Dave Bybee, Associate Academic Vice President-Faculty, gave an insightful and memorable thought a few weeks ago at our weekly staff devotional. He deals with an issue that we all face living in this climate: corrosion. Dave draws spiritual lessons from his experience that I think you will enjoy. I am sharing his ponderings along with mine. President Tanner
Lately I have been thinking about corrosion. Here is why. My family and I returned home after Christmas break to find that our car had become a giant Petri dish. As you may know, a Petri dish is a small plate that biologists use to culture things like bacteria, fungi and small mosses. In our case it seemed to be an entire ecosystem complete with ants, spiders and two species of cockroaches, with mold as the dominant community member. All were happily housed and thriving inside of our seven passenger Toyota Highlander.
Upon further examination I noticed that a small rust spot on the roof of our car had become a hole, and for three weeks it sat fully exposed in our open driveway with constant rain and moist, warm temperatures, perfect conditions for culturing microorganisms. But how had this happened? Rust doesn’t just corrode through the roof of your car in three weeks. What follows are excerpts from a journal entry I made on the matter.
“When we moved from Laie to Punaluu a few years ago, we left behind the fully enclosed garage of our Moana Street rental home. I knew this could be a problem, having had multiple cars rust away before my eyes in the previous two decades that I’ve lived here. So, I was determined not to have that happen with this car. I had a plan. My plan was to wash it and wax it every single week. That happened, a few times. But life got busy and the waxes waned and the washes became less frequent. Eventually they were demoted to an occasional quick rinse “just to get the salt off” and then ultimately to almost nothing at all.
The car still looked OK but after a few years I had noticed some very small rust spots forming on the roof. I meant to fix them before they became a serious problem but the time was never quite right. There was always something more urgent. So, when I got home from our family trip and examined the roof more closely, I was stunned at how much rust was there. Large quantities of water had seeped through the double-layer, sheet metal roof which was now rusting from the inside out. Because of how far in-between the metal layers it had gotten, I couldn't reach all the rust when I tried to repair it. I felt extremely frustrated that I had let it get to this point. Our car has cancer and it is just a matter of time until it succumbs. I have no desire to spend more money buying a new car since this one cost a lot and has so much life left in the engine. The financial ramifications left me quite upset. Later that day I went to the temple where I serve as an ordinance worker on the afternoon shift. When I entered, I recognized immediately the difference between the peaceful spirit in there and the unsettled, almost vexed one I felt in my heart. I asked for forgiveness and for the Lord to teach me. After several hours this is some of what came.
‘Dave, you could have prevented this situation by small and simple things performed consistently over time. Things you said you were going to do but never did regularly (washing and waxing your car). And then, when you saw the first indication of corrosion you could have treated it right away with the training you received in your high school auto body class, but you didn't. You said you would and had plans to, but you waited too long. Now, the corrosion has advanced to such a state that it is beyond your capacity to treat. That is unfortunate for you and your car but it is not the worst part. This also applies to you and your family. There are small and simple things that you know how to do. Many of these things you say you are going to do and others you actually do but not consistently or well enough to prevent the corrosive forces of the adversary from working on your children. This world is full of corrosion and if it is not rinsed off daily and waxed weekly it will sink into the souls of your children without you seeing much evidence on the outside of the damage being done inside until it is too late. Until the corrosion is so advanced that it is beyond your capacity to treat.’
It’s not that we don’t have daily scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening. We do, and yet the Lord was teaching me here that we need to find a way to improve them. Maybe they have become the equivalent to a quick rinse of the car (instead of a thorough wash) which could shortly lead to no cleansing efforts at all. In addition, He helped me recognize some other small and simple things that I need to start doing for the good of my children.”
Perhaps the Lord was also teaching me that what we have always done as a family is no longer enough. As I listen to church leaders, their counsel resonates with the lessons from this experience. Speaking about the corrosive effects of the world on our souls President Nelson recently taught that “in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.[1] Elder Kim B. Clark said, “Whatever level of spirituality, faith or obedience we now have, it will not be sufficient for the work that lies ahead. We need greater spiritual light and power. We need eyes to see more clearly the Savior working in our lives and ears to hear His voice more deeply in our hearts.”[2]
“Sin is spiritually corrosive”[3] even a small one. It “grows on [us] day to day” (Hel. 3:36) and is cumulative. Fortunately “the Atonement of Jesus Christ can wash away all the corrosive effects of sin." [4] Those washes are essential. However, they are most effective when they occur “day by day” (Alma 37:40).
Granted, we may never be able to completely stop the corrosive forces of this Island’s tropical environment from affecting our material possessions, and that’s OK. But we can, if we so choose, access the power that stops the corrosive forces of this worldly environment from affecting the things that matter most, our families. President Nelson calls it, raising “a sin-resistant generation.”[5]
References
[1] Nelson, Russel M. “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives.” Annual General Conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conference Center, Salt Lake. April 2008. Address.
[2] Clark, Kim B. “Eyes to See and Ears to Hear.” Annual General Conference. The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. Conference Center, Salt Lake. Oct. 2010. Address.
[3] Scott, Richard G. "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance." Annual General Conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conference Center, Salt Lake. Oct. 2009. Address.
[4] Eyring, Henry B. “Do not Delay.” Annual General Conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conference Center, Salt Lake. Oct. 1999. Address.
[5] Nelson, Russel M. “A Plea to My Sisters.” Annual General Conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conference Center, Salt Lake. Nov. 2015. Address.