Two brothers--Jimmy, age 14, and John,
age 19 (though that's not their real names),
without safety ropes or harnesses or climbing gear
of any kind--attempted to scale a sheer canyon wall
in my native southern Utah.
You know, I think is what Mom was talking about when she
said not to do anything stupid.
Well, I'm not going to tell her.
And neither are you, right?
Well, no, but if you fall and die,
I'm just saying "I told you so" now
so I don't have to say it then.
Look, we're not going to die, OK?
Now stop talking and start climbing.
Near the top of their laborious climb,
they discovered that a protruding ledge denied them
their final few feet of ascent.
They could not get over it, but neither could they
now retreat from it.
They were stranded.
I'm going to stand here, and I need
you to step on my knee and then on my shoulders,
and I'm going to boost you up.
OK?
I won't make it.
That's not going to work.
It has to work.
All right?
Come on.
Good.
Now my shoulders.
There you go.
Right there.
One more.
After careful maneuvering, John found enough footing
to boost his younger brother to safety on the top of the ledge.
But there was no way to lift himself.
OK.
I made it.
Now it's your turn.
We've got to get you up here.
There's got to be another way.
There's no other way up.
I've got to go over the top.
Jimmy, go find a tree branch that's strong enough
to hold me and pull me up.
I can hold on.
No, I'm not going to leave you.
Just go!
I can hold on.
Unable to hold on much longer, John
decided his only option was to try
to jump vertically in an effort to grab
the top of the overhanging ledge.
Jimmy?
If successful, he might, by his considerable arm strength,
pull himself to safety.
In his own words, he said, "Giving him enough time
to be out of sight, I said my last prayer."
Heavenly Father, I'm so sorry.
Please, please bless my family, and help them
know that I love them so much.
Please, please bless Jimmy that he'll find a way
to make it home safely.
"Then I leapt.
Suddenly two hands shot out, grabbing my wrists
with a strength and a determination that
belied their size.
My faithful little brother had not
gone looking for any fictitious tree branch.
Guessing exactly what I was planning to do,
he had never moved an inch.
He had simply waited--silently, almost breathlessly--knowing
full well I would be foolish enough to try to make that
jump.
When I did, he grabbed me, he held me,
and he refused to let me fall.
Those strong brotherly arms saved my life that day
as I dangled helplessly above what surely
would have been certain death."
Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God,
suffered, died, and rose from death in order
that He could, like lightning in a summer storm,
grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might,
and through our obedience to His commandments,
lift us to eternal life.