Hold Onto the Rod, or Glass

I wanted to make sure I preserved my experience in Sunday School today and rather than writing about it in my journal I thought I would share it with the world. This is one of those posts that more "meaningful" than it is "spam," so let's get to the point.

My Sunday School teacher is Sister Monson and today she taught us from 2nd Nephi 1-2. I actually did the reading beforehand, so I came prepared to feel the spirit. She is by far the best teacher I've ever had in church. She has lived her life in such a way that she can relate to and share with us her powerful experiences.

Today she used an intense demonstration. She reached inside this massive box she had with her and pulled out a beautiful glass. On it was engraved an 'M' in gorgeous calligraphy. She told us about how this was the last glass she had of that kind in her family. She used to have a big set of them, but after ~56 years of marriage, all the others had been destroyed. This was the lone survivor of raising all her children and of her loving marriage. This glass obviously had a history.

After elaborating on the value of this glass to her, out of the blue, she threw it into the box from full height (she's ~6' 3" I would guess) making a loud BANG! as it smacked it. We all stared in utter shock and disbelief. She reached inside quickly and grabbing the mildly chipped glass, threw it again. This time when she pulled it back out it was in pieces. This once beautiful glass was now a remnant of its former beauty. Might I add a personal note: I'm a really jumpy person, so when she did all of this it scared me badly!

She then made this profound connection. Our spirits are like the glass. She had carefully taken care of, polishing, cleaning and protecting it; just as our parents do these things as they raise us. Yet as teenagers we listen to our parents less and less. We try to rebel and think they don't know anything. We think we are better than them. Because of these false beliefs, just as she shattered her prized glass, we shatter our spirits and make stupid decisions. We throw away the precious gift given to us. Spiritual Death.

This is a very real thing. I'm not telling this story to scare anyone or be morbid by any degree. I wanted to share with you this powerful lesson of how fragile our spirits are. If there is anything in our lies that will limit or compromise our relationship with our father in heaven then STOP IT! It's not worth it. Don't break your glass for some petty mortal pleasure or short-sided desire. Widen your perspective, look farther ahead. If we can simply live our lives to the highest degree possible then the Lord will reward us with AN ETERNITY OF JOY. Think about it. Think about the biggest conceivable thing you can possibly comprehend. The Sun? The Galaxy? The Universe? CHILD'S PLAY I TELL YOU! In the grand scope of things, our mortal minds cannot comprehend Eternity itself, but we can comprehend the concept of it and appreciate its power.

Let us all preserve our glasses. Polish them. Clean them. Preserve them inside of this tumultuous world. If we do this, then we can drink of the fruit of our labors as we embrace our Father in Heaven, even Jesus Christ, Amen.