The Iron Rod vs Temptation (aka Sand and Mud) (1 Nephi 15:24)

Speaking of the iron rod:

“whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they
would never perish [be lost unto God]; neither could the temptations and the
fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away
into destruction.” (1 Nephi 15:24)

Here again is the idea of grabbing hold of the iron rod with a sure and certain grip, and holding on tight.

The more you hearken to the Lord, or hold to the rod, the less poer the adversary can exert over you. I wonder if the converse it true. If I find myself sorely tempted and perhaps even falling to temptation, does that mean I’ve let go of the rod?

Hmmm…

What are the signs that I’ve let go of the rod? Sometimes on Sunday after an especially inspiring meeting, when I’ve studied and pondered a lot, it actually physically hurts when the world brushes up against me. If someone flips on the TV or the radio, it’s like fingers on a chalkboard. That pain is a sign that I’ve loosened my grip on the rod, that I’ve let go and made a place for temptation to get in.

Here’s an analogy. Let’s say I’m at the beach and there is beautiful sand all around. There is also mud. This mud has a mind of its own—it rolls around, bubbles around, looking for people’s hands to blob itself into.

Let’s say my hands are filled with clean, white, sparkling sand. My hands are so full they won’t hold another grain. If my hands are filled and overflowing with sand, and the mud comes along and tries to plop itself into them, the mud lands in the sand, not on my skin. Even if the mud tries to wallow around, the sand surrounds it, covers it, sticks to it, nullifies it. The mud ceases to retain its sticky muddy qualities and drops off before it reaches my skin.

But if I tip my hands and let some of the sand fall out, space appears, my skin is exposed. And the mud can plop itself into my hands and stain my skin.

When that happens, guess what? I can use the sand to scour off the stain.

Okay, I know this analogy requires some imagination, but still, it works for me. I want to have my hands always protected by the sand.