Light in the Wilderness

     I am writing this as I sit outside, enjoying the lovely day it is today.  Can I say how thankful I am that in Utah it is just a dry heat?  It is so nice that the shade is actually refreshing, not like Missouri, where the humidity pollutes the air and it is uncomfortable to be outside, no matter where you are at.  It’s one of those days where there is a slight breeze and birds are chirping in the trees I’m sitting under.  Literally, I can not even tell you how beautiful this campus is.  It’s so peaceful here.  It’s not just the location though, it’s the people too.  Everyone here is so nice!  I haven’t seen any polls about it, but if I were to guess, I would guess that BYU is the friendliest college campus.  You could be walking, just enjoying the day, and that moment when you pass someone going the other way, instead of both looking down, avoiding eye contact, here they look you in the eye and genuinely smile.  Most of the time they say “hi” too, or something to that nature.  It makes me feel like everyone is friends here, that we are very happy to be here and all want to do good.  With that mindset, how could we not be nice to everyone we see walking on the grounds we share?  The only problem with this is, with meeting lots of people and making lots of friends each and every day, you have to learn a lot of names.  I may be one of the worst people out there when it comes to remembering names.  It’s the struggle for me. I think I might be getting better though! Maybe!

     Last night was our first official Family Home Evening night.  (not familiar with the term?  It’s ok, it’s a Mormon thing.  Basically it’s family night, filled with fun and usually a spiritual thought.  At BYU, since we are not with our real families, we are divided into groups by our ward and they are our “family”.)  Any who, we met up and played this game called “Signs” (I would explain it, but it would take the rest of this post to do so) and if you have never played it, you really need to.  It is SO FUN!  Before we knew it, an hour and a half had passed and we were still playing that game.  As I was thinking about last night, I just really became thankful for my church and for BYU.  With the honor code and that fact that it’s a stone cold sober school, I don’t have to worry.  I don’t have to worry about tons of people getting drunk or partying too hard.  BYU to me is just proof that you can have fun and enjoy life without drinking, or doing drugs and other activities of that nature.  I have been having so much fun, and I would not change a thing.  

     As I was reading The Book of Mormon for my class, I came across one verse that really stood out to me.  1 Nephi 17:13 “And I [God] will be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments...ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.”  I just really love this scripture.  It’s so comforting to me, to know that our Father in Heaven will not abandon us.  I’m not sure why this scriptures about not being left alone are standing out to me so much.  It may be that when I am facing a trial, I tend to think that only I can conquer it, that only through me can I over come it.  We never have to be alone.  Our Heavenly Father will be that light that we need, the one to guide us through the adversities that we face, the daily ones and the ones that are harder to over come, those that take more time.  All we need to do is keep His commandments and ask for His help.  Simple as that.  He will be our light.  Man, I just love that.