I Am the Way

I had a dream last night that I was in a house being bombed, and we were running away and hiding under desks to avoid the bombs. As I thought about the dream while I was watching a 4^th of July parade today, I was struck by the fact that in reality I have never had to worry about that kind of danger. A terrible attack by Russia on Kyiv just two days ago killed thirty people and targeted residential buildings. There were indeed Ukrainians there who experienced the horror of being bombed, and I can’t begin to imagine what that is truly like. While we have certainly had our moments of terror and war in the United States these past 250 years, it has largely been a land of peace and prosperity, especially compared to so many other volatile governments and economies around the world. The stability that the Constitution has provided is remarkable and is a gift from God that Americans should be profoundly grateful for. And the Lord has declared that it wasn’t just for its citizens that this nation was established: “The laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:77-78). The Lord wants all of His children to have the freedom to use their moral agency in this life to choose His Son and return to Him. All flesh should have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

            While I was at the parade with my parents and family celebrating the 4^th of July, my son was at the top of the mountain behind us as part of a mountain bike ride unofficially titled “5000 feet of freedom.” With many other people in our community, he rode uphill for over 12 miles and 5000 feet of elevation gain to reach Francis Peak near Farmington, Utah. This is not quite as much as the elevation gain that Elder Brian J. Holmes described in his recent talk in general conference. He related, “Last year, my wife, Maggie, and I ran the Jungfrau-Marathon in Switzerland. Set in the heart of the Swiss Alps, it is considered one of the most difficult marathons in the world. From start to finish, the course climbs over 6,400 feet, or 1,900 meters, as it winds through beautiful alpine villages and rugged, high-mountain terrain.” He described how “the last ascent demands careful attention to every step. In this race you are not just crossing a finish line; you are conquering a mountain.” Elder Holmes told of a man who was blind who finished the race: “This courageous man ran tethered to a guide. For most of the race, they ran side by side, but as the course turned steeper and more demanding, the guide moved ahead, calling out every obstacle and directing each step. Because he was bound to a guide, the blind runner accomplished what would otherwise be impossible alone.” To run for 26 miles up a mountain while being blind is indeed an incredible feet for both the running and the guide.  

This is a powerful analogy about how the Savior can be our guide in mortality. Using this image, Elder Holmes said, “At some point, we are all like the blind runner. We all need a guide. Our Father in Heaven, in His perfect love, has provided us with many helps to guide our journey. As President Dallin H. Oaks taught, the strongest help God has given us is a Savior, Jesus Christ. Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ ‘has done everything that is essential for our journey through mortality toward the destiny outlined in the plan of our Heavenly Father.’ Because He lived a perfect life, because He bore every sin and every sorrow, because He broke the bands of death, Jesus Christ alone can stand before the world and declare, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ In that simple declaration, the Savior taught that He is not only our guide; He is the path. His way is the only path that leads to eternal life.” On my son’s ride to Francis Peak, there was also only one path up once he started, and gratefully he had others to make that journey with. For us, there is ultimately also only one way to salvation, and that is the way of Jesus Christ, both the Guide and the Path: “And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17). Like the blind runner, we too often cannot see what is ahead of us very far, but we can stay close to our divine guide as we try to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). I give thanks today for the freedom to indeed live my faith freely here in the United States, and I hope that in the mountains I must climb I can learn to better walk with Him who is “the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12).