A Story to Help Us Understand Our Divine Nature

I was once driving on a dirt road far from any town, when I rounded a corner and saw a
large flock of buzzards feasting on some carrion in the middle of the road. Buzzards are ugly.
They have no feathers on their heads, and their skin is red. Their feathers are dusty brown.
They have their purpose, but not many really admire them. There must have been about fifteenof them squabbling and fighting over the dead animal in the road.

One of them however, looked much larger than the others. I had never before seen a
buzzard that big. He towered above the others. As my truck drew near, the buzzards began to
fly off—all but the large one in the center. He seemed hesitant to leave the carrion and stayed
long after the others had scattered. I had to slow down to avoid hitting him. When I was very
close, I could see that he was not a buzzard at all but a golden eagle.

I love to see eagles circle and ride the air currents of the canyons. This was the first time I
had seen such a magnificent bird accompanied by buzzards feasting on road kill. I felt a stab
of sorrow that such a beautiful bird had stooped to sharing such an unwholesome meal with
such unwelcoming fellows.

I believe that the one doctrine Lucifer fears the most, and wants most to keep deeply
veiled, is the conviction that we are literal sons and daughters of God. Lucifer hopes that if he
can get us to see ourselves as belonging with the buzzards, to acquire a taste for carrion, we will forget our true identity and lose our taste for eternal things.

S. Michael Wilcox, Don’t Leap With the Sheep,
[Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2001], pp. 111, 113.