DON’T GET INK ON YOUR SOUL
by
Randy C. Watts (480) 343-3868
It was a sunny day in Aviles, with the distinct flavor of Spain in the air. I was 19 years old, and serving a religious mission for my church. For the last week my companion and I had ventured out of the city and into a country neighborhood where there were actually doors we had not yet knocked on. We were in search of a needful soul willing to listen to our gospel message. Each day, as we entered this newly-found neighborhood, we were greeted with the most unusual sight; see, there was a house with a monkey in the front yard. It was tethered on a very long leash that was chained to a post. Now, I am not an expert on the subject of monkeys, but I’d say that this one was a chimpanzee.
It wasn’t exactly a gorilla, but it was way bigger than one of those little spider monkeys that the organ grinders use for the purpose of hopping around the audience, collecting coins from the curious onlookers. We knocked on the door of that monkey's house many times, but we never found anyone but the ape, at home. Oh, and you can be assured that each time we knocked there, we gave that little guy in the front yard a wide berth. It's not that it looked scary. Actually, the chimp would jump up and down and look as though he or she wanted to play with us every time we passed by. It was so tempting to go pet it, but I just got this feeling that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea.
It was our last day to work in that area, and we tried one last time to contact our “Monkey People" (as we affectionately called them). We knocked and they answered. Unfortunately, they didn’t want anything to do with the message that we had, and promptly closed the door. As we walked by, the monkey extended its hand to me as if to say, “Hey, I’m sorry they didn’t let you in, but if you come over here and play with me, they’ll come running out and beg you throw them into the waters of baptism."
If this wasn’t the cutest darned thing! I walked over to it and knelt down and extended my hand. It was like shaking hands with a little hairy person. How could I have been the least bit hesitant? I felt like I had made an instant friend. That’s when he reached over to my shirt pocket and pulled out my gold-plated ballpoint pen. The pen, by the way, was one that I had carried with me my whole mission. It was just darling the way he turned the pen end-over-end, examining it just as an archeologist would inspect an ancient scroll. When it was time for us to head back home, I reached over to take my pen back, and that’s when this gentle little creature turned into the Son of King Kong! He pulled the pen out of my reach and leaped forward at me, showing me that his teeth were anything but cute ... or human! My companion and I watched in horror as the ape started bending my favorite pen back and forth, finally snapping it into two pieces. The ink began to flow onto its hand and fingernails. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he then proceeded to put both pieces into his mouth! My defensive instincts took over and I went to stop it from totally devouring it, when I got lunged at again! I was once again given a spectacular view of its front set of choppers, only this time they were bright blue. Not only did he show me his blue mouth, he let me experience it in spectacular "3-D" by spitting it all over my white shirt.
My companion and I briefly thought about the situation, and then we did what any missionary companionship would do under these circumstances ... we ran!
When we arrived to the saf
ety of our apartment, I started thinking how much happier I would have been if I had just gone with my instincts and left Mr. Kong alone.
How many times in life do we place ourselves in situations that leave us vulnerable to temptation? Isn’t it funny how we sometimes get the feeling that what we are doing is wrong, yet it seems so perfectly harmless that we continue doing it anyway?
As we travel on the roads throughout our journey of life, one of the most precious tools we can utilize is the gift of discernment. Heavenly Father gave us this "Light of Christ” as a kind of "better-not-to" gauge.
"And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.” (Doctrine and Covenants 84: 45-46)
Despite my many efforts, I was unable to get the ink out of my shirt. It was ruined forever, and went right into the trash that night. Fortunately for us, when we slip up and get ink on our souls, we can do something about it. Heavenly Father has provided us with an amazing stain remover made specifically for cleansing soiled souls. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can renew the cleanliness of our souls through the process of repentance. Heavenly Father knew that we would be unable to reside here on the earth without sinning, so he provided a way for us to realize our errors and gain his forgiveness, thus cleansing our souls so that we may enter into the gates of His kingdom.
Everyone here on the earth comes across “monkeys" that may look appealing. The best way to avoid these temptations is to walk away from them. Do not stop long enough to let them find your weaknesses and take away your dearest possessions.
Just as I could have avoided getting ink on my shirt, we can all avoid getting too close to situations that may get ink on our souls.
by
Randy C. Watts (480) 343-3868
It was a sunny day in Aviles, with the distinct flavor of Spain in the air. I was 19 years old, and serving a religious mission for my church. For the last week my companion and I had ventured out of the city and into a country neighborhood where there were actually doors we had not yet knocked on. We were in search of a needful soul willing to listen to our gospel message. Each day, as we entered this newly-found neighborhood, we were greeted with the most unusual sight; see, there was a house with a monkey in the front yard. It was tethered on a very long leash that was chained to a post. Now, I am not an expert on the subject of monkeys, but I’d say that this one was a chimpanzee.
It wasn’t exactly a gorilla, but it was way bigger than one of those little spider monkeys that the organ grinders use for the purpose of hopping around the audience, collecting coins from the curious onlookers. We knocked on the door of that monkey's house many times, but we never found anyone but the ape, at home. Oh, and you can be assured that each time we knocked there, we gave that little guy in the front yard a wide berth. It's not that it looked scary. Actually, the chimp would jump up and down and look as though he or she wanted to play with us every time we passed by. It was so tempting to go pet it, but I just got this feeling that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea.
It was our last day to work in that area, and we tried one last time to contact our “Monkey People" (as we affectionately called them). We knocked and they answered. Unfortunately, they didn’t want anything to do with the message that we had, and promptly closed the door. As we walked by, the monkey extended its hand to me as if to say, “Hey, I’m sorry they didn’t let you in, but if you come over here and play with me, they’ll come running out and beg you throw them into the waters of baptism."
If this wasn’t the cutest darned thing! I walked over to it and knelt down and extended my hand. It was like shaking hands with a little hairy person. How could I have been the least bit hesitant? I felt like I had made an instant friend. That’s when he reached over to my shirt pocket and pulled out my gold-plated ballpoint pen. The pen, by the way, was one that I had carried with me my whole mission. It was just darling the way he turned the pen end-over-end, examining it just as an archeologist would inspect an ancient scroll. When it was time for us to head back home, I reached over to take my pen back, and that’s when this gentle little creature turned into the Son of King Kong! He pulled the pen out of my reach and leaped forward at me, showing me that his teeth were anything but cute ... or human! My companion and I watched in horror as the ape started bending my favorite pen back and forth, finally snapping it into two pieces. The ink began to flow onto its hand and fingernails. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he then proceeded to put both pieces into his mouth! My defensive instincts took over and I went to stop it from totally devouring it, when I got lunged at again! I was once again given a spectacular view of its front set of choppers, only this time they were bright blue. Not only did he show me his blue mouth, he let me experience it in spectacular "3-D" by spitting it all over my white shirt.
My companion and I briefly thought about the situation, and then we did what any missionary companionship would do under these circumstances ... we ran!
When we arrived to the saf
ety of our apartment, I started thinking how much happier I would have been if I had just gone with my instincts and left Mr. Kong alone.How many times in life do we place ourselves in situations that leave us vulnerable to temptation? Isn’t it funny how we sometimes get the feeling that what we are doing is wrong, yet it seems so perfectly harmless that we continue doing it anyway?
As we travel on the roads throughout our journey of life, one of the most precious tools we can utilize is the gift of discernment. Heavenly Father gave us this "Light of Christ” as a kind of "better-not-to" gauge.
"And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.” (Doctrine and Covenants 84: 45-46)
Despite my many efforts, I was unable to get the ink out of my shirt. It was ruined forever, and went right into the trash that night. Fortunately for us, when we slip up and get ink on our souls, we can do something about it. Heavenly Father has provided us with an amazing stain remover made specifically for cleansing soiled souls. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can renew the cleanliness of our souls through the process of repentance. Heavenly Father knew that we would be unable to reside here on the earth without sinning, so he provided a way for us to realize our errors and gain his forgiveness, thus cleansing our souls so that we may enter into the gates of His kingdom.
Everyone here on the earth comes across “monkeys" that may look appealing. The best way to avoid these temptations is to walk away from them. Do not stop long enough to let them find your weaknesses and take away your dearest possessions.
Just as I could have avoided getting ink on my shirt, we can all avoid getting too close to situations that may get ink on our souls.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThat story reminds me of the good old times on the mission. Great story
ReplyDeleteHey that was a really great story. I have never heard it before. You are (and will always remain) the most interesting man I have ever met in my life. It works out pretty well that you happen to be my father. I would love to read into a philosophical side of you. Perhaps something about money and its absurdity in the big picture. I like hearing you talk about matters like that, but when we write about things like this its amazing how much deeper we can delve into our already formed opinions. Perhaps its something about seeing all of our thoughts on one matter accumulated on the same page that inspires brand new insight on the matter.
ReplyDeleteI love you.
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