He Should Be Their Guide

As Mormon lamented the unrighteousness of the children of men, he said this about the wicked: “Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide” (Helaman 12:6). This is an invitation to us to let the Lord rule and reign over us, to not set at naught His counsels and to choose Him to be our guide. One hymn that I came to love on my mission was Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah in which we sing these words: “Guide us, O thou great Jehovah, Guide us to the promised land. We are weak, but thou art able; Hold us with thy pow’rful hand. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Feed us till the Savior comes.” In this challenging world, how we need Him as our guide to lead us with His powerful hand!

                This summer I had the opportunity to float the Weber River in a raft with a guide. I had four kids with me and we had a great time on the water. At one point the guide urged us all to crouch very low in the raft because of a bridge that was coming up and was very close to the water. Our raft was to go under it and there was not a lot of room between the raft and the bottom of the bridge. I got the kids to duck down and then I tried to do the same, and as I crouched a bit I looked to him asking if we were good. I was sure it had to be enough—the bridge that we would go under couldn’t be that low. He did not yell but he did quickly tell me that no, I was not okay in my current position. As I watched this bridge approach I realized it was about to hit me in the head even though I was trying to duck down. I quickly jumped out into the water just in time to avoid a major headache, and though I got wet, I didn’t get hurt. As we passed under it, I was shocked at how low it really was and how dangerous it was for those passing under. I was grateful that we had a guide and that he had warned us and prepared us for the bridge. And so it is in life—we have a Divine Guide in the Savior who will warn us and help us navigate the challenges of mortality. But He does not normally yell at us and He will not force us to listen to His counsels. We must be vigilant at heeding His warnings and let Him “rule and reign over us” by being quick to follow His commandments, or we will inevitably face the consequences of being “slow… to give ear unto his counsels” (Helaman 12:5).

            Nephi quoted this beautiful description about the Lord’s people from Isaiah: “They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them” (1 Nephi 21:10). Perhaps one of the reasons that he liked this passage was because it had so clearly applied to them as the Savior guided them across the desert to Bountiful, giving them water and protecting them from the heat. Ultimately He led them across the waters to the promised land. Nephi testified to his brothers about what the Lord had done for the ancient Israelites: “The Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night,” and promised what He will do for all of us: “He leadeth away the righteous into precious lands” (1 Nephi 17:30,38). As we choose the Savior to be our Guide, He will lead us into our own promised lands and help us navigate the challenges of mortality and return to Him.