warning.. long post ahead

I had to talk in church today because we came home from youth conference yesterday.  The youth were baptized for 275 names in the Idaho Falls Temple, we went on a crazy river run, huge hike and service project and ate TONS of yummy food cooked by our chef/teacher's quorum advisor.  So I'm going to put in some pictures and my talk. 

Hanging around at the cabin.

The camp ground service group.  I don't have pictures of the hikers.

Me in front of Fall Creek.  Notice Ward in the background. 

Marshmallow blow dart guns.  Wow, the secret meadow has never been so sugary.

Jared was on dinner prep.  Here is the result.

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And finally..the Bishop getting 'arrested'.

Here is my talk- you don't have to read the whole thing.

We returned yesterday from a youth conference adventure.  As some of the others have mentioned, we went on an unusual whitewater rafting trip.  Because many of you weren’t with us, I’ll relate that experience and some of the thoughts that I had about it. 

We began our day early with a gourmet breakfast, cleaned up and were ready to leave early.  It was overcast and rained during our trip into Jackson Hole.  As leaders, we were concerned our trip might be cancelled because the river is nearly at flood stage and is running extremely fast and high.  The Snake River hasn’t been this high since 1997.  The rafting company assured us that they would be able to keep our group safe.  They explained that there were several ‘holes’ in the river that only appear at exceptionally high water that would not be safe to travel through, but that we would navigate around them.   It sounded thrilling.

Our hosts recommended that we all wear wetsuits as the water is very cold this time of year.  It wasn’t really optional, so everyone put one on.  Some looked athletic, some cold, and some, like me, ridiculous.  As we were getting ready to get on the bus, the clouds broke and the sun came out.    What a relief!  We broke out the sunscreen and helped each other cover our faces and shoulders.  It started to get warm and we got started. 

During the bus ride, our guides taught us how to be safe on the river.  Because of the high water, it was important that each person know what to do in case the boat flipped or they fell out.  From personal experience, I know it’s easier to fall out that you might think.  They were preparing us for things that could possibly happen.  Most of us were listening attentively and memorizing every detail.  When we arrived at the riverside, they offered us all additional protective clothing; overshirts and pants to give us additional warmth and waterproofing.  They recommended that we all put these on too so we wouldn’t get too cold.  You must realize that these items of clothing are worn by successive customers on trips and many were already wet, smelled interesting and were hard to get on.  Most of us also had already put on our life jackets and had to take them back off to put on the shirts.  The sun was shining, and the water was beckoning.  We couldn’t wait to get going.  A few in our group decided to ignore the warning of our guides, perhaps because it seemed inconvenient, unnecessary, or stinky.   Some of us had experience in cold water and wanted to wear the jackets.  Some listened to the guides and put on the clothes because they trusted them.  Our guides weren’t pushy- they offered protection and let us make our own decision.  How often do we neglect the directions we receive from our spiritual leaders to prepare for the future  because it seems  to us to be uncomfortable or untimely. 

We finally loaded up into three boats and ventured out into the water.  Our guide was named Deuce and he gave us specific instructions on how to help him paddle the boat.  He called out commands to paddle forward or backward, and how many strokes he needed from us to move the boat.  We were expected to listen carefully and follow his direction.  We knew the river was powerful but that he had knowledge about how to get through it safely so we trusted him.  I later thought about how this compares to the gospel.  The knowledge and faith we have in Jesus Christ is similar to a river guide.  He gives us very clear instructions on how to navigate the world.  He knows where we should be headed, where the dangers are, and he does his best to tell us how to get through it.  If we listen carefully and follow his commandments, we can move our boat. 

For the first half of the trip, we had a delightful time.  We learned how to paddle together and get things working right.  We hit a few medium rapids and got wet, screaming and laughing.  Jayden Beardall was sitting right behind me and remarked that this was easy, and he wished he was in the front of the boat so it would be more fun.  That, I think was the moment that he jinxed us!     It was about this time that our guide started communicating through whistle blasts and shouting with people on the banks of the river and the other guides close to us.  He learned that there had been some boats overturned downriver from us and that we needed to look for the rafters along the shore and rescue them if possible.  He also took us safely around a few of the holes that were very dangerous and explained the movement of the water. 

The clouds were coming back and we began to hear thunder.   It started to rain lightly at first.  After a while, we saw a yellow raft pushed upright against some rocks ahead of us.    Our guide told us that we were going up to the rocks because there was a man out there from the raft.  It actually looked really scary.  There were some big waves and the water was churning all around the rocks.  The weather was kicking up and we were all nervous about how we would even get through the trip.  But Deuce was determined not to leave this man out on the rocks any longer than he’d already been there.  He firmly and confidently told us how to paddle to help him get around the rocks and trapped raft to where the man could jump into our boat.   We were part of an actual river rescue.  Again we had an example of how the gospel works in our lives.   There are often others around who are trapped in confusion and turbulent waters, often so far out that they have no way to get back to shore by themselves.  We might be afraid to venture close them or we might just not want to interrupt our own course to make a detour.  But Heavenly Father doesn’t want to leave anybody behind in the cold water and he guides us to assist him in rescuing them.  And if we are the ones in need of rescue, he won’t leave us either.  He places people in our path that he guides to help us.  One example is our Bishop.  He is there to move the boat close to us so we can jump in and be brought back to safety.  Bishop Steadman showed us his persistence during another part of the trip when he rescued a tiny hummingbird that was trapped in our cabin.  But back to the river story. 

The new member of our crew was in shock.  Our guide was able to let him know that all the others from his boat were safe and had also been rescued from the water.  He was overcome with his emotions when he learned that they were all okay.  We didn’t get to dwell on this for very long, because the storm around us decided to really let us know it was in charge.  You know how you like to think you are in control of things, but you really aren’t.  We were about to learn that lesson completely.  The wind blew more ferociously and the rain increased until it became hail.  We were advancing to the largest rapids in the river and they were massive.  It was difficult to see what was coming.  It was difficult to hear the directions from the guide.  It was freezing cold and the hail was blowing at us and it hurt.  In my boat, there were three people that had opted not to wear the extra gear.  They were much colder and were shivering.  Our guide was asking them personal information questions to see if they might be getting hypothermic.  He took off his own jacket and shirt and gave them to two of the passengers so they could get warmer and then he continued to guide us wearing just a tank top.  He must have been so cold.  But he was more concerned about the people  in the boat than he was about himself.  He was following the example of our Savior, who sacrificed his own life so that we would be able to return to our Heavenly Father safely. 

We made it to shore.  An ambulance was waiting there for our refugee.  We all made it into the bus, and most of us had dry clothing and towels to warm up with (sorry Alyssa that I left your towel on the top of Sara’s car- it got kind of wet I think).  Brianna Selph gave our devotional  yesterday morning and gave me permission to relate her experience.  She said when she was freezing cold and getting really frightened by the waves and storm, the words from our theme for the year came to her mind.  From Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  She was able to feel calm and confident that we would make it back to shore safely.

So all in all, it was a great learning experience for me.  And in the words of Alyssa Chamberlain, “It was the most miserable fun I ever had.”  I would like to bear my testimony that we have our own personal river guide for our lives.  Our Savior provided a perfect example of the direction we should take, and gives us instructions on how to avoid danger.  If we can listen carefully and follow him, we will be able to get through any confusion or storm that threatens to take us off course.  I am privileged to be able to spend time and experiences like this with the youth of our ward and I am so grateful for that opportunity.  I love them and appreciate them.