Over thirty years ago, while serving as a missionary in Brazil I had occasion to travel by train from Sao Paulo all the way across the country to the boarder with Paraguay. My companion and I made the trek to renew our visas. The train ride lasted more than a day so we paid to have a small room with a sink and two beds. The room was so small that the beds hinged out from one of the walls and folded back up when we were not actually sleeping. During the day we spent much of our time in the diner car eating, reading and watching the scenery pass by. For hours at a time we traveled through jungles and alongside broad rivers. From time to time we got up to stretch our legs by walking from one end of the train to the other. In the evening we decided to watch the sunset from the rear platform of the caboose.
The train burned diesel fuel which produced a dark black plume of smoke. Exiting the back door of the caboose we immediately noticed how strong the smell of burning fuel was. We could still breathe, but it wasn’t pleasant. Standing there on the platform it was so loud that neither of us said much. We also noticed how every little irregularity and imperfection of the tracks was amplified to the point we were actually being jostled about. As soon as the sun set we returned to our cabin car where we were surprised at the stark contrast. Our room was quiet, the air was fresh and the ride seemed even smoother than before.
During the last general conference I was both surprised and saddened when I heard the dissenting voices and their subsequent refusal to sustain the prophet and first presidency. I must not be in the know, because I was totally caught off guard. I thought how foolish it was for men and women to suppose, even for a moment, that they with their petty grievances and desire to lower God’s standards to meet those of the world, could slow or alter the course the Lord has set. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored on the earth to be a beacon on the highest mountain top, and not the small light on a key fob stashed in the bottom of a purse or pocket only to be lighted in a moment of frustration as we try to open an unfamiliar door in the dark.
After the initial shock abated my feelings turned to a sentiment of increased support for our leaders and especially President Monson. During the following week I read numerous posts and articles. Some presented lengthy lists of practical things that could be done to show support for our prophet and his councilors. Others were conciliatory and even mildly sympathetic with those who chose not to sustain the first presidency. Many other authors / bloggers expressed their sentiment to rally around our beloved prophet, to show forth an increased amount of support by living the gospel better. A few even suggested we circle the wagons like our pioneer ancestors did when they felt threatened by indians or as a precaution at night to provide an added measure of protection for those they loved.
It occurred to me that in this wonderful age of digital technology and rapid transportation the church is no longer being carried westward by covered wagons and handcarts. Instead the church is more like a bullet train, speeding on an undeviating course toward its final destination, to greet the Savior at the time of His second coming.
This metaphorical train is powered and guided by the Savior, it can not stop or change it's course without His permission. Attempts by individuals to disrupt the direction of the train or hinder the speed of its progress appear feeble when placed in proper perspective. They are much like passengers on a train, who upon deciding they no longer like where the train is headed get up and start walking, maybe even running toward the back of the train. As if it makes some real difference in the train’s time of arrival or its final destination. And upon arriving at the caboose they open the back door and stand on the rear platform. They lean over the railing and see the railroad ties racing by. The clattering of the tracks and the exhaust from the burning fuel adds to their discontentment. Then they look up and realize their view is now limited exclusively to where the train has already been.
The conductor of the train notices the disturbance, but doesn’t leave his post. He can’t. He is vigilantly watching the tracks ahead. His primary concern is for the safety of the passengers under his stewardship. Instead he delegates others to see what the commotion is all about. Eventually they make their way to the back of the train where they locate the disgruntled, disaffected, disenfranchised passengers and attempt to kindly discover their reasons for running to rear platform of the train.
The dissenting passengers are faced with two choices and those are the only two choices that free agency really affords anyone. The two choices to which I am referring are to travel towards the Savior or to turn away from Him. In other words these metaphorical passengers can either: 1) return to their seats where there is a peaceful feeling that comes only to those who sustain the prophet and apostles, the men who Jesus has appointed to manage this leg of the journey. Or 2) jump from the moving train. Not a great option considering how fast the train is moving as it gains speed. After all these are the latter-days. Come to think of it, there is a third choice. And that is, to remain on the rear platform of the caboose, moving along begrudgingly, where it is loud, dusty and very bumpy.
I’m inclined to pause here to let the options sink in, or perhaps my hesitation is because I never thought I would find myself quoting the shrunken head hanging from the rear view mirror of a magical bus in one of the Harry Potter books. But I daresay, if one chooses to get off the train at the speed it’s going or to remain on the rear platform, then as our grandsons are known to say, using their best British accents, “it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”