Dig a Little Deeper...

Had a Sunday school lesson the other day. It was from a General Conference talk by Elder L. Tom Perry. It should be found HERE. In it he talks about a famous writer that decided to take a vacation from the real world for a year or two and see what life was really about. During his sabbatical he found out that there are only 4 things that are really needed in life.

• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Fuel

Everything else is simply clutter.

The teacher talked about what that tells us about our day, that we need to simplify... blah blah blah... Can't people ever see past the physical and apply it to the spiritual!? I remember from my youth a question posed to Joseph Smith about the difference between the physical world and the spiritual... He said it is very hard to separate the two. I think there is a scripture that says that physical things are in likeness to spiritual things and that spiritual things are in likeness to physical things. (the search is cool because it touches on another very important point but I won't talk about that today....)
Well, if that is true, and I think it is, then what are the spiritual basics we need to survive... let me give you a hint.

• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Fuel

From my Point of View this is what I see.
Food - we are told that we need spiritual nourishment as much as physical nourishment. We don't just eat oatmeal every day and expect that our nutritional needs are met... not that oatmeal is bad, or even bad for you, but we love spice, we love variety we love lots of different types of food, even if we do have a favorite.
Well, we can't expect that all our nourishment comes from attending sacrament meeting. Its great, it is a staple, but shouldn't be the only source. Lets look at others.
Service - There is no end to the varieties on this one. Service in your home. Service in your neighborhood, in your ward. Gardening, leaf raking, bread baking, garbage picking, kid watching, friend driving, old fashioned service.
Scriptures - We are told to feast, (think thanksgiving) on them. This too implies the following
variety (can't simply have a mashed potato feast!)
spice (imagine stuffing with no flavor... yuk)
effort (feasts don't include the phrase pull back foil to expose tater tots)
presentation (think nice table clothes, best china, best silverware, break out the nice glasses...)
So, read your scriptures, draw pictures of the stories you read, only for your benefit but they can give outrageous insights. Pretend you are one of the characters... why are you talking like this, what is on your mind, what are you afraid of, what aren't you afraid of, why? Put some effort into it. Father wants to give us his greatest blessings, but from what I understand of him, very little is ever just given. We have to work. Once we put forth effort he blesses us abundantly, but the effort and work simply must come first, there is no other way around that. Remember you can't earn blessings, but you can qualify for them!
Shelter -
We think of home. There are three things that jump to mind that when it comes to shelter.

1. Home
2. Church Family
3. Temple

Home - This is what we think of when we think of shelter... A protection from the (spiritual?) storms of life. A place where we are protected from the harsh realities of the world, ie... cold, wind, rain, heat, annoying bugs, vicious animals). A place where we grow up protected, nourished, taught, loved, trained.... We need all these things both physically and spiritually. A place to experiment, grow, try, FAIL, try again. This is home.
Church family. Some of us were not lucky enough to be raised in a home with a perfect mother, or a perfect father. Some of us had parents who struggled. Money issues, mental health issues, food issues, Word of Wisdom issues, morality issues, (the list really is endless... sigh)
So, we were given a ward family. A bishop, who guides (does NOT solve our problems), teachers who present ideas for us and helps us to see situations for what they are. Home teachers who know us personally, visiting teachers that stop by and listen. They can't solve our problems, but they can fulfil the admonition of Alma (bear one anothers burdens that they may be light, mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort...)
Temple. Inscribed on the outside of every temple are the words Holiness to the Lord, the HOUSE of the Lord. The temple is the house (safe place for teaching!??) of the Lord. It was designed to be at least 1 veil away from where we are now. Common people simply can not come into it. Members can not unless they are clean and prepared. This is the shelter, protection, place of learning, place of service that our Father has given us. And we need it!

Clothing - Adam and Eve needed it, but they didn't get it till they made covenants, and then, the clothing represented the covenants that they made! We are born naked, and (in my opinion) stay that way till we too go to the temple to make covenants and receive our clothes. Then we are finally, not naked. We are protected, covered, warmed, elevated by our clothes.

Fuel - This is interesting... what does normal fuel do? It provides the source for fire used to heat food, provide warmth inside a home. There are many types of fuel, but the concept (class - type - Shadow) is all the same. Provide the ability to give warmth, light and protection. This is the spirit.
Our father put is in a dark, cold, stormy, difficult world, but he didn't leave us helpless. We have been given tools to take care of ourselves. Physically and spiritually. Not easy, and not even possible with out effort, but it is achievable.