Brother Butler spoke of a road less traveled, a thorny path, the hard road.

It is the road we are about to travel.  It requires reaching beyond ourselves. Reaching out of our comfort zone.  Simply reaching.

Sometimes it means leaving the course we are currently on.  Taking a detour.  Being willing to adjust our plans.

This past weekend Meg and I went kayaking.  On purpose we avoided the fishermen, who were fishing on the side of the lake.  We chose the part of the lake where serenity could be found.  We paddled a little, but mostly we drifted quietly and chatted.

Then pandemonium broke out.

A well placed cast unintentionally caught the wing of a dragon fly, sending it unexpectedly into the lake.  Its flailing in distress caused 5-year-old Mac to panic.  His little voice echoed across the lake, "Help!  Help!  What should we do?!"

Immediately Megan left the serenity ––heart bent on rescue.  As paddle met water her kayak skimmed across the lake until finally she was there.  Carefully reaching she lifted the dragon fly, released the hook, and then little creature carefully in hand, she paddled back to where I was waiting.

And then she waited.
Reaching hand still and outstretched.
Slanted carefully so the sun rays would gently dry the water drenched wings.

I was reminded of the lines of a familiar hymn...
"He answers privately, reaches my reaching..."

After several moments of stillness strength was restored.  Then rescuer stretched a reaching hand to safety of the shore.  Then wings stretched and shimmered, and dragon fly soared.

My thoughts are Conference focused this week.  My heart is busy preparing.  Looking back I am reminded of Conferences where I have been the one flailing in distress.  My reaching heart desperate for His rescue.  Pondering leads me to remember other Conferences where I have listened ever so carefully for inspiration to help someone I knew who was flailing in distress.

Now this Conference approaches.

What is it your are seeking for?
To be rescued...
To rescue...

Is your heart prepared to leave your course for His?
To take the detour He needs you to take?
To adjust your plans if needed?
To reach for Him?

The answer will come privately...are you preparing your heart?

Week Seven - Brother Butler

What is so hard about life?
If we were to take a poll about the most difficult aspects of life, what would the top five answers be?
Would a disciple of Christ, a rescuer, answer differently than someone who is not yet?

My Jenny has a game we used to play after we were first married called the "Journal Game."  It is not the most exciting game in the world,
but it is one we really liked to do before we had children to fill our time.
The rules are simple.
You call out a date--any date--and the other person has to read their journal entry from that day.
My favorite entries from my missionary journals were experiences that I had that concluded with the line:
"This is an experience I will never forget."
Ironically, the entry is always a reminder of an experience I had most definitely forgotten.
This happened a lot for me.
However, there was one experience I had that I can remember as clear as if it were this morning.

I had been learning Korean Sign Language from a deaf member in a ward in Seoul.
The lessons were a great, and I can remember a point when I was starting to feel confident I could hold a gospel centered conversation with a deaf individual while out tracting.
I began to look for deaf people in the subways, trains, streets, etc that I could share the gospel message with.
The very first person I saw who was deaf was in a subway station by the church.
I was so elated to go strike up a conversation with her.
I approached her and started to introduce myself in sign when she noticed my tag and immediately turned cold and unfriendly and then walked briskly away from me.
I had been rejected plenty of times, but for some reason this one cut deep.
I stood, rejected, in the busy subway station while thoughts flashed through my mind as quickly as the busy commuters passing by.
I went from sad, to frustrated, to dejected, to optimistic, to overwhelmed, to deflated, then back to optimistic I am sure.
For the first time I can remember, I was hurt because of Who I represented and what I was trying to do.
I wanted to stop the lady and plead with her to treat me like another person.  I wondered if we would get along or what we would have in common if we met in different circumstances.
I wanted her to know that what I was doing was for her.
I left home for her.
I ate squid for her.
I learned Korean for her.
I learned Korean sign language for her.
I woke up at 6:00 am for her.
I slept without a/c for her.
I was standing in a crowded subway station for her.

Then my heart turned to the prophets.
All throughout time prophets have been rejected, mocked, beaten, killed, and everything in between.
I realized they are people.  I felt for them.  I wondered if they had similar thoughts to what I was having.
I wondered if they wanted to yell out sometime--I am doing this for you!

As I study the lives of devoted disciples of Christ, I realize that many of their recorded heartaches could have been avoided.
Lehi, Alma, Amulek, Peter, Paul, Mormon, Moroni, Stephen, and Abinadi all could have lived more comfortable lives.
Some of their greatest hardships seemed to come because they put themselves out their to rescue another.
Their tears were often shed for others--others who perhaps never even knew it.

Rescuing brings heartache.  Rescuing brings knee aches.  Rescuing brings elbow, and head, and feet aches.
What extent are we willing to go to rescue another--to invite them to come unto Christ?
What price will we pay to merely invite a soul to change their ways?
How long will we pray, and reach, and speak, and pray, and love, and invite, and ponder, and pray, and cry, and yearn?
How much is too much to give for another?
Is it a different price for our own child, grandmother, neighbor, stranger, enemy?

The road of rescue is often a lonely and trying road.  A road less traveled because of its obstacles.

Walking this thorny path is evidence of the fiercest type of discipleship.
The Rescuer chose the hard road for us.
The Savior's darkest hours came during His hours of rescue.  His brightest hours came, and come, because of His hours of rescue.
Can we expect our own experiences to be different?

Consider doing the following:
Read Mosiah 26:26-30
Look up words like mock and reject in the scriptures and consider the hardships of disciples of Christ because of their choice to try to help another.
If there is something you are not doing because of the pain it might bring you, pray for strength, and do it.  You will have good company as you do so.

Thoughts from President Hinckley...

I take you back to the general conference of October 1856. On Saturday of that conference Franklin D. Richards and a handful of associates arrived in the valley. They had traveled from Winter Quarters with strong teams and light wagons and had been able to make good time. Brother Richards immediately sought out President Young. He reported that there were hundreds of men, women, and children scattered over the long trail from Scottsbluff to this valley. Most of them were pulling handcarts. They were accompanied by two wagon trains which had been assigned to assist them. They had reached the area of the last crossing of the North Platte River. Ahead of them lay a trail that was uphill all the way to the Continental Divide with many, many miles beyond that. They were in desperate trouble. Winter had come early. Snow-laden winds were howling across the highlands of what is now western Nebraska and Wyoming. Our people were hungry, their carts and their wagons were breaking down, their oxen dying. The people themselves were dying. All of them would perish unless they were rescued.

I think President Young did not sleep that night. I think visions of those destitute, freezing, dying people paraded through his mind.

The next morning he came to the old Tabernacle which stood on this square. He said to the people:

“I will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders who may speak. … It is this. … Many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with handcarts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be, ‘to get them here.’

“That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people.

“I shall call upon the Bishops this day. I shall not wait until tomorrow, nor until the next day, for 60 good mule teams and 12 or 15 wagons. I do not want to send oxen. I want good horses and mules. They are in this Territory, and we must have them. Also 12 tons of flour and 40 good teamsters, besides those that drive the teams.

“I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains” (in LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [1960], 120–21).

That afternoon food, bedding, and clothing in great quantities were assembled by the women.

The next morning, horses were shod and wagons were repaired and loaded.

The following morning, Tuesday, 16 mule teams pulled out and headed eastward. By the end of October there were 250 teams on the road to give relief.

Wonderful sermons have been preached from this pulpit, my brethren and sisters. But none has been more eloquent than that spoken by President Young in those circumstances.

Stories of the beleaguered Saints and of their suffering and death will be repeated again and again next year. Stories of their rescue need to be repeated again and again. They speak of the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful that those days of pioneering are behind us. I am thankful that we do not have brethren and sisters stranded in the snow, freezing and dying, while trying to get to this, their Zion in the mountains. But there are people, not a few, whose circumstances are desperate and who cry out for help and relief.

There are so many who are hungry and destitute across this world who need help. I am grateful to be able to say that we are assisting many who are not of our faith but whose needs are serious and whom we have the resources to help. But we need not go so far afield. We have some of our own who cry out in pain and suffering and loneliness and fear. Ours is a great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and righteousness.

There are so many young people who wander aimlessly and walk the tragic trail of drugs, gangs, immorality, and the whole brood of ills that accompany these things. There are widows who long for friendly voices and that spirit of anxious concern which speaks of love. There are those who were once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold. Many of them wish to come back but do not know quite how to do it. They need friendly hands reaching out to them. With a little effort, many of them can be brought back to feast again at the table of the Lord.

My brethren and sisters, I would hope, I would pray, that each of us, having participated in this great conference, would resolve to seek those who need help, who are in desperate and difficult circumstances, and lift them in the spirit of love into the embrace of the Church, where strong hands and loving hearts will warm them, comfort them, sustain them, and put them on the way of happy and productive lives.

 October 1996 Addresses/Reach With a Rescuing Hand

Week Five/Six

Our morning began at four thirty, with a letter fresh from Serbia waiting to be read.  Knowing I would be writing today, my mind was already spinning with thoughts of rescue.  I read of missionary efforts, of sacrifice, of hope and testimony, and I thought of my first born son, thousands of miles away, focusing his efforts on rescuing those who long to know the Lord.

Morning again at six thirty.  This time it is my second son, sleeping in the basement, who had asked for a wake up call. ”You get him,” I beg Greg, “I am too tired.”  I hear feet solid, treading down the stairs.  Voices whisper.  Sheets rustle.  It isn’t too long before I hear the voices getting louder and then Greg calling my name.  Still my thoughts spin of rescue.

I run down the stairs to see Greg holding Josh in his arms.  He is not well.  Suffering from hypoglycemia spurred by too much insulin, he lays restless in Greg’s arms.  Sugar filled paraphernalia litters the table next to Josh’s bed ––oreo’s, Capri sun, Gatorade.  Still, with all that sugar, something is not right.  I look closely and notice the left side of his face is sagging, left arm paralyzed into an unnatural grip, left leg hanging useless at his side.  Yes, something is wrong.

I run upstairs and google “hypoglycemia temporary paralysis,” praying, please let this be temporary.  To my relief pages and pages appear with clear instructions, do not leave his side, increase sugar intake, watch for cognitive ability to come back.  And still, my thoughts spin with rescue.  So father holds son still, and mother gives sustenance, seeks insight, and prays.   In the midst of it all a kind neighbor is rudely interrupted from his morning shower.  

At 7:15 this morning, worthy hands are called upon to anoint Josh’s head.  A blessing promises recovery from what currently holds Josh hostage.  And now we wait, mother and father watching as Josh sleeps restlessly.

And still my mind spins with thoughts of rescue.

What if we had not gotten there in time?  What if I hadn’t set that alarm?  What if no one had been there to offer the sustenance his body was desperately in need of?  What if the rescue had been too late?

I am filled with mother love, aching for a child in need.  Grateful for the priesthood, for a father who was there in time, for a neighbor who dropped everything to answer a cry for help.

It doesn’t take long before thoughts are heaven bound, and I think of One filled with Father Love, who aches for His children in need.  How grateful He must be for Priesthood ordinances and covenants shared and kept, for servants who are there in time, for followers who drop everything to answer a cry for help.

Tonight my prayer is simple ––this week let my thoughts be filled with rescue, to answer each cry for help… and let me get there in time.

Week Three/Four

It began with an idea.
Can I gather some wood and make a fire down on the beach by the water?

And so, as twilight falls the gathering begins.

Small dry branches for kindling, larger logs for sustaining the flame.  There is searching, and sawing, and armfuls of dry branches.  First one, then another, asks the lone gatherer, "what are you building?"  


His enthusiasm is contagious.

Now there are two.

Soon dry branches and logs stacked one upon another have caught the attention of everyone in the camp.  Excitement builds.

What it is you are building?
Can we come?
Don't light the fire until we are all there!  

Suddenly the focus has shifted from dry branches to longing hearts seeking for warmth.  Little ones are gathered in arms, families watch together, as a tiny flame flickers and dances next to the waiting wood.  In an instant, from the darkness, there is light.

Here there is warmth.  

Within the gathering, safety.  

Each rescued from the darkness.  

Focused now on the light.

Life has taught me that every rescue must begin as an idea.

  

One heart softened, seeking to bring light to a dark place.  It begins with the searching ––for to kindle a fire one must first gather the wood.  Then, the invitation.  Here there is safety.  Here there is warmth.  Here there is light.

I am certain, at this very moment, there is one who is lonely.  Not too far from here, there is one who waits in darkness.  A life filled with doubt or discouragement.  A soul seeking direction.  Within your circle of influence there is, perhaps, one yearning to be gathered into the safety of your arms, or maybe just the safety of your heart.  

You may not be aware of just who it is that needs your love.  But the Lord is.  He is able to speak to those who approach Him on bended knee, with a willing heart.  What He asks might not be easy.  More often than not a rescue requires work ––gathering, searching, building.  It always requires your heart.

But from a tiny flame, the Lord is capable of creating great light.

His light rescues from the darkness.

"Who is among you...that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?  

let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God."  

(Isaiah 50:10)  

Somewhere within your circle of influence there is a longing heart seeking for warmth.

Ask the Lord for direction.  Open your heart to receive inspiration.  

Then, be willing to extend the invitation that will lead to a rescue.

Here there is warmth.  

Within the gathering, safety.  

Come out from the darkness.  

Focus now on The Light.

Week Two

The chapter of one of the Lord’s most famous sermons begins with two important lines:  “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him…” (Matthew 5:1 emphasis added)  Close your eyes and picture this.  The Lord climbed the mount and once He was set, His disciples came unto Him. He left behind the multitudes and the crowds of people, and walked up the mountain to wait. 

This sermon was meant only for those who were willing to ascend to it.

It was the choice of each individual.  A journey.  One had to come unto Him to receive the lesson ––the journey toward discipleship, the outline for who they might become.  The first sermon of the Sermon on the Mount is the realization that a true disciple must go to the Lord to receive the message.  His disciples ascended the mount to Him, and then He taught.

“To comprehend the works of Christ one must know Him as the son of God.  One must come to Him to see and hear, to feel and know.  The response must be an individual one.” (James Talmage.)

If you want to see and hear, to feel and know, come to Him.  Your response must be an individual one.  The way of the Lord is to teach one by one.

He is set.  He is waiting.  Come. 

Open the scriptures to any book.  Search the chapters, read through the verses.  He is set, come to Him.  The stories of Jesus are filled with these one on one teaching moments.  In my minds eye I see them. 

A Samaritan woman approaches a man sitting at a well.  She comes to Him.  The moment is spent in conversation that leads to conversion prompting her to leave behind her water pot to bring others back to Him. 

Sixteen clear stones molten out of rock.   Carried in work worn hands to the top of the mount.  One with great faith asking the Lord to touch the stones, to prepare them to shine forth in the dark.  And “the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger.” (Ether 3:6)  First there was faith, and then pure knowledge.  Touched. One by one. 

Twelve men in an upper room.  Dusty, thirsty, tired.  His last supper, and they came to Him.  Humble, the Servant rose from supper, took a towel, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.  Tenderly.  One by one.

A man who was blind, a daughter who lay dying, the centurion’s servant.  It was always about the individual.  To love the one. 

And again, in the midst of the great multitude, who when they beheld Him, ran to Him.  And “one of the multitude” brought unto Him his son.  One of the multitude.  One. “I have brought unto thee my son.” (Mark 9:17) 

In the darkest hours they would seek Him.  Remember Nicodemus, Ruler of the Jews.  “The same came to Jesus by night”…saying “Rabbi, we know that thou are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him…How can these things be?” (John 3:2&9)  The same came to Jesus.  

“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do…what lack I yet?”  One came and He answered privately, Savior and friend.  “Come and follow me.” (Matthew 19:21)

No matter where we are in our journey, one thing is certain ––there will be hours where we need strength beyond our own, miracles within the ordinary moments, blessings that only He can give.

To know Him as the Son of God.

To see and hear.  To feel and know.

The response must be an individual one.

He is set…come to Him.

Ponder This…

Elder Bednar has frequently counseled that we need to act and not simply be acted upon.  The journey to Discipleship, this journey to become His, will be life changing only to the extent we allow it to be.  It will require us to ascend to a higher level.  We will need to leave the multitude and the crowd and come to Him.  It is only under those conditions that we will hear the message.

Come unto Him.  The message is so familiar.  In every single journey it is always the first step.  Always.

He is set…come to Him.  

This week try to study some examples from the scriptures on how Christ taught on an individual basis.  One by one.  How He rescued one by one.

What can you learn from His example about rescuing?

Week One

As we come to know more about the life of Francis Webster we will learn that the theme of his life was to rescue.  Through the journey leading up to this next walk, we hope to study what it really means to rescue.  This is the first of many thoughts on this topic, and it comes with an invitation…

Ours is a mission to rescue.  It has always been so, and remains true today ––there are those who need what we have to offer.  But sometimes I wonder if we realize just what it is we have to offer as we reach out to rescue those in need.

One afternoon the Savior was teaching in a home. Having heard that the Savior was teaching there, a group of men brought their friend who lay sick with palsy on a bed.  The home was full, and the doorway was crowded.  It didn’t take long before the four men realized they were not going to be able to get inside.  But the men didn’t give up.  The scriptures tell us, “they sought means to bring him in,” and to lay him before the Lord. (Luke 5:18)  Giving up was not an option.  Their intent was to bring their friend to Christ.

So, they came up with a plan.  “They went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.”  (Luke 5:19)  Now, stop and consider this for a minute.  How did the four men get that man and his couch onto the roof?  It couldn’t have been easy.  There must have been a ladder involved and a lot of thought.  Who would hold the man on the couch?  There must have been someone on the roof to lift, and someone down below to support.  There must have been someone who would be willing to add strength as the man ascended to the roof.  Consider those four assignments ––to lift, to support, to hold, and to strengthen.  Now, we must also keep in mind that the roof was not the final destination.  Once they got on the roof there was more work to be done.  In Mark 2 we learn that the roof had to be uncovered and broken up.  That must have required a lot of effort. 

Sometimes when I read this chapter I stop and ask myself, to what lengths would I go to bring a friend to Christ?

Once they had lowered the man carefully into the room where Jesus was, a very interesting conversation took place.  Both accounts in the New Testament phrase this conversation exactly the same way.  We read, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Mark 2:5 emphasis added.)  Take note of the word their.  Whose faith is the Savior talking about?  The line doesn’t read, “When Jesus saw his faith…” it reads, “When Jesus saw their faith.”  Is He talking about the four friends?  The ones who lifted, supported, held onto, and strengthened their friend?  Was it through both the great lengths of their effort and the great faith of these friends that the Lord was able to heal this man?  Is the same true today?

There is much we can learn about rescuing from this story.  First, we must consider the true intent of the four men.  They, in and of themselves, could not heal this man.  They could not fix the ailment.  They could not tell the man what to believe, or how to live his life.  Their responsibility was simple and yet profound ––their only responsibility was to bring their friend to Christ.  They were not the healers or the teachers, but they could bring their friend to the One who could heal, to the one who could teach.  That would require faith.  It would also require lifting, supporting, strengthening, and holding on. 

Sometimes I think we get confused.  We become so intent on fixing the problem ourselves, we don’t allow the Savior to do what He is best at ––saving.  Many years ago I was driving to the temple.  My heart was filled to bursting with heavy thoughts.  I had a sister whose family was carrying a heavy emotional burden that they didn’t have strength to bear.  We had gathered as a family to offer strength and support, but we couldn’t fix the situation for them, and that was heartbreaking.  My sister-in-law had called the day before to say that her husband had lost his job and that they were certain to lose their home.  She didn’t know what to do.  Oh, how I longed to be able to come up with a solution that would fix that problem, but I couldn’t.  I also had a dear friend who was struggling with a problem that had the potential to destroy her life and her family.  We had prayed and fasted together, and yet I knew deep within my heart I did not have the knowledge that would be needed to fix the challenge she was facing.  I was discouraged and I walked into the temple that morning with a heart that was heavy.

The temple was busy, so as I waited I turned to the scriptures hoping to find some counsel I could use in any of the situations I had been praying about.  I turned to D&C 76 and read, “Hear, O yea heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.   Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.  His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand.”  (D&C 76:1-3 emphasis added.) 

Immediately I knew what I needed to do.  My responsibility was not to fix the burdens these families were carrying; my responsibility was to help bring them to Christ.  I could not save them, but He could. I knew the Savior would know what to do ––He would know how to help heal their hearts, He could teach them and send them in the direction they needed to go.  His purpose would not fail and His hand would not be stayed.  Through His great wisdom and His marvelous ways He would do what was right in their life.  I could lift, support, strengthen, help them to hold on, and I could add my faith.  The Savior would do the rest.

The greatest form of rescue is to lead someone closer to the Lord.  We can do that by sharing what we know of Him from the feelings within our hearts.  Have you ever noticed that when you spend time with someone who loves the Lord, you come to know the Lord a little better?  Somehow we come to better understand what He teaches, to feel how He loves, and we even come to know His heart because we have come to know their heart. 

The invitation…

This week prayerful consider someone in your life who could use a rescue.   What might you do for them in the next few weeks leading up to this walk?  Remember, our job is not to fix someone’s life, or to save them from where they are…that is the Savior’s job.  Our job requires faith, lifting, supporting, strengthening, and holding on in some form or another as we lead them closer to Him.

This invitation is extended individually.  Together, you and the Lord can decide what it is you might do.  How will you lift?  How might you strengthen?  How could you support?  Do you know someone carrying a burden so heavy that you might help them hold on for a time? 

This rescue can take place in any way you would like.  You might do temple work for someone in your family.  This could require finding a name, and following through to make sure all of the work is finished by Sept. 24.   You may know of someone who could use an 11 week spiritual journey, and invite them to join us.  Perhaps you know someone who you could secretly serve once a week for the next 11 weeks.  Could you share your testimony?  Write a letter?  Visit someone who needs a friend? 

What will your rescue entail?  How might lifting, supporting, strengthening, or holding on play a role?  How will your faith lead someone who is need of a rescue closer to the Lord?  To what lengths might you go to bring a friend to Christ?