Give Heed to This CompassLast week, I mentioned that I had intended to post about Abraham and Sarah; however, today in Sunday school we discussed Alma chapters 36–39, which I feel impelled to discuss further. In chapter 37, verses 38–46, Alma is talking to his son, Helaman, about the Liahona. As I am currently trying to decide where my life should go post-graduation, I found this lesson intriguing. After I graduated in May, I worked extremely hard looking for a job. I was very diligent at it too, for almost two weeks. Then, I got discouraged and decided to stay with ICON for a while. This wasn't a decision I had made with the Lord; it was just a decision I made out of easiness.
Return to McDonald's
I was reminded today of the time I decided to return to McDonald's. Prior to my mission, I worked for my local McDonald's. I quit about a week before my mission. As I walked out the door, I shouted joyfully, “This is the last time I will ever work at McDonald's again!” And I meant it.
When I returned home from my mission, I avoided talking to my friends who still worked at McDonald's because I knew they would want me to return. Finally, my brother convinced me to visit my friend. He asked if I would consider coming back to McDonald's. I told him right away that I wouldn't, then I suddenly felt guilty. For two years I had been asking people to be open-minded and ask Heavenly Father what they should do. I softened my stance and said that I would pray about it, but probably not.
That night as I knelt in my room, I offered a vocal prayer (something I need to do more often). I said, “ Heavenly Father, I don't want to go back to McDonald's. I do need a job, but I really don't want to go to McDonald's. I did tell [my friend] that I would ask and I want to go where you want me to go. So, should I go back to working at McDonald's?”
Immediately, I heard these words in my mind, “Go until I tell thee otherwise.” It was one of the clearest answers I've ever received. I wanted to imitate Jonah and try to sail across the sea. Unfortunately I live in the desert and there is no sea, just the Salt Lake which won't take me very far. I knew I had to return to McDonald's. Now I can look back and see that I have developed many leadership qualities that I would not have gained in other pre-graduation jobs.
The Liahona
I decided today, that I need to be more diligent in seeking this type of guidance as I search for a job or decide to stay at ICON (because I'm not ruling anything out). Alma tells his son that the Liahona was compass that “was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.” I love the analogy of a compass. I remember when I was trying to follow a compass and map in boy scouts. We were supposed to find our way to an exact location, but somewhere along the way, we set the compass to the wrong degree. We discovered that by following even one degree different would put us completely off track.
Alma continues to teach that the compass did “work according to their faith in God.” The teacher today asked for examples when this has happened with the scriptures. I thought about how I have used the scriptures for this very purpose. Unfortunately, as I have neglected my job search, I have also neglected this simple principle of using the scriptures as my Liahona. “. . . Because those miracles were worked by small means . . . they were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence. And they did not progress in their journey. Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst.”
A Far Better Land of Promise
According to Alma the reason they were slothful was because of the easiness of the way. Indeed, it should be easy, but I wonder if sometimes the spindles pointed to path that they did not want to travel. Perhaps they pointed towards a dark forest or a desert that looked very deserted. I believe sometimes we will get an answer that doesn't make sense. I know I didn't want to go back to McDonald's. I'm sure Abraham was confused when he was commanded to sacrifice Isaac. In time we come to understand the reason we were meant to travel down a certain path. We just have to have faith to follow that path and
trust that it will lead where we should go. “Just as surely as this director (the Liahona) did bring our fathers to the promised land, shall the words of Christ carry us to a far better land of promise.”
2 comments:
Wow, you are so right. I can't even count the number of times I have made a decision without asking for guidance and then been upset with the Lord when things didn't work out the way I wanted.
Do you think there is ever a point where we are asking too much? Someone in relief society said that they think sometimes God's answer is "I don't care." This sister said she and her husband were deciding where they should move and they felt that they weren't getting an answer. They decided that God was telling them that he didn't care what they decided.
What do you think?
I don't think there comes a time that we ask too much, unless we have already received an answer. It wasn't wrong for Joseph and Oliver to ask for permission to take the plates, but it was wrong for them to ask three times after receiving an answer of no.
The scriptures say several times that we should counsel with the Lord in ALL our doings. I believe it really means in all our doings, not just things that we think he will think is important.
I do, however, believe that there are several different answers we will receive. Sometimes it's yes, no, direction, not now, and it doesn't matter. That is always a possibility.
My institute teacher told about when he was trying to decide between two different jobs. It was an important decision and he was really worried. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't getting an answer. Then he received the answer that it didn't matter. Sometimes the Lord wants us in a certain place and sometimes he will use us where ever we go.
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