WALKING SEARCHING LOOKING 2

Walking, Walking, Walking
Only to discover
I was in the wrong tow’n

Searching, Searching, Searching
Only to discover
I had the map upside dow’n

Looking, Looking, Looking
Only to discover
The lights were all turned low’n

Walking, Searching, Looking
I never discovered
How to find the crow’n

Because of my self-limitation on the length of my Thoughts and the fact that there are many more than two areas of understanding in my life where I have been retarded in my progress because I was walking in the wrong town, with my map upside down while trying to see it in a dimly lit area. I will now explore a few more areas where I hopefully have found a better town and have the map turned closer to being right side up and I am seeing a bit more clearly because of additional light.

Even before I entered into the Primary classes during Sunday School my mother and father had started to instruct me on the steps I needed to take to overcome the sins I was surely going to commit during my life. During the years I was working on my Master’s Degree at Brigham Young University I had the privilege of spending many hours being instructed by the great religious scholars of the day. I know one of the most enlightening and satisfying directional changes which took place during that time came from the understanding of how men had changed the principle of ‘repentance’ into one of ‘penitence’ for sin. There is no doubt than when Moses was sitting in the correct town, reading the map right side up with the brilliance of the light he had been given, that he taught ‘repentance’ in its true meaning; that being, the way to return to God.

Men over the ages fell short of the mark and eventually concentrated on teaching that ‘penitence’ was necessary for us to remove sin from our lives. We have all heard of the reminder of how to make right choices by thinking ‘what would Jesus do.’ As we examine his life we discover that He had no need to spend even a moment in the process of ‘penitence’, but spent His whole life doing the will of His Father or preparing to return to Him (Repentance).
Since those wonderful days spent with those marvelous men on the Religion faculty at BYU I have understood that the town I should be in with my map right side up and with increasing light, is to concentrate on doing the will of the Father. I even developed a personal spiritual formula. If I spend 100% of my time trying to do good I will have 0% of time left to do evil for which I need to give penitence.

I think you would have to search far and wide to find someone who has spent even a few years in activity in the church who couldn't mouth the words as someone recites the scripture found in Mosiah 2:17 of the Book of Mormon, where The Prophet/King Benjamin taught the people, ‘when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of God.’ I suspect this statement can and has been taught in many different ways while we have resided in many towns, with our maps at different angles and in varying amounts of life.

The town I have settled on and when I feel I have the map in its most upright position in the brightest of presently available light is that we can in no way serve God, since by his very nature he has everything, but it is His service we are in when we serve our fellow beings. I believe with all my heart that Benjamin had discovered that the true way to live fully the mortal plan of happiness was to be enlisted in God’s army of servers by serving others.
I remember one of the most powerful personal directional changes which happened in my life took place one day when I was reading in the Book of Mormon, the 7th chapter of Moroni. For the first time I suddenly felt I was walking in the right town, with my map properly aligned and I was seeing with enlightened eyes. I was reading what might be considered Moroni’s final words, which I have always felt probably contain for all of us what we think is of most importance in life. I realized that his remarks on charity and especially charity being the pure love of Christ, had nothing to do with things we bestow or the service we give to others, but was the ultimate end of our struggling with faith and hope.

What a wonderful town, how understandable the map, how bright the light. Just as the object of Hope, is to have hope in Jesus the Christ. Just as the object of Faith, is to have faith in Jesus the Christ. The object of charity is to feel the Pure Love of Christ. Just as Moroni closed his thought on faith, hope and charity, I too pray with all the energy of my heart that I might be filled with Hope, Faith and The Pure Love which is bestowed upon all who are true followers of Jesus the Christ.

I likewise pray that I will never be content with thinking that I have arrived at the ultimate town, that my map is without tilt and that I have found all the levels of brightness which His light has to bestow. I hope I will never stop walking, searching and looking.

Walking, Walking, Walking
Only to discover
I was in the wrong tow’n

Searching, Searching, Searching
Only to discover
I had the map upside dow’n

Looking, Looking, Looking
Only to discover
The lights were all turned low’n

Walking, Searching, Looking
I never discovered
How to find the crow’n