I woke up this morning feeling anxious. I reflected and reflected on the transactions of the previous day, week, then month and I was unable to determine the cause of my remorse. I went to the lab and a had a few good chats with my mentor/Professor about the research (which currently remains on hold due to the slow nature of the sequencing center) Afterwards the anxiety persisted so I felt it best to go the Temple. I believe most problems can be sorted out by taking the time to serve in the quite peace that permeates temples and sure enough it worked this time as well. I did initiatory and at one point I became so lost in thought that the temple worker had to kindly invite me to the next booth. I do not know if it was the complete cause of my grief, but I determined that I had dealt dishonestly with my fellow man. No one in particular, but with the BYU traffic/police. Previously they have been my arch-enemies due to the magnitude of fines incurred from their tyranny, but never-the-less I still needed to abide by man's laws even if they weren't detailed specifically from the mouth of the prophets.
To summarize, a few months ago I thought my next to worthless bike had been stolen from my driveway. Recently I received a letter from BYU that the bike had been recovered and impounded and that I would need to pay a $20 fee to retrieve it. Through much weaseling, i managed to convince traffic services to drop the fee due to my believing it to be stolen. Upon receiving my bike, I noticed that the lock had not been tampered with--telling me 2 possible hypotheses; a.) the thief was a brilliant master-mind who made his fortune by picking the locks on crummy bikes and then abandoning them on BYU campus OR b.) that I had accidentally left the bike on campus while in a stupor of thought after a grueling day of study and that no foul-play had been involved (besides my own). While in the temple, I determined it to be the latter and felt morally obligated to tell the truth and pay whatever consequence it would incur.
This is where mercy is extended--undeserved. As I explained my plight to the surprisingly kind ladies at traffic services, they sincerely commended me for my honesty and decided to forgive my debt. I was trying to preform the restitution part of the repentance process, but perhaps Heavenly Father understood how much of a destitute wretch I am as a college student trying work his way through school. Nevertheless, I felt much better after the experience and proceeded with my day. How happy is the soul who repenteth indeed. Perhaps I'll use that $20 to take a nice young lady on a date and hopefully meet my future wife in the process.
