On Monday morning, I went jogging with a few ladies from my ward. We met at the head of a trail and stretched and chatted. They asked how far everyone was going. Most were going the entire 8 mile loop. I think at the sound of 8 miles, my heart involuntarily stopped as a preemptive measure. One of the ladies, Jen, was only going on a short run (4 or so miles) because she had to go home early. I decided I would turn back with her. Well, we started out and things went pretty well. I'm not sure how far I went, but eventually the 3 hours of sleep I had the night before began to catch up with me. In addition, Jen and most of the others had gone ahead. I told Susie (who was bringing up the rear) I had reached my limit and was going to turn back. She continued on and I turned back. It was a nice walk through the woods. Beautiful, with the sun rising through the trees and with the periodic glimpses of the lake. After a few minutes, I came to the fork in the trail that I remembered passing on the way. I thought that we had come in one direction, but the intersection was oddly shaped and I wasn't sure. There were trail signs on the tree, but I had no idea which trail we were on and which one led back to our cars. I made my best guess, hoping Jen would come quickly on her way back. After a half hour of walking, and still no sign of Jen or the cars, I began to think that maybe I had taken the wrong trail. It sure would have been nice to have known the name of the trail or been with someone who did. Well, this story didn't turn out as horribly as it could have. I was, in fact, on the wrong trail, but the only consequence was that it took me at least twice as long to get back to my car, by which time Jen was long gone. As I was walking, it gave me time to think. I was thinking about how wonderful it is that we have prophets and we have the scriptures. As we are going along, Heavenly Father has given us parents and mentors, church leaders and prophets who walk with us and show us which forks to take in order to stay on the right trail. And, if we're observant and listen, and ask the right questions, when we are alone we will be able to use the trail markers to make sure we don't get off course. Like the iron rod in Lehi's vision, the scriptures keep us on track and help us to know which path we ought to be on and which forks we should take. It's also nice to know that if we do get off course, there's always repentance. And, the sooner we turn back, the less time it will take to get back to the trail head.
