Nerd's Eye View: Episode II

"Judge me by my size, do you?"

 We all have people that guide us in our lives.  Be they parents, friends, or mentors, it would be very difficult to fulfill our potential without a little help from somebody older and wiser.  This is by divine design; our Father in Heaven wouldn't leave us here without someone to teach us, guide us, help us, and, sometimes, reprove us, to help us reach our potential.  They may not be the strongest, they may not be the richest, they may not even be the smartest, but if we heed their counsel, we will be blessed.

 Yoda didn't have a big house.  He didn't need one.  He's approximately two feet tall.  His home, small, meager, and cozy, reflected his attitude towards life.  In his 900 plus years, he had learned that the measure of one's success does not lie in large, glittering palaces or flashy landspeeders.  Instead he chose to live on a planet so isolated and remote that it didn't even appear on the galactic map, so to speak.  Yoda's power and wisdom came not from impressive stature or possessions, but from sacrifice and humility.
  When Luke is mentored by our favorite green...whatever he is, he undergoes rigorous mental, physical, and even spiritual training to prepare him for what he must do.  When Yoda asks him to lift rocks (while doing a handstand, mind you), with a lot of effort and focus he is able to do so.  But when he is confronted with a problem as big as an X-Wing in a bog, he loses all faith in the apparent enormity of the task. "You want the impossible!" he exclaims. 
 As he turns away in frustration, he hears the sound of rushing water, and turns to find his X-wing being lifted from the mire.  Yoda, old, short, green, was excavating the ship; not by strength or wisdom, but by faith.
 "I don't believe it!" cries Luke.

 Yoda replies, "That is why you fail."

"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

 Whether we realize it or not, we face challenges like this every day.  God has called men to guide us through the (sometimes) murky wilderness of life.  These men, like Yoda, may not have rippling biceps, numerous degrees, or swiss bank accounts, but by their faith they can move mountains and direct us through our trials. What they ask may not always be easy, but if we listen and obey with faith, we too can accomplish the impossible.

"Try not.  Do, or do not.  There is no try." ~Yoda
"Do it." ~Spencer W. Kimball

May the Spirit be with you!