid sideways with the back end threatening to slide off the mountain. I — I remember I was convinced at the time we were going to die. I panicked and yelled for Dad to stop. Strangely, he just grinned — you know that kind of grin that says “I know something you don’t” — and he said, “I can’t stop.”

Well, I thought he was crazy. If we didn’t stop we were going to slide off the mountain back end first, and roll forever. Quickly he explained that as long as he kept the rear wheels going forward we were less likely to slide off. I still don’t think I believed him; that is until just a moment later when something forced him to stop. And as soon as he did, in spite of the fact that the brakes were locked up, we began to slide backward out of control toward the edge. Now I really panicked! I remember looking out the back window of the car and all I could see was sky.

Coolly, my dad threw the power again to the rear wheels, and they began to dig and scratch, and spin. We stopped sliding. It seemed like it took forever, but gradually we inched our way around that curve, the car straightened up, and we went on our way.

I will be forever grateful to a father who understood a simple principle, that unless there is power applied in the forward direction we will slide backwards, not stand still.

Now the point: So it is with life. The road to our heavenly home is slick, steep, and fraught with many perils, and there is no standing still. Either we are going forward, or we are sliding back. The power must be continually applied. How?

Well, each time you and I keep the commandments, pray, and search the scriptures, individually or with our families, we throw the power to the wheels once more, and move forward. And I know, sometimes its seems like you’re only moving inches if you’re moving at all, and you wonder if its worth the battle and the opposition. If you persist in these righteous things, as my dad saved me, by the grace of God you’ll save yourself and your family.

This story is an actual life experience of Glenn Rawson.