Buckle in for Safety

When I was in Primary, we had a lesson on how the Holy Ghost is our constant companion, and that we should always have Him with is. Well apparently the lesson got through to me because it marked the beginning of my habit to buckle in the Holy Ghost whenever I was in the car.

Seat belt laws were kind of a new thing at the time. My mom had put up a sign in our gold station wagon (the “golden limo”) that pictured E.T. reminding us to buckle up for safety. Well, if E.T. was telling me I needed to be safe, then the same rule applied to the Holy Ghost. After all, we didn’t need the third member of the Godhead getting into a fatal automobile accident, did we? And so I would first buckle my own seatbelt, and then the one next to me where He was sitting.

Sometime in college I mentioned this strange phase to my mom, and her response was that she had wondered what I was doing. Apparently I did enough odd things that this particular routine didn’t merit any questioning. Although, I’m pretty sure I didn’t really believe the Holy Ghost needed a seatbelt. It was a kind of make believe, and I think the Holy Ghost operated similar to an invisible friend for a short while. He was supposed to be my constant companion, always with me, and so I devised this strange little plan to keep him safe.

I did eventually drop the habit (after all, a college roommate will really make fun of you for a thing like that), but I have to wonder whether or not I’ve maintained the same sense of awareness that I had then.

The prophet Joseph Smith wrote, “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth” (D&C 121:46). Short of turning Him into an invisible friend, I have to ask myself if I am ever aware of His presence. More accurately, am I ever aware of my environment and whether or not that environment acts as the “safety belt” that will keep Him with me. From the shows I watch, to the books I read, or the conversations I have, and even the thoughts I entertain – do these things create an environment where the Holy Ghost can be my constant companion?

D&C 84:46 states, “And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.” So the best way to always have the Spirit with us is to listen for and follow the promptings we receive. And if we are to receive this divine direction, then we ought to make sure our thoughts and actions are those that keep Him “buckled in” where we want Him. The best part is that while we’re trying, the Spirit will actually help us to do even better than we could on our own. That’s the kind of companion I want to keep around.

The Prodigal Son

I was thinking about the parable of the prodigal son today. I had a different perspective on that story in high school. You see, I saw myself as the good kid. I got good grades, went to church, didn’t sneak out in the middle of the night. Not that I was perfect, but darned close in my estimation. So when we studied the parable of the prodigal son in seminary, I have to admit I sided with the good kid who stuck around. The wayward son takes off, blows all his money, and comes back in dire straits; and I, along with the more obedient son, couldn’t help but wonder why dad was killing the fatted calf. The good son asks his father, “Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends,” and I’m thinking, “Yeah! What gives?!”

It reminded me of a time when report cards came home. Mom was happy with my brother’s “B” and “C” grades; I was all “A’s” with the exception of one class and Mom asked me what was going on with that “B.” WHAT?! Over time, the story taught me to appreciate the higher standard set for me in academia. Maybe not the best parallel, but it was what I learned at the teenage time.

But time and maturity (I hope) have taught me that I’m not the good kid in that story, at least not from every angle. Not even from most angles. I’m the prodigal. We all are in a way. The story is about repentance and what speaks to me is the father’s love and immediate willingness to accept the prodigal back into his home – symbolic of how eager our Father in Heaven is to have us back and how our return is worthy of killing the fatted calf. It merits a big party with the whole house in attendance.

I picture the father running towards the prodigal when he sees him and think our Father must do that too. When we make that first move toward repentance, or the initial thrust towards new conviction to change, He must see us “yet a great way off,” and come running. We’re not even to the door yet and he comes out to put his arms around us and take us the rest of the way in.