Sometimes You Have to Steal a Boat to Make a Rescue!

Come Follow Me August 31-September 6

“How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!”

D&C 43:25

The Lord is always looking for that one person lifting up their hand to say, “Lord save me,” In the scripture above the Lord lists many of the ways he uses to plead with us to turn to Him.

• By the mouth of my servants
• Ministering of angels
• Mine own voice
• Voice of thundering, lightnings, tempests, earthquakes, hailstorms, famines, pestilence (Are we hearing him today?)
• Sound of a trump
• Voice of judgment
• Voice of mercy
• Voice of glory and honor and riches of eternal life

One of the most tragic disasters in the United States was Hurricane Katrina which took place from August 23-31, 2005. Despite numerous warnings from federal, state, and city leaders prior to and leading up to the storm, it is estimated between 150,000 to 200,000 people were left in the city. Some stayed willingly, others were unable to leave. Whatever the reason for them being there, disaster awaited. This story is about Ken Bellau, who stole a boat in order to rescue over 400 people.

“By the time Katrina struck, he [Ken Bellau] was finishing the Tour of French Guyana, a race in South America. … Back in the United States, Bellau got his car, stocked it with supplies, threw his bike on a rack and sneaked back into town two days after the levees broke. He wore military fatigues and carried a .40-caliber handgun in a side holster, which helped get him waved through military checkpoints. … [He] spent three weeks on the water in the chaotic aftermath of the hurricane, coaxing people into his boat, dodging their bullets, rescuing their pets and breaking into their houses for supplies when the city was dark, dangerous and uninhabitable. His efforts have been credited with saving more than 400 lives.”

A Katrina hero: He hopped into a boat and became a one-man rescue squad

10 YEARS AFTER KATRINA
By Mark Guarino
August 23, 2015

In the book of Helaman, the Lord’s arms are outstretched to the people using the tactics mentioned above. Finally, he sends Samuel the Lamanite. Even though Samuel is thrown out of the city, the Lord tells him to go back. Samuel is courageously obedient and stands on the top of the city walls to deliver the Lord’s message. Why did the Lord tell Samuel to go back? He knew there were still some whose hearts would turn to Him. While the majority did not believe Samuel as he delivered his message, many did. When Samuel could not be touched by the rocks and arrows many more believed. The Lord knows our hearts and will use whatever method necessary to rescue those who will allow Him to.

Ken Bellau reminds me of Samuel the Lamanite. He had to sneak into the city and steal a boat. He was shot at and threatened by the very people he was attempting to rescue. He went against all conventional wisdom, but in the end rescued over 400 people.

When Brigham Young heard many of the Saints who left with handcarts had left late in the season and snows were coming early that year in 1856, he gave the following address to the Saints in General Conference that were in Salt Lake City.

“… many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with handcarts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be, to get them here … That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people. … “I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains.”

(Brigham Young’s address reported in the Deseret News, 15 October 1856, as quoted Preston Nibley, Brigham Young: The man and his work (Deseret Book 1974), p. 259-260. See also LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [Glendale, Ca.: The Arthur H. Clark, Co., 1960], 120-21.)

This week, the one little thing you can do is join with Jesus Christ to courageously rescue those who may not even know they need to be rescued. Make a phone call, write a letter, say a prayer. Be extensions of the Lord’s hands to lift those who cry, “Lord save me”.