Elder John H. Groberg was once asked to go with Elder Boyd K. Packer to Samoa to create a new stake on the island of Upolu. Their plan was to fly one afternoon from Savai'i to Upolu. On the day of the scheduled flight, however, an intense tropical storm stirred up the elements, so much so that it was far too dangerous to fly. The only way back to Upolu was by boat, and that mode of travel would be extremely treacherous.
(The flight to Upolu would have taken less than a half hour, and under normal conditions the boat journey would have taken just a few hours. Conditions were far from normal, however. The boat went up and down and rolled . . . and pitched all over that angry ocean for many more hours than usual.)
It was a terrible evening. Nearly everyone on board got sick. They held tightly on to one another to keep from being thrown overboard.
Finally, in the thick darkness of the night, they approached the harbor of Malifanua only to learn that they had another obstacle.
There was only a small opening in the reef and [they] had to negotiate it perfectly to keep from getting torn to pieces on the sharp coral on either side. . . .
Normally there are two lights for night entry--one at the wharf and another up the hill a way. When you line those two up you know you are entering the opening properly. Unfortunately the only light on that night was the one on the wharf. The one up the hill was not on, so [they] could not tell accurately where to enter the opening. [They] later found that the two men who were supposed to turn on the light on the hill had said to each other: "It's a terrible stormy night and no one would be crazy enough to try to come from Savai'i. Let's just stay home tonight and not go out in such a storm for no reason."
The boat in which Elder Groberg and Elder Packer were traveling had to reroute to a safer port some distance around the island. They arrived cold and soaked with ocean water with little time to spare before their meetings began in Upolu.
It isn't just nice to be a light for others; it is essential for their exaltation as well as for our own. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).
(BYU Devotional, "That Ye May Be the
Children of Light," 3 November 1996.)
