Kevin pressed his foot on the accelerator, and his new Camaro took off, just a blur of red on the open road. His girlfriend laughed in the passenger seat next to him, her mouth open in an amazed smile, and Kevin grinned back. The Camaro shot down the highway in the early morning. Everything was right—the car; the woman next to him; the empty highway; the clear, pale sky of the new day.
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Helena couldn’t contain her excitement at the opportunity that had just been granted her, and she let out a whoop right there in her office. The government of a nation halfway across the world had selected her archaeological team to excavate what they thought were some ancient ruins outside one of their cities. A farmer had been preparing a field for planting after flooding earlier in the year had washed some of the soil away. He had plowed into a large stone. On closer inspection, he found it to be a hewn block.
By David Armstrong
In the twenty-five years Aaron had lived in his suburban home in a small town of northern Utah, he had paid no attention to the birds that occasionally fluttered in and around his yard. During a trip to visit a cousin in Michigan, Aaron noticed the three large bird feeders near the rear deck of the cousin’s house. Beautiful red and blue birds flocked to the feeders, putting on a brilliant display of color and variety.
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Have you ever ended up where you wanted to be by accident?
I’m not speaking of serendipity that just brought good things into your life, but rather about having a goal and inadvertently reaching it. Or having a destination and arriving there without knowing the possible routes.
Jesus told His apostles, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
He instructed the rich young man, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21).
We cannot pick up Jesus’s cross nor follow Him without meaning to. We will not gain entrance to the Father’s presence by happenstance or coincidence. Joy D. Jones, former Primary General President in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pointed out: “Accidental conversion is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Becoming like our Savior will not happen randomly” (“Essential Conversations”).
We can’t take the attitude of Victor in the Parable of the School Counselor. Victor had a long-term desire for his life, but when it came down to it, he had no specific goals or plans, nor was he proactively taking any action to land himself where he wanted.
Mr. Reading’s question can apply to us all: “What are you doing right now that will get you there?”
Further, the questions he put to Victor about things he needed to learn represent the questions we could ask ourselves. “What do I know about the ordinances and covenants I need to enter into? What do I know about exercising faith, hope, and charity? Or virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, humility, or diligence? Loving and serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength and an eye single to His glory? Do I know how to love and treat others the way Christ does and would? Have I developed a love for truth and righteousness? What about repenting and becoming clean through the Savior’s Atonement?”
These questions could be thought of as part of our repentance, or they could be part of repeated self-evaluation not specifically tied to seeking forgiveness for a sin. Either way, we can deliberately and intentionally become more like Christ and walk His path.
What blessings have you seen come into your life by purposefully (rather than coincidentally or conveniently) walking the path back to Heavenly Father?
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By Christine Stuart
Jason started his drive to California with excitement brimming inside him. This was the culmination of months of planning and preparation. He believed that dreams were a way that the higher powers in the cosmos communicated with people. So when he had a vivid dream two years ago about meeting a woman and getting married, he believed that was what the cosmos had in store for him. He set a goal to be prepared to find his soulmate and get married by a certain date. That goal was now only three days away.
The Weekly Parable 