Nearly every child I have ever known loves throwing rocks in a pond. There is something mesmerizing about watching the rock hit the water, make a splash, and then watching the ripples making constantly widening circles as they spread from the point of impact.
A couple of days ago, an 8.9 earthquake hit Japan, devastating this country. A tsunami struck a short time later. Thousands of people have been killed or are missing. A nuclear power plant is having major issues as it has a partial meltdown and leaks radiation. Men, women, and children are without sufficient food, water, or power. My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and everyone who was impacted some way. I'm sure it will take years to rebuild everything that was lost.
Yesterday morning as I arrived at the Oakland Temple we noticed a lot of people in the parking lot. It was not even 6:00 am and the temple didn't open till 7:00. We wondered why there were so many people there. They were dressed casually. I speculated that they were gathering together for another activity.
A couple of hours later, I found out why they were there.
They were afraid a tsunami was going to hit the Oakland area. They drove either to get out of harms way or in hopes of seeing a monster wave strike Oakland. I think that it is interesting that these men, women, and children would flock to the temple. Perhaps they could sense a place of safety and refuge even though they are not members of my church.
The earthquake struck Japan, but like a rock thrown into a pond with enough force, the ripples it created stretched halfway across the world.
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