Life is Like the Rio Grande Religious Expressions

In the summer of nineteen ninety two I went on an amazing adventure to New Mexico with my scout troop . We had all sorts of adventures and perils . I climbed a mountain visited the beautiful pure white sand beaches . When inside a bat cave . Camped out with the wild animals and had a raccoon still some of our food . And to see that raccoon up close and personal was quiet amazing . Another thing that we did is that we visited the Rio Grande river . The border between New Mexico and Mexico . In that river . I decided to swim across . So that I could stand on Mexican soil . After I made it across the river . It wasn't long until I was ready to return to America . As I swam the current was very strong . And completely unexpectedly and suddenly . I lost my strength I didn't have the ability to swim and fight the current but instead began to be carried away in the current . I was moving so fast that I was quickly far away from my group . I call for help . In the scout leaders were trying to get me . But I was moving so quickly that it seemed that there was no hope they would be able to get me and I wondered if this would be my last day on the earth . I had a tiny but urgent suggestion . That came to me at that time . I thought was . Put your foot down put your foot down right now . I put my foot down . At that precise moment . My foot landed . On a tiny plot of ground . That was . So high . That was able to stand almost waist high on this platform . In this huge river with its strong current . I rejoiced inside . Because I was standing on solid ground . And could no longer be carried away . By this powerful current . My scout master eventually was able to reach me . And swimming back to safety . Modern life . Is actually . A little bit like swimming in the Rio Grande river . A great man once said . That . We can handle . Poverty . And trials and afflictions . And stay faithful to our God . But something . That we can not handle very well . Is affluence and wealth . And riches and abundance . Of course another great man said if riches is an affliction. Then . Please God afflict me with that affliction . But why would abundance and affluence . Be a curse and an affliction. Why would it be that way . Actually . When we have ready access . To anything that is pleasureful to us . Our brains convince us . That we need more and more and more of it . In fact our brains seem to be programmed . To tell us or convince us . That if we don't get more and more of these . Comforts and pleasures in our life . That . It's actually going to affect our ability to survive . And so it causes within us . These deep . And powerful urges . And over desire . For that which we really don't need . It causes us to do things . And we don't even really know why we're doing it . It causes us to . Have a lack of discipline . To go against some decisions that we've made for ourselves . In fact . We're swimming in the river of life . And the current is stronger than we realized . And we lose our strength and unexpectedly . With lose our will power . And then we get carried away . And can't seem to find a way for help . There's an amazing prophetic . Document . Called The Family a Proclamation to the World put out by the prophets and apostles in 1995 when Gordon B. Hinckley was the prophet . This inspired document . Describes . The currents . Of our modern day . And it also explains what happens to society . When . We fail to resist these currents and instead get carried away . When we put our foot down . On to solid ground . We are in reality . Coming to our Savior, Jesus Christ . To save us . Bonnie Oscarson a few years ago said . The Family a Proclamation to the World . Which at the time was about twenty years old . Is just as relevant today . As it was back then . She said . That it has become a standard for her to use discern. All the things that come from the wiles of the world . So that she can understand . What way is the right and what way is wrong ....