The Buddy System

As someone who loves nature and the handiwork of God I am big into scuba diving. I have had many cool experiences. I have been to some serious depths and even had a close encounter with a shark. Times like that get the heart racing. There are many dangers to this hobby that require one to use wisdom and always put safety first. When one puts safety first and dangers come we are prepared and then as the scriptures say we "shall not fear".  One of the biggest safety steps in scuba diving is the buddy system. This is huge. For me it was great learning to scuba dive with my dad or Pops as I call him. He was a good buddy. The role of the buddy is to check all equipment before a dive and to be there for the other person all the way through the dive. If there is a problem in the equipment that I overlooked Pops was there to help me before it got serious. Many dangers to diving don't pose a threat until we are in the water. If for some reason we run out of air our buddy has a spare regulator for us to use to help us survive and safely make it to the surface. Luckily problems like that are not ones that I have faced but I do know that because of Pops I have a buddy that is there and prepared to help me out. Knowing this the dive is more enjoyable and I can safely focus on the beautiful surroundings. There is nothing like it that compares to the beauty of our blue planet.

This principle of the buddy system is one that is found outside of scuba diving as well. In life we have the opportunity to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost after baptism by the proper authority. This gift entitles us to have whenever we are worthy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, or the Spirit as it is sometimes referred to. This is a spiritual safety system. The Holy Ghost is our spiritual buddy. The Holy Ghost can help us out when Satan comes along to distract us from our purpose and cut us off from the our spiritual life source comparable to a scuba diver being cut off from his air supply. Just like a good buddy the spirit is there to take care of us in these matters. It is the Spirit that brings us safely back to God as it does only the things that God wants done. In the New Testament in St. John we read the words of Christ which says," And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" This comforter is the Holy Ghost. One of his roles is to give us comfort as we are worthy. Though there are dangers in this life we can be comforted knowing the Spirit, our spiritual buddy is there. Just as I was comforted knowing my dad was there. This comfort and direction that we receive from the Spirit makes life more enjoyable. We can focus and find the happiness in this life that God intends all to have. For "men are that they might have joy". The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness and faith. These fruits that bring spiritual safety are given to us by the Lord through our spiritual buddy and with these fruits we experience this life having joy and happiness. There is nothing that is even close to comparing to the hope and joy we receive through this buddy.