The Weekly Parable

So many things in life can pull us down. We all know what I’m talking about, so I’m not going to take the time and space to list the possibilities. That in itself can be discouraging.

Let’s talk instead about the countermeasures.

In the Parable of the Cable and the Harness, a group of young adults undergoes a ropes course and comes to a specific challenge consisting of moving hand-over-hand along a cable across an open space while hanging high above the ground. The first person across declines use of the proffered harness, and he fails to get all the way across—he’s instead dragged down by gravity! The second wisely opts to use the harness.

Over the last few years, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have emphasized how we can directly connect ourselves with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and enjoy their power in our lives. It’s through covenants, which we enter into through gospel ordinances.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught, “The covenants God offers to His children do more than guide us. They bind us to Him, and, bound to Him, we can overcome all things” (“Why the Covenant Path”).

Elder David A. Bednar, also of the Quorum of the Twelve, spoke of the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi’s dream of the tree of life and of the iron rod that led to it. Some people let go of the rod before reaching the tree; others employed a white-knuckled grip on the rod but later turned away from the tree; finally, those who consistently but firmly held onto the rod later remained at the tree in spite of opposition and mockery.

“Entering into sacred covenants and worthily receiving priesthood ordinances yoke us with and bind us to the Lord Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father,” said Elder Bednar. “Living and loving covenant commitments creates a connection with the Lord that is deeply personal and spiritually powerful. As we honor the conditions of sacred covenants and ordinances, we gradually and incrementally are drawn closer to Him and experience the impact of His divinity and living reality in our lives” (“But We Heeded Them Not”).

The yoke is one image that evokes a close partnership and connection with Christ. I love that image, particularly because I know that if I’m pulling with Christ, then no load is too great for me. I have access to His infinite strength.

In my parable, Jesus is the cable—firmly bridging the chasm that we have to cross in order to live with Heavenly Father once more. It’s up to us to choose to just as firmly fasten ourselves to him instead of relying on our own strength and stamina in life. Because of ordinances and covenants, the downward pull of life’s challenges can have much less influence on us. We still must move forward of our own agency, but like the young woman in the harness, we can safely hang ourselves upon our Savior as we do.

If I yoke myself—if I enter into a fixed connection—with Jesus Christ, and I never undo that clasp, I cannot fail to overcome.

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^{Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com}

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