#35: H is for High-Vantage Point

I feel like I get asked the same question a lot on my mission:

Why do we need prophets?

The argument is that we should be able to talk to God without a middle-man. And we can. Prayer is always a way for us to talk directly to God. Having a living prophet is just one more way that God can talk to us.

The best comparison I can make is this: [and I’ll add a disclaimer here—I am a band geek. You’ve been warned.] When a band is practicing for a field show competition it’s vital that each member of the band is in exactly the right spot for the show to be perfect. When you’re down on the field, you can’t see the big picture. You can only see what’s immediately around you and so with that limited perspective it’s easy for a team member to feel like they are “close enough” with their choreography and position. But from a higher vantage point (i.e. the press box) it’s much easier to see what corrections need to be made to align the band members with the drill.

When I was on the BSU color guard I had the opportunity to function as co-captain of the team. That gave me the chance to watch some of the practices from the press box with the coach. She and I could look out from our higher vantage point and easily see what needed to be corrected to present a more unified show. After discussing what needed to be done, I would go back down to the field and give instructions to my team members about what they could fix to improve the show. Through this process our field show was more precise and the result was a higher level of performance that was much more enjoyable to watch.

A prophet is just like the captain of the team. A prophet has a somewhat expanded view of our circumstances and is able to receive instructions (or revelations) from the Coach. With this instruction and guidance, the rest of us are able to make the small corrections that help us to align our thoughts and actions with the Lord’s perfect plan. I am grateful for prophets that lead us today and I know that as we listen to their counsel we will be blessed because our lives will be more in harmony with God’s will for us.

H is for High Vantage Point

#16: Energy-efficient lighting

I flicked on the lightswitch in our bedroom the other day and it got me thinking...

We have those new energy-efficient lightbulbs that everyone's getting these days. You know the ones that take forever to actually get bright? I was thinking about how our testimonies are kinda like that. When we first gain a testimony of something, it's kind of like switching on the light. At first you notice a big difference because you've gone from total darkness to being able to see what's around you. But then, if you keep waiting the light gets brighter. Sometimes it happens so slowly that you don't really notice a change at first. But if you compare how much brighter it is from when you first turned the light on, you can definitely tell that the light is getting stronger.

Strangely enough, the scripture at the top of my blog has this same principle in it. (And I didn't even plan that!)  :)

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." -D&C 50:24

Take a minute and look at something you have a testimony of (prayer, scripture study, following the propeht, paying tithing, etc.) Think about when it first really clicked with you. Now look where you are. It's a lot brighter huh? The important thing to remember though is that you have to leave the electricity running through the lightbulb long enough to let it get bright. Just the same, you have to keep feeding and building your testimony if you expect it to get brighter and stronger.