Today
Kay and I enjoyed hearing on the radio all the speakers in final sessions of
General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of my favorite talks was by Elder Ronald
A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Lest Thou
Forget.” He said the topic was prompted
by “a meeting with a dear friend who was experiencing a ‘crisis of faith’ … ‘I
would like to share with you the counsel I would offer to my friend and hope
that each of you may find your faith strengthened and your resolve renewed to
be a committed disciple of Jesus Christ.
… do not forget Heavenly Father knows and loves each of you and He is
always ready to help.’ Elder Rasband
counseled members to never forget, question, or ignore personal spiritual
experiences.”
–
deseretnews.com/article/865663844/... by Rachel Sterzer, LDS Church News.
Several
such experiences come to mind, including one from about 1979, when our family
camped with Kay’s siblings and their families at Little Sahara Sand Dunes, Utah. Her older brother rented a dune buggy for all
to use, and we had my dad’s “original AAA Springbar Tent” for our three little boys
and us. It was a rough night with the
youngest crying (Kay being such a patient mom,) followed by a fun day on the dunes.
“Little
Sahara is approximately 115 miles [southwest] from Salt Lake City via Nephi. ... nearly 60,000 acres of dunes, trail and
sagebrush flats ... [by Jericho.]
Sand
Mountain: A wall of sand climbing nearly 700 feet high provides the ultimate
challenge to rider and machine.” – utah.com/little-sahara-sand-dunes
I
will not forget this “mountaintop experience” as I call it. Being an early riser by habit, I was up
before sunrise while the family slept. I
hiked up the highest dune nearby and followed the ridge away from the
campground. Customary for such hikes, I had
in my shirt pocket a few pages of scripture to read at the top. As the sun rose, I sat and read the first four
chapters of Mosiah from the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. In that cool, quiet spot, feeling joy and love for my Savior, I felt the
Spirit warmly witness that those words are true, and that I should always
remember what I undeniably experienced.
(Mosiah
3:13) "And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children
of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that
thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might
receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even
as though he had already come among them."
Little Sahara Sand Dunes image courtesy Utah.com
Little Sahara Sand Dunes image courtesy Google Maps
