Helaman 6:5...Otherwise Entitled: Car Alarms, Deer, and Nice Men

*NOTE TO THE READER: This particular post is not a required one for my Book of Mormon class - I've decided that I kinda like blogging. So I said to myself: "Sam, you are your own man - it's your blog, you can write a post whenevs you want to." And so that's what I've decided to do. Be warned, though: Another blog will be coming later this week in conjunction with my religion class.
Don't say I didn't warn you.....

I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Letters from my sisters. I must be quite frank: They're both super funny! Using a prolific amount of movie quotes and funny stories, I can always count on a letter from my sisters to cheer me up. Ever since my brother's passing, I feel that I've grown closer to my sisters - much closer. And that is a wonderful feeling! It is compounded tenfold every single time I receive in the mail a letter postmarked from home - it's a feeling that I hope all of you get to experience every now and then.
These letters are simple, sweet reminders of my life beyond school and homework - a life filled with family vacations, teasings, temper tantrums, late night dance parties in the kitchen, Wii games, snowball fights, long walks down dirt roads, and so much more. These letters remind me of who I am - and they help me focus on what I need to do in order to make my younger sisters proud that I'm their older brother.
Likewise, I believe that God gives us 'letters' as well - although we would probably refer to them as 'tender mercies', 'miracles', 'blessings', or (in the case of actual, physical writing) 'scriptures'. I hope that you're okay if I share with you one of these letters/tender mercies that God has given me tonight (whether or not you're okay with it probably won't stop me from writing it...so there :)
I was walking up to the temple (a holy building wherein are performed sacred ordinances), and had entered a parking lot when I noticed something: A car alarm was consistently going off every twenty seconds or so. Confused, I glanced around and saw the car that was making the problem. There it went again! Four staccato beeps of the horn, and then the car alarm, and then silence. I noticed a tall guy was getting in and getting out of the car; from what I could tell he was putting the key in the ignition, and then the beep-alarm extravaganza would sound off.
I walked past, trying hard not to laugh a little every time the car alarm went off (I must admit, I found it supremely funny). But I kept feeling like I should go see if I could help. Now, you may or may not know me very well, but if you do have any form of familiarity with me, you probably know this (and if you didn't know this before, then you know it now): I am no good with cars. I am mechanically illiterate.
With this realization in mind, I kept telling myself that there was nothing I could do. But, eventually, the nagging in my mind finally getting to me, I turned around and asked the guy if something was the matter. He blushed and replied that his car did this sometimes, and that it would take a few more tries with the ignition before the car actually started. Following this explanation, he climbed back into the driver's seat and turned the key - and the car started! No beeping horn, no alarm sounding! Just the chugging of a battered motor.
I bid him farewell and continued walking up the sidewalk towards the temple.
[Quick side note, folks: I noticed that there were four deer nuzzling the snow just up the hill, searching for grass hidden beneath the freshly fallen powder. I couldn't help but think, in that still, crisp, wintery air, that here was another testament of God on earth. Everything attests of the Divine! Be still, and know that He is God. :) Right, that's the side note, and that's the reasoning behind the 'Deer' part of the title. On to the rest of the post! :)
I was on my way to do baptisms for the dead (an ordinance that people twelve years of age and up can participate in, once they have achieved certain worthiness requirements and received a temple recommend; baptisms for the dead mean just that - you are baptized as proxy for someone who has died, thereby giving them a chance to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ beyond the veil); as I was showing my recommend to a temple worker at the receptionist desk, he commented that I was far too good-looking to be here (a statement that is all too true, I know :) [I hope that everyone realized that I was being mildly sarcastic just then...Just so you know] I laughed in response, and proceeded onward, hanging my coat, getting appropriately attired, and sitting in the waiting room. As I did so, I noticed that an older temple worker - who, coincidentally, looked, acted, and talked almost exactly like a former employer of mine (shout out to the good ole Lawn and Yard Care!) - who was giving everyone he met compliments. He commented on how pretty the young women looked, and how grateful he was that those he encountered had taken the opportunity to come and participate in the temple tonight. I could hear him telling a group of people some tale or another - he was just a genuinely friendly sort of guy.
I thought about these two experiences - encountering the man with his less-than-reliable car, and interacting with the two temple workers - and then I connected them to a third experience I've had: One from over a month ago.
My younger brother had just recently passed away. We as a family were emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally shocked. Trying to come to grips with the fact that my brother was gone was incredibly painful, and I often experience this pain even to this day. For the first few days following his passing, our house was flooded with friends, neighbors, and family. Oftentimes we greeted them cordially, and were glad to have the company there during our time of grieving.
But that was not always the case...at least with me.
There were many times when visitors would come, and I would feel an ire rise in my soul. My grief still runs very deep to this day, but at that time it was still bitterly fresh. There would be times when I wanted them all to go away, when I wanted them to just leave us alone and let us mourn by ourselves. I would remain silent and quiet as they would come, hoping that my rudeness would drive them away - Just let us be! Why can't they just let us grieve in peace!?
They would say words of consolation and friendship, and I truly appreciated the things that they shared; but my foolish, prideful, and hurting heart would often murmur: They don't even know what this feels like! They don't know what to say! Just leave!
They didn't know what to say, yes, but the fact that they were there...well, they were doing something that I can now understand. In Helaman 6:5 we read:
"Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of humility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb."
In conjunction with this verse, I'd like to share two additional gems of thought; one is another scripture, but this first is a quote generally attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words."
And, in Mosiah 18:8-9, we read:
"...[A]nd now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;
"Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in..."
You are probably asking yourself: What do these scriptures, a quote, and those stories have to do with each other? Allow me to elaborate.
Those people who came to our home and who were our friends during the darkest hour our family has ever faced were being true examples and followers of Christ! They were "willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that [stood] in need of comfort"! They weren't preaching some sort of sermon - they were simply living their religion. In all honesty, I believe that what they were doing epitomizes what most religions of the world today advocate: Brotherly love, charity, kindness. They were preaching the Gospel, and didn't need to use words.
The same can be said for those temple workers - Their kindness and happiness not only lifted my own spirit, but showed to me the conviction they had to their religion. This conviction has even more proved to me the fact that my beloved faith is not merely a 'Sunday church' - it is a wonderful way of life.
As I realized these truths, I then can't help but think back to my encounter with the man and his...um, interesting car. He very well could have thought those words that my heart murmured during the dark days of my despair: This kid doesn't even know what this feels like! He doesn't even know what to say or do! Just leave!
But he didn't.
Instead, he was gracious, and was willing to carry on a brief but polite and friendly conversation with me. Indeed, all of these wonderful people have been able to "preach with exceedingly great power and authority [even though they didn't use words of sermon-making or pulpit-pounding], unto the bringing down [a simple-minded, rather foolish young man] into the depths of humility". I'm nowhere near perfect - nor will I ever be in this life - yet I know that those people, all of them whom I have discussed, were unwittingly performing for me a service.
I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for these multiple experiences, and I pray that I can take the lessons I've learned and apply them to my daily life and habits. I also pray that some of the words that I've shared with you will be of benefit, and either help you to see the good you've brought into someone's life by truly living and preaching the truths you hold dear (without any words, either), or help to recognize that there are many chances in the future for you to do so.
In the words of the Savior:
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (KJV Matthew 5:16).
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.

Sam