Red Flags

 

Last Friday I was at Lake Erie with some teen cousins.  The Great Lakes are one of my favorite places to visit and I was excited to share that experience.

It was a beautiful night with a warm pleasant breeze as we stepped past the green flag posted on the beach without much thought.

We waded out more than 100 yards and still the sand was soft and we could play in the warm water.  They laughed and splashed and took pictures.

As we were leaving I sensed a change in the wind.  A little cooler and the tide started coming up higher a bit at a time.  I wondered what tomorrow would hold.

Sure enough when I headed to the shore to watch sunrise the next morning, there was a strong cool wind snapping a red flag in place of the green.

Riptide warning.  The water was closed to swimmers.

The waves were a bit bigger but not bad and it was a beautiful scene.  

We had been in that water only 10 hours earlier and it was completely safe.  How easy it would be for some to say that the warning was ridiculous, that they knew better. They had been there before without a problem!

Especially for those who lacked the experience of what riptides and undertows can do in a matter of seconds.

As I sat on the beach, I thought of the red flags and warnings the prophets have given us.  And I wondered which I am ignoring, rationalizing or openly rebelling against.

I thought of those teens and prayed for them to have the wisdom and strength to face their own red flags.

Bishop Richard C Edgley warned that there are clues we can watch for - our own responses to the red flags.  "You would recognize these clues because they are common and they are familiar—clues such as:

“Everybody is doing it.”

“Nobody will know.”

“It is not really hurting anyone.”

“It won’t hurt just this once.”

“So what?”

“You can repent later and still go on a mission and be married in the temple.”

“Christ atoned for your sins; He will forgive you.”

When such justifications are given either outright by others or subtly by the whisperings of the tempter, you are warned. Don’t listen. Don’t experiment. Just don’t do it."

Satan is real.  And make no mistake that he wants you and will use any manner of deception and disguise to lure you into dangerous waters.  

How grateful I am for prophets, scriptures and the Holy Ghost.  

And for good friends that help point out the red flags and keep me on the right track.