One Direction

 

As an alumna of BYU I'm more loyal to BYU Speeches than I am to Cougar football. (Even if Bronco Mendenhall does Bikram yoga.) I bleed blue for Tuesday devotionals and read the archives on my phone every chance I get. One of my all-time faves is "Remember Lot's Wife: Faith Is for the Future" given in January 2009. The economy was tanking, my back was aching, and there were several circumstances making the future seem iffy at best. It was the right time for me to hear such a speech.

Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt after she looked back at burning and brimstoning Sodom and Gomorrah. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said she wasn't punished just for looking back, she was punished for looking back longingly. "Her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That, apparently, was at least part of her sin."

I'm as guilty as anyone at looking back with longing. I used to be young. I used to weigh less. I used to have thicker hair. I used to make money. I used to run. Okay, I never ran, I just wanted to see what it would feel like to say I did. Why do I do this? Why do I look back when the remainder of my life is waiting to be snatched and smiled at in the opposite direction?

It's good to look back if you are doing so with gratitude. My mom was good with holidays. My high school teachers were awesome people. I love how and where I grew up.

It's good to look back to learn from mistakes. Nine croissants in one day is too many. Don't buy the group gift unless you like hounding people for money. Be real if you want real friends.

It's good to look back if you need help with your future. I'm one of several dozen mid-Missouri ninth graders who had Mr. Sargeant for history and I know we all remember his favorite Harry Truman quote: "The only new thing in the world is the history you don't know." I love the scriptures; the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price. They are loaded with history which means they are loaded with answers. I've never had a question the scriptures couldn't answer. All of my problems have already been someone else's problems. How to lead, how to treat family, how to handle prickly people, what to do with my talents, where to find my self-esteem, what to do when I don't know what to do, how to be happy...all hiding in the good books.

It's still better to look ahead. Since I can only look one direction at a time shouldn't the bulk of my focus be forward? (Or, since it's Pioneer Day, onward?) One of my three favorite descriptions of the Savior in the scriptures is "the high priest of good things to come".* If I face forward I can see what's coming. If I face the Savior good things are always coming. If my life could talk I bet it would say, "Melissa, turn around and get over here. Bring your baggage and your band-aids because there's plenty of room for them in my green pastures. Now show me those pretty teeth and smile!"

Link to the speech and the best website ever for rearranging your stance. Kate Spade gold arrow paperclip courtesy of Bryton Morse, who is fashionable from the tip of her head to the bottom of her office supplies.

*Hebrews 9:11 (KJV Bible). The other two are "a tried stone", found in Isaiah 28:16, and "dayspring", found in Malachi 4:2.