Hank Smith:                      00:02                   Welcome to followHIM Favorites. This is where John and I share a single story to go with each week’s lesson. John, we’re in the Ten Commandments this week. I read honor thy father and thy mother, and I have a story for you. This is Elder Patrick Kearon, 16 years ago in General Conference. He said he was seven years old. He lives in the Arabian Peninsula. I don’t know why he’s seven and lives there, but he says I was consistently told by my parents to always wear shoes. He has a way better accent than me. He said, “I knew that the shoes would protect my feet against the many threats of the desert, snakes, scorpions, thorns.” I like he put those in order. Snakes, scorpions, even worse. Thorns.

John Bytheway:               00:44                   Thorns.

Hank Smith:                      00:45                   Yeah. One morning after a night’s camping in the desert, I wanted to go exploring, but I didn’t want to bother putting on my shoes. I rationalized that I was only going for a little wander and I would stay close by the camp. So instead of shoes, I wore my flip flops. I told myself flip flops are shoes, sort of. What could possibly happen? As I walked along the cool sand in my flip flops, I felt something like a thorn going into the arch of my foot. I looked down and saw not a thorn. A scorpion. As my mind registered the scorpion and I realized what had just happened, the pain of the sting began to rise from my foot and up my leg. I grabbed the top of my leg and tried to stop the pain from moving farther. I cried out for help and my parents came running from the camp. My father battered the scorpion with a shovel. An adult who was camping with us heroically tried to suck the venom from my foot. Thanks, friend.

John Bytheway:               01:44                   That’s awkward.

Hank Smith:                      01:45                   Yeah. At this moment, I thought I was going to die. Oh, poor kid. I sobbed while my parents loaded me into a car and set off across the desert at high speed towards the nearest hospital, which was over two hours away. The pain all through my leg was excruciating, and for the entire journey, I assumed I was dying. When we finally reached the hospital, however, the doctor was able to assure us that only small infants and the severely malnourished are threatened by the sting of that type of scorpion. He administered an anesthetic, which numbed my leg and took away the pain. Within 24 hours, I no longer had any effects from the sting of the scorpion, but I had learned a powerful lesson. I had known that when my parents told me to wear shoes, they did not mean flip-flops.

                                           02:32                   I was old enough to know flip-flops did not provide the same protection as a pair of shoes. But that morning in the desert, I disregarded what I knew to be right. I ignored what my parents had repeatedly taught me. I had been both lazy and a little rebellious, and I paid a price for it. I love the lesson. I love the story. I mean, I’m sure he doesn’t, but I love the story. How many times, John, have you ever said, I should have listened to my parents.

John Bytheway:               03:00                   Yeah. Are commandments just to control us or is there really a loving intent behind them?

Hank Smith:                      03:06                   The safety in commandments. Honor thy Father and thy mother when they tell you to wear shoes. That thy days may be long upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

John Bytheway:               03:18                   Or in this case, upon the sand. Yeah.

Hank Smith:                      03:20                   Upon the sand. We hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. We’re with Dr. Aaron Schade this week. He is a Hebrew expert. He walks us through these chapters. He shows us things we’ve never seen before. We think you’ll love it. Then come back here next week. We’ll do another followHIM Favorites.