Hundreds of years ago, Polynesian sailors traveled vast distances using only the stars to navigate. To be able to launch a craft not much larger than a canoe, travel thousands of miles through often treacherous waters, and find a tiny pinprick of an island in the midst of a vast ocean is a remarkable feat to say the least. That such thing is possible was demonstrated by a group from Hawaii in the late 1970s. Having enlisted the help of one of the last remaning Polynesian pilots they set out from Hawaii. Thirty days and 2,500 miles later, they arrived at their destination- a group of islands near Tahiti (http://pvs.kcchawaii.edu/nainoa80tahiti.html).
How did they accomplish this remarkable feat?
These navigators spent their lives learning about the stars and their paths through the heavens. They had memorized them so carefully, that they were able to use them as reference points througout their voyage. Whenever they drifted off course, they looked to the starts and adjusted their sails. As long as they followed the starts, they knew they would reach their destination.
History is filled with examples of righteous men and women who can serve as guiding stars for us. Although they may have lived in different times and faced different trials, fundamentally, their challenges are ours: the problems we face were theirs. The more we learn of them- the more we use them as a guide for us- the more certain it is that we will reach a final destination worthy of sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.
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