I remember an experience when I was about Seventeen years old. I was at a young men's camp out we called Camp Heleman, named after a Prophet in The Book of Mormon. We did many activities at this camp but there is one that stands out to me at this time above the rest. I lived in Nevada and we were out in the mountain deserts of northern Nevada pretty far away from any civilization. One day for the camp activity we went on a hike. In this hike all of us boys lined up and the leaders gave each of us a Potato Sack that we would have to carry as we walked along. They let us go off one at a time, waiting a few minutes for the next person to go.
My turn to begin finally came. I started walking down the dusty trail with my sack in hand. There was stations set up all along the path and they would put a little bit of dirt in the sack each time and tell you something that you did wrong, like disobey your parents. The sack was getting heavier and I began to hike up a trail towards the top of the mountain nearby. Sure of myself and my own strength I was determined to get to the top alone without anyones help, after all I didn't want to look like a wimp. Suddenly out of nowhere a violent rainstorm broke out and I was soaking wet trying to to climb the mountain to the top through all of the mud. My back was throbbing with pain from the weight of the sack and all of the dirt and mud inside.
I had one more station before the top and I could see the end was in sight and I had almost accomplished my goal. The man at the station began to dump shovels full of mud into the sack until it was overflowing. Unflinching, yet foolishly not knowing what I was up against I threw the sack over my shoulder and attempted to complete the last few hundred feet to the top. I made it a few steps and then slipped in the mud and the weight of the sack came crashing down onto my body. Hopeless of any possibility to reach the top now and embarrassed I didn't know what to do as I was laying in the mud with the rain pouring around me. My Bishop in the church came over and helped get up out of the mud. He helped me pick up the sack and then we together carried it to the top of the mountain. As we were walking up the mountain he whispered in my ear something that I will never forget "sometimes we need help from others in this life." We reached the top and when I reached the top their was a large banner of The Savior Jesus Christ with a mound of dirt dumped out at his feet. I made my way over there and also dumped out the sack full of dirt, representing my sins at his feet.
We wept and bore testimony of The Savior Jesus Christ on top of that mountain. The lesson I learned this day, however; is that we cannot do this alone and we need help from people around us to get back to our Father in Heaven. I have learned this lesson time and time again throughout my life. Let us all try to be humble and willing to accept help from our neighbors and our Savior Jesus Christ. Let us also look for opportunities to be those hands that can help lift others. Watch the video below, that shows a similar experience of having to be humbled.
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