Thoughts on Columbus Day

Today is Columbus Day. It seems to me that Columbus has gotten a bad reputation in the past few years or perhaps it is just that I hang out with more Native Americans now days, who are not big Columbus fans. I will be the first to admit that Columbus didn't treat the natives that he met in his travels very nicely, but I think that Columbus's discovery of the new world was part of a much larger plan. This was an event that had to happen in order for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored to the earth.

In the Book of Mormon we can read about this, "And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land." 1 Nephi 13:12

Columbus himself felt that he was led and inspired by God. "Our Lord," said Columbus, "unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my enterprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?" (Jacob Wasserman, Don Quixote of the Seas, pp. 1920)

I found this paragraph, included on a History of Columbus Day website, to be good musing material. It says, "Christopher Columbus never did accomplish his original goal - to find a western ocean route to Asia. Instead, he achieved something even greater - he ushered in a new era in world history by opening up the Americas to exploration." - The History of Columbus Day

Often when I feel inspired to do something I usually think I know why I have those feelings and what it is that I am going to accomplish as I follow those promptings. It never fails to surprise me, when looking back, that what my Heavenly Father had in mind was something totally different than I had at first imagined. It just goes to show me that my Heavenly Father will use me to accomplish his purposes if I will just listen to the spirit when he speaks to me. He has a plan and it is much better than the one that I usually come up with. Just like Columbus, I might end up doing something that changes the world. You never know.