However, now we live just a short drive to the Alps. From the hill above our house you can see the Alps in the distance in all their majestic glory. And, as a result of this proximity, I am blessed with the regular opportunity to hike some of the prettiest places on earth.
One of my favorite hikes in the German Alps is Hohe Kisten which sits at 1922 meters (6306 feet) above sea level and is a 1300 meter (4265 feet) vertical from the base. Shortly after moving to Bavaria a few friends introduced me to this majestic mountain, and, as always when I hike the Alps, I was blown away by the continual beauty each step of the way.
As we climbed towards our 1900+ meter goal, the views just kept getting increasingly better. I kept pausing to look around, take pictures, and marvel at how much prettier the view was than when I stopped and took pictures ten minutes ago.
My seasoned companions kept pushing on, probably shaking their heads at this novice flatlander from Berlin, knowing that what we were currently seeing was nothing compared to what we would see at the top.
A couple hours into our hike, we entered a valley that is arguably one of the prettiest places in the world. It’s certainly one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. We were in a high, sloping meadow ringed by trees and scattered with wildflowers. A small waterfall on the left supplied a babbling creek running through the center of the meadow. There were a couple farmers’ huts and picnic tables and, most notable, our first look at our formidable goal--Hohe Kisten--towering over us with lingering snow on its slopes. It was here that we stopped and ate lunch and just took in the views.
After a good rest and feeling energized from our lunch break, we continued on to what was the hardest (and potentially least enjoyable) part. The views remained beautiful but the hike got severely steeper and the ground increasingly unfriendly and littered with loose rocks and boulders. Our beautiful valley melted away below us as we huffed and puffed upwards, wondering how much further our goal was.
We continued onwards because, as tough as the hike was getting, we knew the goal would be even better and completely worth every effort.
Eventually, after climbing a strenuous 1300 meters vertically in 8.5 kilometers, we summited Hohe Kisten and were rewarded with incredible views of layers and layers of the Austrian alps in one direction and the vast Oberbayern valley below in the other. In reflecting on the beauty of this blessing, the words of James come to mind, “Behold, we count them happy which endure.” (James 5:11)
Nevertheless, the hike was quite demanding. While it did not require any special technical climbing skills, it did require a certain level of physical and mental fortitude. That said, I enjoyed each phase of the journey and appreciated the increasing levels of beauty and nature that the Lord created.
I said earlier that I kept pausing and appreciating the views as they became increasingly spectacular the higher we climbed. If my goal was to get out and see the wonders the Lord has created, I may have been justified in turning back at any point, feeling that I had accomplished my goal to some degree.
But my goal wasn’t just to get out and appreciate nature at some level. My goal was to experience and appreciate a much higher and more spectacular level of the Lord’s creations only attainable through great personal effort. If I had turned around at any point and thought “this is good enough,” I would not have experienced the next level of beauty and would not have reached the ultimate goal.1
Through great physical and mental effort, we did reach the ultimate goal and were rewarded with the absolute best experience.
In our journey through life, we might have the tendency to say “why do I need Jesus? I’m happy right now.” Or “why do I need to be baptized? My faith in Jesus is fine.” For many of us that have already made covenants with God, we might be tempted, as Elder Neal A. Maxwell once described, to begin “skimming over the surface instead of deepening [our] discipleship” becoming “casually engaged rather than “anxiously engaged” (D&C 58:27),”2 and thinking “why do I need to take time to read the scriptures or pray today--things are going well enough.”
On the other hand, we may stop and consider turning back because the next steps are difficult or don’t immediately lead to happiness or we can no longer see the end goal and we only remember how pretty the pathway was earlier.
Each of these attitudes are dangerous and damning. We must first know that “there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation” (D&C 6:13) and then understand that effort is required. Remember Nephi’s words? “After ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay . . . ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ . . . and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” (2 Nephi 31:19-20)
And, just as I had companions every step of the way of our hike, so do each of us as we journey back to our Father in Heaven.
Now, some of you may be picking at the hole in my analogy that perhaps the views from a mountaintop are not a desirable goal for everyone. For some of you, the idea of using a beautiful Saturday to walk eight kilometers straight up a mountain just to turn around and walk back down again and drive home sounds more like “the effect of a frenzied mind” (Alma 30:16). I appreciate that sentiment.
The major difference with this analogy is that the blessings the Lord wants to give us--i.e. exaltation--are, in fact, the highest and best blessings for everyone. Full stop.
Brothers and sisters, today I invite each of us to reflect on where we are on the covenant path. Are we putting in the effort and “press[ing] [our] way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron,” ready to partake of the fruit and the love of God which will fill our souls “with exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:12, 30), even eternal life and exaltation with our families?
Or are we pausing for too long, content with where we are short-term, unwilling to put in more effort, focusing only on that which will bring us immediate gratification, perhaps even going back, “to [our] own place, to enjoy that which [we] are willing to receive, because [we] were not willing to enjoy that which [we] might have received”? (D&C 88:32)
As true disciples of Christ let us always be diligent, as Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught, in the “seemingly small things that sustain and strengthen [our] testimony of Jesus, such as prayer, study of the scriptures, Sabbath observance, partaking of the sacrament, repentance, ministering, and worship in the house of the Lord” as we climb the covenant path to our Father in Heaven.3
Jeremy
Footnotes
1. I am not saying that we need to push on through life without pausing to appreciate where we are and how far we have come. There is something to be said about stopping to smell the roses, even literally. What’s important is our focus throughout the journey. Are we appreciating the progression we are making, the blessings we have received, and that our journey is taking us to the greatest blessing God can give us--eternal life and exaltation with our families?
2. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “Settle this in Your Hearts,” General Conference, October 1992
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