One of the very first card games I learned as a child was "Go Fish". The object was to get rid of all your cards by asking opponents if they had certain cards so that they could get a duplicate, triplicate, or the best - a quadruple hand. If they didn't have that card, their response would be to say, "go fish". And then (depending on how the game was played you had to pick up cards from the stack one by one until you had a matching pair. Matching cards could be laid down at any time, but by doing so, your opponents could play off your laid down cards. Many times the stratagem was to hold all your cards until you had everything matched and lay it all down. The problem is that you never know if your opponent would go out, this leaving you with all the cards to be counted against you.

Go Fish! taught some valuable lessons that can not only apply to life, but our spirituality too.

Honesty
This game was all about honesty. If you didn't have that card, you were required to tell them, "Go Fish". If you had that card, but told them to "Go Fish", that was dishonest. And even though your opponents might not ever know - you will know. It might not bother you then, but sooner or later it will gnaw at you. At work, we are counseled, "an honest day's work for an honest day's pay". If one becomes lacksidasical in the job and, perhaps spends an inordinate amount of time surfing the web when they should be working, it should come as no surprise that  when you are laid off or fired, it might have had something to do with this. Honesty is a tenet that we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should seek for. "We believe in being honest...".

Reliance on Feelings
As was mentioned before, one needs to know when is the time to lay down cards or risks getting caught with those cards which could have been laid but weren't. There comes times in our lives that something we are doing, or decisions being made, "just don't feel right". We can try to be analytical about it; weighing pro and cons, or we may even be blindly doing something without thinking it through. These kind of decisions can be disastrous for us. We may think we are doing the best possible thing but end up holding the "cards" when things go awry. The old adage, "play it safe" has a lot of wisdom attached to it. As members, we can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost who can whisper to us about impending disasters in our lives. The Holy Ghost can see when we are going spiritually awry and warn us. If we continue on the path even though we have been warned, the Holy Ghost will leave us as, "...the spirit cannot dwell in unclean places...". Praying daily for guidance will let the spirit dwell "unrestricted" in our temples.

Integrity
One might not think of integrity when it comes to playing "Go Fish", but the way a person handles themselves after a round of play (when someone lays all their cards down) will tell volumes about you. If you are the one to go out, are you boastful, bragging, the "in-your-face" sort of player? If you are the one who list and got caught with a large amount of cards in your hand, are you angry? Do you throw the cards down and stomp away in mad fits? The adage, "no one likes a sore loser" is just as important as, "no one likes a bragging winner". Instead, do we show graciousness for the winner and a "laugh it off" attitude when we are the loser? In life, how do we handle people who are always bragging about the good things happening in our lives? Are we resentful? And conversely, how do we handle the person who does nothing but complain about this or that? Do we show anger or true compassion to them? 

One of the things that I personally struggle with is sports in general where there is taunting opponents, booing or other abrasive mannerisms when something doesn't go right. People will try to counter my struggle by justifying that it is only a game and it's all in fun. I, personally can think of better ways to have fun than by taunting and showing negative attitudes.

As I mentioned in other blog posts, the Savior's admonition for us to love one another is still important. We can be thankful for things, but without being boastful, bragging. And we can also show concern, but without being negative, seeking to destroy others characters or capitalize on their flaws and imperfections. 

We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claim to have "all the cards" or the perfect gospel which has been restored to earth again. Some final points to ponder:
  • If a friend who is not a member asks us a question which is either direct or indirect about a gospel principle, do we shrug them off and tell them to, "Go Fish" or do we share what gospel cards we have with them?
  • Do we seek those who have been "digging through the stack of life" seeking light and truth or do we pass them by letting them continue to dig?
  • Do we share joys with others as they begin to get a brighter light of Christ in their countenance? Are we genuine in our kindness?
  • Do we put our arms around those that are truly suffering and help them by being there for them? Do we impart of our substance to help build them?
Even though, just a child's game, "Go Fish" contains many lessons which can prepare our children for life. And  are we not all children of God who, no matter what age we are in this mortal life, can use those lessons to help us along the way?

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