"Prosper by degrees"

We set out early that fall morning wanting to get the bulk of our hike in before the heat of the day set in. It was fall break, and we were camping at Zions National Park with two other neighbor families. Our youngest was seven, and we decided he was finally old enough to tackle the Angels Landing trail.

The first couple of miles was a steady, uphill climb on a wide, paved trail. Then, the trail enters Refrigerator Canyon. Carved between Cathedral Mountain and Angels Landing, it is the only shaded part of the hike. Exiting the canyon, you begin the ascend known as Walter’s Wiggles. The series of twenty-one switchbacks at 19% grade gets your thighs burning and heart pumping. At the top, we stopped to rest at Scout Lookout. One of our neighbors, realizing the difficulty of what lay ahead, decided it would be best for them to turn around. So, they took their youngest two children, and the other neighbor’s youngest, and left their oldest to finish the hike with the rest of us.

Walter's Wiggles
About 10 minutes into our final ascend, this neighbor’s son decided he wanted to go back and refused to go any further. The four adults held a quick pow-wow there on the trail, and we decided I would take him back to meet his parents at Scout Lookout. The rest of the group would continue, and I would catch up with them after returning him to his parents.

an overview from Scout Lookout to Angels Landing
After the rendezvous, I quickly turned around to make my way back to the group. The return trip went much faster traveling alone, and it did not take long for me to reach the point of our pow-wow. Forging forward, I realized the terrain suddenly became very different. The trail narrowed to just a few feet wide with drop-offs on either side and only a chain rope protecting you. There were times I was hugging a mountain with a sheer drop off on the other side. Most portions of the trail in this section are wide enough for just one person. It is no wonder this section of the trail is known as The Spine.

a portion of The Spine 
As I climbed alone, my mind kept thinking about my kids climbing ahead of me. What were we thinking about doing this hike with the kids? Did my youngest realize the magnitude of one misstep? Was my husband leading them or bringing up the rear where he could see them? I found myself praying harder than ever before on that ascend, not for me but for my husband and children. I reached the top to find them all safely eating their lunch on the plateau enjoying the phenomenal views we had all worked so hard to reach.

the view from Angels Landing
Reading these chapters in Mosiah again this week, I recalled this hike. The Lord gives us a unique perspective of two groups of people. Each is going through a difficult time. I think it is summed up best when the scriptures say, “the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and there was no way that they could delivery themselves out of their hands” (Mosiah 21:5). I think we’ve all had times when we’ve felt similarly; perhaps you are feeling that way now. This was how I felt on the trail that fall morning.

The Lord heard all their prayers, but it did not look like He answered them for a long time. Looking back, Limhi and his people recognized instead He did “prosper [them] by degrees” (Mosiah 21:16). I’ve had times like this in my life as I’m sure you have too. In the middle, it feels as if He is “slow to hear [my] cries” and does “not see fit to deliver” me (Mosiah 21:15). However, when I look back, I can see evidence of His hand strengthening me and prospering me a little at a time until the point that He sends a Gideon into my life with a plan to sneak out the back gate. At other times, I have felt the Lord strengthen me to the point that the burden I am carrying is “made light” (Mosiah 24:15) until the day when He whispers that “on the morrow [He] will deliver” me (Mosiah 24:16).

I have always been grateful Mormon included the stories of these two groups in the middle of their challenges. I love that the Lord answered the prayers of each group in very different ways. Sometimes, it is easy to look at other stories in the scriptures and erroneously think that the Lord rescued them as soon as they prayed, but these two stories remind us that in the middle it is sometimes hard to see Him “prospering us by degrees,” “strengthening” our backs, and “eas[ing] the burdens [on our] shoulders.” It is a good reminder that sometimes in the middle it helps to stop and look back at where I have come from and how much I have accomplished. It is then I can see evidence of the Lord helping me. Looking back reminds me He does hear my cries and has delivered me. In the middle is where I come to know Him.

If you are currently in the middle of “The Spine” and it feels as though you are alone on the trail and the Lord is slow to hear your cries, perhaps looking back will help you see where you have come from and where He has prospered you by degrees. Keep climbing knowing the summit, phenomenal view, and joy await.



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