I groggily
reached around looking for my favorite doll, Starla. Mom had given her to me
for my eighth birthday a few months before. I also grabbed my yellow blanket
and stumbled to the truck along with my sleep walking brothers and sister. We
were all confused and carrying our most important treasures.
Dad threw
sleeping bags in the back of the truck, along with his backpack. Mom was
dressed and comforting my little brother who was too young to understand what
was going on. We all piled into the
vehicle and dad drove us to the wilderness, where we pulled over under a starry
sky with few clouds. The wilderness wasn’t very far away in our small town of
Grand Junction, Colorado, but it seemed far away from everything and everyone I
knew.
Once we
arrived at our destitute destination, we piled into the sleeping bags in the
back of the truck around my mom. Confused, we watched as my dad opened his
backpack and revealed a lantern and a Book of Mormon. He definitely had our
attention. He turned to 1 Nephi chapter 2 and began to read: “… the Lord spake
unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and… commanded my father… that he should
take his family and depart into the wilderness. And it came to pass that he was
obedient unto the word of the Lord….”
I knew the
story well. I was raised hearing the story of Nephi and his family fleeing into
the wilderness. But this was different. For the first time, I knew what it felt
like to leave my home, and all the comforts it provided. When dad reached verse
4, he asked us if we had bought our favorite things? I hugged Starla tight,
snuggled into my yellow blanket and felt I had chosen wisely. Then dad
explained that the most important things we could have were our family,
provisions and the word of God. Dad had remembered the Book of Mormon. Mom
gathered us around her and spoke softly about how precious we all were.
I have lost
my yellow blanket. Starla now belongs to my daughter. But I have the most
important things I need in this wilderness called life: my family, provisions,
my scriptures, and a testimony of Jesus Christ. I really don’t need gold,
silver, and precious things. I already have everything!
At least
that’s the way I remember it.
