Alma 46:8-9

"Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.
Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men."
Alma 46:8-9


Not a very lighthearted scripture today, I’m afraid.  I guess I was thinking about my lesson today... "Valiant in the Cause of Christ" and thinking more about why we need to be valiant, and not very much of examples of being valiant. :)  The chapter this scripture is taken from talks about how one man, because he wants to be king... inspires huge amounts of people to join him, and starts his own little civil war among the Nephites.  In later chapters he joins the Lamanites, becomes their king, and starts a series of very bloody battles with the Nephites, because he can't let go of his power trip.  Hopefully none of us are where he is, disregarding human life for self-promotion.  However... we all have to be careful of who we are becoming... what we desire... how we are managing our priorities.  We *are* quick to forget sometimes... quick to jump to the wrong conclusions... quick to make the wrong choices.  And when we see ourselves going in the wrong direction, we have to get turned around just as fast.  We drive the wrong way down a one-way street... and yeah, it might be a good thrill... but if you stop and think about it, it can only lead to one thing... a crash.  We can't drive the wrong way every day and think that we're going to be fine.  And even scarier are the people that we take down with us.  Just like making unwise decisions on the road can lead to the destruction of not only yourself, but many other drivers or pedestrians.... our spiritual choices have serious consequences as well.  We are in each other's lives for a reason... and a good reason, at that. :)  When we start encouraging others to join us in our mistakes, it's like piling them into a couple of cars who are going to drag race the wrong way on a one-way road.  Not pretty, and much harder to avoid if you are driving correctly.  We can try and convince ourselves for hours and days that our choices only affect ourselves... but they don't.  We are interconnected.  Just as we have a responsibility as brothers and sisters and neighbors to lift each other up... we also have a responsibility to try not to destroy one another.  Everything you do, no matter how small, affects the group.  If I do something wrong today, that could affect what I write in the Scripture of the Day... it will affect what I teach in my Relief Society lesson... it will affect my interactions with other people.  If someone loses their cool at work, they could go home and yell at the family... and not even realize that it was because of things that happen at work.  Don't ever try and believe that what you do doesn't affect anyone else.  It does.  Every time.
But also... don't beat yourself up for past mistakes.  Christ is there for each of us... you, the people in your car, the people you were drag racing with... the family in the car that was going the right way.  God can pick up the pieces and make it okay.  It isn't always easy... but as long as you aren't driving the wrong way anymore... you can overcome it, and so can the people your mistakes touched.  Besides affecting people badly, one person, being good instead of bad, can have an incredible positive impact on the lives of other people.  Maybe we'll get 30 or 40 people and take the carpool lane. :)  Maybe we'll all drive to our favorite camping spot... there are so many things we can do rather than driving the wrong way.  So many good places to go.  You have a powerful influence in this life.  Use it to do good... go someplace fun.  No more crashes. :)