Who shall be our guide?

I remember some of the most memorable experiences from my childhood were those times my father led us boys on an adventure. We went off to some undeveloped place, a wilderness of sorts, and headed out to see what there was to see. Dad seemed to find places that felt to a young boy as if they were unexplored. The tails we followed looked to be forged by wild game or were dry river beds. Although the hikes weren't much more than a day trip, they were really fun.

I think about our little treks into the wilderness and realize how little they truly were when compared to the epic adventures on which the pioneers and ancient Israelites embarked. In a fashion, like my brothers and I following my father on these grand adventures into the unknown, the Israelites followed Moses into lands they had never been.

Imagine that you're about to head out on such an adventure into a wilderness where you have never been and that has not been mapped. What would you do to prepare for this journey? I think that among provisions and gear one of the more important things would be to have a good guide. You know someone who had been there before and knew of the pitfalls the journey would present. This guide would also have to be someone who would put the best interest of the company ahead of everything. His chief concern should be the welfare of those whom he guides.

When Moses and the children of Israel entered into the wilderness, their guide was our Lord. No better guide could be had and no guide would consider the welfare of their caravan any higher. The experiences the Israelites had while they took their journey through the wilderness can teach us important lessons as we journey through mortality. One of these lessons is that we can trust God to guide and care for us as He did the Israelites.

Our lives are full of choices, places where the path of life seems to split. It is times like these that we realize how much we need the help of someone who knows the better way. How can we be sure to remember Him and learn to lean on His arm?