Shenandoah

Yesterday was perhaps the first time we had a member of the Seventy attend ward conference. The fact that he lives in the ward and did not have any other assignments could be the reason. He spoke for about 10 minutes. He quoted the parable of the Lost Sheep. One concern about this parable is that the 90 and 9 have been left behind. What if THEY wander? What happens if you come back and only find 85 sheep left? All of these question and answered by knowing we are called to find the one. The Lord's job is to take care of the 99, and it is our job to find the one, and when ever we find the one, and minister to him, it will bless us.

President Monson quotes the movie Shenandoah, and say, "'If we don't try, then we don't do; and if we don't do, then why are we here?"

It is a powerful line, and since I have heard him say it about 10 times, I decieded to add the movie to my netflix queue.

I watched the movie and to be honest was perplexed by the the context of the quote. (Spoiler alert). So in the movie the main character, James Steward, tries to avoid the Civil War, but his youngest son gets imprisoned mistakingly as a confederate soilder. He leaves his oldest son to take care of the farm, and takes the rest of his family to go look for his youngest son.

While they are looking for the youngest son, is when that quote is mentioned. He must go look for his son, and they must try.

It is very similiar to Luke and the parables of leaving the 99, to go look for the one.

The sad part of the movie is when they get back to the farm, they find the oldest son and his family have been killed by wandering soldiers. That has really bothered me. Is it worth looking for the one, when the 99 in are obviously at risk? In this case, knowing the math, that by finding his youngest son, he would lose his oldest son, would he do it again? I have often thought it is not worth it.

Now I am not so sure, I wonder if perhaps you always need to find the one, because the only danger in this world is not temporal, there is also spirtual danger, and by leaving the 99 you must always save the one from the spiritual dangers.