Dad - The Storm

This came from a talk Dad gave in the Taylorsville 12th Ward on January 1, 1989:

Twenty-four years ago, I had an experience that taught me a lesson about how delicate life can be.  We were living in Logan at the time and anticipating a move to Ogden.  The truck that we had rented was here in Salt Lake and there wasn't anyone available to drive it to Logan in time for us to use it.  the rental company made us an offer which we accepted.  It was that they would fly me to Salt Lake and lower the rent if I would take the time to drive it back to Logan.

The pilot and I took off just before dark in a small one engine plane.  As we passed over the mountain range just north of Brigham City, the pilot turned the plane heading south directly toward the Salt Lake Airport.  We could see thick storm clouds in front of us.  Within a minute or so we were flying through them.  The plane was being tossed around by 100 mile per hour winds.  Rain drops were hitting the windshield and cockpit like bullets from the force of the wind.  In an effort to avoid the storm, the pilot turned the plane and we headed west out over the Great Salt Lake.

The idea he had in mind was to get out of the storm and hopefully go around it  Instead the storm got worse and because of the clouds, we could not see the ground or anything that might have been around us.  After a few minutes, I remember him saying, "I don't know where we are."  He immediately got on the radio and tried to contact the tower at the Salt Lake Airport.  Because of the lightening and static electricity in the air, there was too much interference and we could not be heard.  He kept on trying and finally someone responded and identified himself as a controller at Hill Air Force Base.  He asked us where our destination was and then said he had us on his radar scope and could guide us around the storms to the Salt Lake Airport.  By following that controller's directions, we got out of the clouds and flew in between and around the storms until we landed safely at the airport.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with some friends from my office.  We had just ordered our lunch and were waiting to be served.  The hostess, who along with her husband owned the establishment, all of a sudden broke down in uncontrollable sobs.  She ran to a back room where her crying was very audible.  She had just received a phone call from someone telling her that her father had just been killed in a rollover.

How fragile and delicate life on this earth is.  We all live with that fact and yet we do not fully prepare for the time when it will be our turn to step through that thing veil into the eternities.  We always seem to think that it will happen to someone else or we just plain and simply ignore it.

Our prophet leaders have said time and time again to "come unto Christ".  Learn to know Him.  He is the one on the other side of that veil that is trying to guide us and at some point in time we will meet Him face to face.  Are we really going to know Him and be prepared for that event?

What can we do to prepare to come unto Christ?  If we really sensed the urgency of preparing in this life, we would increase our temple attendance, read and study the Book of Mormon daily and do everything our prophets have instructed us and asked us to do.

President Benson has said in a first presidency message, "In all ages, prophets have looked down trough the corridors of time to our day.  Billions of deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us.  Make no mistake about it.  This is a marked generation.  There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is  of us.  Never before on the face of the earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been so well organized.  Now is the great day of the devil's power.  But now is also the great day of the Lord's power.  With the greatest number of priesthood holders on the earth.

Christ lived on the earth and was subject to all manner of temptation.  But he won every battle.  And He wants us to win every battle.  When we fall short, His atonement will compensate for us on condition of our repentance."

I pray that we may do as the pilot of that plane did and put our lives in the hands of someone.  Even Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Who can guide us around the storms of life.  That we may truly be able to "Come unto Christ."