Recent happenings in Church news have me troubled. A few nights I have struggled for sleep as I've pondered the implications of a few news articles I've read.The only word that keeps running through my mind is why?
I once gave a lesson on the priesthood during Relief Society. It can be easy to get caught up in some of the terms, so I used the analogy of driving a car. Recent events have helped me extend this analogy a little further. It's not perfect, but it's how I think of things.
Let's pretend that our Father in Heaven loaned us a car for our family. He told us that the car came with a few conditions. The car, essentially, can represent the priesthood as whole.
1. The car is on loan to us, so we don't set the conditions on how to use it. Its owner does.
2. The car is not powered by the person driving. It has power because of its creator.
3. Proper authority must be used to drive the car. This authority is given by a series of tests to prove one's worthiness.
4. The driver directs the car where to go.
5. If improperly used, the car will not work as efficiently, or perhaps not at all.
6. To start the car, one must have keys. The driver doesn't own the car, so he also doesn't own the keys.
7. The purpose of the car is to transport us from one point to another.
8. Passengers receive the same benefits as the driver: reaching a destination safely.
I have a driver's license, but Heavenly Father requested that my husband drive the car. Does that mean I don't have the capability to drive? No, because I have already proven my worthiness. The license I hold in my hand is no less valid when I take the passenger seat. On life's long journey in the car, I provide a very important role: taking care of the children in the car so we can make the journey safely. It wouldn't make sense for two people to try to drive at once or to ignore the children in the back seat. The journey would become unsafe and jeopardize the lives of everyone in the car.
I'm grateful to have a husband who is willing to drive the car (figuratively speaking) for our family. He is leading our family through righteous use of the priesthood back to our Heavenly Father.
I can always relate to a car analogy.
ReplyDeleteThat was a beautiful analogy. I read in Daughter's of My Kingdom somethings that beautifully applied to these publicized excommunications. There's a lot of good stuff in there, especially in the chapter on charity (which I read while studying Exra Taft Benson's classic talk "Beware of Pride.") Thanks again for sharing your analogy!
ReplyDeleteThat explains it really well. I might have to share with my beehives.
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