April 1, 2026

I woke this morning with a phonetic wordplay in my mind. The word "justice" aptly sounds like "just us".

I've recently taken interested in a new sport called canyoneering, which is simply starting at the top of a canyon and working your way down through the bottom and out. This involves climbing, rappelling, stemming, swimming, and other unique problem solving you don't commonly encounter outside of canyons.

The canyons are beautiful. The way the water carves through rock, creating slots more artistic than anything in a museum is incredible. But they aren't without danger.

One of the dangers in canyons is called a keeper pothole. This is an area where the water has carved a smooth, bowl-like feature into the canyon that you must pass through to continue. These range in size, but some smaller ones, let's say 6 to 8 feet in hight, might be easily underestimated. You could look at it and think "I could slide into there and get out the other side easily", but once you are in, you realize how smooth the curved wall is on the other side of the keeper. You cannot get friction and you cannot get out. Hence the name, keeper.

If we make the choice to enter a keeper by ourselves and then we can't get out, that is justice, it's "just us" down there and the trap is the consequence of our decision. By ourselves, we cannot get out; it will remain just us - alone, cold, and facing immediate death.

When we sin, we separate ourselves from Heavenly Father. We go from where we once lived in His presence to being alone, just us, and there is no way back to Him when relying on just us. It's harsh, it's devastating, and it's one hundred percent fair. We made the choice, we sinned, and we separated ourselves from God. We entered the keeper.

In the canyon, there are ways to escape a keeper, but none of them involve just us, we need another. A partner can throw down a rope to help us ascend, or, in short enough potholes, descend to us to lift us up over the lip and out.

Our Savior and brother, Jesus Christ, descended below all so that He could lift us back up. He jumped into the hole so He could know exactly what it felt like to be just us so that He could help each of us in the personal way we need. He extends mercy to overcome the pains and sorrows of being just us so that we could be saved and return to live with our Heavenly Father.

Elder Bednar taught, "The Savior paid a debt He did not owe, because we owe a debt we cannot pay."

I am grateful for my Savior, for His atoning and eternal love. He lives, He loves, and He lifts us up. I testify of Him, and I give thanks to Him, for His mercy.

Matthew 11

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Isaiah 1

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

John 3

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.