Hovering over the precipice, I made the fatal mistake of looking down. At this moment, I knew if I even blinked I would fall. “How did I get myself into this mess?” I questioned; then scolded myself, “Didn’t I notice the rock-face I was scaling led to a lonely, empty pinnacle, not the envisioned vibrant plateau I had hoped to explore with beautiful vistas of the desert, canyon landscape? And how could I have missed assessing the divide of land at the top?” my analytical mind surmised. “It was a football field away from any other land mass in every direction.”

Teetering unsteadily, frozen in fear, with my focus on the rocky ground below and the unsettling waves of nausea erupting, I suddenly heard someone call my name. “Tanya, look up,” the voice instructed. Without uttering a vocal word I replied in my mind. “ NOT A CHANCE!” If I flinched I would fall. Then I heard my name again. “Tanya,” the soft spoken, voice called, “Here am I.” I didn’t hesitate. I turned and sprinted toward the voice, yes ran; my fears had immediately fled, because I knew it was the Savior who called to me.

Eventually, it dawned on me I was running across the divide between the pinnacle and the plateau where Jesus Christ stood. At His feet, extending toward me, I could see a path of stepping-stones enveloped in grass. So, I looked down and was amazed to see I was indeed on this path of stepping-stones that I knew led to Him, yet, I could only see a few stones ahead of me and those at the Savior’s feet.

This was my Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade moment, where Indy takes a leap of faith then sees the path to where he believed the Holy Grail lay. I knew this was different. I had faith and didn’t hesitate to run toward the true Holy Grail. As I considered this analogy, I began to look at the intricacies of the stones and the soft, green color of the grass that encompassed them. I smiled as my mind wandered. That is when I heard the Savior again call to me, knowing I needed the extra help keeping me focused on Him.

The analytical minds of some of you, I am certain, are whirling with ideas of the meaning of this dream which you’re welcome to share. The key questions I have are, have you had significant spiritual experiences; and if so, have you preserved them for your posterity?

Journaling has been my preference of recording my history. Yet, I don’t recall recording my dreams. One of the most important Priesthood blessings of my life refers to “being worthy to be recipients of the visions and directions of our Father in Heaven.”

I realize I have been keeping a record similar to the “other plates of Nephi” where the secular history of his nation was documented[1]. Perhaps a new writing should be ensued. A record not encumbered with daily temporal history, but a narrative of the things most precious to me, the things “pleasing unto God”, with the intent of persuading all to come unto Christ.

This record would also contain my genealogy. Not the long list of progenitors on pedigree charts, but with the purpose of connecting the future generations to their past. Whereas Nephi states he does “not give the genealogy of my fathers”[2] since it was previously recorded; likewise my ancestors’ names and many resources have been preserved on FamilySearch, in the cloud, external hard drives, and in databases on my computer. I will keep a record on my small plates “that our genealogy maybe kept”[3] as Jarom stated and “to preserve our genealogy-”[4] as Omni was commanded. Yet, Jarom states that on the small plates, he “shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written?”[5]

These small plates will contain my dreams, their interpretations, my “ministry”, and the pleasing word of God intertwined with the secular history during my life and my family’s journey. The central theme, message, and focus will be the Savior; so when he calls my posterity by name, they will hear Him, they will run to Him, and He will preserve and save them.

Note from the Author:

This article and the Shared Insights were written before General Conference. The added references, from the April 4-5, 2020 General Conference sessions were placed after. This and my previous articles were prayerfully contemplated. Inspiration is key in these writings.

Shared Insights

  1. Protect the link connecting future generations to their past by keeping your record and passing it on with purpose, intention, and instructions.
  2. Record your dreams, visions, and spiritual experiences.
  3. Record the hard things and how you resolved them.
  4. Consider collecting family highlights of spiritual experiences for your posterity.
  5. Focus on the Savior with the intent of persuading your posterity to believe in Him.

“Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them. Write them down. Share them with your family. Trust that they come to you from your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. Let them bring patience to your doubts and understanding to your difficulties.” (Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the 190th Annual General Conference on April 4, 2020)

[1] 1 Nephi 9:4

[2] 1 Nephi 6:1

[3] Jarom 1:2

[4] Omni 1:1

[5] Jarom 1:2