The essays in the Gospel Topics section on lds.org are both a breath of fresh air and breathtaking. The straight talk, multitude of sources and simplicity in them trigger goose bumps.
So why doesn’t The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints blare them from the rooftops? Why aren't they printed in neon ink? Why have they been quietly inserted into the “back of the book,” so to speak?
The answer, I believe, is a familiar one:
Families.
When you focus on the family, you prize stability, continuity and security. It’s how families thrive. And letting the material slowly seep into the culture keeps the cradle rocking steady and sure.
As it's now accessible online, teachers and leaders will find the material and get it percolating. In time, everyone will be on the same page.
In the old hymn “Railway to Heaven,” the text tells of the “gospel train” working its way down a mountainside. “Heed the curves,” listeners are warned. Don’t do things too abruptly. If the train corners too quickly, passengers will get jostled about. Kids will cry.
Keep 'er steady as she goes.
Years ago, I interviewed an old railroad engineer from Clarkston, Cache County. I asked him if he ever wanted to open up the throttle on the flatlands and see what the train would do.
He eyed me like a weary grandpa.
“Son,” he said, “the last thing I want out there is an adventure.”
So it is with churches. They are charged with providing tranquility in people’s lives. They exist to heal and help and offer security and continuity.
Yet, many people rush into them looking for adventure.
Would those people run into an intensive care unit and stir things up in the name of adventure?
Probably not.
I learned the lesson of incremental movement as a young father. Our son, Ian, had a fever that kept spiking. We talked to the pediatrician. He said we needed to cool Ian down.
I was ready to run home and dump ice water on the kid. But the doctor had learned not to be so abrupt. He told us to put Ian in a tub of tepid water, then slowly cool it down, eventually adding ice cubes. We did, and Ian paddled and played his way to a normal temperature.
For the church, providing transparency doesn't need to cause anxiety and fear, if done right. It can happen naturally.
As a young buck at the Deseret News, I used to smile at the paper’s editorials. It seemed every one began with the words “Go slow.”
“Go slow on selling off school lands.”
“Go slow on reform."
"Go slow on everything under the sun.”
Years later, as an old billy goat, I wrote those editorials. But by then I’d learned the lesson of patience.
People, religions and political parties will always adjust. And it’s the way it's done that separates the wise from the willy-nilly.
Do you want to create an adventure at every turn and get people's pulses racing? Or do you want people to feel secure?
I used to crave adventure.
Now I crave continuity — for me and the rest of the family.
It’s not a conservative, stodgy-old-man thing.
It’s a wisdom thing.
Email: jerjohn@deseretnews.com