The Liahona

When I was a young boy our family would go my uncle's house on Christmas Eve. We would play games and exchange gifts and they arranged for a visit from Santa Claus. It was fun and, being the tenth child in a large family, I enjoyed every chance to meet and play with my cousins.

I am not really sure how it happened but at the end of one holiday party I looked around and couldn't see any of my brothers or sisters. I then started to wander throughout the whole house, checking every room. I was unable to even find my parents. I was, at most, six-years old and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Even though I knew where I was, I felt completely lost.

Instead of exercising some rational response I went into a bathroom, closed the door and sat in the dark. I can recall very few times since, that I felt so lost and alone. At some point one of my older cousins, or maybe it was my aunt, opened the door and found me. Suddenly they started shouting, "We found him! We found him! He's here! He's here!" Now I really thought I was in trouble. Not only had they found me but I was sure it was my fault that I was lost.

Of course I wasn't in trouble. Each of my parents had just assumed that the other one had me and since this was ages before mobile phones, they didn't realize their mistake until after they made the 30-minute drive home. They weren't worried until they called and my aunt and uncle informed them that they didn't know where I was.

Being lost and looking for someone who is lost are not fun. My religious tradition tells a story where God gives to His prophet a device called the Liahona. The Liahona acted like a compass and it pointed the way the people should go. But this compass didn't work by magnetism, it only worked when the group was obedient to the commandments of God.

Last night I was driving home from a neighborhood party with my wife, children and my mother-in-law. I had turned on the interior light so that my mother-in-law could see better as she was settling in. Once we got started driving my wife suggested that we should turn off the inside light. I jokingly said that perhaps we should leave the light on so that her mother could read the map in case we got lost. My wife asked, "What map? We have a map?" Using my serious voice I suggested that since we didn't have a Liahona, we'd surely need a map and our van's compass to find our way home.

My daughter Mary then saved me from Cathy's wrath as she said, "We don't need a Liahona. We have a compass in our hearts."

Whenever that is true, you will never ever be lost.