Descision Determine Destiny

Many years ago, my dad and I went on a camping trip in the Uintah Mountains of northeastern Utah. We had planned to join a group of scouts that had already hiked into the Pinto Lake basin, about 8 miles into the wilderness area a couple of days earlier. We asked for directions when we arrived and were told to take the trail just over the “brink of the hill” as I recall. However, there was a “fork” in the trail and we to make a choice … as it turned out, we chose poorly! After hiking for several hours, we ended up a long way from where we wanted to be … lost deep in the wilderness.

I remember being pretty concerned, but my dad was remarkably calm. He reminded me that our truck was at the base of one of the prominent mountain in the distance and that we just had to make our way back to the base of that mountain. We hiked the rest of the day, exhausted, but we made it back to our truck.

We slept in the back of our truck that night and the next morning took the correct trail and found the scout troop at Pinto Lake right were they were supposed to be! I have never forgotten that experience and have applied it many times in my life since then.

Years later, I heard President Thomas S. Monson use the phrase, “Decisions Determine Destiny” in one of his talks. I remembered that trip with my dad and the fork in the trail all those many years ago. It was a life lesson that has had real meaning for me.

The other day, I was reminded of this experience and decided to paint the scene as I remembered it, at the the fork in the trail … decisions really do determine destiny!