The male ego is a very vulnerable subject to begin with; however, in the presence of other male egos to impress, it yields to almost any persuasion. When we place these compounded male egos in a rugged and treacherous environment, we get an entirely perilous situation called scout camp.
This is why I have often said that the last word and authority for any decision made at scout camp ought to be a guest mother who should accompany the troop on every adventure and act as the voice of reason. This has never been a popular idea among male participants whose very life breath is not as valuable to them as the thrill of doing something completely stupid without the interference of said wives or mothers or voices of reason. But, many of these adherents would not even be alive to protest an accompanying mother if it weren’t for our only other viable alternative and that is prayer.
Last week my husband was privileged to attend one of these scouting adventures as a scout leader in our ward. They were to backpack 10 miles into the depths of the Grand Canyon to enjoy the array of impressive waterfalls and pools of Havasupai. Having heard tales of his many close calls in the scouting program, as I said goodbye I looked him in the eye and said “Remember your dear wife and children and don’t do anything stupid.” But knowing how unlikely this was, I then proceeded to pray for his safety in each of my prayers over the five day trip.
The first waterfall they came to, Navajo Falls, is about 70 feet high. They discovered the best use of this waterfall was to climb up on a ledge behind it, dive into the falls, and let the force of the water spew them out across the pool. Then they came to the next waterfall, Mooney Falls, which tumbles over 200 feet to its basin. Fortunately they were warned that this waterfall was too dangerous to dive into so they didn’t attempt it from above, but they did find it quite exhilarating to rush towards the falls from the pool below against the unrelenting force of water that would eventually sweep them off their feet and shoot them back away from the falls. It was as a subtle hint from Mother Nature saying “Back away my dears or I may have to crush you!”
This is why I have often said that the last word and authority for any decision made at scout camp ought to be a guest mother who should accompany the troop on every adventure and act as the voice of reason. This has never been a popular idea among male participants whose very life breath is not as valuable to them as the thrill of doing something completely stupid without the interference of said wives or mothers or voices of reason. But, many of these adherents would not even be alive to protest an accompanying mother if it weren’t for our only other viable alternative and that is prayer.
Last week my husband was privileged to attend one of these scouting adventures as a scout leader in our ward. They were to backpack 10 miles into the depths of the Grand Canyon to enjoy the array of impressive waterfalls and pools of Havasupai. Having heard tales of his many close calls in the scouting program, as I said goodbye I looked him in the eye and said “Remember your dear wife and children and don’t do anything stupid.” But knowing how unlikely this was, I then proceeded to pray for his safety in each of my prayers over the five day trip.
The first waterfall they came to, Navajo Falls, is about 70 feet high. They discovered the best use of this waterfall was to climb up on a ledge behind it, dive into the falls, and let the force of the water spew them out across the pool. Then they came to the next waterfall, Mooney Falls, which tumbles over 200 feet to its basin. Fortunately they were warned that this waterfall was too dangerous to dive into so they didn’t attempt it from above, but they did find it quite exhilarating to rush towards the falls from the pool below against the unrelenting force of water that would eventually sweep them off their feet and shoot them back away from the falls. It was as a subtle hint from Mother Nature saying “Back away my dears or I may have to crush you!”
They couldn’t seem to get anywhere near the falls against this incredible force, until one leader happily discovered a narrow streamline of water flowing towards the falls and thought this might enable him to get closer. He jumped into it, but again was flung away. Well, this was evidence enough for my husband that it was safe so he tried it too, but he was not so much flung as he was sucked. It sucked him straight into the waterfall, and shot him up for a fraction of a second where he thought he might catch a breath of air but instead of air he received the full force of the falls striking his head and pounding him deep into the water again. At this point he said he felt for the first time that he might actually drown as he was tossed about completely powerless against so great a force. But with a few more cycles under the water he was caught by an outgoing current and was spewed forth from the waterfall like Jonah from the belly of the whale.
Of course it’s always that devil gratitude that keeps us from killing our loved ones upon finding that they’ve almost killed themselves, so instead of being too cross with my husband when he related the tale, I offered a prayer of thanks. The thought then occurred to me: what would have happened if I hadn’t prayed so earnestly for his safety?” I shudder to think that he might have died without my efforts of faith, and we tend to comfort ourselves that people only die when it is ‘their time’ anyway so of course it wasn’t his time yet. But I’ve always believed that although God does have a time appointed for each of us to die, and that we certainly can’t extend our allotted time by any act of our own, we do have the power to end our own lives before our appointed time by our own poor choices. If a man throws himself off a cliff, I don’t think God will send angels to catch him because it’s not yet ‘his time to go.’
God allows us our agency and the consequences of our actions. But did God rescue my husband after flinging himself into a raging 200 foot waterfall? I think he might have, because I do believe there are times that God intervenes on behalf of our loved ones because of our faith and prayers.
I came to learn this lesson on my mission once when I had flung myself into a pit of despair and found myself cycling under the force of self pity so deep that I did not even implore my God to release me, reveling as it were in my own emotional destruction as I felt too unworthy to be rescued. As I sobbed to myself on my bed I suddenly felt the incredible and unmistakable warmth and peace of the Spirit lift my soul and snatch me away from my own bitterness to feel a the sensational joy of Christ. I then wept in the most confounded gratitude and finally prayed in my heart saying “How is this done? I didn’t ask you to help; I had closed my heart to you and brought this completely on myself. Why have you rescued me still?”
The answer came clearer than any I had received before that someone else was praying in great faith on my behalf at that very moment. The image that came to my mind was Mother Lore, a widow and mother of twelve who had played an important role in my own conversion years earlier, and I remembered her letters that spoke of her constant prayers for me and love for me. I don’t know if it was actually her or someone else, or even the combined prayers of many, but when I thought of her faith and love for the Lord I realized that He would not withhold his blessings from her, and if my welfare was what she wanted from Him, it was done even in spite of me.
Because of the marvelous gift of love and the importance of our relationships with others in our mortal and eternal lives, some of our most precious hopes are vulnerable to the choices of our loved ones. God does give man his agency, but let us remember as did Alma the Elder, that God can do marvels with his children and prepare a way for their escape sometimes in spite of themselves because of the faith and prayers of those who love them. Let this be our hope enough to compel us to keep praying when all our earthly senses may tell us that hope is gone, that they are doomed to drown in their own poor choices. And let us never forget to be grateful and mindful of everything that is right because of our prayers that we don’t warrant a near-drowning to discover the Lord’s hand in our lives.
Of course it’s always that devil gratitude that keeps us from killing our loved ones upon finding that they’ve almost killed themselves, so instead of being too cross with my husband when he related the tale, I offered a prayer of thanks. The thought then occurred to me: what would have happened if I hadn’t prayed so earnestly for his safety?” I shudder to think that he might have died without my efforts of faith, and we tend to comfort ourselves that people only die when it is ‘their time’ anyway so of course it wasn’t his time yet. But I’ve always believed that although God does have a time appointed for each of us to die, and that we certainly can’t extend our allotted time by any act of our own, we do have the power to end our own lives before our appointed time by our own poor choices. If a man throws himself off a cliff, I don’t think God will send angels to catch him because it’s not yet ‘his time to go.’
God allows us our agency and the consequences of our actions. But did God rescue my husband after flinging himself into a raging 200 foot waterfall? I think he might have, because I do believe there are times that God intervenes on behalf of our loved ones because of our faith and prayers.
I came to learn this lesson on my mission once when I had flung myself into a pit of despair and found myself cycling under the force of self pity so deep that I did not even implore my God to release me, reveling as it were in my own emotional destruction as I felt too unworthy to be rescued. As I sobbed to myself on my bed I suddenly felt the incredible and unmistakable warmth and peace of the Spirit lift my soul and snatch me away from my own bitterness to feel a the sensational joy of Christ. I then wept in the most confounded gratitude and finally prayed in my heart saying “How is this done? I didn’t ask you to help; I had closed my heart to you and brought this completely on myself. Why have you rescued me still?”
The answer came clearer than any I had received before that someone else was praying in great faith on my behalf at that very moment. The image that came to my mind was Mother Lore, a widow and mother of twelve who had played an important role in my own conversion years earlier, and I remembered her letters that spoke of her constant prayers for me and love for me. I don’t know if it was actually her or someone else, or even the combined prayers of many, but when I thought of her faith and love for the Lord I realized that He would not withhold his blessings from her, and if my welfare was what she wanted from Him, it was done even in spite of me.
Because of the marvelous gift of love and the importance of our relationships with others in our mortal and eternal lives, some of our most precious hopes are vulnerable to the choices of our loved ones. God does give man his agency, but let us remember as did Alma the Elder, that God can do marvels with his children and prepare a way for their escape sometimes in spite of themselves because of the faith and prayers of those who love them. Let this be our hope enough to compel us to keep praying when all our earthly senses may tell us that hope is gone, that they are doomed to drown in their own poor choices. And let us never forget to be grateful and mindful of everything that is right because of our prayers that we don’t warrant a near-drowning to discover the Lord’s hand in our lives.
