The Sidewalk

The Sidewalk

800 East St., Dixie State University,
St. George, Utah, December  2009
Photo by Mori Kessler

Sidewalks and marked paths are put in place for our safety. Aside from the occasional bicycle or skateboard, you usually don’t have to worry about being run over. When you choose to leave the sidewalk and walk out in the street however, you could be talking life into your own hands. While a street may look vacant of traffic, you can never tell who may come tearing around the corner too fast, or may not be able to see you in time.

Wandering off a marked path, particularly when travelling through a wilderness area, can pose its own risks from stumbling across and getting bitten or stung by startled wildlife to getting outright lost.

The gospel is sometimes compared to a path. Indeed, one of the better known paths is that from Lehi’s dream of theTree of Life found in The Book of Mormon. The path itself is marked by the Iron Rod, which is interpreted as being “the word of God.”

As long as we stay on the marked path – the sidewalk – and choose not to walk out into the streets of temptation we’ll be able to make it home safely.

Resources:

•  1 Nephi 1:8 – Lehi’s dream 
• Two-minute YouTube video of Lehi's dream
• 1 Nephi 1:15 – Lehi’s dream interpreted

Related:

• TheParable of the Spider King: A Tale of the Iron Road – Lehi’s dream served as the underline inspiration for the world of the Iron Road and its denizens.