"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." -Henry David Thoreau
I mentioned Elder L. Tom Perry's conference talk in yesterday's post extolling simplicity. Elder Perry talks about a time in his life that he was under a lot of stress and since they were living in New England he and his wife would visit Walden Pond on Sundays.
Elder Perry shares some details of Henry David Thoreau's simple lifestyle back in 1845 when Thoreau decided to spend 2 years living at Walden Pond. Thoreau discovered that there were really just 4 things a man needed to sustain life: food, clothing, shelter, and fuel.
Elder Perry comments on these 4 essentials but in discussing fuel he talks about spiritual fuel. He reminds us of the Parable of 10 Virgins and the 5 who were wise keeping sufficient oil (spiritual fuel) in their lamps. He testifies of the simplicity there is in righteous living.
Like Elder Perry, we also lived near Walden Pond during the five years we spent in Boston. Walden was a peaceful and reflective place to visit. Apparently, before Thoreau died he was asked if he had made peace with God. He replied, "I was not aware we had ever quarreled." I'm also grateful to find a peacefulness when I think about my relationship and reverence for God. And like Thoreau, I do believe these are truths we can only learn through simplification and not through all the distractions of life.
"In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." -Henry David Thoreau
