We are a beach-loving family. I don’t recall a summer when we haven’t managed to spend some time in the sand, staring at the waves, playing in the surf, etc. This summer was no exception. We spent some time in Oceanside, CA. (One of the perks of living in Arizona is that we are only 6 hours away from the best So-Cal beaches, without having to live in So-Cal.)
This is a brief recounting of an experience I had that needs to be preserved – not because it is important, but because it was weird. As you know, I enjoy retelling stories, and then linking gospel principles to the story. Here’s the problem: I’ve been sitting on this story for months, and still don’t have a moral to attach to it.
And so I turn to you, my witty, intelligent and ridiculously attractive readers, to find a moral to my story. (We’ve done this before, here, and here) Don’t go being a spoiler and putting your ideas on Facebook, because I’ll just delete them.
Now for the story. (Finally – yeah, I know.)
After spending a great day at the beach, we headed back to the place we were staying carrying our chairs, umbrella, boogie boards, etc. When I got to the door, I set down the stuff I was carrying, and pulled my keys out of my pocket. I immediately knew something was wrong.
The key fob was not on the key ring with the keys. I quickly checked my pockets and did that little dance that you do when you’ve lost something – check the pockets, look at the ground, 3/4 turn, repeat.
No key fob.
My EC unloaded her beach bag, because I knew that she had the keys in her possession for a few minutes, obviously making it her fault. Nope.
So we went inside, dropped the stuff, and I headed confidently back to the beach to re-trace my steps. The beach had cleared out, and it was easy to see where our chairs had been in the sand.
I looked down and..Tah-Dah! Found it. That was EASY!
Then I picked it up…
It was a rock – pretending to be my lost key fob.
I searched as long as the daylight allowed me, but to no avail. I went back to the condo baffled and irritated. I was met with, “Did you find it?” Nope.
Here’s why it mattered: The key fob is also an ignition kill and alarm. Even if we opened the door with the key, we would have been unable to start the car, and we would have set off the alarm.
We were stranded until we got a new key fob. (Our spare was hanging on a hook in our locked house 400 miles away.)
I made a couple of phone calls to auto parts stores and dealers. They all told me that the best solution was to bring the car in. Helpful, that.
It was decided that I would need to take a bus down to San Diego the next morning, buy a fob, and use instructions provided by the dealer to sync the new fob to the car. “It might work.” they said.
I stewed about the lost fob all night. One of my few talents in this life is my ability to find lost things. I am an expert at retracing mine, or anyone else’s steps and finding things that were supposedly ‘lost forever.’ (Apparently, if you watch enough detectives on TV, some of it rubs off.)
The next morning I got up, but determined to not blow $200 on a new fob, I headed back down to the beach. I was going to find it. Persistence pays off. Right?
When I arrived at the beach, this is what I saw:
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
Not only had the tide come and gone, it had littered the entire beach rocks the size, shape and color of my key fob. But I pressed forward. I kicked rocks until it became clear to me that I needed to get on that bus to San Diego.
As I walked back to the condo, I decided I would retrace my steps one last time to see if I missed anything. And I had. I had forgotten that we had stopped at a bench to regroup. Nope. We and climbed some stairs. Nope.
I got all the way back to the gate where I had realized the fob was gone with no luck. I then continued my re-enactment. I pretended to set the beach chairs on the ground and lean them against my leg, prop the boogie board against the wall, and take the keys out of my pocket.
*Light-bulb moment.* That had to be the moment the fob came off. It had to have fallen in the chairs. So I went into the garage and took out the chairs, shaking and looking in each one Nothing.
So I looked more closely, and started running my hands hop and down the fabric. There it was: Hiding between two layers of fabric in the chair. Apparently, when I took the keys out of my pocket, the fob off and managed to slide into an open seam. You couldn’t actually see it to save you life. I worked it back to the hole in the seam and removed it. I pressed a button, and the car honked. Phew!
I was so happy. I walked inside and my EC asked me where I had been. I held up the newly found fob. Yeah, I was proud of myself, and glad I had saved the morning and some cash.
That is the story – now how would you use it to teach a concept or doctrine?
Don’t be shy!
Moral of the story is that we frequently search and search and search for answers/solutions that have been right there with us the entire time. The entire world is searching for peace and for ways to “fill the void” in their lives… and they turn to all sorts of devices–drugs, alcohol, food, porn, affairs, social media, video games, work, hobbies, sports, championing causes, etc. as a way to find meaning and purpose in life. Meanwhile, all that searching buries the thing that will really bring us the peace and hope we are searching for. It’s the Spirit, which on it’s most foundational level is our conscious, the light of Christ. Always looking, never finding. Travelling great distances to find what was right there the entire time.
Often imitated but never duplicated!
Or how about this one,
When you are searching for that special one, the one who will communicate with just the right frequency and open up doors that have previously been locked to you. The one who will take you on that journey that you have been anticipating. Sometimes it seems that you are surrounded with possibilities and yet none of them are right. You go to dances, ask the help of friends, family and strangers but you just can’t seem to find the one you want. Remember when you are about to go to,the ends of the earth and pay any price, that chances are, she has been right by you all along.
D&C 88:125 – “…arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.” I love all the wonderful analogies that have been given. One that no one has mentioned yet is that you woke up early (I presume? cause apparently no one else was up yet) and got to work on this challenge. I cannot count the number of times I’ve felt overwhelmed by something toward evening…and in the early morning, my mind just clicks through the task easily and quickly. Even though you “stewed all night” I’m sure you got SOME sleep, so your mind was refreshed and you were thinking clearly. Thus you were able to remember all the details and persevere until you succeeded.
Real treasures – spiritual treasures, hidden treasures are not found in the same vicinity as counterfeit treasures.
Typically when we want to feel better we have options. The counterfeit options are of the world and there are numberless choices i.e., clubbing, drinking, drugs – prescription or non-prescription, immorality, pornography, mind numbing hours of social media etc. These can be represented by the stones you saw, which at first looked like what you needed.
The actual thing that you needed was no where near those stones. So when we’re looking to feel better, stand back and look around. If we’re surrounded by ‘stones’ we’re in the wrong place.
I don’t have an analogy, but I am notoriously bad at finding things, and my husband is like you… if there is a possibility on the planet that something can be found, he’s the man to find it. I am constantly amazed at his skills of finding things when I was sure that it no longer existed. That’s reason number 9,437 that I love him.
I just found my notes from last week that I had jotted down about this. “Sometimes the most important things can slip away from us, almost unnoticed, into hidden crevices. Then one day, in that moment when we really need them the most, they will not be easy to find. Just like the habits of scripture reading, temple attendance, and prayer…if you keep it near you (in your hand or purse *i.e. keys), you’ll use it so often that you will have it right there in times of need.
Of course you and the fam said a prayer, so answers to prayers. (I had a similar event with my key fob … and the keys attached to it. I am convinced angles put in back in my purse)…. but I also thought persistence in practicing good gospel habits. Sometimes we have things that get in our way (the rocks), we have to work and work to get the habit down.
I have always said that we can get needed info on our own…trial and error..it just takes longer. If I were to plan a trip down to the end of the block, my route could totally entail making a two mile loop, that started by heading out in the wrong direction. Heavenly Father’s route is more direct and tasked less time.
The power of analytical, deductive thinking can’t beat inspiration. It’s hard sometimes to let go of what you KNOW you can do on your own, to ask what you SHOULD do.
“pretending to be my key fob” sets off a thought process that involves false prophets and being easily deceived. The actual truth had to be searched for multiple times and was “hidden” You had to feel for it with your hands. I know, random and not at all sensical, but that’s what comes to mind. Maybe because I see so many members of the church in confusion. “Even the very elect shall be deceived”
I also think that sometimes the answers to our prayers or problems aren’t obvious..but just because they aren’t obvious,doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Sometimes we need patience, prayer, perseverance and time to have them become evident.But if we don’t give up, the answers will be revealed at the right time.
Your story made me think of all the times I have been struggling with a problem, and even after pondering and searching for answers, I still couldn’t find them. When I had almost reached the point of “giving up” Heavenly Father steps in and shows me what I have been looking for. So plain, so clear and I had missed it.
Another thought was, start where you are at. Just like you looked through your EC’s bag, searching the other items carefully would have saved you a lot of time.
Thanks for sharing!
This could turn into a lesson in looking for the Lord, and his true church. In a world where there are a million rocks, there is only one key fob that will let you drive home. If you try picking up just any old rock to get you home, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.
What about comparing where you found the fob to gaining a testimony – you couldn’t see it you could only feel it between the fabric, just like you can’t prove the church is true you only gain a testimony by feeling the spirit testify to your heart. And sometimes it is a long search for truth before someone finds the church. And gaining a testimony requires a lot of work – searching the scriptures, praying, living the commandments, etc.
Clearly, the moral of the story is that electronic key fobs are of the devil. My car may be old (23 years), but I love the fact that it has a key that’s just a piece of metal that can be copied cheaply, doesn’t need batteries, and won’t set off an annoying alarm if I poke the wrong button or open the door without it nearby.
One of my first experiences with a newfangled key fob is like your story, only different. We were at a beach in a rental car, and in the rush to get kids and (way too much) gear down to the beach, I forgot to put the key inside our locker, and instead went into the water with the key fob still in my pocket. Salt water and electronics? Not a good mix. At least the kids had a good time playing on the deserted beach and watching the sun go down while we waited an hour or more for the rental company to bring us out a spare key.
Oh, you wanted a spiritual moral? Hmm… everyone’s already given such great ideas. But how about this? We constantly hear that it’s the small, simple things that are important — prayer, scripture study, FHE, etc. It’s easy to blow those things off as simple, trivial things compared with the enormity and complexity of the Church, or of our lives. But they’re really the key — just as two tons of metal and power are incapacitated by the lack of a little one-ounce piece of plastic (and more importantly, an embedded radio transponder that weighs only a few grams), so can our spiritual lives grind to a halt if we’re missing those tiny but key elements.
tldr?
Everything will be all right in the end… if it’s not all right then it’s not yet the end.
I cant believe you didn’t pray. If not, the only conceivable reason that you found it before you purchased a new one, is that your EC, and probably the children, were praying . OR that you had prayers earlier in the day concerning your safety and welfare.
I am sorry that I am a deeply flawed man.
The two pictures of the rocks made me think about not putting off repentance. What was one rock the first day (easy) turned into hundreds of rocks the next morning (hard).
“My EC unloaded her beach bag, because I knew that she had the keys in her possession for a few minutes, obviously making it her fault.”
That sentence is so familiar it was almost painful to read. So glad you found it!!
As to the lesson. I dunno. Persistence is key? Persistence gets you the key? The Lord didn’t dump the key in your lap you had to listen to the Spirit AND work hard to find it? Something like that. =)
Jeffrey R. Holland, “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it—30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.” Oct 1999 An High Priest of Good Things to Come
Thank you so much for this quote. It was much needed this evening.
Enjoyed all these wonderful ideas for the moral. Thought I’d add one more.
In the book of Job, we learn of the many trials he endured. The basic lesson is that with patience and faith, you will recieve your reward. Persistence, prayer, and faith ….
OK, I’ll have a go at this one. You were like the young prophet Joseph seeking for the truth. The fob (true church) had been lost, although thought to have been found early on, turned out to be false hope. After the long night of apostasy and the tide of reformation, you returned to find hundreds of impostors, none able to give you what you were looking for. After feeling all was lost and the truth could not possibly be found among so many, you retraced your steps though a careful reading of the bible to realize that the principle for finding truth was with you all along – the principle of revelation, and believing that God could make such things known to you, you put your trust in that thought. And there, though out of view to your natural eyes, was the truth you were seeking all along. God had spoken again to man, and the truth was restored again to the earth.
Atta-boy Del. You have me hooked as soon as you mentioned Joseph.
You might not have prayed for help, but you were helped. You were guided to look in different places and in different ways and had lots of time for reflection while you were searching. Thanks for another great analogy.
Here’s an angle no one took yet….If something is that valuable, it needs to be treated as such. When we take for granted our testimonies we can carelessly lose them.Even accidentally.it can happen gradually, or or immediately when we don’t have a firm grasp on the Savior. With so many distractions in the world, it’s more important than ever to have our eyes fixed on the Savior, lest we be fooled by impersonators.
I’m not sure, but I like the coincidence that all of those rocks looked so much like key fobs . . . (wolf in sheep’s clothing?)
I’m glad I took the picture, because nobody would have believed me.
Our family always asks Heavenly Father to help us find something that’s lost. He always helps us.
Okay…here comes nothing. Take it with a grain or two of salt. I, too, assumed you had prayed about it, at least after a few times of searching. When I heard you hadn’t, detective that I like to be (also because of too meant hours involved with NCIS and CSI), I wondered why. It seems to me that you like this detective work and wanted to do it yourself even though you were tremendously worried. Eventually, you would have prayed and found them … But pride in finding lost things kept you from asking for help.
Lost sheep…Don’t give up and keep at it even if there is a simpler way. That’s what came to mind, probably not as deep as everyone else’s…Thanks for sharing!
I see a story about persistence even in the face of gut wrenching setbacks (beach full of rocks). Which makes this “search for a moral” ironic. You should have checked in the cracks again. 😉
And dude, you totally could have called for a ride. Or to help you look! Take the bus…smh. It’s like you don’t have friends…
Being a follower of Christ in the restored gospel takes a lot of faith. Sometimes with life, whether it’s the good stuff or not so good stuff, our faith can be shaken and lost or hidden from our view. We sometimes don’t even notice it’s gone until we really need it. It takes retracing our steps of faith to find it again. It often takes more than shaking out our pockets and bags (reading scriptures, not studying them; saying prayers but not really talking with our Heavenly Father). It takes turning over every rock (STUDY) is takes thinking outside the box (PONDER) it takes asking questions (PRAY) to finally find it hidden in obscurity and cherishing it (or getting a better key ring ;)).
Maybe I’m reaching. It’s the first thing that came to mind.
How about the apostasy and the restoration of the keys?
I like that but add the part about all the impostor keys that look good from a distance but don’t have any actual power.
I like that
Here’s one– As we journey through life often focusing on things that are enjoyable, fun, and good (a day at the beach with the family) we STILL need to remember to keep adequate focus on the basic but vital daily chores as well (for the beach trip: wearing seat belts,using sunscreen, keeping wallet and credit cards in a safe place, being mindful of securing the keys and key fob-as ignoring these small matters can have affects ranging from discomfort and time wasted to danger and even death). Likewise even on vacation we need to remember those things that maintain our spiritual well being such as daily prayer, scripture study, modesty etc. There can be no vacation from the basics that keep us spiritually or physically safe. I just attending a Stake Conference while on vacation this weekend (And yes I was VERY disappointed I happened to hit their Stake Conference) and received some wonderful inspiration and spiritual food.
In the words of the Primary song, “Search, ponder, and pray are the things that I must do.” Sometimes we really have to put in a lot of “knee work” before we find or receive the answers we are looking for. We have to be persistent in our efforts and put ourselves in places where the Spirit can guide us. The moments of inspiration, clarity, and peace will come all in the Lord’s due time.
Richard G. Scott’s October 2009 conference talk: “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance”. Though you didn’t say in your story that you specifically said a prayer, I’m guessing you certainly had a “prayer in your heart”. I love Elder Scott’s query, “Is there more I should know?”, and how he persisted with exacting every bit of personal revelation he could receive. In your instance, you didn’t give up, but kept going back to “receive”, trusting that you would be led to an answer by your mind (ie – the Holy Ghost). Thanks for a chance to review one of my favorite talks, and receive some of my own personal revelation.
Thank you so much for posting! I enjoyed the talk when I heard it, but reviewing it today providing some amazing opportunities for the Holy Ghost to communicate messages and instruction me that were very timely and needed. Thanks again!
What is important to you is important to Him, no matter how small or first-world the problem is.
Sometimes we have to go back to the beginning and retread the ground we thought we knew so well. Sometimes, if we have lost our ability to have and listen to the Spirit, we have to step back and go to our baptism and the whys and wherefores of that covenant we have made. Sometimes, if we feel like we can’t repent, we have to go back to the very beginning moments of our faith and reaffirm our trust in He who is mighty to save.
In working with a loved one right now, I have realized that we have to go back and retread the ground we thought he knew. Something precious is lost and we’re not willing to give up our search for it, so we go back to the beginning as many times as it takes to keep “looking” with him until he can find it. This story does involve prayer.
BTW can I use this story in a RS leadership I am doing?
Of course!
Well, I don’t have a perfect scripture (although Lori’s goes well with mine) but my first thought was the lost sheep. How diligent are we to find those who have drifted away? Moved? Send their names to Salt Lake. Sooo much trouble to take a little time to ask a neighbor or look on social media. A busy month? Gosh they won’t even notice if I don’t visit them this month-they don’t come to church anyway. Or do we keep going back, keep inviting, keep loving them? Although I do like the whole lookalike analogy!
I thought it was interesting that you said you are very good at finding things. I also didn’t hear you say that you stopped to pray and ask for help from Heavenly Father during your searches. I think many times in life we feel we Got This, This Is What I’m Good At and we forget where those talents come from. Many times in my daily life, I forget to pray for help in the small things. I feel that it is too trivial to stop and pray about, Clearly I Got This. As you did, we can spend our time worrying about something we could use help with, but it never occurs to us to ask. I’m not saying you would have immediately found the key fob, but maybe the first rock was a hint to ask for help. I’m glad you found the key fob, clearly you are good at finding things. I would have probably found it after I bought the new one.
Let me fob this off on you: The key to success is persistence.
Ouch.
Having a family member who has left the gospel path, I see in this story the need for always hoping for a return. Even when hope seems illogical and we are weary. Maybe when all seems lost, the Lord will give us a spark of a thought or idea that will help the lost soul/loved one to be found/return to the fold.
Your story reminds me of a story of lost keys that I shared as a devotional in young women’s many many years ago. The story is of a man who had lost his keys. He was searching for them under the street light. Another gentleman comes along and asks the man what he is doing. The man replies that he is searching for his lost keys. The gentleman then asks if this is where he had lost his keys. The man indicates that it wasn’t, but he was searching here since there was light and it was the was easiest place to look.
Your story isn’t necessarily about looking where it was easiest but you did spend time looking where it was most convenient (although that’s probably not the right word). You made an assumption right away that the fob had been lost on the beach and so that is where you searched. Maybe you could tie that into a lesson about jumping to conclusions too quickly.
You could always talk about not giving up…about follow through. It would have been easy in the morning to just throw your hands in the air and go get a replacement. You were determined to solve the mystery.
Also reminds me of the time my daughter lost our keys. I was carrying my son and handed the keys to my 4 yr old daughter to unlock the car. She did so and then promptly lost the keys. We never did find them.
Missionary work. As members, finding others who are in need of being taught the Gospel so they may have the same sense of security and relief you felt once the fob was found. It often seems overwhelming, much like it did when you returned to the beach to find so many rocks that looked like your fob – how do you get started finding the right one?
D&C 123:12-13 states “For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven”
Yours is also a story about persistence – trying to find it, even though everyone around you is essentially suggesting you give up and take an easier route. Often it takes more than a single conversation with someone to convince them it is in their interest to meet with the missionaries. We’ve been taught in D&C 33:8-10 that it takes at least 3 times to open our mouth and testify because the Lord will be there to help us out.
Once you found the fob and realized the importance of your actions, in addition to the outpouring of relief, you probably also felt joy. “And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” D&C 18:15–16.
And Lori knocks it out of the park with the perfect scripture reference.
But it hooks foul if you extend the metaphor… trying to picture how “incrementally joyous” you would be if you found thousands of fobs (a la Elder Widstoe). “The Trouble with Tribbles” becomes “The Trouble with Fobs.” 😀
Fantastic analogy! I really love this one.
I really like that Lori. Thanks.
(1) After the trial of your *patience* come the blessings. (2) All these things shall give you experience(s) — sometimes weird ones. (Loved the visual of all those little black rocks on the beach.)
The Lord has set certain requirements to enter His kingdom. Even if we have made the required covenants (ie have the key itself) we will not be able to stay and enjoy the blessings of His presence (ie actually use the car) unless we are worthy and sanctified by the Holy Spirit of Promise (ie have the key fob, too). But because of the Atonement, it’s not too late for us even if we’ve lost that worthiness for a time. As long as we diligently seek to repent, the way has been provided for us to return. (And absolutely praying for help makes it much less of an ordeal — the Lord is waiting to help us! 😉 )
I’m thinking the lost sheep, the ninety and nine? We should be looking for that one until we find it and return it to its rightful place. Maybe Family History?
I like the family history angle – so many people and so many names, trying to retrace the path of history, having to revisit a specific search over and over again, sometimes finding the name you need in an unbelievably unexpected place.
I like this about family history. Same with missionary work
I like this one too.
I kept expecting you to say a prayer, but you didn’t mention that. For a moral, how about Persistence pays when prayer is put off. 🙂
Did you just make that up? I like it!
Real happiness and joy avail themselves to us in very specific ways. Don’t be fooled by all the imitators and happiness lookalikes. As we apply what we know, study things out in our minds, and work hard, joy can and will eventually be the end result.
I like the lookalike idea.
A quote I heard long ago came to mind…
“the Lord may not always come when you call, but He is always on time…”
Persistence pays off. So does a good memory and a willingness to investigate every possibility.
It’s a clunky moral, but it’ll do.
I have recently had several experiences that have reminded me of the Lord being in the details of my life. I needed them to get through this period of unemployment right now. I think if I had not had those experiences in the last few months, this would be a lot tougher. To me, this is another one of those times when the Lord is aware of the details in our life. Sure, you could have gone through the steps and expense of replacing the fob, and it would not have been a problem of long term consequences, but how many of our “trials” does the Lord help us with that really are just inconvenience? Like a loving parent, He is.
could this be an answer to a prayer type thing? Heavenly Father expects us to do all we can and to do things that we think are hard and our actions can help us find the answer they don’t always fall in our laps or are obvious, we sometimes have to hunt for them, but when we find them we know?
I truly wish I could say that I prayed about it – but I didn’t. Maybe it would have been less of an ordeal if I had!
See there you go. Don’t forget to pray.
Lol – yeah, all I had at the very end was, “Pray sooner?”
It’s a modern-day parable of the lost and found that resembles those of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.
Excellent article from the Feb 2011 Ensign can be found here https://www.lds.org/ensign/2011/02/parables-of-the-lost-and-found?lang=eng
Also check out these conference talks:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1976/10/more-joy-and-rejoicing?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1971/04/search-for-the-wanderers?lang=eng
Tom