Through Mists of Darkness

[It was my turn to write the introductory message for our church congregation's newsletter this month, and this is what I came up with. Thought I'd share...]

In a remote valley near the Red Sea thousands of years ago, a group of people were preparing for a long trip. They knew the journey would be filled with uncertainty and challenges. They would travel into a wilderness, leaving the comforts and security of civilization far behind. And what is more, they didn't exactly know the way, nor did they know where their ultimate destination was—just that it was a land of promise.

In the midst of this uncertainty, the patriarch of the family, Lehi, had a dream. In this dream he saw a tree with fruit that was "desirable to make one happy" (1 Ne. 8:10). Many people wanted to eat the tree's fruit, and fortunately, the way to the tree had a clearly marked path with a helpful handrail.

With a path and a handrail, it should have been easy to get to the tree, but it wasn't. A thick mist of darkness covered the path, and in the middle of that darkness, travel became confusing. The people could no longer see the tree, and they probably couldn't even see the path they were walking on. In such darkness, if travelers stepped off the path, they may not have noticed at first that the ground was a little different. They may have thought they were continuing on course when they were actually becoming lost.

The only way to stay on course through the darkness would have been to hold fast to the rod of iron. Some people likely held to the rod for a time and then began to doubt that the rod was going in the right direction. Their own senses may have led them to think they should veer to the right, or they may have felt that the rod was veering too much to the left. So they let go. Others may have held to the rod for a long time. As they became used to the feel of the path and of the rod, they may have become confident. After so long following and holding, surely they knew the path and the rod well enough to let go for a minute. Then two minutes. Then half an hour. Soon they would have stumbled on an unexpected rock, and they would have reached for the rod to discover they were nowhere near it. Only those who held continually to the rod made it through this difficult, confusing time of darkness.

For Lehi's family, the next few years after the dream must have been much like walking through that mist of darkness. Most of the travelers did not know the way through the wilderness; they could see neither their destination nor the path. Instead, they had to trust in the prophet and in a compass given them by God. But in the face of hunger or sickness or fatigue or desert sandstorms, that trust may not have been so easy.

Likewise, we all face times when the way may not be clear to us. We may become frustrated or confused. We may not be able to remember clearly where we are going or why we are going there. Fortunately, like those in Lehi's dream, we have a rod of iron. As we hold firmly, and continually, to that rod—as we study the scriptures faithfully—we will find our way through difficulties and we will stay on course toward our ultimate destination. As your bishopric, we testify that the rod of iron will lead you in the right direction and that rich rewards await those who faithfully travel to the end of the path. As you make the scriptures your lifeline and then hold fast, you will be strengthened against temptations and trials and evil. You can make it through the darkness, and like the faithful travelers in Lehi's dream, you will come forth and fall down before the tree and partake of the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

May you be strengthened to hold firmly to the rod and may you find peace and hope and joy as you do so.

The Eyes of a Babe

The Boy Child lay quietly, the mother now slept,
the husband, a fatherly vigil he kept.
Into my arms, the small Babe was placed;
I pushed back the cloth to look into His face.

The skin was soft—a bit mottled and red—
a wisp of black hair adorned the small head.
Then slowly, slowly, the eyes opened wide—
though the eyes of a babe, I was lost inside.

In those eyes I saw Love, I saw Truth, I saw Peace,
Majesty and Meekness, worlds that don’t cease.
I also saw sorrow and pain so extreme
that I let out a cry at what I had seen.

But as the eyes stayed open, I saw more—I saw me—
all my joys, all my sorrows, my sins and my deeds.
My soul opened wide, my depths I did see.
I saw myself in those eyes, and those eyes saw me.

The gaze did not burn, nor sharply chastise,
but understanding forgiveness offered the eyes.
They said, “Come lay your burdens and follow thou me.”
My soul leapt and said yes, and I became free.

But a moment in my arms held I the small Boy,
yet a lifetime it seemed—immeasurable Joy!
His eyes now He closed, and gently as able
laid I Him in the manger and retired from the stable.

And now as I stand in the chill of the night,
my sheep are as calm as the Star burning bright.
I remember the angels and the song they did raise.
I remember those eyes, I remember that gaze.

[Christmas Eve, 1997, Provo, Utah]

Grandma's Funeral Files

Here are links to files related to Grandma McClellan's funeral this week:

Audio Recording (wav format; 20.5 MB)

Audio Recording (mp3 format; 40.5 MB)

Picture of the Last Note Grandma Wrote to Her Family


And here are audio files from Grandpa McClellan's funeral three years ago:

Audio Recording (wav format; 13 MB)

Audio Recording (mp3 format; 25.7 MB)


To download the files, right click on the link (control-click for Macs) and select the option to "save as" or "download as." I can only leave these files on our server for a few days.

Greetings from Camp Eloes

We're here at Camp Eloes (pronounced like "Eloise") for a couple of days and having a great time. Camp Eloes is designed for young superheroes and their families. We're here with Honda the Hero, of course (aka Lizzy).

There are 10 superheroes in our group at camp. I'm not sure how many groups there are, but there appear to be a lot of little superheroes flying around. Lizzy--I mean Honda--keeps ducking them and saying "Whoa!" Honda, unfortunately, does not fly. Her powers are 1) super fast and 2) safe in lava. Both very handy powers.

A couple of tips should you be invited to Camp Eloes with your little hero:

1. The superheroes are invisible to people like you and me. Their tents are also invisible. Honda is a group leader so she can see all the other tents and superheroes. That was very handy in putting up our tent. Honda said she actually put up most of the tents for her group. I'm not sure if the other superheroes can see each other. However, every superhero here in Camp Eloes is outfitted with a communicator. These are very important when pitching tents and engaging in other activities. You don't want to pitch your tent on top of someone else's tent (especially if their powers happen to include things like gooey acid, smelly feet, or spontaneous combustion).

2. If you choose to roast your marshmallows over the paper fire that comes with each tent, we recommend that you blow on your marshmallows three times per marshmallow after roasting them. So if you put two marshmallows on your stick, blow six times; three marshmallows, nine times; seven marshmallows, 21 times; etc. We also recommend against roasting and eating repeated batches of mutiple stale marshmallows. They don't settle too well on the adult digestive system. Superheroes, however, appear to have special stale-marshmallow-resistant tummies.

3. Not all of the superheroes here have families with them. Some of the superheroes are orphans. So reach out to those little ones who may be a bit lonely and down. But first you have to find them. And that's kind of hard when they're invisible.

4. There is a lot of work to be done around here. Each group has 10 superheroes and 20 jobs. So your little one will be busy working. It's also an educational camp, so be prepared to help your hero learn all he or she can during the camp.

5. Camp T-shirts are a must. They work best when you use washable markers on old shirts. Ours say C.E.--for Camp Eloes, of course. (But before you start making shirts, check with us in a few days so we can tell you if those markers really are washable...)

6. Don't let your lack of powers get you down. It's easy to feel unspecial when you can't fly, walk through lava, lift up cars, stretch your arms a mile in each direction, or do other cool things. And it can get frustrating when you can't see anyone but your own family. But I noticed that Caroline has really been enjoying it here. She kept smiling and laughing--presumably at the invisible superheroes that keep flying over--and I thought I should probably adopt her attitude. So relax and enjoy yourself.

Not for all the...

A month or so ago we took a quick family vacation to Zion National Park. In the midst of our hiking one day, we were discussing something slightly scary (like climbing cliffs) and Lizzy declared, "I wouldn't do that for all the pink things in the world!"

Perhaps because of our reaction (we laughed), she's used that construction a couple of times since. Last week, for instance, I brought home two brownies I had been given at a work event. Obviously I wasn't going to touch them, but I knew Christine and Lizzy would enjoy the brown stuff.

After dinner, Christine cut a slice off of her brownie and ate it. Lizzy was surprised. "Why did you do that, Mommy?" Christine explained that she didn't want the whole thing right now--might be too much sugar all at once--so she was just going to eat part of it.

Lizzy responded passionately, "I wouldn't do that for all the chocolate in the world!"