Take no thought

I learned about a man recently fighting a particular temptation, so he left behind all his daily worldly entertainment and went for a walk. 

Shortly into his walk, he encountered another man walking and decided to interject himself and begin a discussion. They walked and talked for a long time, so long that the first man forgot about the temptation altogether. He was happy to have met him.

After they parted ways, the man realized how much time passed, so he began walking back home. 

On the way, he noticed a plastic grocery bag caught on a bush across the street and thought, “The earth can’t be renewed if we keep polluting her.” So he decided to cross the street and throw it away. 

As he approached, he also noticed some old trash by the bush. He thought, “Maybe I’ll pick up this little bit of trash, put it in this grocery bag, and throw it all away together.” But as he looked around, he saw even more trash. And more. And more. 

He concluded he couldn’t get it all with what he had but would fill up his grocery bag and be content. So he did. 

After he was done, he began his walk back home again. But this time, he noticed an unopened water bottle in a parking lot that looked to have been there for a while. Knowing he was in a relatively dry part of the world, he decided to use that water to water a tree on the way back home if he could find one. 

To his satisfaction, he found a few trees, but one appeared to be dried up. He thought, “Maybe this water and my faith can help that tree grow like the others.” So he emptied the water bottle at the base of the tree and then finally finished his way home. 

As the day concluded, the man pondered how grateful he was for the walk he chose to take because the temptation had been replaced with internal peace. He was also thankful to have made a new friend, beautify the earth, and water a dry tree (which to him was a symbol of hope) in the process. He was inspired to do this more often until the end.

All this was provided to him, as he remembered he took nothing with him. 

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tzu 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eyes Like a Flame of Fire, Part 1

This first post is dedicated to my friend and brother.  Here are two descriptions  of the Lord's eyes: His body also  was  like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and  his eyes as lamps of fire , and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. ( Daniel 10:2 ) And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire , and his feet  are  like fine brass. ( Revelation 1:13 ) How are his eyes like "fire"?  First, eyes are a representation of knowledge, intelligence, and the ability to see things as they really are ( Jacob 3:4 ,  Teachings and Commandments 74:4 ). Christ, the most intelligent of us all, sees all things clearly. There is no speck in his eye that he would misjudge or misvalue any situation  ( Matthew 3:41 ) . We can hide nothing good nor bad from his sight ( Psalm...
Read more

Lehi's Covenant

I consider this the most important post I've written thus far. Most scholars believe Lehi was born between 660-640 BC. These birth dates are based on the information and clues we get from 1 Nephi that: (1) Lehi lived in Jerusalem his whole life (2) he lived there during the first year of king Zedekiah's reign around 600 BC (3) he was already married at that time with at least four kids (some of whom were old enough to be married) and (4) after eight or so years of traveling in the wilderness he and Sariah were considered "old".  For the sake of argument, let's say Lehi was born at the earliest accepted date, around 640 BC. This means by the time king Zedekiah began his reign around 600 BC, Lehi was about 40 years old. Again, for the sake of argument, these dates are give-or-take a couple years.  If Lehi was born around 640 BC, this also means that he grew up during king Josiah's reign, which was from 640-609 BC ( 2 Kings 7:5-12 ). For those who need a quick re...
Read more

Eyes Like a Flame of Fire, Conclusion

If you Google search the Urim and Thummim, you will find many articles and videos about them. Much of what you will find is just a repeat of what others have already said. Other than providing the necessary introductory context, I intend not to rehash what's already been shared but to provide new insights. The first mention of a Urim and Thummim is in the Book of Mormon when the brother of Jared receives them from the Lord around the time of the Tower of Babel. In that story, they are called "stones" by the Lord and "interpreters" by Moroni. We are told that one of their functions was to translate the brother of Jared's record in some future time ( Ether 1:15 ). Much later in the Book of Mormon,  King Benjamin possessed them, and we're informed they are also used to uncover hidden mysteries ( Mosiah 5:13 ). He passed them down from generation to generation until they were sealed up by the last prophet, Moroni. In the Book of Abraham, we discover he also ...
Read more