Finding Our Way

Everywhere we look in Los Angeles there are signs telling us where to go or not to go. Since we travel regularly throughout the mission to inspect missionary apartments and renew leases, we see and rely on many signs.  They direct us to enter and exit the many freeways and streets that crisscross our mission from Garden Grove to Yorba Linda, from Irvine to Fullerton, from Anaheim to Orange, and from Tustin to Santa Anna. Pat and I have had to rely on each other to read and interpret signs in order to avoid false turns, accidents, and traffic jams.

While driving in Washington, D.C., London, and now in Los Angeles, we have also learned to rely on our dependable GPS (SatNav), the satellite-based Global Positioning System that tells us where we are and maps out the best route to get us where we'd like to go. The GPS satellite system is based on science and is extremely accurate in calculating speed, distance, location, traffic conditions, and trip time. Multiple GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in precise orbits. Receivers gather this information to determine a user's exact position and display it electronically to measure distances, destinations, and traffic routes.

Sometimes I tell Pat we don't need the GPS because I know where we are going and I can get us there. After many missed turns, I have now learned to abandon my ego and confess that the GPS lady always knows best. We now listen to her voice instead of my intuition, which saves us much time and frustration.

It's kind of like finding the humility to seek the spirit and follow the instructions of a loving Father in Heaven even when I think I know best. He always has the bigger picture and is more powerful than any GPS. His signs of warning and guidance are more significant than any man-made plan or directional signs. His instructions come from the scriptures and through living prophets.  His interest in us is far greater than helping us to get from one place to another on a map, and missing His directions will have far greater consequences than making the wrong turn on a freeway. 

When Lehi left his tent one morning, he recorded that he discovered on the ground "a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness" to the Promised Land (1 Nephi 16:10). It was called the Liahona, which translated means a compass. The Liahona gave both physical directions and spiritual instructions.  It worked according to faith and diligence.  Nephi said directions "given upon the ball" led him to the top of a mountain as well as to "the more fertile parts of the wilderness" in his hunt for wild game.

Having the faith, desire, and ability to follow the Liahona gave Nephi and his people both physical and spiritual protection.  We don't have the Liahona to guide us.  However, we are blessed with the science and technology of a working GPS, as well as many signs, freeways, and amazing vehicles to get us safely and efficiently from one place to another.  I am truly grateful for these conveniences.

I am most thankful, however, to have the blessings of the restored gospel that teach us of a loving Father and Savior who give us direction, faith and hope each day to overcome the fears, struggles,  and worries of a world in chaos.

--Don--