After our Sunday School lesson toady, I want to ad in another little blurb about Question #2.
This week we have been studying Lehi's vision of the tree of life. There was a comment today that brought more of this vision to life for me in how one of the concepts taught has happened in my life.
In this vision there is a path with a rod that leads to the tree of life which represents the love of God; this could be defined as Him sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and to open the gates for us to return to Him. There is also a mist of darkness that makes it difficult for people to find their way to the tree, a river of filthy water that pulls people away from the tree once they step in and a large building without a foundation full of people mocking and laughing at those holding on to the rod on the path that leads to the tree as well as those partaking of the fruit on the tree that is said to be most desirable and able to make one happy.
As I mentioned in my last post regarding my talents growing up. I had some unusual desire to go against the grain and prove that I didn't care what others thought of me. This led to wearing really unique clothes that were anything but brand name (usually from thrift stores), being unusually happy, saying what was on my mind vs worrying about what people might think if I said something a particular way or if I thought something that might not have been popular. While I enjoyed this "talent" that was given me and it led to a great group of friends from various clicks, or groups, growing up, I never thought of what it may have taught me in life.
A person in our Sunday School class today was speaking regarding Lehi's vision and how in the vision different groups of people reacted to the situation. One of the groups in particular that are mentioned in the vision make it to the tree, because they are so fatigued from their labor of fighting to get to the tree they drop to their knees and partake of the fruit. As they partake of the fruit, they hear the mocking and laughing coming from the people in the building with no foundation. In the vision, a group of people when they hear the laughing and mocking, they drop their heads and wander off back into the mist of darkness, or over to the building without a foundation where those that were laughing at them are.
This discussion made me think back to last week's post and question of talents growing up. I have no idea why I jumped on this wagon to kick against the pricks and styles of the day. It may have been because I knew our family couldn't afford any of those styles, even though I wanted them. Maybe it was because I was given a "talent" from our Heavenly Father. I have no idea why, but that "talent" that I was given I believe has helped me to stay at the tree partaking of the fruit and having all of the facets of the life of Jesus Christ influencing my life to enable me to get back to my Father at some point. Maybe I'm just hard-headed and set in my ways, but I'm happy to be where I'm at. There are times in our lives when we all have to stand up, dig in our heals, and stand our ground at the mocking of others and temptations that Satan puts on us. I pray that I'll be able to stand strong on the ground surround the tree.
On a fun note, this week Kelly, Ivin and I watched "Kung Fu Panda." It is a little animated movie where a panda bear, voice by Jack Black, steps up to protect his community. There is a point in the movie where he is fighting with the ultimate bad guy. As the bad guy is rushing at him with the look of death in his eyes, the panda bear stands up, plants his feet and tightens his butt cheeks together (forming a deep wedgie). I die laughing every time I see that quick clip of the show in my mind. Well, not to ruin the show, but the bad guy attacks and ends up bouncing off of the panda's belly flying back a few hundred feet and smashing into a wall. This is the type of guy I want to be when Satan comes at me with the look of death in his eyes. I hope that I plant my feet and pinch together my butt cheeks to stand the ground that my Heavenly Father would be proud of me for standing on.
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