2011-02-13 Matis Fireside

I was really, really, really excited about the Matis fireside in February.  Why so excited you ask?  That answer is simple: I get to see my good friends from Idaho Falls.  How I love these guys! It was so good to see them and visit with them for a little while Sunday evening.  The fireside itself was inspiring for me.  The topic seemed simple and basic and I often think those are the types of things we need to hear more of.

Sister Fuller related a story of her as a child when her family lived up one of Utah's canyons.  She was afraid of the things in the shadows as many of us sometimes are.  I don't recall who taught her this lesson but she shared the statement with us that was shared with her many years ago: there is nothing in the dark that is not there in the light, it's just darker.  This meant a lot to me.  Why do we let ourselves be so afraid of certain things.  Just as everything around her home in that canyon had light shed on it at some point every day, so she was fully aware of her surroundings, so is this earthly experience of ours.  Things in our life may not be illuminated in the same way as the sun does on a daily basis but we have the great blessing of have The Son illuminate our path for us as often as we seek him to do.  I really appreciated her sharing that story and providing me the opportunity to reflect on this idea.  She talked briefly about farming, something which I feel I have a good understanding about and a great appreciation for.  She stated the fact that when you're plowing a field, you have to look forward in order to plow a straight line in the field.  You can look back and see where the line wasn't straight and learn from that but if you want to plow a straight line in the field, you must always look forward, not backward.

Brother Fuller than instructed us on the importance of living this life with Christ and with the gospel.  He reminded us that mortality isn't all about pain and suffering.  Christ suffered for us so that we may have happiness.  Yes, sometimes it's important for us to suffer to be humble but we should use the atonement as an enabling and strengthening power.  He described the gospel as a resource for working through pain rather than insurance against pain.  The gospel certainly will not keep us from pain and suffering but rather with the gospel, if we allow it, we can more easily work through life's trials and tribulations.

It's always such a great pleasure to see and visit with such dear friends as I was able to visit with the evening of this fireside but the speakers added so much to the evening through their humility, strong testimonies, and willingness to teach.  What a great evening.