Real Causes and Real Effects | Keith Vorkink | 2017

At times our desperate search for "why" leads us to a false cause and effect. In drawing conclusions, the Holy Ghost helps us get it right—or let it go. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/keith-... "...Now back to the story. There I was, alone in the raft—which had turned sideways from the force of hitting the falls—and in a brief moment I went from excitement to panic. But the ordeal was not over. Over the course of the next few minutes, which seemed to go on forever, the raft would slowly float downstream away from the falls until it hit the standing wave, which would reverse the raft’s course back toward the falls. As the raft would approach the falls, the cascading water would hit the nearest side tube of the raft and force it to tip toward the falls as though it were about to flip over with me in it. However, each time the raft would approach the point of flipping, it would stop, fall back flat, and then float out toward the standing wave—repeating the process all over again. This back and forth between the falls and the standing wave was repeated about ten times. During all of this back and forth my youth leaders and fellow youth were standing on the bank of the river shouting support and instructions to me in the raft. Though they stood only about fifteen feet from me and were shouting as loud as they could, it seemed impossible at the time for me to hear exactly what they were saying. The noise of the waterfall, the number of different people who were shouting at me at the same time, and, probably most of all, the overwhelming intensity of the situation drowned out their words. I could not hear what they were saying. At one point I came to the brilliant conclusion that they were trying to tell me to hold tight to the raft. So, trusting and having faith in their instructions, I did my best to tighten what was already a death grip on the raft. Finally, after yet another near flip into the falls, the raft—now almost full of water—fell down and floated over the standing wave instead of getting pushed back again. It then moved into a section of calmer waters, where I was immediately rescued by my leaders, who pulled the raft to the side of the river. As a side note, my father was also successfully rescued from the river about a third of a mile downstream. Later that day we all gathered together and talked about what had happened. One of the Young Men leaders, who happened to have stood closest to me on the bank and who had shouted more than the others, told our Scout group how proud he was that I had shown courage and had followed the instructions they were shouting to me to “lean against the tipping raft.” He said that this was what had saved the boat from flipping and what had saved me from being seriously injured—or worse. As he talked to the group about my obedience and bravery, I began to convince myself that his story was exactly what had happened. I had been brave; I had leaned against the tipping raft to keep it from flipping over. However, as time wore on and as I thought more about what had happened on the river, I realized that his description was not entirely accurate. What had saved me from the waterfall was the raft filling up with water and becoming heavy enough to keep it from tipping and to carry it through the standing wave. It had little to do with my following the instructions of the leaders. In fact, I hadn’t followed their instructions because I hadn’t heard what they were saying. The circumstances of that event made it difficult to figure out what had really caused my safe escape from the waterfall. I believe my experience on the raft that day and the difficulty of determining what caused my safe escape represent, in some ways, the challenges we face in determining the true causes of outcomes in our lives. We make many mistakes in determining causality. Each party involved in my rescue had come to an incorrect or incomplete conclusion about what had led to my successful escape. I would like to address each party..." - Keith Vorkink Keith Vorkink was an associate dean for the Marriott School of Management and the holder of the Douglas Driggs Professorship in Finanace when this devotional was given on January 31, 2017. Follow BYU Speeches:   / byuspeeches   https://twitter.com/BYUSpeeches?ref_s...   / byuspeeches     / byuspeeches   © Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.