Seeking for higher ground

    I seem to be finding all my ideas from talks I have recently read. That's probably cause Apostles and Prophets say it better than I do. But it is a talk given by Elder Patrick Kearon. It made me think of how I have been in the smog before, lost with no direction. My only way out was to seek for higher ground. Elder Kearon says this,

    "Last Christmas while serving at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, I encountered a local weather condition called an inversion. An inversion is a condition in which the air close to the ground is cooler than the air higher up, the opposite—the inversion—of the usual condition. Inversions are not unique to Salt Lake City, but they are more pronounced in effect because the city is located in a valley bounded by high mountains. This traps the city smog and holds it against the valley floor, covering the city and surrounding area in a thick, dark, freezing cloud. The smog is hazardous to the health of those with breathing difficulties and affects the morale of many others, as the air feels dirty and the sun is obliterated for days, even weeks, at a time.

      A short drive up the mountains, however, reveals that the smog is only a few hundred feet thick. In a few minutes, you can be in bright sunshine, breathing crystal clear air, staring at pristine, snow capped mountains. The contrast with the valley below could not be starker. As you climb farther up the mountains, you look down on the smog you have left behind in the valley, and it appears like a dirty blanket beneath an azure sky.

      There are times in our lives when we figuratively find ourselves stuck down in the valley, under the gloom of the dark, smoggy haze. Because of poor choices we have made, behaviors that offend the Spirit, or simply the painful and stretching decisions and challenges common to mortal life, we feel mired in thick, smothering fog. We can’t see clearly, we feel confused, and we sense that we have moved ourselves away from the light and warmth of our Heavenly Father’s love. We forget that the pure light of the Lord awaits us, beckons us, and is only a few steps of faith away. We must recognize that we have the power and capacity to take ourselves out of the filthy air of the valley and into the bright sunlight of the peace and hope that is found only by coming to the Savior."

    I would like to echo the testimony of Elder Kearon. I have witnessed it myself. Being in smog and darkness and filthiness brings no happiness. The happiest I have ever been was when I applied the Atonement in my life, changed, and through the Savior became whole again. I'm grateful for the Savior and his sacrifice for my sake, allowing me to change and be better. I invite all who are reading to seek the eternal. Seek for higher ground and you too can feel the Saviors love more abundantly in your life.