Cave Diving Correlation

When I was a 16 years old my parents paid for a scuba diving course for my brothers Trace and Luke, and me.  It was one of the coolest experiences I ever had.  Even in the swimming pool where we practiced diving, it just felt like an amazing and different world to be underwater and yet still be able to see clearly, to move up and down with so little effort, and most spectacularly, to be able to breath underwater!  Probably because of this experience and also coupled with my one time boy scout caving experience in the now infamous Nutty Putty caves, I have lately gotten into watching online videos of caving, and particularly underwater cave diving, tragedies and close calls. 

Even all these years later, I remember our diving instructor telling us about the special training that is required to dive in caves.  I have learned several things from watching the videos I mentioned above.  First is that cave diving is the second most deadly sport in the world (base jumping is the first).  At the entrance of one underwater cave is a sign posted, on the sign is a picture of the Grim Reaper and says, "Prevent Your Death! Go No Farther."  The sign is there for a reason!  The main danger is obvious: the cave diver is underwater, with a finite supply of oxygen, and without a direct route to the surface.  Caves can be confusing and have many twists and turns--even to those who have studied maps of the caves they will be diving in.  If one does get lost in this weightless confined underwater world, they sometimes cannot tell which way is up or down.  Panic can set in which exacerbates the problem, because then the person starts to breath faster and deplete their oxygen supply more quickly.  And finally, a less obvious danger is that silt on the floor of the cave can easily be kicked up and the diver can lose all visibility, making it nearly impossible to escape from the cave alive. 

Why would anyone want to dive in a cave?  I am not sure actually, I don't share their desire, but I believe it is in part to explore something that very few people or possibly no people have ever seen before.  There are some safeguards that can keep the diver safe, one of the most important being the guide rope in the underwater cave.  This rope marks the main path in the cave, a path where other divers have gone before.

Attached to the rope are arrows that point the direction to the cave's exit.  So, if one always has their hand on the rope, even when silt is completely blocking their vision, they can still safely exit the cave. 

Unfortunately, despite the simplicity of this life-saving rule to keep one's hand on the rope at all times, many still die in underwater caves.  I believe it is the seduction of seeing an unexplored path and thinking, "I won't go too far, and then I will easily be able to find my way back to the rope."  I am sure almost everyone who has died in a cave has had this thought.  It is evidentally all to easy to make a couple turns and become completely lost.

One of the things that is so interesting to me about cave diving, is that there are clear parallels to concepts taught in Lehi's vision in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi Chapter 8.  For those who haven't read it, in the vision or dream, there is s Tree of Life, which is the ultimate goal.  There are many people pressing forward to make it to eat the fruit of the Tree.  There is a rod of iron that leads along a path towards the Tree.  If those on the path will just hold to the iron rod they will make it to the Tree and its fruit; however, there are several things that stop many of the people from making it to their goal. 

First, there is a mist of complete darkness which blocks the vision of the travelers.  Although difficult, if they would just hold on to the rod of iron, they will make it.  Also there is a river next to the iron rod that people fall into and are washed away to their death.  And yet another danger, is a great field, where people, for whatever reason, will let go of the iron rod, and wander off into strange and diverse paths, and never come back. 

I think you can see the similarities between the Vision of the Tree of Life and underwater cave diving.  In the vision of the Tree of Life, the rod of iron is like the guide rope in the underwater cave, the mists of darkness are silt kicked up taking away our visibility.  The Tree of Life is getting back to the surface of the water where one can breath and literally continue to live.  And wandering off in strange and diverse paths, is like leaving the guide rope (the iron rod) and exploring new and dangerous tunnels within the cave.  If you want to know further what the iron rod, the Tree of Life, the fruit, the mists of darkness, and the river represent, please see 1 Nephi chapter 11 in the Book of Mormon where Nephi (Lehi's son) also sees the same vision and recieves the interpretation of it.

And so in our day, making it to the Tree of Life or out of the underwater cave is SIMPLE, hold onto the rod of iron or the guide rope, keep moving forward, and don't let go!  Do not fall in the river and be swept away.  Hold onto the rod  of iron, especially in the mists of darkness.   Do not wander off in strange paths, because sadly, it is easy to become so lost that one has extreme difficulty finding their way back.  Remember, although difficult for many, the way out of the cave and the way to the Tree of Life is SIMPLE!  Hold to the rod of iron and don't let go!